Nearly twenty-five years ago I visited the Abbey, attended Vespers and bought a copy of Seven Storey Mountain, Merton's autobiography. Since then my life has ebbed and flowed with Merton reading other books and then not touching them for awhile. Most recently in the summer of 2015, I had the privilege of taking a two week summer intensive on Thomas Merton taught by Merton Scholar, Michael Higgins, Ph.D. And now finally on March 6 of this year I achieved one of my bucket list goals visiting the retreat house at Gethsemani.
Located outside of New Haven, Kentucky, the Abbey provides a quiet respite away from the world complete with natural trails and plenty of places just to sit listening to the birds. My husband, Allan and I arrived around 5 p.m. and with dinner being at 6 p.m. We headed straight up to our rooms and while there are double rooms, Allan and I each had our own room. I had a room with its own private bath and Allan stayed in a room in older section in which there was a common bathroom. Signs provided us with information on maintaining silence, where to go and where we could talk. The first night Allan and I ate dinner in the talking dining room so we could converse and figure things out. It took some sign language to figure out where to go/how to get our dinner and what to do when we were finished.
When I first arrived I shut off my phone, detoxing from the noise of the world and yet the noise in my mind blared loudly. Every move I made, I felt like a spectacle. My mind kept going to my lack of my poise and wondering what other people thought when I bumped a table or dropped my fork. Somehow, the Spirit broke through, beginning with Father Carlos' talk on Friday night. During the talk he used the phrase, "Jesus meets us in our humanity." As a part of this concept, he mentioned being gentle on ourselves and on others when we forget the silence and find ourselves talking. It convicted me of my exterior rather than an interior focus. I need did not need to perfect but rather let me my humanity be where I experienced Jesus.
Jesus meets us in our humanity. This phrase stayed with me after the conference as I followed others to the church for Compline. This is the final set of prayers before the great silence sets in. At 8 p.m. I followed others and realized that the monks are going to bed and thought about other unpacking I needed to do.
Friday had come to an end, my silence became my disciplineexcept for when something needed speech and would last until Monday morning. I observed myself quieting down and soaking up the silence.
Praying Compline with the monks, listening to them chanting the Psalms and joining when appropriate soothed my soul. I found myself walking my own new path and an ancient path simultaneously. I became one with all of the monks who had followed the Rule of St. Benedict since its inception in the sixth century. What a gift the monks were giving us by letting us participate with them by creating space for us in their church where for many decades outsiders did not enter with any regularity.
Located outside of New Haven, Kentucky, the Abbey provides a quiet respite away from the world complete with natural trails and plenty of places just to sit listening to the birds. My husband, Allan and I arrived around 5 p.m. and with dinner being at 6 p.m. We headed straight up to our rooms and while there are double rooms, Allan and I each had our own room. I had a room with its own private bath and Allan stayed in a room in older section in which there was a common bathroom. Signs provided us with information on maintaining silence, where to go and where we could talk. The first night Allan and I ate dinner in the talking dining room so we could converse and figure things out. It took some sign language to figure out where to go/how to get our dinner and what to do when we were finished.
When I first arrived I shut off my phone, detoxing from the noise of the world and yet the noise in my mind blared loudly. Every move I made, I felt like a spectacle. My mind kept going to my lack of my poise and wondering what other people thought when I bumped a table or dropped my fork. Somehow, the Spirit broke through, beginning with Father Carlos' talk on Friday night. During the talk he used the phrase, "Jesus meets us in our humanity." As a part of this concept, he mentioned being gentle on ourselves and on others when we forget the silence and find ourselves talking. It convicted me of my exterior rather than an interior focus. I need did not need to perfect but rather let me my humanity be where I experienced Jesus.
Jesus meets us in our humanity. This phrase stayed with me after the conference as I followed others to the church for Compline. This is the final set of prayers before the great silence sets in. At 8 p.m. I followed others and realized that the monks are going to bed and thought about other unpacking I needed to do.
Friday had come to an end, my silence became my disciplineexcept for when something needed speech and would last until Monday morning. I observed myself quieting down and soaking up the silence.
Praying Compline with the monks, listening to them chanting the Psalms and joining when appropriate soothed my soul. I found myself walking my own new path and an ancient path simultaneously. I became one with all of the monks who had followed the Rule of St. Benedict since its inception in the sixth century. What a gift the monks were giving us by letting us participate with them by creating space for us in their church where for many decades outsiders did not enter with any regularity.
Thank you for sharing your Gethsemani experience. Having been to Gethsemani many times over the years, you reminded me of that wonderful place. Fr. Carlos has blessed my life so many times over the years. Thanks again for sharing. Wayne Burns...Southside, Alabama .
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