 |
||
|
|
Pecos Benedictine Monastery To Friends of Silence: It has been said that the 21st Century is going to be a century of prayerful people. And if this century does not find prayerful people, there will be very difficult times ahead for all of us and for the generations to come. In these turbulent and uncertain times, the big challenge that we all face is to find a deep meaning that will endure life’s ups and downs. We all want to lead healthy and fulfilling lives, but our present day values do not give us the nurturing and solace that we need. There is a popular saying, “If we don’t change the direction we are going, we will end up where we are headed.” As monastics, we feel responsible for finding new ways for helping ourselves, others, our relationships, and our environment. I once listened to an Orthodox Monk from Mount Athos speaking in the Basilica of our Monastery in Florence, San Miniato al Monte, on the subject of prayer. He asked that his listeners practice “stopping.” He told them that in order to return to our hearts and to become calm, we must learn how “to stop.” It is when we “stop” that we have a better chance “to listen” and “to see.” In closing his talk, he stopped and looked in a very compassionate but tenacious manner, and concluded saying, “don’t just do something, stand there!” As I watched, he walked with great solemnity and lightness to the altar; and with a great deal of care, he began to arrange his beautiful monastic robes, and sang a hymn to the Mother of God. And all was beautifully silent. We may not be able “to stop;” but, we certainly can try to slow down. Life changes, you know, according to the velocity in which we choose to move through it. If we move to quickly, we will miss everything, everyone, and possibly miss out on life and God. That is why we need to discover the spiritual rhythm, the pulse of prayer, and the blessing of spiritual time. These fundamental truths that I am sharing with you are found in all religions. We Christians need to rediscover in our own monastic traditions how to slow down, be still, and know God. We Christians are to be a watchful people. Vigilance is an all day, every day affair of our hearts. As we work the body by labor and the soul by prayer, gradually we discover that we pour our prayer into all of the day’s activities, and that we are working for His Kingdom, that it is blessed, and that it is of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Monastics should be great friends of silence and be able to teach that prayer is losing time consciously for God. It is a question of slowing down and making space in one’s heart so that God can be God in us. Our response to this initiative of pure grace is our prayer. That is also why besides losing time and creating space, we must learn to be still. Silence is a human value as well as a spiritual one, because it assures true communication and communion with God and one another. Silence opens the mind to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and favors attentiveness of the heart where all loving action occurs. “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.” – Psalm 62 Let me share some spiritual food with you: And so, let us find some time during the day and simply decide to lose it, not only for God, but also for ourselves. The gift of silence and of being still is real intimacy; it is receiving God through and through. As you practice more and more “being still,” you will discover your true self, the wholeness of your original nature which is neither beginning nor end. It is the truth that we all are created in the image and likeness of God. This truth, you can see and feel because your inner and outer world will be alive with the joy of its Creator. It is the aliveness that being still gives to our everyday lives as it transforms our life into the great heart way. There is no way to God…God is the Way. Abbot Christopher OSB oliv.
| |
|
||
 |
||
