Feb 13 Tip: Monastic Life at the Top of the Charts

From NPR's Morning Edition: Monastic Life at the Top of the Charts

(The February 13 Compassionate Living Tip from Interfaith Paths to Peace)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/02/11/274686955/monastic-life-at-the-top-of-the-charts

When the sisters of Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles aren't hard at work on the monastery grounds, they're topping the charts with albums of sacred music. The group's Angels and Saints at Epheseus topped the Billboard classical charts, and now it's releasing its latest,Lent at Epheseus. Mother Cecilia, prioress of the abbey in rural Missouri, and the group's arranger, tells NPR's Renee Montagne, "We're not fabricating anything; this is just music we're pulling from our life, our everyday life."

"We're hard workers," Mother Cecilia says. "We really follow the rules of St. Benedict very closely — his 'ora et labora,' which is 'pray and work.' And we have a small farm. We have a cow to milk twice a day, rain or shine, whether it's 100 degrees or 20 below. And then, of course, the processing of the milk; we make all sorts of dairy products for our table. And, of course, the recreation and our meal times fill up the day."