Adorned in the silence of God...

Alois Hans Schram - Artist

 

"....The desire to see God is what urges us to love solitude and silence. For silence is where God dwells. He drapes himself in silence..."

The Power of Silence by Robert Cardinal Sarah

Vilhem Hammersoi - Artist

 "...we go to live in a profound solitude, since it is in this solitude that He speaks to the heart."

Elizabeth of the Trinity - Letters from Carmel

Evariste Carpentier - Artist

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                   "...prayer is an art to be cultivated..."

 

                                (Taken from Lectio Divana and The Practice of Teresian Prayer)

Solitude...

Painting by Henri LeBasque

"Solitude and silence are guests of the soul.  The soul that possesses them carries them with it everywhere.  The one that lacks them finds them nowhere.  In order to re-enter silence, it is not enough to stop the movement of one's lips and the movement of one's thoughts.  That is only being quiet.  Being quiet is a a condition for silence, but it is not silence.  Silence is a word, silence is a thought.  It is a word and a thought in which all words and all thoughts are concentrated."
                                                                                   Carthusian Dom Augustin Guillerand

Alone with Him...

Carmelite Monastery in Germany

"You came to Carmel to find God...

Seek Him in solitude of heart, 

where alone He can be found."

Mother Isabel of the Sacred Heart

Lord, now that You have led me, your little one, into this solitude

 and whispered tenderly to me,

 I only want to hear Your voice… 

Now that I have experienced Your gaze,

 I don't want You to look away! 

 Now, that I have experienced Your love for me… 

I want You to teach me how to love You, even more!

 Now that I have felt what it is like

 to be scooped up into Your arms,

 I want to cling to You and not let go! 

 I want to feel our hearts beat as one heart…

I want to whisper to You in the night

 and quietly listen for You to say my name.

An Invitation to Solitude...

Painting 'Quiet Moments' by Albert Chavallier Tayler

"Allowing the  Gospel message into our life means letting our life become, in the broad and real sense of the word, a religious life, a life referred to, bound back to, God.

The basic revelation of the Gospel is the overwhelming, penetrating presence of God.  It is a call to encounter God, and God allows Himself to be encountered only in solitude.

It would seem that this solitude is something that those who live among the people of the world have to forego.

But, this would be to believe that we precede God in solitude, while, on the contrary, it is He who waits there for us; to find God is to find solitude, because true solitude is spirit, and all of our human solitudes are merely relative approaches toward the perfect solitude that is faith.

True solitude is not the absence of people, but the presence of God.

To place our lives before the face of God, to surrender our lives to the movements of God, is to roam free in a space in which we have been given solitude...

If the eruption of God's presence in us occurs in silence and solitude, it allows us to remain thrown among, mixed up with, radically joined to all of the people who are made of the same clay as we are."

(Servant of God Madeleine Delbrel)

Lord, I am slowly learning that I can encounter solitude and still be among people and duties. Oddly enough,  one of my most favorite times with You, is when I am ironing my husband's shirts!  I am quiet and I feel Your gaze upon me...so intensely.  Smiling, You invite me to just BE with You!  You are there to help me 'iron out' all the wrinkles in my life and before I know it, everything is smooth and crisp!  This time with You, both stands still AND goes quickly.  Before I even know it...all the shirts are finished and something I once dreaded doing...has now become an intimate time with the One I love!   You are teaching me that You are always waiting for me...if only I take the time to quiet myself enough to notice Your beautiful gaze!  

Solitude...

"It took one moment of solitude

to teach me that

I am not alone."

Skye Ryan-Evans

God's little dwelling place....

This morning I was praying the Liturgy of the Hours and read the following. It touched my heart so, I thought I would share it. It is taken from Ephesians 2:19-21.

"You are strangers and aliens no longer. No, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God. You form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is fitted together and takes shape as a holy temple in the Lord; in Him you are being built into this temple, to become a dwelling place for God in the Spirit."

Sometimes I forget that my own little soul is a temple for Jesus. I receive Him daily at communion, so I need to keep in mind ALWAYS to have a beautiful and tidy place for Him to rest. Heavenly Father, help me to keep the little sanctuary of my soul a place that the You long to be. Amen.

Whispers in the wind.....

"If Carmel has anything to say to a contemporary world, it is about prayer," writes
Carmelite Father John Welch in The Carmelite Way.

The first group of hermits set a Carmelite tradition of being attentive to God. They carried the Scriptures not in books, but in their minds and hearts. This tradition challenges us to be men of prayer in everything we do.

Like the prophet Elijah, we try to be alert to the God who whispers in the wind. Like Mary, we try to have complete trust in the love of God, who comes to us through contemplation.

We don't prescribe or follow any one way of praying. Rather, we are listeners for the voice of the one who made us and who continually calls to us.

Solitude...

"She lived in solitude,
and now in solitude has built her nest;
and in solitude, He guides her,
He alone,
who also bears in solitude,
the wound of Love!"

St. John of the Cross
The Spiritual Canticle

Lord, I long to be the little bird who has built her nest in the safety of your hands! Protect your little bird and never stop loving her! Amen.

Divine Mercy Shrine....

I love going to the Divine Mercy Shrine!!! I was just there about a month ago with friends from church!! I had never found the Grotto before this past visit, so that was nice! (I loved that path going down to it!) It's such a peaceful place!! Here are some pictures that I took that day!

(MC...I'm glad you like it there too!)