Solitude 101

Starting to practice solitude is like clearing out an attic. Each time we find a lonely spot, it's like removing a piece of the clutter. After repeated practice, we begin to notice the spaciousness of the attic, the vaulted ceilings and the sunlight cutting through the window. It becomes a place we want to return to again-and-again. A place we crave, a holy place. That's the pattern for all the Spiritual Disciplines, they start out as a kind of difficult and demanding task, and become, by God's grace, joyful and freeing. By practicing solitude, we clear out the old boxes and worn-out furniture of our heart and mind, we learn to build a sanctuary of the soul, a spacious place for God.  (Jonathan Bailey, here.)

Finding this such a descriptive and accurate explanation of this "place".  

A place I crave.

A holy place.

A sanctuary of the soul.

A spacious place for God.

My Gethsemani

"My" desk - postcards, scissors, journal, tape, Bible, hand lotion...

View from "my" window

Hanging above "my" bed

Some serious reading pleasure

Sweet, Sweet Silence

I shared the silence with this man as
we spent the past week at the Abbey of Gethsemani - Kentucky.

 Near perfect weather,

  

beautiful scenery,

simple and healthy meals,

 trails to walk,

 hills to climb,

books to read and quiet places to read them,

Prayers and the Psalms.
Solitude and Silence.
Sweet, sweet silence.

Cloistered

Cloister (verb)

1. To shut away from the world in or as if in a cloister; seclude.

2. To furnish (a building) with a cloister.

I attended the Open House of the Monastery on Wednesday.

Thursday the Poor Sisters of St. Clare will be cloistered.

I was curious.

I went alone.  I'm glad I did.

 Scenes of St. Andrews Church and the Monastery here

in no particular order and with little explanation...

The Brothers of St. Joseph have worked diligently to prepare

the grounds and rooms for the Poor Sisters.

 Privacy fences surround the newly cloistered monastery.  Back (above) and Front (below).

 I was struck by the basic simplicity of it all...

 

"The more you honor me, the more will I bless you"

Reflecting on my experience yesterday,
 I recognize that my faith journey and "tradition"  (past and present)
is significantly different than the one I observed here.
But my heart is bent toward the simplicity, the joy,
the yearning, and the love and Lordship of Jesus Christ that MUST be the compelling force
behind one's decision to embrace the lifestyle of the Poor Sisters.
I live today inspired and encouraged to live a simple, examined life of
joyful obedience here on State Road 37 in Harlan, IN.