Our Spirituality Peaceful Gardens

Nicholas Ferrar and George Herbert shared the conviction that a life of regular corporate prayer and close spiritual fellowship is the calling not just of monks, nuns and priests, in other words religious specialists, but of all Christian people.

Long before either of these men formed their communities in the 1600's, another visionary, St. Benedict of Nursia, founded a community and wrote a Rule, a letter of instruction, outlining his way of practicing holiness some 1,000 years before.

Chapel Altar Benedictine spirituality has had a profound impact on the British Isles. The "Way of St. Benedict" influenced the early British reformers with its call to seek balance in one's life, its dedication to peace and its emphasis on finding the sacred in the ordinary details of life.

Among Christian religious practices, Benedictine spirituality is perhaps the least spectacular. It is very down-to-earth and humble. It does not seek dramatic moments of enlightenment, Thomas Merton wrote, "that concern with doing ordinary things quietly and perfectly for the greater glory of God is the beauty of the pure Benedictine life." In Benedictine spiritualty, all effort is focused on God, whether washing dishes in the kitchen or worshipping God in church, a quiet mind and prayerful heart give all honor and glory to Him. It is this charism, this spirit of attending to ordinary details with extra-ordinary attention and care which is at the heart of the Little Gidding spiritual journey and the rule of the Community of Christ the Sower.