So what IS a Cloistered Heart?

We try to put a "what is this?" post here from time to time, a brief look at the basic cloistered heart "analogy" for anyone wondering what this blog is about.

It's time to do this again! The following is from our archives:

The "Cloistered Heart" is basically an analogy in which our lives can be seen as "monasteries," places where God is loved and lived for and served.  

Our 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. 

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. 

Christians living in the midst of the world are also called to live for God.  But for us, the break 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. "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)

Our cloister is not made of bricks and stones, but of God's holy will in which we can choose to live.  The will of God can form for us a "cloister grille," through which we may view and respond to all people and all circumstances around us.

"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..“  (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2563) 

"Thank God, there still remains one sanctuary, the sacredness of which no earthly power may violate… it is the sanctuary of the human heart.  It needs no fixed place for its confines, no stated time for the opening of its gates, no particular hour of silence for its prayer.  A thought, a word, a moment of reflection, and by faith and by love, the soul is within the blessed refuge, and the gates are closed on the confusion of life with all its noise and tumult.  It is secure against the bitterness and the pain of persecution, or hardship or trial, or hurt of body, or wound of earthly pride, or failure of worldly ambition, for there she is inviolable, sacred, impregnable in the fortress of her own spirit.  ‘Entering into solitude,’ we sometimes call the seeking of this sanctuary.  But it is not entering into a lonely solitude.  It is hearkening to the alluring accents and appeal of a Voice that will never, in time, be stilled, but will ever sound gently in the hearing of them that love: ‘come apart with Me and rest awhile!” (from The Living Pyx of Jesus, compiled by a Religious, Pelligrini and Co, Australia, 1941, p.101) 

“Most beautiful of creatures, who desires so ardently to know the dwelling place of your Beloved in order to seek Him and be united with Him, you are yourself the refuge where He takes shelter, the dwelling place in which He hides Himself.  Your Beloved, your Treasure, your one Hope is so close to you as to live within you." (St. John of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle)

“You are the temple of the living God.” (2 Corinthians 6:16)

"We may well tremble to think what sanctuaries we are, when the Blessed Sacrament is within us."  (Frederick William Faber)  




Text not in quotes © 2013 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.  Unauthorized use of this material without permission from blog owner is prohibited.  thecloisteredheart.org   

E- mail: thecloisteredheart [at] gmail [dot] com.

Go Forward...

Welcome, Breadbox Letters friends!

Getting Graphic

Not long after beginning to write here five years ago, I learned I could post pictures as well as text.  And that there were marvelous old paintings in public domain, freely available from sites like Wikimedia. For a longtime Art lover like me, this was a thrilling discovery.

As time went on, I also found that pairing paintings and photos with inspiring quotes was something I loved to do. I could then post something quite brief in between longer writings - something I found especially helpful after realizing that I, myself, enjoy reading blog posts that are not too lengthy. (I get to blame my own lack of concentration on 'age').

And then, around a year ago, I started trying to make graphics/memes.  Another fun thing for an Art lover!  Spending time with Scripture, writings of saints, beautiful paintings and striking photos... it has been a blessing I could never have dreamed of when I began blogging in 2011. 

So for today's look back, I'm simply providing a link to our 'graphics.' At the bottom of each page, more can be seen by clicking on the words 'older posts' at the bottom of the screen.

Have a good weekend, all!

Click this line for Graphics (memes) 

Let's Celebrate!

Five years ago today, I put the first Cloistered Heart post here, in this little cloistered corner of the Internet. I had no idea what to expect. The basic ideas and analogies of the Cloistered Heart were already more than twenty years old by that time... could they be squeezed into blog posts? Come to think of it, what was a blog post anyway? I had virtually no idea.

What I did have was an inspiration "to set up a website," and that seemed to be from God. I had the help of a computer-educated son who knew enough about blogs to set me up with a template. I knew others who were striving to live in the world with "cloistered hearts," and who were willing to follow along with what I wrote and give input. And I had friends like Rose.

You might remember Rose.  She has shared some special insights with us. In fact, this morning I looked at five years' worth of blog statistics and - just as I suspected - the "most viewed post" on this site has remained the all time favorite of readers since shortly after it was posted. Seeing that, I decided to have a bit of fun.

Here is a link (and an 'award for the writer') for your all time favorite post!!!
(ta-daaaaaaa) 
How Are We Living Monasticism of the Heart?

