The Silence And Serenity Of The St. Joseph 's Abbey Property

Silence is an important factor in life and can be encountered in different ways, silence can be seen as peace, harmony and can also be viewed as a negative effect such as depression, sadness or even as evil. Silence also gives time to reflect on life and society and when silence there is time to reflect on faith and religion, this would allow to decide on or question religion. When silence is demonstrated it implicates the importance of peace and the chance for revival.

Of such ultimate, such holiness of silence and peace that all on earth and within extremest remembrance seems suspended upon it in perfection as upon reflected water: and I feel that if I can by utter quietness succeed in not disturbing this silence, in not so much as touching this plain of water, I can tell you anything within the realm of God. (104)

The meditation began with violin music as students and teachers entered the church. The music continued for three or four minutes after everyone had found their seats. When the music concluded, the speaker walked to the lectern and began speaking. He started off his speech with an anecdote on his childhood fear of the film, “The Wizard of Oz.” He explained that as a child he felt frightened of even the most benign subjects-flying monkeys led to soiled pants. The meditation then lingered from specificity to a more general theme.

A dull routine can always cause artificial stimulants that can lead to not more than fake results. In Unholy Sonnet 14 by Mark Jarman, he illustrates how the congregation is becoming more of a social organization than a faith-based community mainly because of the routine it follows. The poem reveals how the typical congregation seeks for sin to be forgiven. However, it also suggests that a congregation’s conventional dull routine cannot relive the pain of sin when it remains in the heart of the individual.

Silence is more important today than it has ever been due to the growing issue our society faces known as “the tyranny of noise”, a phrase coined by Benedictine

On the rotating table there were open books and the men would turn the table and without any hesitation continued to sing. Around 9:30 is when the church began to fill up and that is when the Priest and two Bishops came out. The Priest wore his stole, which is like a long scarf, around his neck and hanging to the floor on either side of him. The Deacons wore their stole vestments across their body diagonally. There was also a group of 4 boys that helped on the Alter whom also wore robes and they would enter and exit through the Angel Doors also known as Deacon’s Doors. Each time they went through the doors they kissed the icon on the door. There were times when the church would stand and times when everyone in the church would sit and these motions were all dictated by the Priest that made gestures to the crowd.

In (Matthew 6:6 NIV), Jesus explains the merits of praying to the lord God and the reward of inner peace, “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret: and your father who sees in secret will reward you.” It is through this conversation with God that Christians pursue peace in their lives. Prayer can either be private or communal, spontaneous prayer is one way that charismatic communities can come closer to God. The act of prayer allows believers to have a personal conversation with God; it alleviates stress attributed to the monotony of everyday life. Besides prayer, meditation is another way of attaining inner peace, it is an ancient practice within the Christian tradition, which has undertaken a recent revival, a global group that reaffirms the concept of praying and meditating for inner peace is Taizé. Not as popular as prayer and meditation, Lectio Divina, generally known as bible studies is a way for Christians to feel connected to God and to finally attain inner peace. The studying of the sacred scriptures on a day to day basis and reflecting on prayers also maintain a continual connection with God. It is vital to maintain equilibrium between prayer and service, whereby an individual fathoms the notion ‘ora et labora’, in order to equally partake in both prayer, and the concept of action whereby ora develops inner peace, which is mirrored through the

I have lain awake all through the night trying to levy my thoughts to peace but simply cannot grasp control over them. I fear this will lead me astray in my life with the Benedictines. If these thoughts are too challenging to quell, I may not grow in the way planned for monks.

Referring back to the poppy fields, silence was a joyful and beautiful feeling, that also brought peace and calm, but the silence that comes with the death of Paul displays not only peace but allows for a deeper meaning behind it. The silence that came with the death showed that peace is not always accompanied by beauty and joy, but also can develop in unfortunate and gruesome circumstances. This necessity of silence was unspoken but as stated, “as though almost glad the end had come,” demonstrates the need for eternal silence. Silence to Paul varied in different occurrences, but this event truly illustrated the meaning of silence to Paul. The need for complete and utter silence overtook the desire for silence that any civilian could ever

As I left, I felt a sense of piety, a piety that I must visit again and again. The Hall of Buddhas gave me a sense of peace: a thought of quietness to gather myself, a peace that I have long forgotten or not shared.

As the members that entered the church finished praying, that was followed by praise and worship service where the worshipping team sang numerous songs.

Spending spiritual time in silence can be difficult for many individuals because it gives them time to think and be present in the moment. Being silent also requires solitude

The spiritual life of each person in the world is as individual as a fingerprint. Thousands of different religions create a myriad of outlines for worship, but every personal belief system is unique. “The Three Hermits” by Leo Tolstoy tells of three holy men living a silent life of prayer on an island by themselves. When an Archbishop catches word of them, he insists on diverting his own travel route so that he may visit the hermits. With diligence, he teaches the men the Our Father and departs to return to his ship. Later, the three hermits chase after the ship as if they were running on ground, for they forgot the Our Father and wished to be retaught by the Bishop. Crossing himself, the Bishop assures the hermits that their prayers will be heard by God and asks that they pray for him and other sinners.

As I took off my shoes before entering the main temple before the first worship session began, I began to feel a sense of peace within myself as well those that were attending the worship session. Inside the main temple was a huge statue of Buddha surrounded with white silhouettes of the Lotus flower, which seems to be the symbol of peace. Tens of incense jars filled with sand litter the alter the room. The room smelled like incense, pleasant and peaceful. There were twenty rows of small cushions that were used for kneeling and sitting, and twenty rows of small raised shelves that were used for holding the prayers that were going to be recited during that session. People were filling the room really quickly, and seats were being taken

Reflections: I started this day of silence at 4am Sunday morning, I started out as usual having coffee, opening up my house and spending the first hour reading the daily word and, some prayer, and meditation. After my mind started to say ok what’s next. As I sat in the living room area and started to reflect. I noticed how loud the birds outside were, went to look and saw how small the birds were and how loud they were together. For someone who does not like birds I thought about how I planted so many trees in my yard front and back and what was the expectation? Why did I do that? Did I not know that birds live in tress? I did. So if I don’t want the birds to come why did I plant