God Beneath the Surface

'Many a time, face to face with nature, I come upon the manifestations of His power, His wisdom, His beauty. 

Sunset, and flowers, and the sea, and moonlight, and morning star are so many reminders of God beneath the surface, the Great Reality sustaining all, holding the universe in the hollow of His hand.

Often alone, undistracted by men, untroubled by things, I look into my soul and find Him there, the Hidden God, ever good and patient towards me, ever gentle and loving and divinely merciful and infinitely generous...'

(from The Living Pyx of Jesus by A Religious, Pelligrini, 1941, pp.149-150)



Painting: Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, Italian Girl with Flowers

Go and Find Him

"Go and find Him when your patience and strength run out and you feel alone and helpless. Jesus is waiting for you in the chapel.

"Say to Him, 'Jesus, You know exactly what is going on. You are all I have, and You know all things. Come to my help.'

"And then go, and don't worry about how you are going to manage. That you have told God about it is enough. He has a good memory."

St. Jeanne Jugan

So Why Not Begin?

In the Chapel

Painting:  PS Krøyer,1899, in US public domain due to age

E'er a Vision

"Cloister thy mind, thy senses and thy heart, and keep within a silent sanctuary, where thou with Me may live a life apart, a life of love in sweetest intimacy. 

"Speak with Me often through the busy day, thy joys and sorrows, all, to Me confide. And hearken, child; My every wish obey, 'til thus thou shalt with Me in Love abide.  

"Why sigh then for the vision that is past,
or that from Thabor's mount thou must depart?
For thou has e'er a vision that will last -

"Come!  Seek Me in the chapel of thy heart!"

(from Fervorinos from the Lips of the Master, compiled by a Religious, Pelligrini, Australia, 1940, p. 258)

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

Ever in the Chapel of Their Hearts

They who love Christ "endeavour to live always in union with Him Who is ever in the Chapel of their hearts. For the love of Jesus, they turn their thoughts away from the things of this world that they might dwell in Him alone. They practise complete renunciation for His sake in order to do His will. They labour to correct their defects and to reform their character that it may resemble His and be pleasing unto Him....Many of these friends of God never did very wonderful things during their years on earth, but they loved much and did ordinary things with extraordinary love...

"St. Rita was a cook; St Benedict Joseph Labre, a beggar; St, John Berchmans, a Jesuit Novice; St. Therese of Lisieux, a little hidden Carmelite, and an endless list of others who did no more than the ordinary actions that go to make up the warp and woof of our daily lives; yet they scaled the heights of sanctity by the ladder of loving prayer-aspirations. This, then, is the life of prayer - a life which IS prayer, because it is a life of increasing advertence, adhesion and surrender to God."

(from "Listening to the Indwelling Presence," compiled by a Religious, Pellegrini, Australia, 1940, pp. 44-45)

On the Edge of My Knowing

Photo Attribution: Kitaev Hermitage. Click for link.

In a recent dream, I found myself in an urban neighborhood at dusk, making my way across back yards crammed with people. The yards were narrow strips of land belonging to detached rowhouses standing side by side. The people appeared to be waiting for something; perhaps a baseball game, or fireworks on the fourth of July. Some seemed irritated. Sounds of traffic surrounded us all.

My trek from yard to yard was halted when I reached a building extending farther back than the others. It looked like any other building, but I knew it was a church. There was an entrance facing me; a small, humble, very plain side door. I opened it and stepped inside.

The interior was larger than I expected. Dark, cool, with walls and floors of deep reds and browns.  Every surface gleamed with a warm patina, like stones worn smooth by years of prayer.

The overall sense was of a cavern, one lit only with candles. Small clusters of burning white tapers kept vigil along the long walls.

By now it was dark outside, and I knew the people were still out there, still packed in, still noisy, still waiting. From inside, however, I could no longer hear them. There were no more sounds of traffic. I knew only silence, and subtle scents of incense and beeswax, and a gently growing awareness of someone here, on the edge of my knowing.

I had thought I was alone, all by myself in this silent church. Yet now I knew an unseen sense of Presence.

He was in this place; of course He was.  I'd only needed to come away for a moment from the noise, so I could hear Him. I needed to be where His silence filled the air.

He had been waiting for me to stop and listen.

He had been waiting all along.

