Wonderful essay; beautiful read. Silence is something we choose to enter. We are as bombarded with noise and distraction as Monte Cassino was with bombs. They rebuilt the monastery. We can rebuild silence in our lives. Those lost monasteries will never be rebuilt. Still, God can raise up others, if He finds the men and women who dare to embrace the silence. Regular meditation on Sacred Scripture and the writings of the Desert Fathers is a good starting point. So is leaving the phone off, in the other room, or in the car. The antidote to the fear that arises when we turn off the noise is the encounter with the God who is Love awaiting us in the desert we create for meeting him. Worship in the quietest church you can find, at its quietest Mass. Pray the breviary. Make a visit. Go to Adoration. Live the Faith. The formula has never changed.
Such an authentic painting! My own first communion almost 50 years ago was in a country parish in Australia, and the girls looked like this. We boys had white shirts, trousers and ties. I still remember the reverent awe that came from the strict preparation, the discipline of dressing, the first confession the previous week, and the joy of communion. We drank cordial with the priest afterward and it was recorded in a single photo in a family album.
My son is called to be a Benedictine monk. Whenever we share this with other Catholics, a common response has been - You should be a diocesan priest because the Church is in need of those. It is utterly baffling and heartbreaking that almost no one understands the beauty, necessity, and indeed the primacy, of monastic vocations. This article illumines this reality.
Wonderful essay; beautiful read. Silence is something we choose to enter. We are as bombarded with noise and distraction as Monte Cassino was with bombs. They rebuilt the monastery. We can rebuild silence in our lives. Those lost monasteries will never be rebuilt. Still, God can raise up others, if He finds the men and women who dare to embrace the silence. Regular meditation on Sacred Scripture and the writings of the Desert Fathers is a good starting point. So is leaving the phone off, in the other room, or in the car. The antidote to the fear that arises when we turn off the noise is the encounter with the God who is Love awaiting us in the desert we create for meeting him. Worship in the quietest church you can find, at its quietest Mass. Pray the breviary. Make a visit. Go to Adoration. Live the Faith. The formula has never changed.
Such an authentic painting! My own first communion almost 50 years ago was in a country parish in Australia, and the girls looked like this. We boys had white shirts, trousers and ties. I still remember the reverent awe that came from the strict preparation, the discipline of dressing, the first confession the previous week, and the joy of communion. We drank cordial with the priest afterward and it was recorded in a single photo in a family album.
Clear, concise, complete Sir Robbert. Now I am turning this darn thing off and sleeping with the Lord for three hours…I hope.
My son is called to be a Benedictine monk. Whenever we share this with other Catholics, a common response has been - You should be a diocesan priest because the Church is in need of those. It is utterly baffling and heartbreaking that almost no one understands the beauty, necessity, and indeed the primacy, of monastic vocations. This article illumines this reality.