The Cloistered Heart

'The heart is
the dwelling-place
where I am,
where I live;

'according to the Semitic
or Biblical expression,
the heart is the place
to which I withdraw.

'The heart is our hidden center,
beyond the grasp of our reason
and of others;

'only the Spirit of God
can fathom the human heart
and know it fully.

'The heart is the place of decision,
deeper than our psychic drives.

'It is the place of truth,
where we choose life or death.

'It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation;

'it is the place of covenant.'

Catechism of the Catholic Church #2563


Painting:  Philippe de Champaigne, St. Augustine (detail)

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The Breakthrough!

The painting on this post is one I used last Pentecost.  I love posting it in large size.  I love the truth it underlines as it breaks through the margin, spills into the background, and causes this blog to burst at the seams.  I can think of nothing more appropriate for today's Feast. 

The Holy Spirit of God burst into our world on Pentecost.  Not in a gentle whisper, we're told in Acts 2, but with noise like a strong, driving wind. Tongues as of fire appeared and came to rest on each person.  All were filled with the Holy Spirit, expressing themselves in foreign tongues and making bold proclamation.  There was so much noise that it drew quite a crowd.  The onlookers were "confused," "amazed," "astonished," "dumbfounded."  Peter, who had once denied Jesus out of fear, stood up and proclaimed boldly what the Spirit was doing.

The events of that day certainly did not fit into neat, tidy categories.  Suddenly, the world the apostles had known was bursting at the seams. 

The shaken onlookers had never seen anything like this.  "What are we to do?" they asked.  Peter, now emboldened, had an answer.  "You must reform and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, that your sins may be forgiven; then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It was to you and your children that the promise was made, and to all those still far off whom the Lord our God calls."  (Acts 2:37-39) 

"To all those still far off whom the Lord our God calls." 

This promise is for us!  We are far from that day (as we measure time), but we have been called.  We are promised the forgiveness of sins.  We are promised the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We are, in effect, promised a breakthrough.  If we let Him, the Holy Spirit of God can tear down anything and everything that walls us off from receiving the absolute fullness of His grace.

"Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of Your faithful!  Enkindle in them the fire of your divine love!  Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth!"   

This material is taken from last year's Pentecost post.  Text not in quotes © 2013 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved. thecloisteredheart.org      

(Pentecost painting by Jean Restout)

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In Prayer, They Waited

"On one occasion when (Jesus) met with them, He told them not to leave Jerusalem.  'Wait, rather, for the fulfillment of My Father's promise, of which you have heard Me speak.  John baptized with water, but within a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" (Acts 1:4-5)




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No Language Gap

The term 'spiritual ideolect' is becoming part of my everyday thought, particularly in relation to the life of heart-cloister.  To refresh our memory (and so we don't have to keep looking it up), I'll return to the explanation presented by Connie Rossini: 'Everyone has an idiolect--a collection of personal speech habits that is different from anyone else's. Have you ever thought about your spiritual idiolect?  Since your soul is unique, you have a personal way of speaking to God that no one else completely shares.'

How does this relate to cloister of the heart?  I would say that we each have a particular way of living for God and speaking with God in the midst of the world... yet if we are bent on genuinely following God's will, we have the same Homeland and the same 'mother tongue.'   We use similar terminology, but we might think of it a bit differently.  For instance, when I use the word 'grille,' I generally picture a panel made of crisscrossed wooden latticework.  You may think of something in a wrought iron swirly pattern.

Yet when we go on to speak of seeing all things through this, and when we compare that to looking at life through the will of God, the same basic idea comes into play for both of us. 

The important thing - the thing that does not change - is that we are both choosing to view and respond to persons and circumstances as God instructs.  That is: according to Scripture and the authentic teachings of the Church.

Our friend 'Chloe,' on the other hand (a fictional person), might decide to primarily base her conduct on the counsel of a Hollywood celebrity.  While there may be no conflict (at times) between Scripture and the latest opinions of a television host, the host's words are not what we are called to live by.  Even when they're clever, humanitarian, and look nice embroidered on a pillow, the star's words will never be our grillwork.  Only Scripture and the teachings of the Church could ever make that claim.  Chloe might say that she is living as God wants, but if she never looks into Scripture or Church teaching to be sure, and if she's choosing to follow something other than these, her interpretation of  'as God wants' is not the same as ours.  There is a language gap.

