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getting away I journeyed on a solitude retreat thursday night through saturday morning at the Abbey of Gethsemane. So good to see the sun rise and set, to actually hear the birds, to be conscious of the coldness of the wind and to gaze at stars in the night sky for more than 30 seconds. The Spirit always speaks to me when I get away like this. The truth-- I think the Spirit is always speaking. I infrequently hear because of pace and distraction. I am praying to cultivate a life of hearing, marked not by episodic interludes but daily listening. LJCHMOMAS. posted by John David Walt | at 12/19/2004 09:45:00 PM
Today...
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On my first retreat to the Abbey I was amazed after about three hours of silence how much external noise surrouned me on a constant basis: Radio, tv, trafic, cell phones...
Then after a while the silence gave way to how much internal noise surrounds me: Thoughts and dreams and worries and fears and lists and lies... and then the real hard part began. Sitting in a monastic room, I began to cringe as I realized that I could not (as I always do) escape the internal noise with the external. I could not turn on a tv, or make a phone call, or even pray out loud. I could not do all the things that allow me to escape the internal noise.
For several hours it was excruciating. But after a while there was peace. The internal noise was quiet. And I was surprised to find that the Lord didn't really say anything new, but I could hear him in a new and clear way because there was no competeing, distracting, tempting noises conficting... no static on the line.
I do rejoice that you had this time... you needed it. How are we going to keep going to that place of silence in our daily work and worship here? Help me get there brother. Have mercy indeed!
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