Silence

"Came up to the hermitage at 4 a.m. The moon poured down silence over the woods, and the frosty grass sparkled faintly. More than two hours of prayer in firelight. The sun appeared and rose at 6:45. Sweet pungent smell of hickory smoke, and silence, silence."

From the Journals of Thomas Merton, March 27, 1964

Holy Week (2)

Timeless Orthodox Chant.

"The Divine Liturgy of St John Chrystostom"

Holy Week

Continued carnage in Iraq: last week the bombers surpassed themselves, slaughtering over 150 and wounding hundreds more, women and children, in Baghdad's crowded the markets. And in this week's New Yorker, under the heading "Betrayed", a grim reflection on the fate of the Iraqi interpreters and others who work for the Americans. Not good.

Years hence, perhaps, may dawn an age,
More fortunate, alas! than we,
Which without hardness will be sage,
And gay without frivolity.
Sons of the world, oh, speed those years;
But, while we wait, allow our tears!

From "The Grande Chartreuse" by Mathew Arnold (1822-1888)

From the wonderful Ionarts' piece called "Into the Great Silence", a review of a film about the Carthusians, which unfortunately does not seem to be available on DVD.

La Grande Chartreuse

On asking for permission to film:

"Since the pace of modern life does not mean much within a cloister, the monks considered the request and ultimately gave their approval -- 16 years later."


That seems about right to me.