Seven Days, the diary of a meditation journey made in Mater Ecclesiae Monastery on the island of St. Julius (Novara), reads like a novel, in which the protagonists witness to the faith and interior wealth they found there. This could be the theme of the book, which was written by psychiatrist and psychotherapist Benjamin Donnici and published by FSP Editions, Italy.
The little text is a testament to love, as revealed in the very human details of the lives of seven pilgrims, interlaced with their conversations with Mother Anna Maria Cànopi, the Foundress and Abbess of the monastery. “It is a small jewel of psychology and spirituality…but also of divine madness,” says the author.
And Abbess Anna Maria, looking back on how she became unexpectedly involved in this story, which unfolded somewhat “outside the box,” comments, “It is necessary to write the diary of one’s life–a ‘diary’ that is initiated repeatedly, only to be neglected just as often. Seven intense days of meetings, reflections, conversations and discoveries–all for the glory of God. If this book will draw those who read it to Christ, then I am very happy that even a cloistered nun had a role to play in it.”