This cell contains inspiration from the Benedictine and Camaldolese traditions.
from The Rule of St Benedict
Let us do as the prophet says: "I will take heed of my ways, that I offend not with my tongue. I have set a guard to my mouth. I was dumb and was humbled, and kept silence even from good words." Here the prophet teaches us that if we should at times, for the love of silence, refrain from good talk, we should with more reason still, for fear of sin's punishment, eschew all evil talk. On account of the great value of silence, therefore, let leave to speak be seldom granted to observant disciples, even though it be for good, holy, and edifying conversations; for it is written: "In much speaking you shall not escape sin" and elsewhere: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." It becomes the master to speak and to teach; but it befits the disciple to be silent and to listen. If anything be asked of the superior, therefore, let it be sought with all humility and respectful submission. But as for buffoonery and talk that is vain and stirs laughter, we condemn such things everywhere with a perpetual ban, and forbid the disciple to open his mouth for such conversation.
Rule of St. Benedict, ch. 6, "On Silence"
Rule of St. Benedict, ch. 6, "On Silence"
St Romuald's Brief Rule for Monks
"Sit in your cell as in paradise. Put the whole world behind you and forget it. Watch your thoughts like a good fisherman watching for fish. The path you must follow is in the Psalms—never leave it.
If you have just come to the monastery, and in spite of your good will you cannot accomplish what you want, take every opportunity you can to sing the Psalms in your heart and to understand them with your mind. And if your mind wanders as you read, do not give up; hurry back and apply your mind to the words once more. Realize above all that you are in God’s presence, and stand there with the attitude of one who stands before the emperor. Empty yourself completely and sit waiting, content with the grace of God, like the chick who tastes nothing and eats nothing but what his mother brings him." |
Hymn to Solitude
"O blessed solitude, which teaches human spirits to enter into themselves and to desire to see the majesty of God to the degree that is possible for man!
O solitude, which participates in the delights of heaven and brings to man, who lives in this flesh, a bit of the divine inebriation! You alone, amiable solitude, show the ideal of this eternal merriment that we desire and hope to obtain in the fatherland.
O solitude, never sufficiently praised! You bring it about that the soul is united forever to God the creator, so good and powerful. You announce the coming of the Holy Spirit; and more than announcing Him. you bring Him to the human spirit, just as the dawn announces the day, bringing to our eyes the brightness of the sun!
O solitude! You are not sufficiently known except by those who know you by experience." St Peter Damian
from St Peter Damian
"O Hermitage, only those who know you, who rest sweetly in your arms, can tell of your grandeur and chant your praises. As for me, I only know this and affirm it in all sincerity: Whoever forces himself with perseverance to enter more and more into the desire to love you will finally enter your mystery and, at the same time, the mystery of God."
St Peter Damian
St Peter Damian
"Even if today and tomorrow the hermit happily imprisons himself in his narrow desert cell, this is so that an immense dwelling may be prepared for him in heaven. Let him bind himself today to the solitude of the woods in the fear of the Lord so that he may taste true liberty. Rest in Christ, let him be a stanger to this world not only in body, but in heart, according to the recommendation fo the apostle John: "My little children, do not love thre world, nor that which is of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Thus he can cleave intimately and familarly to his God. Dead, he will live far from the dens of iniquity of this world and, as if already in the grave, he will repose in the sole desire of his creator. And his life, all hidden in God, will shine in splendour when Christ will appear all radiant in glory". St Peter Damian
"Habit makes the cell sweet for the monk,
while wandering makes it seem dreadful.
For those who gad about, the cell is a prison,
but for those who live there permanently it is a
most pleasant little room.
Silence causes the persevering monk to be wide awake,
while for one who goes abroad, it puts him to sleep.
Temperance strengthens the body accustomed to fasting,
while a surfeit of delicious food causes it to grow weak.
The moderate practice of praying throughout the night
sharpens the edge of a man’s mind,
but twice going to sleep makes it dull.