With this in mind, I will offer a few more scriptures.  If we were to all read these aloud, we'd undoubtedly do so in a medley of regional accents.  And if I'm understanding the concept of spiritual ideolects correctly, we would read them with different heart-emphases as well.  Our backgrounds, memories, trials, formations would all come into play.

There is no language gap here, however - no matter how varied our backgrounds - when we embrace Scripture and Church teaching as the bases of our grillwork.

We know that no worldly exhortations, however enticing, could ever take their place.

'Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent,  but delights in the law of the Lord, and meditates on His law day and night.   He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade.'  (Psalm 1:1-3)

'Stay clear of worldly, idle talk and the contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.  In laying claim to such knowledge, some men have missed the goal of faith.'  (1 Timothy 6:20-21)

'All Scripture is inspired of God and is useful for teaching - for reproof, correction, and training in holiness, so that the man of God may be fully competent and equipped for every good work.'  (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

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These Four Evangelists

 

As I wrote here a few days ago, I want to look a bit into my own 'spiritual ideolect' (a term coined by blogger Connie Rossini); that is: those saints and writings that have formed my heart for God.  These are the saints and writings that have formed the concept of the 'cloistered heart' as well, because for me the two are essentially inseparable.  

With this in mind, I was delighted to find the painting used on this post.  I don't recall ever seeing the four writers of the Gospels pictured together, by themselves, and certainly not in such an appealing composition.  

I look at the scene in wonder.  Did they know the responsibility they were shouldering, the weight of what they were writing?  Could they have imagined the people, centuries later, who would experience their words leaping from pages and into the readers' own hearts? 

How I thank God for these four evangelists!  Their writings teach us of our Lord and Master.  What they wrote nearly 2,000 years ago is the very basis of my (our) spiritual ideolect, because any 'formation' not based on the Gospels, as taught by the Church, would be no formation at all.  It would be built on quivering, unstable ground.  

The writings of these God-inspired and God-called evangelists, by the action of the Holy Spirit, bring the Word Himself into our souls. 

"In the beginning was the Word; the Word was in God's presence, and the Word was God.  He was present to God in the beginning.  Through Him all things came into being, and without Him nothing came to be.  Whatever came to be in Him found life, life for the light of men.  The Light shines on in darkness, a darkness that did not overcome it."  (John 1:1-5)

"When all the people were baptized, and Jesus was at prayer after likewise being baptized, the skies opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove.  A voice from heaven was heard to say: 'You are My beloved Son.  On You My favor rests.'''  (Luke 3:21-22)

"The Son of Man has not come to be served but to serve - to give His life in ransom for the many."  (Mark 10:45)

"Jesus came forward and addressed them in these words: 'Full authority has been given to Me both in heaven and on earth; go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations.  Baptize them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you.  And know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!"  (Matthew 28:18-20).

Painting:  Jordaens, Four Evangelists, Louvre

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Visited, we can visit

 

Today is the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord.  As we know, this feast commemorates Jesus’ return to his Father in heaven.  As we also know, this means that Pentecost is right around the liturgical corner.  

 

And as some who have been reading here for awhile may recall, the Annunciation, the visitation, and Pentecost are linked together in this blogger's mind.  

 

When the apostles were gathered in the Upper Room awaiting the promised Holy Spirit, our Blessed Mother was with them.  Together, all devoted themselves to prayer.  Together, all waited.

 

Pentecost was not the first time our Blessed Mother would receive a Visitation from God.  Surely during her time in the Upper Room, the Mother of Jesus thought back through scenes from His earthly life, and probably her mind recalled that glorious day when an angel had appeared to her. 

 

I think of the Annunciation as the "big V" that led to the "little v."  God directly pierced through human history, like an arrow parting the waters of sin, darkness, and death. 

 

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; hence, the holy Offspring to be born will be called Son of God."  (Luke 1:35)

Immediately upon saying these words to Mary, the angel added:  "Know that Elizabeth your kinswoman has conceived a son in her old age.."  (Luke 1:36)  Mary then went in haste to Elizabeth, making a visitation because both had been Visited (one in a totally unique way, of course) by God.  

 

There would have been no visit of Mary to Elizabeth if there had been no Visit to Mary by the angel. 

There would have been no Pentecost if there had been no Incarnation.  

Without God's Visitation to Mary and her total yes to Him, we would have had no Savior, no Cross, no Resurrection, no Ascension of Jesus, no gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, no Church. 

