On June 28 - 29, 2019, award-winning poet, writer, and best-selling author Kathleen Norriswill come to St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, and speak on the topic of Seeking God Together.On Friday, June 28, at 7:30 p.m. she will give an evening presentation, followed by discussion and sharing. On Saturday, June 29, she will present from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
“Whether he truly seeks God”—this is the criterion in the Rule of Saint Benedict (58:7) for the novice master in regard of a person who wants to become a monk. Seeking God leads all of us beyond superficiality to what matters. Seeking God is not only an individual pursuit, but must be anchored in one’s local community. This means a constant struggle between freedom and obedience, listening and asserting oneself, possessing and letting go, clinging to stability and embracing change. Kathleen Norris will present stories of her own seeking God, as well as those of monastics, and invite participants to bring their own stories to share. Some reviewers have compared Norris’ portrait of the world of the monastics to the writings of Thomas Merton. Her presentations will be at once intimate and historical, rich in poetry and meditations, brimming with exasperation and reverence, deeply grounded in both nature and spirit, sometimes funny, often provocative and always important.
Norris is the author of The New York Timesbestsellers, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith,Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, The Cloister Walk, Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks and a Writer’s Life, and The Virgin of Bennington. Shealso has published seven books of poetry. Norris also appears on the DVD and companion book project titled Embracing a Life of Meaning: Kathleen Norris on Discovering What Matters. Kathleen Norris is a Benedictine Oblate of Assumption Abbey in Richardton, North Dakota. Widowed in 2003, she resides in Hawaii. She travels to the mainland regularly for speaking engagements.
The program fee is $ 60, for Friday only it is $ 20; for Saturday only it is $ 40. On Saturday, lunch is available at the Center for $ 10.76 (includes tax), if you pay for it BEFORE the program starts. Guest rooms are available at St. Benedict Center for the night from Friday to Saturday. Room and board charges will be added to the program fee. Register at www.StBenedictCenter.comor call 402-352-8819.