{"id":780,"date":"2011-07-05T08:20:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-05T08:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2011\/07\/a-reader-writes-20\/"},"modified":"2014-12-31T13:35:49","modified_gmt":"2014-12-31T20:35:49","slug":"a-reader-writes-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2011\/07\/a-reader-writes-20.html","title":{"rendered":"A reader writes…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I have a request to you to make. Can you keep me in your prayers.<\/p>\n

I have made a decision (after 16 years as a diocesan priest) to follow the call of the Lord into monastic life. The immediate question I grapple with is how will my bishop (facing declining numbers) react. And indeed at this early stage though I feel drawn to one particular Cistercian community, I need to discern is this in fact what the Lord wants of me? This community or another?\u2026even a Benedictine community far from all I know? All I know is that the Lord asks me to give him his hand and place it in his side, in the intimate solitude of living for him alone. But with this new step, more questions have popped up\u2026 so I would be glad of your prayers to the Blessed Mother for me, whose care I have sought.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Father, grant guidance to your servant and open the way before him so that he can walk where you desire him to go. We ask this through Christ our Lord as we ask the intercession of the Blessed Mother for him as he discerns your call. Amen.<\/p>\n

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I have a request to you to make. Can you keep me in your prayers. I have made a decision (after 16 years as a diocesan priest) to follow the call of the Lord into monastic life. The immediate question I grapple with is how will my bishop (facing declining numbers) react. And indeed at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA reader writes...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I have a request to you to make. 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