"Into Great Silence"

On Friday night, Kevin and I accomplished a great feat; we finally finished watching "Into Great Silence," a film documenting the life of the monks at the Grand Chartreuse, the head monastery of the reclusive Carthusian Order in France. It took us three sittings to get through it. I felt a bit ashamed that we could not seem to muster the discipline and interest to watch it all the way through in one night! Kevin and I don't watch copious amounts of TV; we don't play video games, and we're not people who need constant entertainment. But for some reason this movie was like penance! I had to force myself to sit on the couch and stay awake as we watched the happenings at the Grand Chartreuse: changing weather, monks praying in their small, wood-paneled cells, shaving each others' heads, chewing their food in silence, and chanting together in the darkness.

They're way of life is simple and beautiful but so foreign from my everyday existence. I can enjoy 30 minutes of silence and solitude, but a life that is lived that way 90% of the time was difficult to take in. I can honestly say that watching (or attempting to watch) this movie was one of the most humbling exercises in all my lenten activities.

In my opinion, the best scenes were in the last half hour. One segment showed the brothers during recreation in the mountains surrounding the Grand Chartreuse. They hiked the peaks in their white, flannel habits and snow shoes and went sliding down the mountainside, falling head over heels, laughing and knocking mercilessly into one another. Throughout the movie, as I looked at the faces of these men, I found myself wondering what they were like as children. Were they as silent and austere as they are now? Watching them slide in the snow, laugh, and call to each other reminded me that we all need a bit of "rough and tumble." I was glad to know that life for these monks, while very ascetic, allows for play as well.

And this video is my favorite scene. It's about 5 minutes, but so worth the watch:



Even through the screen this monk's manner, his words, his voice which is so little used, pierced me. How often do I curse God for a traffic jam or a trifling cold? "Had it been up to me, none of this would have happened!" I think. And I must remind myself that it is not up to me. That like this monk, I am invited to acceptance and joy in God's infinitely good presence. But just as you must accept or decline an invitation, the joy of knowing that God has my eternal best in mind at every moment must be accepted or declined. And Lord help me, I want to accept this truth because as the wise monk said,

"This is all one must do and then one is happy."

I believe this is true because the more I am able to accept my life as it is, with all of its tumult, the happier and more free I become. And that is why Christ came in the first place, to set us free from sin, from Satan, and from our self-tyranny.

I'm glad I did not give up. I'm glad I finished the movie. Though humbling and challenging, it was worth every moment to witness the love that God has poured into those men at the Grand Chartreuse. I may not fully understand their way of life, but I am glad they are out there, praying for all of us.

Ugh!

Today is just one of "those" days.

Phone Frenzy: I'm on one phone line reviewing printing order details with Printer Guy. My colleague is on another line placing a supply order for said printing order with Supply Guy. Printer Guy tells me I can get supplies cheaper through them. I put Printer Guy on hold and book it over to Colleague. She puts Supply Guy on hold, and I tell her to cancel the supply order. She picks up a line and attempts to cancel the order. I run back over to my phone and pick up the other line, which is actually Supply Guy. So Colleague thinks she's talking to Supply Guy but she actually just told Printer Guy to cancel the 38,000 envelope printing order. I then put Supply Guy back on hold, tell Colleague what happened and call Printer Guy back to say the order is back on and we'll get the supplies from them.

Parking: I work downtown and parking is a beast. I call myself a Parking Shark, as I spend part of each morning stalking around town for the prey: a perfect parking space less than a mile from my office door. Today, I did not feel like "sharking" right away, so I parked at a meter that I need to start feeding in an hour. Above Printer/Supply situation comes up and I lose any recollection of meter-parked car. I walk out of the building to go to noon mass and what do I see but my little Civ sitting right in front of my building with a $40 ticket blowing in the breeze under the windshield wiper. I was so flustered I skipped mass and moved my car to a non-meter spot right away.

As much as I want to do this, I know there is hope. As Anne Shirley said,

Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.

If I were a Narnian...

Click on the banner below to take the quiz. Once you answer the questions, you're matched to a character from The Chronicles of Narnia.

I'd be Tirian, who is a character in The Last Battle.



As Tirian, you are valiant, brave and loyal. While you may have a silly name, you help others in the face of adversity and always uphold what is right.

A pretty tall order...at least I'd have a silly name!

Fab Film

For those of you who love the movies, especially breakthrough indie films, I highly recommend the award winning "Bella." This film won the 2006 People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, an honor shared with other films such as "Life is Beautiful," "Hotel Rwanda," and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." The movie celebrates life, in all of its adversity and joy. It is a love story that goes beyond romance.

Go to the website http://www.bellathemovie.com/ to find a theatre near you!