 

With this in mind, I pray that we will be graced to open our hearts more fully to receiving Visitations from the Holy Spirit.  I pray that we will visit Him in return, in praise and adoration.  Only then will we be empowered to visit those around us in witness, in works of mercy, and through prayer. 

 

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you; then you are to be My witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, yes, even to the ends of the earth."  (Acts 1:8)

Text not in quotes © 2013 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      

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Idiolects and Visitations

We are still three weeks away from the Feast of the Visitation (one of my favorites on the Church calendar), but having found a copy of my favorite painting of the scene, I cannot wait to share it.  This artwork is by Carl Bloch, and as far as I can tell it's in US public domain. 

The scene of the Visitation is enormously special to me.  As a "cloistered heart" and as an individual Catholic, I find this mystery layered with meaning.  Two women who have been Visited by the Spirit of God (one in a totally unique way, of course) visit one another to share the awe of their Visitations.  In days just ahead, I will begin to look into more "layers" of what this means to me.

In the meantime, I am personally delighted to announce a new way in which we can share how God has been Visiting each one of us.

Today is the "official" launching of a new blog featuring a network of bloggers... ones who write almost exclusively on growing in holiness and love of God.  Catholic Spirituality Blogs Network   has been described by its administrator, Connie Rossini, as "a community of Catholic bloggers who have come together to promote growth in Christ."

Today Connie wrote the following on the new blog:  "Everyone has an idiolect--a collection of personal speech habits that is different from anyone else's. Have you ever thought about your spiritual idiolect? Since your soul is unique, you have a personal way of speaking to God that no one else completely shares.

"God has a specific plan for your spiritual life. He will always lead you in accordance with the teachings of the Church.... " (click here to read the rest).

Intriguing, isn't it?   These words have made me reflect upon my own "spiritual idiolect," which I will be looking into here in days just ahead.

The Visitation is a mystery I ponder and try to "live" almost every day of my life.  As such, it is definitely part of my own "spiritual idiolect."  And so, realizing I am not worthy to utter the very words, I say:

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit exalts in God my Savior.  God Who is mighty has done great things for me.  Holy is His Name."  (Luke 1:46-49)

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The Invitation

"'Abide in Me!'  What an unusual invitation!  What a plea for sanctity!  What a call to intimacy!  What an assurance of God's thirst for our love!  

"Shall we accept this invitation, respond to this call?  Or shall we let well-enough alone and refuse to make so hazardous a venture....

"This intimate life in God is offered to all.  It is forced upon no one.  It is accepted by few."

These lines have stuck with me since I read them recently.  I find myself pondering the truth of them, realizing how easy it is to let well-enough alone.  After all, I'm comfortable going through my days trying not to rock boats, ruffle feathers, or hand over to God those parts of my life that I'd really prefer to manage on my own.

To abide in God, continues the author of these words, "is the relinquishment of all in order to be buried in God.  We know that God dwells within the soul.  He waits, however, for the soul to give Him freedom to work at her perfection.  The soul decides the amount of freedom she will give to the Builder of Saints.  He awaits her decision."  (Sheltering the Divine Outcast, compiled by A Religious, The Peter Reilly Co, Philadelphia, 1952, pp.160-163)

How much freedom will I give to the Builder of Saints?  The choice is mine.  He awaits my decision.

This intimate life in God is offered to all.

It is forced upon no one.

It is accepted by few.

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Painting by Heinrich Vogeler Frühling, in US public domain

Captives, We Awaited a Savior

As I look back over the basics of heart monasticism, I keep coming back to the importance of Jesus.  

Well, of course.  Without Jesus, we would have remained stuck with the results of humanity's original fall.  "The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God, who 'loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins'... Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again.  We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us.... captives, we awaited a Savior.'"(Catechism of the Catholic Church #457)  

In one of His discussions with His disciples, Jesus asked “who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  There were several answers before Jesus turned the question into something more personal.  “And you… who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-15)

Scripture answers this question.  Jesus is the “reflection of the Father’s glory, the exact representation of the Father’s Being.”  (Hebrews 1:3).  Jesus is the Messiah (Mark 14:61-62).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us plainly: “He is the only Son of the Father, He is God himself.”  (#454).  This is Who Jesus is, in His essence.

What if Jesus were to stand before me, this very day, look intently into my eyes, and ask me personally:  “And YOU.  Who do YOU say that I am?......”  

