16th December, 2024
Andrew Norman, Silence in God (SPCK, 1990), 123.
Image: Selvan B, unsplash.com/@selvan548
To read the unfolding narrative of each day's short quotes in order, click this small image of the misty window.
|
Listen to the longer quote, below:
To listen to the longer quote, below, being read, click the play button on the small version of the image next to or below this text. To see the image full screen as you listen, click the expand screen icon in the corner. |
|
'I was recently afforded the unusual privilege of joining a Benedictine community in North Dakota for its annual retreat. …The retreat schedule was simple and liveable, reflecting a moderation that is typically Benedictine. … it was all conducted without any chit-chat. I am a frequent guest at several monasteries across the Great Plains that follow silence at certain hours, but I had never before immersed myself in the kind of silence that sinks into your bones. I felt as if I were breathing deeply for the first time in years.
To live communally in silence is to admit a new power into your life. In a sense, you are giving silence its due. But this silence is not passive, and soon you realize that this silence has the power to change you. I’ve gained a new respect for my contemplative friends, Cistercians and Trappists; to live this kind of silence, day in, day out, must be an act of bravery.'
Pages 183-184.