A Monastic Garden for Benedictine Oblate -- Part 2

In the blog, “A Monastic Garden,” I wrote about how it is hard to relax in my own backyard garden — because I see what needs to be done rather than peace the garden was intended to create.

For me, the best solution is to avoid places (for the Divine Office) that are most often places of work (like our garden) and to have a place in the house that is dedicated primarily as a place of prayer — in my case it’s a comfortable brown chair and footstool in a corner of my home office. Some oblates have a separate prayer or reading room.

For me, lighting a candle helps move me from being in work to being present in prayer. If you have a practice that helps you move into a time of prayer or that helps your prayer time — please add it as a comment -- Thank you. If it includes eating ice cream, I just might try it! :)