How would I respond? 



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Yes. God Really Said.

As we continue to revisit the very basics of the cloistered heart analogy, I'm reminded that our "call" is that of every Christian.  The analogy we use is simply a way of helping us envision it.

Each of us is called to live according to the will of God.  Our Creator placed us on this earth and gave us instructions on how to live (Genesis 2:16-17).  It was pretty simple, really, and absolutely do-able.  God said, in essence: here is all you will ever need.  A splendid bounty.  You don't even have to work for it.  All I ask is that you trust Me, trust that I know what's best for you, and just do not eat of that one single solitary tree. 

Ooops.

All these millenia later, we still face the same basic choice.  Because of that first ooops, we were not born into Eden - but thanks to Our Savior, we do have an eternal garden of glory awaiting us. And the way I look at it, we also have an opportunity to live, even on earth, in the best location possible.  A place from which we can look with anticipation toward our eternal Home.  A place in which we can be assured that God is ordering our circumstances (even when we see them as painful or murky) toward nothing but good.

Of course, I'm speaking of the will of God, the boundaries of which are mapped out for us in His Word and through His Church. 

Yes, this is very basic stuff.  But oh, how easy it is to lose sight of basics!  Which is why I'm grateful for the imagery of enclosure, and of grillwork, because these help me as I try to practice the basics day by day.

In circumstance after circumstance, we are presented with the question:  "Did God really say?"  This threads through our culture, often as a general assumption that He said no such things.  "In this enlightened, scientific, sophisticated age, do you mean to tell me you think all that stuff in the Bible is really true?!  You think God really said?  Why don't you just open your eyes and judge for yourself!?"

"The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom..."  (Genesis 3:6)

The woman saw.  The woman judged.  She could see no reason not to eat from that particular tree except for one little detail, surely a small matter that could be overlooked. 

God said.  

© 2013 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
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Through the Grille Again

As we "revisit" the basics of cloistered heart analogies, we immediately come face to face with the grille.  Again I am reposting (and editing) something written earlier, because this is all very basic. 

The grille is, in the analogy of the cloistered heart, the important symbol. It is a place of separation and, just as importantly, it is a place of encounter.  It is only through a grille that some cloistered individuals (in a number of communities) connect with the world.

And the truth is:  every human being has been given, by God, a way to connect with the world.  A way to see situations correctly; a way to interact with others appropriately.

God invites each one of us to view and respond to every person and every circumstance through His will.

We do not have to guess what that will is.  God has revealed it to us.  Scripture and the authentic teachings of the Church show us God's will.  These make up the bars of our grille. 

Am I facing a hardship?  I can face it through the grille.  

"God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him…”  (Romans 8:28). 

"God keeps his promise. He will not let you be tested beyond your strength.  Along with the test he will give you a way out of it so that you may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13) 

Do I want to know how I'm to treat others?  I can choose to interact with them through the grille.  

"Do not... speak ill of one another."  (James 4:11)

"Love is patient, love is kind.  Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is not snobbish.  Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries.  Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth."  (1 Corinthians 13:4-6) 

Indeed, it's all very basic.  My challenge is:  will I face the persons and situations before me today as God asks - or not? 

"We do not fix our gaze on what is seen but on what is unseen…” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

 
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Back in Another Form

 

"Because spiritual perception is dulled by the pressures of the world, the world, with all its natural excellences as well as with all its false sanctions and ephemeral attractions, must give place to the spirit... 

"The trouble with renouncing the world is that it comes back in another form.  You bar the window of your cell against it, and it comes up through the boards of the floor."  

                                  Dom Hubert Van Zeller, the Yoke of Divine Love, Templegate, 1957, p. 29




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Painting:  Joseph DeCamp, The Window Blind, in US public domain

We Wake up to Find...

"We... afraid of being left behind in contemporary thought, assent too readily to the conclusions of a humanist and materialist society...

"The movement of the world slides over our preference for spiritual things, and we wake up to find that we have accepted earthly things at the world's valuation.  

"It is only the wisdom of the Spirit that can show up the more hidden errors contained in the world's propaganda, and to possess our share of this wisdom, we have to pray.  

"Prayer alone assures both the light to see and the strength to resist."

(Dom Hubert Van Zeller, the Yoke of Divine Love, Templegate, 1957, p.  36)

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ALL

The thing that draws me most about monasticism is its absolute totality.  The person entering such a life gives ALL.   

