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Somehow the mental vision of each circumstance “crisscrossed,” as if seen through actual grillwork, reminds me that the circumstance is outside my cloistered heart, not within it. The occurrences, chaos, temptations that at times surround me are all outside my cloister. My body can be injured, attacked, invaded by illness, entered with a surgeon’s knife - but the cloister of my spirit, wherein God dwells, is inviolate.
Often, panels of monastery grillwork are constructed of vertical and horizontal strips of wood. Thus, these can be said to be made up of little “crosses.” When I look at such grillwork, I am reminded of plus-signs. I find this an appropriate image, for the Cross would be nothing but negative if viewed from a purely worldly perspective. It would be seen as a giant minus sign, a symbol of defeat. Yet seen through the grille of God's will, it is absolute victory.
