Blessing for Silence and Solitude*
Holy Source of Silence,
beneath the clatter and din of the everyday
you offer your mysteries to our hearts.
You call us to pause,
to slow down and listen to the true longing
planted in each of us by you, a seed of holy desire.
Support us in letting go of the inner and outer noise.
Open wide in us a sacred cave for stillness
where we can attune to your presence.
Enliven us with the gift of your sweet music
and allow us to encounter your holy presence
flaming in each of our hearts.
Help us to catch a note of your song
in the wind or in the voice of another,
in times of sadness, and in the rush of our lives.
In a world so filled with distraction,
we listen for your whispers
which call us to another way of being.
and ask for the courage to respond to all
we discover in this tabernacle of silence.
Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims,
Tomorrow Simon de Voil and I are leading our first Contemplative Prayer Service of the program year. Throughout the year we’ll be exploring the principles of the Monk Manifesto. We begin with silence and solitude.
Read of for an excerpt from our Monk in the World self-study program:
Monk Manifesto Principle 1: Silence and Solitude
I commit to finding moments each day for silence and solitude, to make space for another voice to be heard, and to resist a culture of noise and constant stimulation.
We live in a time when there has been tremendous growth in the number of people seeking wisdom from ancient monastic spirituality and other contemplative paths for meaningful ways of living in the world. From becoming Oblates, who are lay members of monastic communities and commit to living in a contemplative way in the everyday world, to the communities experimenting with “new monasticism,” where ways of living out monastic spirituality are adapted to often urban spaces and a commitment to justice in their communities.
There are others who don’t necessarily want to formalize their commitment to a community but are still longing for a more meaningful and heart-centered way of being in the world and are looking to the contemplative way as a model of balance and depth. . . .
Being a monk in the world means choosing to live contemplatively in resistance to the demand for speed, to live mindfully and with intention instead of rushing through life, to savor experience rather than consume it, and to remember that our self-worth is not defined by how much we do or achieve, and so we are called to make time for simply being.
I came to the contemplative way out of my experience with autoimmune illness, which I was diagnosed with at age 21. My body’s absolute demand for slowness meant that I had to discover a new way of being which honored my body’s limitations and need for spaciousness. In my hours spent horizontally in rest, amid dealing with chronic pain and fatigue, I found myself embraced by the holy there. In my being, rather than my doing. I knew my body had a more profound wisdom.
In Meditations of the Heart, prophet and mystic Howard Thurman writes, “As we listen, floating up through all the jangling echoes of our turbulence, there is a sound of another kind – A deeper note which only the stillness of the heart makes clear. It moves directly to the core of our being. Our questions are answered, our spirits refreshed . . .The moment of pause, the point of rest, has its own magic.” . . . .
Cultivating silence and spaciousness doesn’t have to look one particular way. It does not necessarily mean sitting on our meditation cushion for an hour every morning, although that may be the way that most nourishes your own connection to silence.
It does mean bringing our hearts and minds into a space of deep attunement to the presence of the holy all around us in whatever circumstances we are in. We might cultivate interior silence and listening while walking or dancing, while preparing our meals or sitting with a friend in pain. This intention for the divine may guide us in our desire to work for greater justice in the world, as we listen to how we are being led.
Just for today claim a window of time – even ten minutes is enough to begin – and rest into an experience of stillness. Connect gently with your breath, breathing in the life-sustaining breath of the spirit, breathing out and releasing whatever distracts us from this moment. As thoughts or anxieties arise, gently release them, and return to this moment. The invitation is toward both an outer and inner silence. Notice the way silence nourishes you and consider ways to give yourself this gift each day.
Join us tomorrow, October 7th, for our Contemplative Prayer Service on the theme of Silence & Solitude.
With great and growing love,
Christine
Christine Valters Paintner, OblSB, PhD, REACE
PS – Read about an exciting new project I am working on!
*Blessing written by Christine for a book of blessings (due to be published in spring 2026)
