Their Cells

The cell is the individual room of a monk or nun.  This is where he or she prays, reads, rests and sleeps. 

"Our cells are plain, sparsely furnished mostly with donated or homemade furniture and absent of superfluities," writes a Passionist nun at In the Shadow of His Wings. "This gives them an austere beauty and a visual peace. It is the outward embodiment of the inner cell we live in while in the state of God’s abundant grace. I must admit though, sometimes I have so many books on my desk that I can’t find the desk!  I have a little prayer altar where I keep a holy image, a candle and a notebook of prayer intentions, some holy relics and a blessed palm.  We find God in everything – by Faith. We live him, breathe him, love him – by Faith. Especially in the solitude of the cell."  (the remainder of this description can be found by clicking here)

To see what morning is like in one kind of monastic cell (different from some others, in that Carthusians do not go to Chapel for morning prayer together) click on the following link:

The Cell of a Carthusian Nun

As usual, we might find ourselves asking the question:  what does this have to do with me?  After all, I am in the midst of the world, involved in family life.

This, we will look at in our next post.

Painting:  Cesare Laurenti,  in US public domain due to age
Photo by N Shuman 



To read about our 'cells' in the world, click this line