"I have a secret dwelling place, a sanctuary closed to the world and occupied by God alone, where I can always say 'O my God! I belong to You!' Neither afflictions, nor tempests, nor the clamour of the world, can tear me away from this secret abode, from this hidden Sanctuary where I can always converse with God, in a mysterious friendship which is the beginning of Heaven." (The Living Pyx of Jesus, Pelligrini, 1941, p. 95) 

'To be with God it is not necessary to be always in church. We may make a chapel of our heart, whereto to escape from time to time to talk with Him quietly, humbly and lovingly.... Begin then; perhaps He is waiting for a single generous resolution.' (Brother Lawrence)  

'We are, each of us, a Living Cathedral. Each is his own chapel. And provided we are in a state of grace, God lives and dwells within us… we must live and act as if we were dwelling in a church in the presence of the Tabernacle.” (The Living Pyx of Jesus)

Photo: Kitaev Hermitage. Click for full attribution.

Within This Heaven of My Soul

There Still Remains One Sanctuary

'The 'little gallery' for the infirm or invalid sisters is just above the grated opening of the choir, and from this the sisters can look down into the sanctuary. This little gallery is reached from the second floor by passing down a long corridor, on each side of which is a row of cells. Here, in the small room, we found wooden chairs, glistening with the polish of a hundred years or more... ' (A Story of Courage p. 35)

Wouldn't it be wonderful if, when we were unable to get out to Mass and/or Adoration, we could simply go to the end of our hallway and look straight into a chapel? 

Thankfully, Our Lord has provided help for those of us who do not live in monasteries. We can adore Him wherever we are, even from sickbeds and hospital rooms, in the cloisters of our hearts. 

'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.' (From The Living Pyx of Jesus, Pelligrini and Co, 1941, p.101) 

'We cannot go to Jesus in the Tabernacle at every moment of the day, but we can turn inward to the Triune God at any moment, even in the midst of our day's worst difficulties.' (The Living Pyx of Jesus, Pelligrini, 1941, p. 27)

'To be with God it is not necessary to be always in church. We may make a chapel of our heart, whereto to escape from time to time to talk with Him quietly, humbly and lovingly.... Begin then; perhaps He is waiting for a single generous resolution.' (Brother Lawrence)  

This post is part of our series 'A Story of Courage.' To continue in chronological order, click this line.

The Absolute Center

'The chapel looked narrow, high, sacred, mellow with mingled colors, and lovely in its vague richness and calm. An ancient picture, browned by time, represents Martha and Mary in a composition of much dignity, and hangs directly over the altar... (A Story of Courage, p. 36) 

The first place a person is likely to visit in a monastery is the chapel, for in the chapel is found the center of monasticism.

This is because Jesus is the Absolute Center of cloistered life. To miss this truth is to miss the point of monasticism, and it's to miss the whole point of having a 'cloistered heart.' 

How can a man or woman leave home, possessions, career, entertainment - and so many things the world considers important - in order to take up residence behind enclosure walls?  For what reason would a person even consider such a thing?  

The Reason is a Person.  Without this Person, cloistered life would be pointless and empty and fruitless and vague.  

If we know and remember nothing else about monasteries or various aspects of consecrated life, we must remember this:   

Jesus is the Reason for it all.  

"The fundamental question: ' does he really seek God.'  Let us state the fact without beating about the bush:  a monastic institute which ceased to put this question to its postulants, or which inserted some different question in its place, would cease ipso facto to have any right to the name monastic.  The search, the true search, in which the whole of one's being is engaged, not for some thing but for some One:  is the search for God.  That is the beginning and end of monasticism.  If it is to be truly God which we seek, we have to seek him as a Person."  (The Meaning of the Monastic Life, Lois Bouyer of the Oratory, PJ Kenedy and Sons, NY, 1950,p. 8)

'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… whether it is union with Him in the world or in the cloister, it is union that is the soul’s purpose. Nothing else matters but this.” (Dom Hubert Van Zeller, THE YOKE OF DIVINE LOVE, Templegate, Springfield IL, 1957, p. 182) 

 

"We are, each of us, a Living Cathedral.  Each is his own chapel. And provided we are in a state of grace, God lives and dwells within us… (so) we must live and act as if we were dwelling in a church in the presence of the Tabernacle.” (The Living Pyx of Jesus, Pellegrini & Co., Australia,  1941)

(This post is primarily a combination of wrtings from our archives)

thecloisteredheart.org    

Photo at top: N Shuman, Georgetown Visitation 1990s

Painting at bottom: Bernhard Plockhorst, The Consoling Christ


This post is part of our series 'A Story of Courage.' To continue in chronological order, click this line.

 

Kneeling On The Run

'Without prayer, nothing good is done. God's works are done with our hands joined, and on our knees. Even when we run, we must remain spiritually kneeling before Him.' 

St. Luigi Orione






Photo of Portiuncula Chapel, 
Franciscan University of Steubenville, by G. Fraser

Photo of runner via Pixabay

thecloisteredheart.org 

For You

Photo contributed by C Wells

My Cloister On Wheels

Keep That Altar in Your Hearts

I have an old book, a paperback whose crispy yellowed pages are held together by rubber bands. As far as I can tell, the title is now out of print. I found the story (a true one) riveting when I read it some years ago, so I typed out fragments of it.  I ran across one of these pages today, and immediately wanted to share something from it here.

