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!

Revisiting The Grille

The grille is a powerful symbol.  I would go so far as to say that, in the cloistered heart way of life I’m describing, it is the important symbol.  It is a place of separation and, just as importantly, it is a place of encounter.  It is only through the 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 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).   

“We do not fix our gaze on what is seen but on what is unseen…” (2 Corinthians 4:18).  In days to come, may God open us more fully to the grillwork of His will.

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

For the past few days, we've been providing links for those who might like to have a look around the archives. Because the symbol of grillwork is central to the Cloistered Heart analogy, I encourage anyone wondering 'what that's all about' to click on the following explanations:

To See or Not to See. The Choice is Mine.

Grabbing the Grille

We Find the View Through the Grille

Salesmen in the Foyer

Positively, Grillwork

When Light Encounters Darkness 

This and That, as Seen Through the Grille 

Text not in quotes © 2016 Nancy Shuman
thecloisteredheart.org 

Inside These Walls

A potential nun does not march into the monastery announcing which boundaries she will or will not accept.

'This wall of the enclosure suits me, but I'm not comfortable with that one...'  No, she does not say it. 

Were she to express such thoughts, she would be told that her vocation is elsewhere. These are the boundaries of this monastery, she would be told. These are the walls within which we remain. 

Boundaries are important in a physical monastery. They are important in a spiritual one as well. In the analogy of the cloistered heart, I am invited to live within the boundaries of God's will as a nun would live inside her enclosure.  I don't have to map these out for myself; they are clearly defined for me in Scripture and in 2,000 years of authentic Church discernment.

Today, let's have a look around the enclosure. Click on any line below to open that topic....

An Enclosure Door For Me

Location, Location, Location
 
O, Blessed Enclosure

Our Refuge For Christ


Public domain photo of Clervaux, via Pixabay

 

Your Monastery

'You must know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is within - the Spirit you have received from God.'  (1 Corinthians 6:19)

'Monastic life,' wrote Louis Bouyer, 'is nothing else, no more and no less, than a Christian life whose Christianity has penetrated every part of it.' With this in mind, I'd like to take a deeper look into what it can mean to 'be' a monastery in the midst of the world. 

As before, click on any line below to open that post. 


And Our Monastery Is...

The Right Address

In Substance the Same

Let Me Be a House of God




Samuel van Hoogstraten painting, digitally altered