As I've written before, a potential postulant does not  stick her head inside the enclosure and leave her arms and legs dangling outside.  It just won't work.

Yet how often do I give God "only so much," holding little corners of my life in reserve for myself? 

I might happily obey some of His commandments while ignoring a few that are, well..  inconvenient.  I can easily trust Him to take care of this thing and that thing... but I'm more comfortable managing this other one myself.  After all, I'm not sure what He will do if I put THAT into His hands.

Absolute totality is a process.  It's a process even for those in the physical monastery, for while they've pulled their bodies inside, surely parts of their hearts linger for awhile outside the walls.

Continuing with our review of what it means to live with hearts cloistered for Christ, I'd like to spend a few days revisiting quotes from those who know monastic life from the inside.  These are men and women who know this totality, for they've truly lived it.    

Can I identify with what these people have written?  

Can these goals of monastic life apply, in any way, to me?  

"The Christian life is nothing else but Christ; the monastic life is nothing else but Christ.  The requirements for the Christian and for the monk are in substance the same; the difference lies only in the particular kind of stress that is given to them.  The Church exists so that souls should lead the life of Christ; the monastery exists for the same purpose.  Whether it is union with Him in the world or in the cloister, it is union that is the soul's purpose." (Dom Hubert Van Zeller, the Yoke of Divine Love, Templegate, 1957, p. 182)

"All who have put on Christ have heard the call to seek God.  The monk is one for whom this call has become so urgent that there can be no question of postponing his response to it; he must accept forthwith... in every Christian vocation lies the germ of a monastic vocation. (Louis Bouyer of the Oratory, The Meaning of the Monastic Life, PJ Kenedy and Sons, NY 1950, from preface)

"The monk is the man for whom God is a Person:  a Person whom he can meet, whom he longs to meet...."  (Bouyer, pp. 61-62) 

"One cannot give Christ a limited place in one's life."  (Bouyer,  p. x)

"Monastic life is nothing else, no more and no less, than a Christian life whose Christianity has penetrated every part of it.  (Bouyer, p. 13)

"The monk is precisely the Christian who has recognized in Christ 'the way, the truth, the life' and who intends to act logically over this discovery, a discovery of such a nature that it should not leave any of those who have made it tepid or indifferent."  (Bouyer p. 68)   

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Painting:  Kovács, Stairs at Subiaco, 1844 

Looking for His Lights

Again I am reposting something written here earlier.  This time it's slightly "updated"..... 

Some years ago, during a torrential thunderstorm, I found myself alone in a tiny chapel.  Except for flashes of lightning coming through a stained glass window, only the glow of a sanctuary light provided illumination.  Yet how secure I felt.  How secure I was.

In the midst of the storm, I was in the Presence of Christ and I was safe. 

Thinking back to that night, I find myself comparing it to times of personal storm.  Where do I go, at such moments, for security?  When adversity strikes, when fear bares its fangs, where do I find refuge?

In the chapel, a sanctuary light stood as a reminder.  It assured me: “Christ is here.”  Golden Tabernacle, glowing light:  “Christ is here.” 

I saw no visions, felt nothing out of the ordinary.  But my faith assured me: “Christ is here.”

Jesus is with me.  But how easy it is to forget this truth, especially when the pressures of life bear down hard upon me, darkening my hopes and clouding my mind.  Are there ways in which I can help myself remember that Christ is really, genuinely here?   

What reminders, what "sanctuary lights," might be right before me.... if I can only learn to look for them?  

It is a challenge I feel like taking on, starting with a prayer that God will open my eyes to see "markers" of His presence, protection, and love.  

Yes.  I think I will try to remember to look for His markers, His lights.  It is a perfect project for the weekend.  

Anyone care to join in? 

"Faith tells us that our heart is a Sanctuary, because it is the Temple of God, the dwelling-place of the Holy Trinity.  Let us often visit this Sanctuary, and see that the lamps are alight - that is to say, Faith, Hope and Charity - and frequently stir up our faith when we are studying, working, or eating, when we go to bed, and when we rise, and make aspirations to God.” (St. Paul of the Cross)

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First Things First

Revisiting the basics of what it means to be a "cloistered heart," we must begin (again) with first things first. 

There is ONE reason for the cloistered heart.  ONE reason for the analogies, for the strivings toward holiness, for faithfulness to prayer. 

