The Monastery

This looks like an interesting movie. The Monastery

This is the story about Mr. Vig, a well educated 86 year old bachelor, and Sister Amvrosija, a Russian nun, who by chance, or destiny, becomes part of his life. Mr. Jørgen Laursen Vig is owner of a worn down castle situated in the Danish country side. All his life Mr. Vig has dreamed of turning his castle into a Russian orthodox monastery.

After a visit to Russia negotiating with the Russian patriarchate, a delegation of nuns headed by Sister Amvrosija come to Denmark in order to asses, whether Mr. Vigs castle is fit to serve as a monastery. The nuns approve the castle, but at the same time they demand extensive repairs to it. When the nuns leave again for Russia, Mr. Vig sets out to do the repairs all by himself.

The following summer sister Ambrosija and the other nuns return and Mr. Vigs dream seems about to come true. The nuns move into the castle, and slowly they take over the daily work and introduce new routines.

Mr. Vigs life changes: all his life he has lived by himself with no women around, now he has to share his home with the strong-willed Sister Amvrosija and her sister nuns. And they demand more and more necessary repairs. As a solution to the problem, the Russian patriarchate offers to pay for all future repairs to the castle, but on the condition that Mr. Vig leaves his castle to them by will.

Mr. Vig has serious doubts: should he leave his castle to the Russian church by will and thus carry out his dream of a monastery? Or should he keep his castle to himself and continue his lonely life as a bachelor? Mr. Vig, who has never known love, is facing many conflicts with the apparently difficult Sister Amvrosija, but she does strangely enough not want to leave him and his castle, even if she will be the last and only nun left.”- From the The Monastery website.

HT: Fr. Joseph Huneycutt

Counsel from St. Poimen the Great

“One time there came to the saint a monk from afar, to get St. Poimen’s guidance. He began to speak about sublime matters difficult to grasp. The saint turned away from him and was silent. To the bewildered monk they explained, that the saint did not like to speak about lofty matters. Then the monk began to ask him about the struggle with passions of soul. The saint turned to him with a joyful face: “Here now thou well hath spoken, and I must speak for it needs answer,” — and for a long while he provided instruction, as to how one ought to struggle with the passions and conquer them.”