I went to the monastery again for Thanksgiving. Just before I left I was told my my Spiritual Father that both he and the Abbot want me to become a Sign Language Interpreter! My initial thought was, how on earth would I be able to keep my ASL up to snuff (so to speak) at such a remote site? Last week I discovered that there is a State School for the Deaf in Scranton (about 20 miles away.) I am currently making preliminary investigations. I am going back to the monastery for Christmas…

Have a blessed time - one of the best things I ever discovered in my spiritual life was the monastery retreat, for me it’s Aylsford priory two or three times a year - hope the signing works out for you.

I am yearning for my annual four day silent retreat with the Jesuits in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. What a blessed time in January. @howdydave I will keep you in my prayers

Yes, good luck. I asked on a different thread why you were learning ASL before I read this. A wonderful skill.

@Abraxas, Chef_Dean I started with quarterly retreats. Now I try to go for a week every month.

@howdydave - I could happily do that, maybe at a later stage in life I will. My three times a year suits me at the moment though and I have the great fortune to only be an hour or so away and then it is back in time to another world - the priory was founded in 1242 and was given to a courtier of Henry Viii at the dissolution of the monasteries, eventually to be bought by the Carmelites in the 1940’s. The guest house has walls about four feet thick and is the quietest place I have ever been, which of course makes it an ideal setting to zone out of the modern world and think about the things that matter.

Nothing beats old stone houses for quiet contemplation.

I’m starting to feel like a student again! Just filled out an e-mail form with the Admissions Dept. at NTID (National Technical Institute for the Deaf). Just sent in my first application form for Student Aid. Classes start in a few weeks.

Best of luck with it.

Came up with a new “sign name” for myself: _ Brown Nose _