Grace is Everywhere, Reflections of an Aspiring Monk

James Stephen Behrens
147 pages
Acta Publications, 1999
Retail Price: $9.95
See Amazon's discounted price

Grace Is Everywhere introduces the fresh, down-to-earth voice of an “aspiring” Trappist monk reflecting on how his monastic experiences impact everyday life and spirituality. Events in the lives of the monks and lay people of Holy Spirit Monastery in Conyers, Georgia allow him to explore how grace can be found everywhere.

Simple yet profound, Behrens demonstrates the value of monastic spirituality for those who live outside the cloister.

Author Profile
A Monk for the Common Person

From the beginning I suspected that Fr. Behrens ("Call me Jeff") would challenge my dearly held notions about monks and monastic life. I wanted serenity, wisdom, unwavering faith and unchanging traditions, but Behrens is far too real for that. He is an ordinary guy, expressing the same ambivalence and uncertainty we all feel. But as a Trappist monk, he has chosen a different way to live them.

Behrens was raised in New Jersey, a middle child in the kind of expansive, devout Catholic family that has mostly disappeared along with block rosaries and the American elm. Given the era, his priestly vocation was no surprise, and he was ordained to diocesan ministry in 1974. But Behrens has not been a priest insulated within an immutable and holy "call." In the years following his ordination, the ministry of the parish priest became a demanding and often lonely profession. Many priests left; few entered; and the notion of a "vocation" lost its sacrosanct and unchanging nature.

Behrens says his approach to his vocation is similar to "the man who wakes up every morning and wonders whether he should be married or not. And that's been going on for 20 years."

Behrens was not a typical parish priest. In fact, his beginnings as a writer were funded by just such untypical behavior. In 1989, while gambling in Atlantic City, he won some money-"a lot of money. On roulette. It was 29 odd and black." With this windfall he bought a Macintosh computer and a printer. Sitting up one night, he wrote his first essay-"Andy's Diner"-about a local hangout that he had haunted, hungry more for the gritty immediacy of life than eggs over easy. He submitted it to the "National Catholic Reporter."

Days later, the paper's editor called. "There's some Irish guy on the phone," his pastor said. Thus began a decade-long relationship in which Behrens supplied the NCR with semi-regular essays on the subjects that fill his present book-uncluttered observations of the commonplace. The priest began to develop his writer's voice and a new avocation. "Writing moves things around inside of me," he says. "When I place words on paper, it helps me refocus and opens all kinds of doors."

About four years ago, Behrens entered the Trappist Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. With characteristic offhandedness, he says it was simply another step along a road chosen long ago. He is now halfway through simple vows--a three-year commitment that preceeds solemn vows, and when something like "forever" goes into effect.

Behrens offers a unique and thoughtful glimpse into monastic life, which is so often silent and inscrutable in the nine-to-five world. His conversation is different from his writing--he expresses more shades of gray, more of the uncertainties with which life, even monastic life, is riddled. Some of it these insights are surprising: "This order has changed greatly, as have all religious orders. It's more open and fluid than it once was. I find it very encouraging and hopeful that its antennae are open to change."

Monastic life has caused more personal changes as well--the way Behrens experiences time and memory, for example. Time has become measured, predictable, and ample. He has lost the contemporary curse of needing to "accomplish" something with time, to fill it with productive labor.

Not that he doesn't labor. The monastery grows and sells bonsai plants, so Behrens works in the greenhouse, prays, reads, and writes. He has time to experience the falling of seeds from pinecones on a spring morning and to mark the first flights of new birds. "I've learned to let time be. I know the time will come for everything. For years, I thought I could do something with time. Now I've learned that time is doing something with me."

Unlike my stereotype of the monkish life, serene and unperturbed by worldly cares, Behrens wonders about the same things we all do--his choices, his commitments, his vocation. The strength he brings to his writing is the voice of an ordinary person engaged in the same search in a different way.

Kate Convissor writes for regional and national magazines such as St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Digest, Working Mother, and Christian Parenting Today. She also writes for online publications such as Juggle (www.jugglezine.com) and Salon (www.salonmag.com).

Book Review
Grace is Everywhere
This is a book for sipping. It is a book to keep by your prayer corner for meditation or in your desk for quick refreshment. Grace is Everywhere is a collection of short essays about the small things of life, that, seen with a discerning eye, become sacramentals-rays of light illuminating the Infinite.

Fr. James Behrens is a Trappist monk and priest/writer who has been supplying the "National Catholic Reporter" with his thoughtful prose for years. Now, ACTA Publications has gathered together a bookful of short essays that meander through Fr. Behrens's past, but that mostly involve his present life at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers. Georgia.

Fr. Behrens has a simple, direct style, uncluttered with the self-consciousness and affectation that so easily creep into personal essays. He has an exacting eye for detail, aided perhaps by the slower pace and fewer distractions of monastic life. He absorbs the small beauties, the letting-go, the faithfulness and fellowship around him. He records it all in simple, easy-to-digest morsels that slightly lift the veil shrouding the movement of God in daily life. He also offers a glimpse of monastic life reminiscent of Thomas Merton, but from an earthy, uncomplicated perspective.

While his essays are often poignant, Behrens does tend to tidy up their messier aspects. ("I like to have nice, little endings," he says.) He has an determinedly hopeful outlook that sometimes leapfrogs over struggle and ambiguity.

So, while Grace is Everywhere may not tackle the darker questions, it uplifts and demonstrates how God whispers to the world today. It will leave you refreshed.

