Tonight I met with a woman who is a Benedictine oblate through St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., and I gained some interesting insight about the Benedictine charism that may eventually tie in with my ideas about designing homes for real, Catholic family life.
My thesis, in a nutshell, suggests that there are three main principles (but a number of ancillary principles) by which residential architecture might best support the domestic church, and these are hospitality, solidarity, and sacramentality. In the Benedictine life, as I understand it, hospitality, community, and balance form part of the charism for both those in monasteries and the oblates living a lay life. Although I know very little about Benedictine spirituality, I am inclined to think there is a link here between what I propose in my thesis, and what has been an ongoing way of life for monastic communities for centuries.
Anyone who can shed additional light on Benedictine spirituality, particularly centered around the ideas of hospitality, community, and balance, please feel free to post! It would be good to flesh out these terms as they apply to the Rule of St. Benedict (pray for us!).
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First off, welcome to St. Blog's Sara!! :)
I think you have really hit upon something here, regarding the design of a home for the "domestic church" and it's correspondence with the monastic way of life, particularly the Benedictine way. I am no expert at this, however, I think what the Benedictines and monastics have developed over the years is worth looking at - they, in a very real way, have been trying to not only live the "domestic church", but build its home. The biggest thing that leaps out at me here is the ordering of the monastic life - not just their times of prayer, but when they pray, how they pray, and where they pray. They have found the balance between communal prayer, public prayer, and private prayer - and likewise, they have mastered the art of being "all things to all people". Indeed, our Western civilization that we enjoy today is in large part thanks to their dedication to this development of an environment condusive to an ordered and vocational life.
I suggest that you get in touch with a solid Benedictine community that is in the process of designing and building their own environment for their "domestic church" family! The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles are doing just that, right now! Check out building plan too! I am sure that Mother Therese might have some wonderful insights as to how her order's new home design may also be applicable to the dream home of a Catholic family today.
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