Silence and Prayer

Notes from the Pastor…

In the spring of 2009, as a part of my seminary education, I traveled with twelve student-peers and one professor to the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, near Abiquiu, New Mexico.  In my final reflection (required by the professor) I wrote these words:

Toward the beginning of the week I debated whether these men had much purpose living so far from society, but now with a week's experience and a week's reflection, I see their service to the Kingdom of Heaven is unmatched by most. … Their devotion to prayer is moving to the spirit and the earth. It is unfathonable to ponder on all the good that comes from “Lord hear our prayer” and “Amen”. If I had the prayers of the monks of the Monastery of Christ in the Desert on my behalf I would be the first to volunteer to metaphorically storm the gates of hell.

As a protestant, retreating to a Benedictine Monastery is an odd, yet rewarding practice.  Daily life at the monastery consists of a balance of three elements: corporal prayer, manual labor, and spiritual reading of Scripture.  As defined by George A. Lane, the goal of the Benedictine life is “perfecting the individual soul through the perfect living of the Christian life in community.”  In this way the monastery acts as a place of retreat and persona of prophetic pragmatism: living out the words and behaviors of Jesus.

For me a spiritual retreat at the monastery is a time of spiritual silence – it is not that I go without talking; it is that I attempt to cease self-assertion.  J. Brent Bill puts it this way:

Spiritual silence is a scalpel.  It slices our souls open.  It cuts through layers of our fears and insecurities and our reliance on ourselves instead of God. … If we are never silent, then we never have to look at the truth about ourselves. … Silence leads us to wait.  Waiting leads us to the real presence of Jesus.  The real presence leads us to holy awe. … [And holy awe] is simple.  It is serene.  It is triumphant.  It is radiant. … [After all] words often rush in where feelings fear to walk.

As you read this article, I will be at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert.  Please take a moment and pray for your pastor.  Pray that Christ would retreat with me in my attempted silence.

Grace,
Pastor Ryan