Dorothy Day claimed Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7) as the manifesto for the Catholic Worker Movement. The beginning of chapter 5 begins, “Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the mountain.” Throughout the Gospels we are told that Jesus kept going up the Mountain to pray. One of my favorite occurrences is after he feeds the multitudes and the disciples have gotten into the boat to row to Bethsaida (Mark 6:46). The disciples failed to take time to go up the mountain and offer gratitude for the miracle of the loaves and fishes. This lack of gratitude led to pride and constant arguing over who was the greatest.
This past weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to retreat “up the mountain” at Mt. Irenaeus in New York. I went with the intention of rediscovering what it means to be a human being instead of a human doer. I wanted to have spiritually refreshing conversations in the context of nature and time to reflect quietly.
It is not easy to write about the fruits that can come out of silence and solitude. Perhaps this is one reason why Thoreau writes, “Silence doesn’t translate well into English”. In the main house at Mt. Irenaeus features a photo of Thich Nhat Hahn and Thomas Merton, two influential spiritual men in my own formation. They are similar in that both have the unique gift of being able to describe the need for silence and solitude eloquently. Thich Nhat Hahn writes, “In Plum Village silence is precious. We call it Noble Silence, and we cherish it. It’s more precious than gold. Silence can be eloquent. You sit there and your personality just shines, you radiate peace and joy. This is nonaction. You need only sit there, and children like to come and sit close to you. Silence is very important. It allows, it helps life to be. We have to retrain ourselves to enjoy silence….Silence can be more intimate than talking.”
Thomas Merton writes, “In the contemplative life above all, lack of identity is a disaster. The monastic life demands first of all a profound understanding and acceptance of solitude.” It’s that exact rediscovering of identity which the Mountain can provide. In finding that identity, we are able to offer gratitude to the Creator and ask for the strength to ultimately go back down the mountain to follow a greater will than our own.
