Peace to you!

Each week, the Monk Mindset newsletter comes with:

Monk Mindset for Living Well

Monk Mindset 1
Show Up and Receive the Light: Meditation and Prayer

Reflection on the Monk Mindset and Quote

Imagine a gentle mountain stream flowing. If you stop up the stream, water will overflow the banks and can create a dirty bog. However, if it continues to flow, the water remains pure and can nourish everything downstream. 

This is a great metaphor for our prayer life. If we are consistent in prayer and meditation, we allow life-giving spiritual water to flow into us. But if we hold on to the grace and fruit of prayer without sharing it with others, we can become like the bog, filled with stale water. 

Once we are somewhat nourished interiorly, we have the opportunity to share the water with others.

Prayer is essential to peace, but it is not meant to remain only within us—it must pour outward, shaping how we live and love. 

St. Moses the Ethiopian was a 4th century robber and bandit, feared for his strength and violence. Once when seeking refuge in a monastery while fleeing the law, he found more than shelter—prayer softened his heart, and through discipline and love, he was transformed.

But his conversion did not end with himself. As a monk, he became known for his radical mercy, even sparing the very thieves who lived as he once had. His prayer was not just private devotion but a force of charity, shaping his relationships and calling others to conversion of life.

This is the true aim of prayer—not just lifting our souls but turning us outward, forming us into men and women of love. If it does not lead to greater patience, generosity, and humility, it risks becoming an illusion.

Every act of kindness, every moment of forgiveness, every sacrifice can be an extension of prayer. As St. Moses learned, real peace comes when prayer moves from the lips to the hands.

Put It Into Practice This Week

Close your eyes and think of a time when you’ve felt nourished interiorly, yet closed yourself off from others. 

Now imagine the next time you’re in a similar situation. What could you do differently to share or give of yourself more fully and radically with someone else?

Wishing you abundant peace this week,

John