Frequent conversation begets hunger in the heart of a monk,
but quiet solitude safeguards the soul
in the disciplined practice of its accustomed continence.
Speaking of secular topics subjects the soul to passions and desires,
while unremitting meditation on Sacred Scripture renders it dead to the world.
A monk’s poverty gives his mind security,
and security is the mother of purity."
Saint Peter Damian, Letter 165
while wandering makes it seem dreadful.
For those who gad about, the cell is a prison,
but for those who live there permanently it is a
most pleasant little room.
Silence causes the persevering monk to be wide awake,
while for one who goes abroad, it puts him to sleep.
Temperance strengthens the body accustomed to fasting,
while a surfeit of delicious food causes it to grow weak.
The moderate practice of praying throughout the night
sharpens the edge of a man’s mind,
but twice going to sleep makes it dull.
Frequent conversation begets hunger in the heart of a monk,
but quiet solitude safeguards the soul
in the disciplined practice of its accustomed continence.
Speaking of secular topics subjects the soul to passions and desires,
while unremitting meditation on Sacred Scripture renders it dead to the world.
A monk’s poverty gives his mind security,
and security is the mother of purity."
Saint Peter Damian, Letter 165
"The supreme goal to which the monk tends, the summit of the perfection of his heart, is indeed the union of his heart with his Lord." St John Cassian
A Prayer of Blessed Paul Giustiniani"Lord. I dare not say to You: "Show me the light that I may belive in Your Light"; but it is enough for me that You make me see my darkness ... Bring me back to myself. In my misery I have distanced myself not only from You but from myself, becoming a stranger to myself. Make me know my darkness, that then I may look at the light. Yes, I tell You and repeat to You incessantly: Show me to myself, so that I may know my sins." " "Until I was alone I never really lived. Until I was alone, I was not with myself. Until I was alone, I never drew near to my creator." |
Some sayings of Blessed Paul Giustiniani
"Love the profound tranquility of holy solitude."
"Savour the sweetness of retreat in cell."
"Go to Church for the work of God, not by habit or duty,
but rather driven by the interior desire to praise our Creator."
"Celebrate holy Mass in the joy of the Spirit."
"Take delight in the daily practice of the private recitation of the psalter."
Rejoice in the modest measure and simplicity of food and drink."
"Be happy to live at the hermitage".
"I desire to serve my Lord Jesus Christ. However, I blindly entrust the manner of service to His decision: in action or in contemplation, in peace and quiet or in suffering and tribulation, in the quiet of the cell or else in wearisome wanderings. So long as I am serving Him, I have no preference or taste of my own."
"Savour the sweetness of retreat in cell."
"Go to Church for the work of God, not by habit or duty,
but rather driven by the interior desire to praise our Creator."
"Celebrate holy Mass in the joy of the Spirit."
"Take delight in the daily practice of the private recitation of the psalter."
Rejoice in the modest measure and simplicity of food and drink."
"Be happy to live at the hermitage".
"I desire to serve my Lord Jesus Christ. However, I blindly entrust the manner of service to His decision: in action or in contemplation, in peace and quiet or in suffering and tribulation, in the quiet of the cell or else in wearisome wanderings. So long as I am serving Him, I have no preference or taste of my own."
"To me it appears incontrovertible that, above the light and discourse of reason, there is another light. It is clearer and more evident, given by God to those human minds that do not refuse to receive it, and by means of it God can be properly understood. .... This is the light of faith. It incomparably exceeds any other, rational light; it alone can guide us to some measure of the true and solid knowledge of God; without it all discourse, all studies, can only give us as much perception of God and of divine things as the light of the senses can lead us to as demonstable and natural conclusions. With this light of faith, and not solely with that of reason, it is possible for us, by the operation of the intellect, to attain in some degree to the supreme Truth and, consequently to human happiness."
Blessed Paul Giustiniani
Blessed Paul Giustiniani