I have been blessed over the years to visit the Trappist community at the Abbey of the Genesee in Piffard, N.Y. - to take time to enjoy the counsel, peace, quiet and solitude they offer. I have shared some of the spiritual insight I have been blessed to receive during my retreats there. Here is one example.
But I have not been able to get there as often as I would like. In between visits, I have treasured a homily given by Father Justin Sheehan, OCSO in 2008. I received his permission to share it with you. May God use it to stir your hearts and souls.
By the way, the next best thing to visiting this special place in person is to do so online. Missing their Monks' Bread and other delights? Fear not! You can have them sent directly to your home with a click of a button or two. Check them out. They would appreciate your support.Now for Father's Homily:
Silence and Solitude
– Homily by Father Justin Sheehan, OCSO, Abbey at Genesee: August
10, 2008
Every human life has a religious
dimension, something in us that responds to the overwhelming presence of
God. The context is different for
everyone, but also there is something in common. We heard Elijah spent the night alone on
Horeb, the mountain
of God, and that Jesus
went up into the hills by himself to pray.
They seem to have felt a call to meet God, and knew that God can only be
met in solitude.
It might seem that this solitude
can’t be experienced by ordinary people living outside the monastery. Somehow we think that we precede God in
solitude, but actually it is God who waits for us as he waits for Elijah to
reach the mountain
of God, he waits for
Jesus to go up into the hills, and Jesus waits for Peter to come to him across
the water. In finding God, each of these
people found solitude, because true solitude is Spirit, like “the sound of a
gentle breeze”. True solitude lies not in the absence of other people but in
the presence of God.
.jpg)
