The Lighter Side

“From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us.” (attributed to St. Teresa of Avila)

In his book The Holy Rule, Dom Hubert Van Zeller speaks of the importance of recreation for a monastic community. "The dispensation from the normal state of silence was originally granted to monks not because silence was found to be a bore but because recreation was found to be a good.  By mixing with one another and enjoying one another's conversation, monks came to have a better understanding of the family life, of the mystical body..." (Van Zeller, The Holy Rule, Sheed and Ward, NY, 1958, pp. 239-240)

Does this have anything at all to do with those of us who live in the world?  After all: "out here," recreation can consume our lives before we realize such a thing is happening.  Does that mean we dare not laugh, play, enjoy our families, visit our friends?  Of course not.

This is something we'll look into in our next post.

In the meantime, the following links might open for us just a little window into the lighter side of cloistered life....

The Great Pumpkin Adventure

Christmas pictures (whatever the season, these hats are worth seeing!)

"What would happen if we hid what little sense of humor we had? Let each of us humbly use this to cheer others."  (St. Teresa of Avila)

Painting:  Alessandro Sani, In der Klosterbibliothek

Photo of nuns in public domain 

To continue with a look into 'recreation,' click this line