A house at rest

A quiet afternoon here at the monastery, full of stillness and muted light…  I know that the earth turns and the wind blows, but the weekday wheels of the monastery have come to a Sabbath halt and everything appears motionless.

Tools are in their places.  Offices are empty.  Lights are off.  Guests have departed.  Sisters are at rest. Even sound seems to be taking a break, and the air is full of silence and calm.

I wander around with the camera.  All is so quiet that even the click of a shutter shatters the hushed afternoon. And then Vespers, with a minor chord calling us to prayer, and our chanting voices rising tranquilly within the quiet walls of the chapel, as to the vault of heaven.

Our house is at rest. Our eyes are turned to God.  And our prayers rise like incense, our hands like an evening oblation.

Postscript: Each Sunday evening, we begin Vespers with Psalm 140…”Let my prayer rise before you like incense, the raising of my hands like an evening oblation…To you, Lord God, my eyes are turned, in you I take refuge…” 

Indeed, this day of rest is a time to turn to God in a particularly intentional and attentive way, to put our house at rest, and to focus our eyes upon the Lord. 

Hope you enjoy these photos of our house at rest today.