Our analogies would be nothing more than “nice thoughts” (perhaps even illogical ones) if we did not keep sight of the Reason for them all. 

The Reason is a Person.  Without this Person, cloistered life (whether physical or spiritual) would be pointless and empty and fruitless and vague.  If we know and remember nothing else about the monastery or consecrated life, we must remember this:   

Jesus is the Reason for it all.  

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For the Parts Wounded Now

You who looked at our Candlemas Day post have seen this painting here before.  However, I've just had a request to re-post it, and my wholehearted discernment is that yes... it goes along quite well with what I'd had in mind for today.   This is actually a perfect "cloistered heart picture," in my opinion.

Along with her request for a re-post of this painting, our friend Anita writes:  "many miracles are needed now for so many wounded physically and mentally in Boston....  The Body of Christ is wounded.....we need to grasp our rosaries and pray for the parts wounded now."

Indeed.

And why do I consider this the perfect cloistered heart picture?  Because it illustrates some key elements of what I think of as the cloistered heart's "apostolate."  Namely:

Prayer.  The woman holds a prayerbook (perhaps it's a small Bible, a missal, a breviary).  She also holds a rosary.  As a cloistered heart, I know that my primary apostolate is to pray.  I have the task and the privilege of forming a habit of prayer, of engaging in this apostolate throughout the day and in various situations.  My outward actions are (ideally) based upon prayer, for in this way I am carrying the love of Jesus (not merely my own meager love) to the world around.

Grillwork.  The woman stands beside what represents, to me, a grille.  As we'll talk more about in days just ahead, we are invited to view and respond to every situation through the "grillwork of the will of God."  We do not have to see situations such as the recent tragedy in Boston with only our human understanding unaided by grace.  Scripture and the teachings of the Church bring things into the proper perspective. 

Fire.  We have written here several times of "carrying the Fire of God's truth and love" into the world around us.  Rather than repeating what we've said about this, I will again provide this link to an earlier post:  "To Carry the Fire"

Serenity.  Note how utterly serene is this woman as she practices the apostolate of prayer!   If any painting represents, to me, the look of someone enclosed in the most secure "cloister" of all... the Heart of Jesus... it is this one.

Yes, Anita, the Body of Christ is wounded, with a few scars we can see...  and so many we cannot.

It is our task, our apostolate, our call to pray for the parts wounded now.

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As in a Fortress

In light of today's events, I feel drawn to concentrate on one particular aspect of heart-cloister.  So I'm re-running an earlier post looking at what can be, for us, a place of refuge.... 

There is change in the air as a storm approaches.  The wind picks up, clouds gather, there may be a distant clap of thunder.  As lightning flashes around us, we race for shelter.

Monastery grounds and walls are as subject to storms as those of any other building.  They get slapped with rain, pelted with sleet, covered in snow.  Inhabitants of the cloister might find themselves standing at a window looking out, maybe with a touch of concern.  What are those chunks of hail doing to the roof?  Are the windows secure against the wind?  

The monastery of my life is vulnerable, too.  I face storms, at times, of great magnitude.  Sickness, sudden disaster, an unnerving news report.  It helps me then to remember that I’m in the strongest cloister possible – the cloister of God’s loving embrace.  Everything that touches me must first come through His hands, through His “permissive will.”  I can do as St. Francis de Sales advised, and say amid my contradictions: “this is the very road to heaven.  I see the door, and I am certain the storms cannot prevent us from getting there.” 

"The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe.”  (Proverbs 18:10)

“Happy is the soul established in God ... The winds of the storm are powerless to shake her.” (St. Jane de Chantal)

"We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his decree." (Romans 8:28)

"I consider the sufferings of the present to be as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)

"God keeps his promise. He will not let you be tested beyond your strength.  Along with the test he will give you a way out of it so that you may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

"You may for a time have to suffer the distress of many trials; but this is so that your faith, which is more precious than the passing splendor of fire-tried gold, may by its genuineness lead to praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ appears."  (1 Peter 1:6-7)

"When you hear about wars and threats of war, do not yield to panic.  Such things are bound to happen, but this is not the end.  Nation will rise against nation, one kingdom against another.  There will be earthquakes in various places and there will be famine.  This is but the onset of labor.  Be constantly on your guard.... because of My Name, you will be hated by everyone.  Nonetheless, the man who holds out till the end is the one who will come through safe."  (Mark 13:5-13)

"O Jesus, I am locking myself in Your most merciful heart as in a fortress, impregnable against the missiles of my enemies.” (St. Faustina Kowalska, Diary, #1535)

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What's it all About?

