This month, the Order of Carthusians celebrates its 940th anniversary. In August 1084, Bruno of Cologne (1030-1101) and six friends hiked into the French Alps in search of a remote region called the Chartreuse, which is still known for its heavy snows and frigid temperatures. Once there, at more than 4,000 feet above sea level, they built individual shelters (later called cells); and they lived as hermit monks devoted to prayer, silence, and solitude. Since the Latin word for Chartreuse is “cartusia,” these monks called themselves Carthusians.
It has been more than four years since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the world. More than one million Americans died. Millions of people were asked to work from home. And tens of millions more were forced into quarantine and isolation. In order to protect ourselves and our families, we wore masks and maintained a safe social distance. When we ventured out to buy groceries, walk our dogs, or check on vulnerable friends and family members, we hurried home. In many ways, we became hermits: confined to our homes, confined to our cells.
The Carthusians celebrate this kind of confinement. It is who they are. It is their vocation in life. They listen for God’s voice in perfect silence. They search for God’s grace in purest solitude. They mark the hours of the day with both shared and solitary prayer. They seek to be totally transformed by God’s love and mercy. They long to know God and be united with God in thought, word, and deed. Their life’s work is advancing in holiness, contemplating God’s goodness, and cultivating the small plot of earth just outside of their individual cells.
The Carthusians shun the spotlight. They do not care about wealth or notoriety. They do not care about clicks or followers on social media. They care only about growing closer to God, showing each other mutual respect, and avoiding the anger and division that are so contagious in contemporary culture. For almost 1,000 years, they have resisted the canonization of their holiest brothers and sisters. Pope Benedict XVI once said about them: “The Carthusians prefer to make saints rather than reveal to the world the saintliness of their lives.”
Meanwhile, how are we living? How are we faring after all pandemic restrictions have been lifted? How are we coping with these troubled times? Each day, I pray for all who ask me to pray for them. I do the work of ministry entrusted to me by our pastor. I visit as often as possible with my aging parents who still live independently in Maine. And I help take care of three rambunctious little dogs. Like so many others, however, I need more exercise. I spend too much time in front of screens. I still have not learned how to clip a dog’s toe nails. And I can no longer bear to read or watch the news.
Campaigns and pandemics aside, we can learn a lot from the Carthusians about the benefits of prayer, silence, and solitude. If we are blessed with a home and a small patch of dirt, we can learn a great deal from them about the peace of mind that comes with creating beauty even in the smallest garden, making the best of life as it exists, and quietly rejoicing in God’s abiding presence in our daily lives. The Carthusians say: “The Cross is steady while world keeps turning.” Please God, whatever our faith tradition, keep us calm, keep us kind, keep us ever-steady as the world spins and shakes and shudders!
Brother Patrick is a diocesan hermit and associate minister in the Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport. He can be reached at brpatrick@ccgronline.com.