Introducing the "Why" blog post series

For the next couple of months we will run a series of blog posts that explore the WHY behind a lot of what we are doing at Iona House. We acknowledge that not everything we do here at Iona House is intuitive. But pretty much nothing is happenstance or random. There has been a substantial amount of thought and prayer that has guided the reasons why we do things the way we do them. We think readers might appreciate some simple, but thoughtful explanations. People often ask us some variation of the following questions.

  • Why do we encourage people to work with their hands and do physical labor at Iona House?

  • Why do we pray at certain times at Iona House?

  • Why do we use liturgy at Iona House?

  • Why do we practice silence & solitude each day at Iona House?

  • Why do we have animals at Iona House?

  • Why do we fast and feast each week at Iona House?

  • What is a prayer labyrinth and why do we have one at Iona House?

  • Why do we offer confession at Iona House?

  • Why are buildings / cottages named after saints at Iona House?

  • Why is this place called “Iona House”?

  • What is spiritual direction? Where does this practice come from?

  • Why are we so interested in all things “monastic”?

  • What is “The Great Tradition” that we often talk about or refer to here at Iona House?

And more… (if you have a question you would like us to address, please email ryan at ionahouse.org)

Stay tuned for blog posts every week or two.

Ryan Jones