–Kate Convissor




	Book Review Author Profile		Grace Is Everywhere Reflections of an Aspiring Monk James Stephen Behrens 147 pages Acta Publications, 1999 Retail Price: $9.95 See Amazon's discounted price Grace Is Everywhere introduces the fresh, down-to-earth voice of an “aspiring” Trappist monk reflecting on how his monastic experiences impact everyday life and spirituality. Events in the lives of the monks and lay people of Holy Spirit Monastery in Conyers, Georgia allow him to explore how grace can be found everywhere. Simple yet profound, Behrens demonstrates the value of monastic spirituality for those who live outside the cloister. Behrens is also the author of Be Gentle, Be Faithful: Daily Meditations for Busy Christians. Author Profile A Monk for the Common Person From the beginning I suspected that Fr. Behrens ("Call me Jeff") would challenge my dearly held notions about monks and monastic life. I wanted serenity, wisdom, unwavering faith and unchanging traditions, but Behrens is far too real for that. He is an ordinary guy, expressing the same ambivalence and uncertainty we all feel. But as a Trappist monk, he has chosen a different way to live them. Behrens was raised in New Jersey, a middle child in the kind of expansive, devout Catholic family that has mostly disappeared along with block rosaries and the American elm. Given the era, his priestly vocation was no surprise, and he was ordained to diocesan ministry in 1974. But Behrens has not been a priest insulated within an immutable and holy "call." In the years following his ordination, the ministry of the parish priest became a demanding and often lonely profession. Many priests left; few entered; and the notion of a "vocation" lost its sacrosanct and unchanging nature. Behrens says his approach to his vocation is similar to "the man who wakes up every morning and wonders whether he should be married or not. And that's been going on for 20 years." Behrens was not a typical parish priest. In fact, his beginnings as a writer were funded by just such untypical behavior. In 1989, while gambling in Atlantic City, he won some money-"a lot of money. On roulette. It was 29 odd and black." With this windfall he bought a Macintosh computer and a printer. Sitting up one night, he wrote his first essay-"Andy's Diner"-about a local hangout that he had haunted, hungry more for the gritty immediacy of life than eggs over easy. He submitted it to the "National Catholic Reporter." Days later, the paper's editor called. "There's some Irish guy on the phone," his pastor said. Thus began a decade-long relationship in which Behrens supplied the NCR with semi-regular essays on the subjects that fill his present book-uncluttered observations of the commonplace. The priest began to develop his writer's voice and a new avocation. "Writing moves things around inside of me," he says. "When I place words on paper, it helps me refocus and opens all kinds of doors." About four years ago, Behrens entered the Trappist Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. With characteristic offhandedness, he says it was simply another step along a road chosen long ago. He is now halfway through simple vows--a three-year commitment that preceeds solemn vows, and when something like "forever" goes into effect. Behrens offers a unique and thoughtful glimpse into monastic life, which is so often silent and inscrutable in the nine-to-five world. His conversation is different from his writing--he expresses more shades of gray, more of the uncertainties with which life, even monastic life, is riddled. Some of it these insights are surprising: "This order has changed greatly, as have all religious orders. It's more open and fluid than it once was. I find it very encouraging and hopeful that its antennae are open to change." Monastic life has caused more personal changes as well--the way Behrens experiences time and memory, for example. Time has become measured, predictable, and ample. He has lost the contemporary curse of needing to "accomplish" something with time, to fill it with productive labor. Not that he doesn't labor. The monastery grows and sells bonsai plants, so Behrens works in the greenhouse, prays, reads, and writes. He has time to experience the falling of seeds from pinecones on a spring morning and to mark the first flights of new birds. "I've learned to let time be. I know the time will come for everything. For years, I thought I could do something with time. Now I've learned that time is doing something with me." Unlike my stereotype of the monkish life, serene and unperturbed by worldly cares, Behrens wonders about the same things we all do--his choices, his commitments, his vocation. The strength he brings to his writing is the voice of an ordinary person engaged in the same search in a different way. Kate Convissor writes for regional and national magazines such as St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Digest, Working Mother, and Christian Parenting Today. She also writes for online publications such as Juggle (www.jugglezine.com) and Salon (www.salonmag.com). † Back to the Top Book Review Grace is Everywhere This is a book for sipping. It is a book to keep by your prayer corner for meditation or in your desk for quick refreshment. Grace is Everywhere is a collection of short essays about the small things of life, that, seen with a discerning eye, become sacramentals-rays of light illuminating the Infinite. Fr. James Behrens is a Trappist monk and priest/writer who has been supplying the "National Catholic Reporter" with his thoughtful prose for years. Now, ACTA Publications has gathered together a bookful of short essays that meander through Fr. Behrens's past, but that mostly involve his present life at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers. Georgia. Fr. Behrens has a simple, direct style, uncluttered with the self-consciousness and affectation that so easily creep into personal essays. He has an exacting eye for detail, aided perhaps by the slower pace and fewer distractions of monastic life. He absorbs the small beauties, the letting-go, the faithfulness and fellowship around him. He records it all in simple, easy-to-digest morsels that slightly lift the veil shrouding the movement of God in daily life. He also offers a glimpse of monastic life reminiscent of Thomas Merton, but from an earthy, uncomplicated perspective. While his essays are often poignant, Behrens does tend to tidy up their messier aspects. ("I like to have nice, little endings," he says.) He has an determinedly hopeful outlook that sometimes leapfrogs over struggle and ambiguity. So, while Grace is Everywhere may not tackle the darker questions, it uplifts and demonstrates how God whispers to the world today. It will leave you refreshed. –Kate Convissor order † Back to the Top

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