When Being “On Mute” is a Gift

The One who is infinite love loves to meet us in silence

For eight years I had the incredible honor to work as a lay employee at the Trappist monastery near where I live in Georgia. Not only were the monks fun and good to work for, but simply being at the monastery five days a week was a pleasure all its own. I sometimes would get to the Abbey early enough to attend Mass at 7 AM, and then spend some time simply enjoying the deep silence of the grounds before my work day began at 9. In Trappist (Cistercian) monastic tradition, monks are described as “lovers of the place,” suggesting that a deep bond would form between the community and the land. Even though I wasn’t a monk, I found my own sense of love not only with this sacred place, but especially with the silence that the monks so serenely fostered.