I'm down in the southern end of Indiana for a few days for a retreat at St. Meinrad Archabbey. In the middle of the country here west of Louisville is something you'd never expect to find: a European-looking monastery rising up out of the corn fields. It is something to see it at first, this big place set up on a hill; it almost looks like Hogwarts Academy. It's an Archabbey, which means it was designated by the pope as a place of significance. There are only two archabbeys in the United States, and 11 in the world (Monte Cassino, where I visited in Italy, is another). There's a seminary here, too, and the students aren't yet back for school, but the school's presence adds to the size of the place. It has a less cloistered feel to it than other monasteries I've visited, and it's much larger, with almost 100 monks in the community. The bigger group makes for a more formidable sound in the singing, and the large choir of voices really echoes around in the big church, making a very beautiful and spiritual experience of singing and worship. I'm here on a special retreat, focusing on monastic values for everyday life. We've been focusing on hospitality, community, work, and stability as things important in the monastery and the world.