The following has been posted here before.  If we're going back to cloistered heart basics, however, how can we not have another look at this?  It's about as "basic" as we can get. 

Looking at this material today, I've had a few surprises.  Mainly:  specific words and phrases have seemed to jump right off the screen and grab for my attention.  Words like "tangible," "consecration," "decision," "my call" .....

My call is to be in the world but not of the world.  This is not a new or different idea; rather, it is an emphasizing, a kind of "underlining," of every Christian's call.  The uniqueness of this emphasis is in its monastic imagery.

I find it helpful to recognize that within me is a "place" set apart for and consecrated to God.  This place of consecration is sacred and inviolate, for the God of all dwells therein.

The word "cloister" speaks of total consecration. Those who enter a traditional physical cloister make a tangible break from the world.  Compromise does not fit well in a cloister, nor does lukewarmness, nor does complacency.

The cloistered life is absolute.

A nun living in a cloister has made a decision to live for God.  She has made a break. A Christian living in the world is also called to make a decision to live for God, but the break for us is not so clean.  The world is persistent in its tugs on the heart trying to live for God.  We need support in our struggles to surrender our lives to God and to resist the world's allurements.  This is where the imagery of the cloistered heart can be of help.

"It is best not to consider whether or not one is called to the cloister; that is not the point.  If the cloister is in a man's heart, it is immaterial whether the building is actually there.  The cloister in a man's heart means only this:  God and the soul."  (from Warriors of God by Walter Nigg, NY, Alfred A. Knopf, 1959, p. 13)

My cloister is not made of bricks and stones - but of God's holy will, in which I can choose to live.

The will of God, in fact, forms for me a "cloister grille," through which I may view and respond to all people, all circumstances, all things that make up the world before me. 

We will talk more about these "basics" in the days just ahead....     

Text © 2013 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org   

Painting by Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael 

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That First Monastery

When “the cloistered heart” first entered my mind in the 1980s, it was nothing more than a phrase.

Beginning this blog a year and a half ago, I wrote of the monastery I'd envisioned back when  the phrase first occurred to me.  This was not a monastery constructed (yet) of analogy, but simply an imaginary building made of weathered stone.   Moss and vines crept up the walls.  Trees were evergreens, maples, birches.   Smells were of cedar and pine, and freshly dug moist earth.  I knew the walls inside would be permeated with incense and the scent of beeswax candles, smells that had seeped for decades into plaster and wood.

Sounds of leaves rustled in a gentle breeze; birds twittered above, there was a distant rustle of deer in the underbrush.  From a tower overhead a bell pealed, its voice deep and throaty.  It did not shatter the silence; it enhanced it.  Inside the walls, the gentle rustle of soft shoes shuffled, along with a swish of habits.  And then came the song.  Chant rising, falling, soothing, praising.  I listened from outside and felt that first hint of longing.

I wanted to flee to that monastery.  I was drawn to the holiness I imagined inside its walls, to the silence that did not speak against God or mock Him or live in ways that brought Him displeasure.

This was a confusing desire to me, a happily married woman and a mother who loved her life.  It made no sense.  I enjoyed homemaking, had wonderful friends, was blessed with a prayerful, loving husband.  Plus:  my social nature and love of freedom and night owl tendencies would have lasted three days, tops, behind cloister walls.

So what, really, was going on?

I pondered this for a number of months, even for a few years, and always in secret.  My journal "heard about it" a few times, but even there the subject lay mostly dormant.  Like a seed hidden in the dark, however, "The Cloistered Heart" made tiny, undetected movements toward the light of day.  I thought of the step a person must take to enter a cloister, to make a specific decision to live totally - not just mostly - for God.  I began to envision my actual body as a monastery, a place where God could be praised in the midst of the world.

"The world is not safe from sin and evil," I wrote in 1990, "even the body is not safe from harm.  But within the cloistered heart there is refuge.  The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.  In the cloister, I am always safe..." 

Tomorrow, God willing, we will talk more about what the analogy of the cloistered heart has become.

Text © 2013 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org   
 
Painting:  Ernst Ferdinand Oehme, Burg Scharfenberg bei Nacht 

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