Off we go into the world of online monasteries …

As mentioned above, St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Mass., is known for its Trappist Preserves jams, jellies and marmalades. You can visit the community that makes the sweet spreads at spencer-abbey.org. Learn about their history, retreat house, and daily schedule, plus find links to other Trappist monasteries.

St. Leo Abbey, at saintleoabbey.org, is a Benedictine community near us here in Florida. They have a guesthouse, retreat center, gift shop, newsletter and photos on their Web site. Oh, yes, and they run a university, too (St. Leo University).

The Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani, Ky., is well known for one of its members, acclaimed author Thomas Merton. You can visit them online at monks.org and learn of their history, monastic life, retreats, food gifts and bookstore.

The Brigittine Monks at the Priory of Our Lady of Consolation in Amity, Ore., revived in 1976 after being extinct largely due to the European wars in the middle of the 19th century. They are known for their hard-to-resist Chocolate Fudge Royale. Go for a virtual visit at brigittine.org.

Of course I would be remiss if I didn't mention my own community's Web site — monksofadoration.org. With more than 1,400 pages of information along with photos, games, chapel Webcam, video, audio and more, it will make you feel welcome for hours. At least, that's our prayer!