"And He said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.' (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)" Mark 6:31-32
I don't know a single soul who does not acknowledge that the world we live in today is over-run with noise, distractions, anxiety and fear. Troubling to me is that we continue to increase our daily consumption of this noise without end, as if addicted to it, sensing or believing that it is the only way to fill the 'void'. And what is worse is that our refusal of the silence puts our children at tremendous risk.
Yes, this movie is about seeking silence, yet throughout its unraveling we are made aware of our need to strip away the noise so that we can come to real sustenance - real work. For those of us not called to monastic life, this movie provides a look into our very critical need today for sustenance - for silence. "For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat." Mark 6:31-32 They did not have time for what gives them meaning - sustenance.
Into Great Silence
"A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn't to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn't in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn't in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper."
“You seduced me, O Lord, and I let myself be seduced.”
“He who does not give up everything cannot be My disciple.”
Whether your teenager can sit through what Jesus asks of His disciples (Mark 6:31-32) or not, at least you should, and as one observer said, "I believe the experience of sitting with this film for three hours can change you; if you surrender to it you'll never be the same again."
2 comments:
I plan to view IGS at some point, Aramis. May I say that three hours watching one's TV with this film certainly seems like a great way to baptize one's DVD/TV with sanctity!
I would say only one thing surmounts it: going on silent retreat at one of several monasteries around our country where guests may stay on the monastery grounds observing monastic silence. If the Guestmaster manages to keep the guests silent (it seems less and less attainable these days for some reason), one can taste the experience first-hand instead of the slightly alienated way of watching one's TV in one's living room.
Living the liturgical hours by service and chant by the monks, even if only for 36 hours IS a life altering experience -- one that I absolutely yearn for about every 6 months (reserved date for me is in the beginning of January. Ahhhh).
Ah, yes, Athos. My wife and I failed last year due to health issues, but every January for 6 six years we get away to a monastery or retreat area. The retreat is spent in partial silence and we get soooo much out of it. We really need it this coming January!
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