There is change
in the air as a storm approaches. The wind picks up, clouds
gather, there may be a distant clap of thunder. As lightning
flashes around us, we race for shelter.
Monastery grounds and walls are as subject to storms as those of any other building. They get slapped with rain, pelted with sleet. Inhabitants of the cloister might find themselves standing at a window looking out, maybe with a touch of concern. What are those chunks of hail doing to the roof? Are the windows secure against the wind?
The monastery of my life is vulnerable, too. I face storms, at times, of great magnitude. Sickness, sudden disaster, an unnerving news report. It helps me then to remember that I’m in the strongest cloister possible – the cloister of God’s loving embrace. Everything that touches me must first come through His hands, through His “permissive will.” I can do as St. Francis de Sales advised, and say amid my contradictions: “this is the very road to heaven. I see the door, and I am certain the storms cannot prevent us from getting there.”
"The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)
Monastery grounds and walls are as subject to storms as those of any other building. They get slapped with rain, pelted with sleet. Inhabitants of the cloister might find themselves standing at a window looking out, maybe with a touch of concern. What are those chunks of hail doing to the roof? Are the windows secure against the wind?
The monastery of my life is vulnerable, too. I face storms, at times, of great magnitude. Sickness, sudden disaster, an unnerving news report. It helps me then to remember that I’m in the strongest cloister possible – the cloister of God’s loving embrace. Everything that touches me must first come through His hands, through His “permissive will.” I can do as St. Francis de Sales advised, and say amid my contradictions: “this is the very road to heaven. I see the door, and I am certain the storms cannot prevent us from getting there.”
"The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)
“Happy is the soul established in God ... The winds of the storm are powerless to shake her.” (St. Jane de Chantal)
"When you hear about wars and threats of war, do not yield to panic. Such things are bound to happen, but this is not the end. Nation will rise against nation, one kingdom against another. There will be earthquakes in various places and there will be famine. This is but the onset of labor. Be constantly on your guard.... because of My Name, you will be hated by everyone. Nonetheless, the man who holds out till the end is the one who will come through safe." (Mark 13:5-13)
"O Jesus, I am locking myself in Your most merciful heart as in a fortress, impregnable against the missiles of my enemies.” (St. Faustina Kowalska, Diary, #1535)
The cloistered heart is a place of refuge, no matter where I happen to be. A portable fortress, a place inviolate, where I can remain with Jesus in the midst of storms, traffic jams, persecutions, illnesses, fires, floods. It is an appealing idea. It is also (this being most important) theologically sound. "The heart is the dwelling place where I am, where I live... the heart is the place 'to which I withdraw.' The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. (Catechism of the Catholic Church #2563)
The cloistered heart is the heart of David dancing before the ark; of Mesach, Shadrach and Abednego in the fiery furnace; of Paul in prison, Daniel in the lions’ den, John on Patmos, Peter in chains. The world is not safe from evil – even the body isn’t safe from harm – but within the cloistered heart there is refuge.
My heart, as long as He is in it, is safe.
(The above is a combined repost from our archives)
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