Holy Ground

 Many of you will recall the compulsory lockdown experience during the Covid pandemic some years ago and how you found it so constrictive and burdensome...

Yet for us cloistered Carmelites it was very much our natural, chosen, mode of living; a vital part of our lives, as ‘hermits in community’.  It is the milieu in which our hearts expand to encircle the earth and embrace all our brothers and sisters. 

Over the years cloister, solitude and silence become more and more needs of the heart.  They heighten our awareness, slow us down, teach us interiority.  They tune us into the music of life and give ears to our hearts to hear the cry of the poor.  They lead us to the wellsprings of life: ’the dearest freshness deep down things (G. M. Hopkins).

They awaken our hearts to beauty, the healing harmonies of Nature.  They fill us with reverence and wonder at the mystery of growth, the miracles-in-slow- motion that God is ever working in all of life. 

Our cloister does not insulate us from reality.  There are few outlets, no nights out at the theatre or holidays abroad, yet it is the door into reality, to truth, to self-knowledge; a challenging and, at times, a rocky road, but one leading to inner freedom.

During my walks in the garden, I love to look back at the monastery.  It gives me a sense of perspective.  I am amazed, and amused at times, at all the drama that can take place within four walls, all the weathers of the human spirit even within the space of a day.  I remember one day, some years ago, a magnificent rainbow appeared, encircling the whole monastery like a benediction.  My heart thrilled. Psalm15 sprang to mind;

For me the measuring lines have fallen on pleasant sites.

Fair to me indeed is my inheritance.

That sense of contentment has never left me.  Yes, the cloister is not an escape, but a sacred space of encounter, Holy Ground.  I take off my shoes!