Free Republic

ou are listening to one of the 33 songs from the album "Benedicta.” Those voices belong to the Benedictine monks of Norcia, and they are singing sweet words and pious prayers to the Virgin Mary. The album begins like this. Those are bells from their monastery. When they stop ringing, the monks intone responses and hymns in the grand tradition of Gregorian chant. They provide for many of their community's needs with profits from sales.

On a hill overlooking the Fraser Valley in Mission, British Columbia is a remarkable center of life, prayer, work, hope, and peace known as Westminster Abbey. Considered to be Mission's most famous landmark, with its striking bell tower and austere yet modern church, this renowned Benedictine monastery attracts thousands of visitors annually. Why do so many people make the journey up the hill in such great numbers? What are they seeking? Whom are they seeking?Monasticism, though still a curiosity, is more and more an attractive curiosity. Monasticism sinks its roots into the real world of God by seeking an...