Into Great Silence (Die große Stille)

The Lord passed by. Then a great wind

tore the mountains apart and shattered

the rocks before the Lord, but He was

not in the wind. After that there was

an earthquake, but the Lord was not

in the earthquake. After that came a fire

but the Lord was not in the fire.

After the fire came a gentle whisper.

1 Kings 19, 11-13

INTO GREAT SILENCE

Anyone who does not give up

all he has

cannot be my disciple.

What do you ask for?

Grace.

Rise!

Out of love I ask

to be admitted in probation

to monastic life as the most humble servant of all.

If you, venerable Father,

and the community deem it correct.

Dear Etienne and Benjamin,

I ask now both of you:

Are you ready to adopt our monastic way of life,

as the way through which God will lead your souls

to the inner holiness,

where He will reveal his existence to you

and let you commune with Him?

In as much as the goodness of God is bestowed upon me

I hope to serve in this way.

Putting my trust solely in the love of God

and in the prayers of my brothers,

I hope to fulfill these expectations.

In as much as the goodness of God is bestowed upon me.

You must know, dear brothers, that before you take the eternal vow,

you still have the freedom to leave.

On the other hand, we too reserve

the freedom and the right to refuse you,

in the case that we do not consider you fit for our way of life.

Do you agree?

Yes, Reverend Father.

Step nearer, now, for the embrace of peace.

In the name of God, of our Order,

in my own name and in the names of all the brothers of this community,

I welcome you into the community of the Order.

Dom Marie-Pierre...

from now on you shall

live in the cell and follow the additional rules of our Order.

You are at God's disposal alone,

in solitude and stillness

in an everlasting prayer

and a joyful penitence.

I leave you to the master of novices

who shall visit you at the appropriate time

and watch over your training.

O Lord, you have seduced me,

and I was seduced.

O Lord, you have seduced me,

and I was seduced.

Anyone who does not give up

all he has

cannot be my disciple.

He is the boss.

Behold the silence: Allow the Lord

to speak one Word in us... that HE is.

Treatise of St. Basil on the Holy Spirit

In the simplicity of God

exists the unity of a divine community through its godly nature.

The Holy Spirit is one,

and we speak of him as unique,

since through the one Son he is joined to the Father.

He completes the all-praised and blessed Trinity.

This is sufficient evidence of his intimacy with the Father

and one Son.

He is not ranked with the plurality of creation

but is described in the singular.

He is not one of many

but one only:

just as there is one Father

and one Son,

there is one Holy Spirit.

Reason demands that the singular is separated from the plural.

Therefore he does not share created nature.

He proceeds from the mouth of the Father.

Of course, the "mouth" of the Father is not a physical member,

nor is the Spirit a dissipated exhalation,

but "mouth" is used to the extent that it is appropriate to God,

and the Spirit is the essence of life

and divine sanctification.

Their intimacy is made clear,

while the ineffability

of God's existence

is safeguarded.

Praise the Lord!

Consider the analogy of the sunbeam:

Whoever feels its kindly light rejoices as if the sun existed for him alone,

yet it illuminates land and sea

and is master of the atmosphere.

In the same way, the Spirit is given to each one

who receives him

as if he were the possession of that person alone.

What do you have

that you did not receive?

And if you did receive it,

why do you boast as though you did not?

Lord, we receive this food through your grace,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Statutes of the Carthusian Order

Chapter 22: "Our Life in Common".

We take dinner together in the refectory

on Sundays and solemnities,

on which days

we meet together more frequently,

so that we may taste something

of the joy of family life.

The refectory, which we enter

after the Office in the chapel,

recalls the Last Supper, a meal which Christ blessed.