Our Experience in Nicaragua
Introduction
Many persons have asked us, "Why would you go to Nicaragua for your community retreat?
It is an important question. Why would we leave the quiet of the monastery in order to experience more deeply the lives of unnoticed people in an impoverished country?
While we left the monastery buildings, we journeyed together as a monastic community, bringing with us the values that shape our life. As Benedictine monks, we are committed to the search for the living God, a search that is unpredictable, a search that we know will change us.
We desire to be like the woman in the Gospel of Mark, who approached Jesus, thinking, "If I can only touch the hem of his garment, then I will be healed."
On these journeys to Nicaragua, we, too, have tried to reach out our hands to directly touch the suffering and hope of our sisters and brothers.
In our encounter with these people, so often brushed aside, we have been encountered by the living God, and have been offered the challenges we need for our own conversion.
We were invited to Nicaragua by our Mexican Benedictine sisters, who have two small communities there, and by the people of San Nicolas, an area devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Sharing the experience, suffering, and hope of this courageous people is an exercise of our monastic commitment of conversatio morum, conversation about the things that really matter. We invite you to join us.
The hope of the Sandinista revolution: "Peace with dignity!"
A first impression
Our Mexican sisters: The courage to be present
At home in the barrio
A tough town, a cooperative spirit
'Though our country is small, our dream is great'
Farewell to San Nicolas: A dance with the future
Looking back from Vermont: Our Benedictine sisters