The story is of a Sister Cecilia, who helped other Christians flee persecution in the second world war. 
Sister's convent had been torn apart, and these words were spoken by the priest during the last Mass in the chapel... 

'Don't lose faith in God... 
build your own altar in your heart,
an altar which no human hands can tear down as they have torn these paintings down, 
which nobody can destroy as this altar has been destroyed.  
Keep that altar in your hearts.'   
(from The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia as told to William Brinkley, Signet/New American Library, 1954)

This link tells more about the title.  And, thanks to a kind commenter, this link might help anyone interested in doing so to find a copy of the book.

In the meantime, I hope to carry that last sentence with me. No matter where we are, ever; or what happens around us, ever: 

We can keep that altar in our hearts. 





Photo on this post by Connie Wells
 

Invitation

'Come to Me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you.'  

Matthew 11:28

(This video only takes 35 seconds to view.   I hope you like it as much as I do)






Photo at top of post by Connie Wells


To return to the 'Monastic Adventure in Sequence' post, click here

Can I be a Sanctuary Light?

For years, I have tried to embrace a little hidden 'apostolate' of being a sanctuary light in the midst of the world.  To me, this is a natural extension of life as a cloistered heart.  I can go through my days gently pointing to Jesus, for He is present always and ever deserving of love.  

This is generally a quiet 'activity.'  After all, a sanctuary light does not draw attention to itself.  It simply stands for and alongside Christ, and in His presence it glows. 

If we go into a Catholic Church, we recognize Our Lord's Eucharistic presence when we see the candle lit.  It is a signal to us, a sign that He is truly there.  There are no arrows pointing, no signs flashing.  But we know.  Some, of course, have never been told that a lighted sanctuary lamp means the Blessed Sacrament is present.  Yet, even those who do not know the reason for the candle often grow quiet and reflective in its gentle glow.

Some years ago, friends and I were discussing ways in which we could call attention to the fact that Jesus is present. We can do this in our churches, because sometimes even there His presence is overlooked.  Our very movements call attention to Him when we genuflect, silence our voices, show reverence, kneel.

As we then go forth into the world, we are privileged to do so with Jesus in our hearts.  We carry Christ within and we meet Him in others  Oh, how easy it is to forget this truth.  And if we forget it, others do as well.

What is the job of a sanctuary lamp?  To never leave Our Lord's side.  To be steadfast and faithful, standing for Jesus through good times and bad.  To follow Matthew 5, allowing our good acts to draw others to praise God. To remain aware of Him no matter where we are, no matter what we're doing. 

To stand in Christ's presence and let the whole world see us glow. 

"You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Men do not light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket.  They set it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, your light must shine before men so that they may see goodness in your acts and give praise to your heavenly Father."  (Matthew 5:14-16)

Photo above in public domain, from Wikimedia

This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Linkup Blitz


To return to the 'Monastic Adventure in Sequence' post, click here 

 

The Heart Chapel

"We are, each of us, a Living Cathedral.  Each is his own chapel.  And provided we are in a state of grace, God lives and dwells within us… (so) we must live and act as if we were dwelling in a church in the presence of the Tabernacle.” (The Living Pyx of Jesus, Pellegrini & Co., Australia,  1941) 

I have written earlier about a time when I was alone in a chapel during a thunderstorm.  This remains vivid in my memory because of the comfort I felt.  Except for flashes of lightning coming through a stained glass window, only the glow of a sanctuary light provided illumination.  Yet I knew I was totally secure.  In the midst of the storm, I was in the Presence of Christ and I was safe.

In the midst of personal storms, where do I find security?  When adversity strikes, when fear bares its fangs, where do I go for safety?   In the chapel, a sanctuary light told 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.”

In my everyday life in the midst of the world, Christ is here.  My faith assures me:  Christ is here.  I can offer inward praise in the supermarket, adoration on a subway, intercession while folding laundry, aspirations at the mall.  He is with me, and He hears it all. 

