We ask ourselves the question now and then, in different ways.
Is 'The Cloistered Heart' an analogy? (yes). Is it a way of life? (yes). Is The Cloistered Heart an article, a book, a blog? Is it Catholic? Is it people who pray for the Church and the world and one another?
The Cloistered Heart is basically an analogy in which our lives can be seen as
"monasteries," places where God is loved and lived for and
served.
In the world but not of the world. This is not a new or different idea; rather, it is an emphasizing, a kind of "underlining," of every Christian's call. The uniqueness of this emphasis is in its monastic imagery.
The word "cloister" speaks of total consecration. Those who enter a traditional physical cloister make a tangible break from the world. Compromise does not fit well in a cloister, nor does lukewarmness, nor does complacency. The cloistered life is absolute.
Christians living in the midst of the world are also called to live for God. But for us, the break is not so clean. The world is persistent in its tugs on the heart trying to live for God. We need support in our struggles to surrender our lives to God and to resist the world's allurements. This is where the imagery of the cloistered heart can be of help. "If the cloister is in a man's heart, it is immaterial whether the building is actually there. The cloister in a man's heart means only this: God and the soul." (from Warriors of God by Walter Nigg, NY, Alfred A. Knopf, 1959, p. 13)
Drafted by NS 8/3/17
In the world but not of the world. This is not a new or different idea; rather, it is an emphasizing, a kind of "underlining," of every Christian's call. The uniqueness of this emphasis is in its monastic imagery.
The word "cloister" speaks of total consecration. Those who enter a traditional physical cloister make a tangible break from the world. Compromise does not fit well in a cloister, nor does lukewarmness, nor does complacency. The cloistered life is absolute.
Christians living in the midst of the world are also called to live for God. But for us, the break is not so clean. The world is persistent in its tugs on the heart trying to live for God. We need support in our struggles to surrender our lives to God and to resist the world's allurements. This is where the imagery of the cloistered heart can be of help. "If the cloister is in a man's heart, it is immaterial whether the building is actually there. The cloister in a man's heart means only this: God and the soul." (from Warriors of God by Walter Nigg, NY, Alfred A. Knopf, 1959, p. 13)
Drafted by NS 8/3/17
