Robert Ellsberg was the guest speaker at Mepkin community retreat
Speaker Robert Ellsberg with members of the Mepkin community at their annual retreat.
Each year the Mepkin community looks forward to the annual retreat. This year’s speaker was Robert Ellsberg, the editor-in-chief and publisher of Orbis Books, the publishing arm of Maryknoll.
Drawing on his years working with Dorothy Day at the Catholic Worker in Manhattan and his over 30 years with Orbis books of Maryknoll, Robert reflected on the holiness and the lives of saints. He spoke of canonized saints and the people who bring us to a deeper consciousness of God who may not have an official recognition in the ecclesial structure.
He reflected on Thomas Merton and the way Merton and his writings continue to inspire a large number of people to seek to understand the relationship God is offering them and the need to cultivate a contemplative practice in daily living.
Sharing from his books and his personal experiences with people like Sister Wendy Beckett, he encouraged an appreciation of God’s way of raising up inspiring men and women in every age. People who bring to others a greater awareness of God’s love for us and an understanding for how God is using us, in the midst of those around us, to awaken one another to live a fuller response to God.
Some of Robert’s published books include:
- Gandhi on Christianity(1991)
- All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time(Crossroad, 1997)
- The Saints’ Guide to Happiness: Practical Lessons in the Life of the Spirit,Doubleday, 2005.
- Blessed Among All Women: Reflections on Women Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time(Crossroad, 2006).
- The Duty Of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day. (editor) Marquette University Press, Milwaukee, 2008
- All the Way to Heaven: The Selected Letters of Dorothy Day. (editor) Marquette University Press, Milwaukee, 2010.
- Blessed Among Us: Day by Day with Saintly Witnesses.(Liturgical Press, 2016)
- The Franciscan Saints. (Franciscan Media 2017)
- A Living Gospel: Reading God’s Story in Holy Lives (Orbis Books 2019)
- Dearest Sister Wendy. (Orbis Books 2022)