"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) 

'You know, my loving Jesus, I do want my soul to be spotlessly pure and undefiled, so that it will be for You a most beautiful Home, a Home from which no one will ever dislodge You - Your own living tabernacle, where You will ever dwell, and where I shall live consciously and lovingly with You, and always have a word with You before I speak, act, or make a decision.  I want You to be so happy, so much at home in my soul, that You will take complete possession of it and live Your life in me.' (from Fervorinos From Galilee's Hills, compiled by a Religious, Pelligrini, 1936, p.143)

'To be with God it is not necessary to be always in church.  We may make a chapel of our heart, whereto to escape from time to time to talk with Him quietly, humbly and lovingly.... Begin then; perhaps He is waiting for a single generous resolution.'  (Brother Lawrence)

Photo at top:  All Saints Sisters of the Poor, Cantonsville MD.  © Connie Wells

Painting:  Francis Luis Mora, Morning News 



To spend more time in the heart chapel, click this line

The Monastery Chapel

What is the absolute center of a monastery?  

The chapel.  The Tabernacle.  The Blessed Sacrament.

Why?  Because Jesus Christ is the absolute Center of monastic life.  It is as simple and profound as that.  Without Him, there really is no point to either spiritual or physical monasticism.

Mass itself is the center of the monastic day.  Other prayers prepare for, revolve around, highlight and underscore the Mass.  This is because "the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life...  In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith."  (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1324 and 1327

Before the great Wonder of the Eucharist, of Jesus with us in Flesh and Blood, I am speechless.  So I look to ones more eloquent than I as I pass along these words: 

"Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you, for you alone?  He burns with the desire to come into your heart."  (St. Therese of Lisieux)

"Since Christ Himself has said 'this is My Body' - who shall dare to doubt that It is His Body?"  (St. Cyril of Jerusalem) 





"We must continually remind ourselves that the greatest need in the world today is to centre our lives more and more in the oblational aspect of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; for today, when the whole world is galloping away from the very shadow of the Cross, we must embrace it and cling to it ever more firmly, in union with Jesus Christ...." (from The Living Pyx of Jesus by 'A Religious,' Pelligrini, 1941, p. 443) 

"As two pieces of wax fused together make one, so he who receives Holy Communion is so united with Christ that Christ is in him and he is in Christ."  (St. Cyril of Alexandria) 

"Although you feel tepid, approach with confidence; for the greater your infirmity, the more you stand in need of a Physician."  (St. Bonaventure)

Photo at top:  All Saints Sisters of the Poor, Cantonsville MD.  Photo © Connie Wells

To read about the chapel in our hearts, click this line

The Centre of Our Hearts

click for photo attribution

"Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you, for you alone?  He burns with the desire to come into your heart."  (St. Therese of Lisieux)

"The Tabernacle is a reminder of Christ's life in us and of our surrender to Him.  We, too, are the Living Tabernacle of Jesus, a reminder, also, that our life is not governed by appearances and impressions, but by faith in the invisible Reality.  He is there as the ever-flowing Source of Grace, as our Invisible Director and Helper.  Being the living Centre of our life, He must become the Centre of our hearts and minds, the Centre to Which we are directed and from which we judge all our problems, as well as the world's."  (The Living Pyx of Jesus, Pelligrini, Australia, 1941, p. 19)

What is the hub of a monastic building?  The chapel.  The Tabernacle.  The Blessed Sacrament.

Why?  Because Jesus is the absolute Center of monastic life.

It is simple.  And knowing this simple truth, we begin to understand monasticism.  

Pondering it in prayer, we begin to understand monasticism of the heart.

'You know, my loving Jesus, I do want my soul to be spotlessly pure and undefiled, so that it will be for You a most beautiful Home, a Home from which no one will ever dislodge You - Your own living tabernacle, where You will ever dwell, and where I shall live consciously and lovingly with You, and always have a word with You before I speak, act, or make a decision.  I want You to be so happy, so much at home in my soul, that You will take complete possession of it and live Your life in me.'(from Fervorinos From Galilee's Hills, compiled by a Religious, Pelligrini, 1936, p.143)

'To be with God it is not necessary to be always in church.  We may make a chapel of our heart, whereto to escape from time to time to talk with Him quietly, humbly and lovingly.... Begin then; perhaps He is waiting for a single generous resolution.'  (Brother Lawrence)



Painting of woman:  Tarbell, The Bleu Veil, in US public domain due to age

A Life Apart

                   'Cloister thy mind, thy senses and thy heart,
                   and keep within a silent sanctuary,
                   where thou with Me may live a life apart,
                   a life of love in sweetest intimacy. 

                   Speak with Me often through the busy day,
                   Thy joys and sorrows, all, to Me confide.
                   And hearken, child; My every wish obey
                   'til thus thou shalt with Me in Love abide.  

                   Why sigh then for the vision that is past.
                   or that from Thabor's Mount thou must depart?
                   For thou has e'er a vision that will last -
                   Come!  Seek Me in the chapel of thy heart!'

 (from Fervorinos from the Lips of the Master, compiled by a Religious, Pelligrini, Australia, 1940, p. 258)

Painting:  Daniel Ridgway Knight, A Moment of Rest

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