So very old, yet ever new
On my way to China, I stopped over in Spain for some meetings. Having a few extra days, I went to Manresa, Spain where we Dominicans have a monastery of nuns. What an incredible experience!
In the archives of a medieval monastery.
This monastery has been open since the 13th century. It is just above the cave where Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, wrote his famous “Spiritual Exercises.” Ignatius used to sit outside the door of this monastery and listen to the prayers of the nuns as they sang their evening office. Their prayers are still quite inspiring, as I can attest.
On the right is a photo of some books in the monastery archives. Top left is a bundle of contracts the monastery entered into in the year 1344. Every contract they have ever signed is still preserved on these shelves. The sense of history is deep, as is…