And to everyone here: thank you for your kind comments, your friendship, your companionship, your prayers over these last five years. You really have no idea what a gift you are to me. I just ask God to let you know.

Oh, and by the way - captchas (those annoying things we have to decipher before we can comment on websites) are removed from here for the time being - so leaving a comment shouldn't be much trouble.

If you have a minute, stop and say hi!

New Here? Come, Have a Look Around!

In just a few days, this little site will "celebrate" five years on the Internet. Five years of posts on what it can mean to live for God, cloistered in heart, in the midst of our families and neighborhoods and workplaces; and it seems that in some ways, we are just beginning.....

Because that many pages of quotes and pictures and analogies can be overwhelming, and because we (thankfully) have new visitors on an ongoing basis, I've decided to spend this week re-visiting some of our rooms and corridors. 

So let's have a look around the cloister, shall we? Just click on highlighted, italicized words below to open any of these "doors."

The Basic Analogy of "The Cloistered Heart" can be found by clicking here. 

In a typical week, we feature a newly written post or two, a few quotes or graphics, and something chosen from our five years of archives. The intention is to keep things brief (for reasons spoken of here), and to offer a variety of things from day to day. 

One of my favorite types of posts to do is something I have called "The Path Between." The explanation of these is given here, and most of the ones posted so far can be found by clicking here. Most of these are brief quotes. As you may know, clicking on the words "older post" at the very bottom of a screen will open more posts.
 
Now to go sweep out a few more corridors! God willing, I'll see you back here tomorrow.... 

Revisiting Our First Post!

In light of the letter and newsletter excerpts I will be sharing here soon, I think this might be a good time to re-visit our very first post. This was written nearly five years ago...

September 29, 2011

"I am a laywoman, married...yet I have a vocation to the cloister.  Obviously I am not called to the physical enclosure; I am called, rather, to cloister my heart.  The word 'cloister' speaks of total consecration.  It seems that compromise would not fit well in a cloister, nor would lukewarmness, nor would complacency.  The cloistered life is absolute."

I look at the above words and am amazed that I wrote them twenty years ago.  Twenty years!  Today these sentences provide me with a ... well, a kind of challenge.  Have compromise, lukewarmness, complacency found spaces in my cloister in which to hide?  O yes.  O yes, indeed.  Looking at these words now, I wonder if I'm "cloistered" at all.

And the instant I start to wonder, I'm positive that I am.  By the amazing grace of God, I am as "cloistered" as I was in 1991; probably more so.  My prayer has gone through droughts and seasons of change, my life has had challenges and triumphs and surprises.  But in the 'cloister,' I remain.

One thing I've discovered is that "the cloistered heart" has many facets.  Like a precious jewel whose gleam is spotted by a treasure hunter, the cloistered heart is still being dug out and examined, turned about and exclaimed over, loved and cherished and LIVED.  If you happen to be one of those who has explored along with us in the past, I welcome you to this new kind of "newsletter."  We will continue through the rooms of the cloister as we did in "Cloistered Gatherings," and I expect we'll wander about in them more freely.  There is an informality and a randomness about blogging that I think I'll find appealing and easy to deal with (although I warn you that I'm totally new at it).

If you are someone who is joining this exploration for the first time, we welcome you to our "dig!"

As we continue, we will keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.  "If Christ is not the alpha and omega of the life," wrote Dom Hubert Van Zeller, "there is no particular point to monasticism." 

Jesus is the reason for our cloisters, and with Him as our focus - we begin.


© 2011 Nancy Shuman. 
thecloisteredheart.org    

This is a repost from our archives. It is linked to Theology is a Verb and Reconciled to You for 'It's Worth Revisiting Wednesday.'
  

Briefly

You may have noticed that some of the posts here are quite brief, with just a prayer or picture meant to (ideally) help us focus on God in the midst of our busy lives.

These are kept short on purpose. Many of us have enough to handle just keeping up with our families and jobs and daily demands. So I often share (in between slightly longer items) selections to remind us that we can remain 'cloistered,' no matter how dark the world or how busy our lives.

I don't know about you, but I need a steady stream of such reminders. I need the Truth of Scripture, I need the wisdom of saints, I need the Light of Jesus to dispel darkness.

I need to remember, day after day, that I can remain always within the Heart of Christ.