Contemplative Living

Coming out of the pandemic a theme heard over and over is that many people want to hold on to some of the stillness and quiet found during the COVID restrictions. The theologian Walter Burghardt said that contemplation was taking “a long, loving look at the real.” Most humans would readily admit that the frantic pace of modern life leaves us wanting more connection with the real - ourselves, others, and our higher power. Thomas Merton, the famous Trappist monk, said, “The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence.” 

How do we slow down? How do we attend to the important and not simply the urgent? The Abbey on Lovers Lane is a center designed to encourage contemplative spirituality or “a long, loving look at the real,” even in the midst of a large, busy city. Our vision is to provide availability and formation of various spiritual disciplines including quiet, solitude, individual and group prayer, retreat, and spiritual direction. We have discovered that to hear the voices that really matter, we need to quiet and still the many other competing voices in contemporary life.  The Abbey on Lovers Lane is an oasis where “all who are weary and burdened” can find rest, regardless of their religious preference or status, their race, their socioeconomic status, or any other dividing line that separates us from one another.