Mind in the Monastery?

I VERY MUCH ENJOYED your last issue, especially the article about urban contemplatives, "City Lights." My contemplative heart has struggled for years with the desire for a truly contemplative life coupled with the need to serve the poor, as directed by Jesus.

I wonder, after reading your article, if it is possible to craft a rule of life for the urban contemplative? Can we put on paper a way of life for people still living in the world whose hearts and minds are in the monastery? Clearly prayer is the essential for a contemplative. Can we provide an opportunity for the silent to also serve?

Kurt Aschermann, Atlanta, Georgia