These writings arise from my experience as a volunteer at Bonnevaux.
Two or three times a week, all volunteers and the residential community get together and read a chapter from the Rule of St Benedict. If anyone in the group wants to, they choose a word that stood out to them the most. Then, throughout the day, we keep that word in mind, in everything we do. It’s a wonderful moment of community.
Silence, meditation, prayer, and the Rule of Saint Benedict inspired me, after many years, to create these compositions.
They do not aspire to be masterpieces — I am certainly not capable of that — but they come from the depths of my heart, and I am happy to share them with you.
Thank you,
Patrizia, Volunteer at Bonnevaux – May 2026
Inspired from the Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 43 (first part)
Letting Go
You fill your hands
with all kinds of things,
you look at what you possess
and you are happy.
You walk,
and as you continue on your way,
the things that once brought you happiness
become obstacles in your path.
You feel that you must choose
what to let go of…
it is difficult,
it is tiring,
but you begin.
And gradually,
as your hands empty,
the journey becomes lighter,
your thoughts freer,
your spirit ready to welcome.
And you come to understand
how much
letting go
fills your life.
Lasciare
Ti riempi le mani
di ogni cosa,
guardi cio` che hai
sei felice.
Cammini
e nel tuo andare
le cose che prima ti davano felicita`
ti sono d`inciampo.
Senti che devi scegliere
cosa lasciar andare…
e` difficile
e` faticoso
ma inizi.
E via via
che le mani si vuotano
il cammino diventa piu` leggero,
i pensieri piu` liberi,
lo spirito pronto ad accogliere.
E comprendi
quanto
lasciar andare
ti riempia la vita.
The soul of Bonnevaux is its small residential community. This is a group of people living together in the spirit of the 1500-year-old Rule of St Benedict. It is an ‘open cloister’ inspired by the essential elements of monastic wisdom.
