Comments on: Noise and Silence http://anunslife.org/2008/08/14/noise-and-silence/ Catholic Sisters and Nuns in Today's World Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:24:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Nicole http://anunslife.org/2008/08/14/noise-and-silence/#comment-7227 Nicole Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:34:53 +0000 http://anunslife.org/?p=600#comment-7227 Sister Julie, This post was very interesting; thank you for sharing it. It got me thinking about how I personally handle silence and noise. I've come to the same conclusion as the author- that noise is almost a necessity for me (coming from a large family). It seems that when we start building our relationship with God we discover just how much we rely on our five senses, and those who are chosen to live a life in silence are blessed with a great spiritual strength. Sister Julie,
This post was very interesting; thank you for sharing it. It got me thinking about how I personally handle silence and noise. I’ve come to the same conclusion as the author- that noise is almost a necessity for me (coming from a large family). It seems that when we start building our relationship with God we discover just how much we rely on our five senses, and those who are chosen to live a life in silence are blessed with a great spiritual strength.

]]> By: Regina http://anunslife.org/2008/08/14/noise-and-silence/#comment-7183 Regina Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:08:02 +0000 http://anunslife.org/?p=600#comment-7183 I am discerning a vocation as a consecrated hermit. Solitude is very attractive to me, so I sometimes wonder if I am being selfish in wanting to run off and live alone in the woods. It always comes as a surprise to realize that most people would hate to live that way! That makes me think, maybe it's just really my vocation. Thank God for the nurses and the schoolteachers and the missionaries! For me, though, the only way I have anything to give is if I really guard my contemplative space -- I'm too distractible to live prayerfully in the midst of society. Even as a hermit, I would never be totally isolated. A hermit is a monk, and bound to hospitality, to receive each guest as Christ. Whatever I find in contemplation, I am willing to share in counseling or spiritual direction, or even just to share the gift of listening that I nurture in my quiet life with God. I will have to see, once I get free of this urban house and off into the hills, and join a new rural parish, how I will balance welcoming service with protecting my own solitary vocation. Following God is an adventure! I am discerning a vocation as a consecrated hermit. Solitude is very attractive to me, so I sometimes wonder if I am being selfish in wanting to run off and live alone in the woods. It always comes as a surprise to realize that most people would hate to live that way! That makes me think, maybe it’s just really my vocation.

Thank God for the nurses and the schoolteachers and the missionaries! For me, though, the only way I have anything to give is if I really guard my contemplative space — I’m too distractible to live prayerfully in the midst of society.

Even as a hermit, I would never be totally isolated. A hermit is a monk, and bound to hospitality, to receive each guest as Christ. Whatever I find in contemplation, I am willing to share in counseling or spiritual direction, or even just to share the gift of listening that I nurture in my quiet life with God.

I will have to see, once I get free of this urban house and off into the hills, and join a new rural parish, how I will balance welcoming service with protecting my own solitary vocation.

Following God is an adventure!

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