It had been a long time since I had even made a poustinia, much less lived in a prayer-listening house.

However, during the year, while entering into the life around me, I’ve learned to expand my vision of poustinia. On the practical level, this has meant following the daily prayer horarium and, together with Cynthia Donnelly and Pat Probst, entering into and working at creating a community of love.

It is this that enables us to respond daily to those who come to us or phone us asking for prayers.

Over the past year we have been asked to give a number of talks about Madonna House and/or our own vocations. Cynthia and Pat talked to a group of young adults at Spirit Series. This group meets once a month at a local pub for a talk and a social hour. It’s something like Theology on Tap.

Cynthia’s topic was, "A Saint? Who Me? What does holiness look like in the 21st century?"

At another of their gatherings, Pat was on a panel of converts who shared the stories of their conversion to Catholicism.

All three of us spoke to a class on spiritual direction. Their teacher, Fr. Joseph Lee, brings his class to our house every year, and this year the topic we spoke on was, "How Madonna House Listens."

Our "Mom’s Morning," a time and space we provide for young stay-at-home mothers to come with their children and just be together, continues. We also continue to offer a monthly morning of recollection during which we reflect on Scripture using the Lectio Divina method.

A new group is also meeting at our house: CLOTH—Catholic Ladies on the Hill (Capitol Hill, that is). Mostly they get together to discuss a book they’ve all read. We’ve joined them and have read books by C.S. Lewis and Graham Greene.

On Pentecost Sunday we joined with the other ecclesial communities of the archdiocese for Mass with Archbishop Wuerl and a gathering afterwards.

Two years ago, Cardinal McCarrick, our former archbishop, founded an organization to bring these new communities, mostly lay, together so that we get to know one another’s apostolates and be a support to one another.

Representatives from these groups planned the liturgy, and at the gathering, booths were set up in the crypt and people were invited to come and see.

Fr. Denis Lemieux has just arrived, and will be living with us for two years as he studies graduate level theology at the Dominican House of Studies.

Life is always changing. With each new person, the face of the house changes. So we stop and listen to learn what it is that the Lord is asking from each of us as we continue to work at forming a community of love.