Into Great Silence (2005)

[bunniefuu]

The Lord passed by.
Then a great wind

tore the mountains apart
and shattered

the rocks before the Lord,
but He was

not in the wind.
After that there was

an earthquake,
but the Lord was not

in the earthquake.
After that came a fire

but the Lord was not
in the fire.

After the fire
came a gentle whisper.



INTO GREAT SILENCE

Anyone who does not give up

all he has

cannot be my disciple.

What do you ask for?

Grace.

Rise!

Out of love I ask

to be admitted in probation

to monastic life
as the most humble servant of all.

If you, venerable Father,

and the community deem it correct.

Dear Etienne and Benjamin,

I ask now both of you:

Are you ready
to adopt our monastic way of life,

as the way through which God
will lead your souls

to the inner holiness,

where He will reveal
his existence to you

and let you commune with Him?

In as much as the goodness of God
is bestowed upon me

I hope to serve in this way.

Putting my trust
solely in the love of God

and in the prayers of my brothers,

I hope to fulfill these expectations.

In as much as the goodness of God
is bestowed upon me.

You must know, dear brothers,
that before you take the eternal vow,

you still have the freedom to leave.

On the other hand, we too reserve

the freedom and the right
to refuse you,

in the case that we do not
consider you fit for our way of life.

Do you agree?

Yes, Reverend Father.

Step nearer, now,
for the embrace of peace.

In the name of God, of our Order,

in my own name and in the names
of all the brothers of this community,

I welcome you
into the community of the Order.

Dom Marie-Pierre...

from now on you shall

live in the cell and follow
the additional rules of our Order.

You are at God's disposal alone,

in solitude and stillness

in an everlasting prayer

and a joyful penitence.

I leave you to the master of novices

who shall visit you
at the appropriate time

and watch over your training.

O Lord, you have seduced me,

and I was seduced.

O Lord, you have seduced me,

and I was seduced.

Anyone who does not give up

all he has

cannot be my disciple.

He is the boss.

Behold the silence: Allow the Lord

to speak one Word in us... that HE is.

Treatise of St. Basil
on the Holy Spirit

In the simplicity of God

exists the unity of a divine
community through its godly nature.

The Holy Spirit is one,

and we speak of him as unique,

since through the one Son
he is joined to the Father.

He completes
the all-praised and blessed Trinity.

This is sufficient evidence
of his intimacy with the Father

and one Son.

He is not ranked
with the plurality of creation

but is described in the singular.

He is not one of many

but one only:

just as there is one Father

and one Son,

there is one Holy Spirit.

Reason demands that the singular
is separated from the plural.

Therefore he does not share
created nature.

He proceeds
from the mouth of the Father.

Of course, the "mouth" of the Father
is not a physical member,

nor is the Spirit
a dissipated exhalation,

but "mouth" is used to the extent
that it is appropriate to God,

and the Spirit is the essence of life

and divine sanctification.

Their intimacy is made clear,

while the ineffability

of God's existence

is safeguarded.

Praise the Lord!

Consider the analogy of the sunbeam:

Whoever feels its kindly light rejoices
as if the sun existed for him alone,

yet it illuminates land and sea

and is master of the atmosphere.

In the same way,
the Spirit is given to each one

who receives him

as if he were
the possession of that person alone.

What do you have

that you did not receive?

And if you did receive it,

why do you boast as though you did not?

Lord, we receive
this food through your grace,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Statutes of the Carthusian Order

Chapter 22: "Our Life in Common".

We take dinner together
in the refectory

on Sundays and solemnities,

on which days

we meet together more frequently,

so that we may taste something

of the joy of family life.

The refectory, which we enter

after the Office in the chapel,

recalls the Last Supper,
a meal which Christ blessed.

A period of conversation
is accorded to the fathers

after the Chapter of the Nones.

At recreation, let us remember
St. Paul's exhortation:

rejoice, be of one mind,

be at peace,

so that the God of peace and love
may remain with us.

As St. Bruno says,

when wearied by our quite austere rule
and application to spiritual things,

our rather delicate natures

can often be refreshed and renewed

by the charms and beauties
of woods and countryside.

The fathers have a walk every week,

with the exception of the Holy Week.

Should it be necessary
to go through a town or a village,

they will be content
simply to pass through,

preserving due decorum,

nor may they ever
enter the houses of seculars.

On the walks,
we are not to eat or drink anything

except plain water,
found by the wayside.

What you've read today
is usually not read.

Yes? What does that mean?

The entire paragraph in parentheses?
- Yes, exactly.

No, no one ever reads it.

Many translations
treat it as an addition.

In Sélignac,

they have not been washing their hands
before the refectory for 20 years now.

Do you think we should stop washing
our hands? - No,

but it wouldn't be a big deal
to get rid of something useless.

Our entire life, the whole liturgy,
and everything ceremonial are symbols.

If you abolish the symbols, then you
tear down the walls of your own house.

In the Monastery in Pavia,

instead of one wash-basin
they have six.

There you can wash
your hands properly.

Yes, they're also Trappists!

When we abolish the signs,
we lose our orientation. Instead,

we should search for their meaning.

But one
should unfold the core of the symbols.

The signs
are not to be questioned, we are.

I'm not against hand washing,

I just forget to dirty my hands first.

The error is not to be found in hand-
washing, the error is in our mind.

What time do you leave tomorrow?

Exactly at noon.

Where are you flying?
- Seoul.

I will put a new spirit in you.

I will remove from you

your heart of stone

and give you a heart of flesh.

Anyone who does not give up

all he has

cannot be my disciple.

Behold, I have become human.

If you should not want to join me

in becoming God,

you would do me wrong.

O Lord, you have seduced me,

and I was seduced.

Anyone who does not give up

all he has

cannot be my disciple.

O Lord, you have seduced me,

and I was seduced.

You shall seek me,

and you shall find me.

Because you seek me

with all your heart,

I will let myself be found.

O Lord, you have seduced me,

and I was seduced.

No. Why be afraid of death?

It is the fate of all humans.

The closer one brings oneself to God,

the happier one is.

It is the end of our lives.

The closer one brings oneself to God,
the happier one is.

The faster one hurries to meet him.

One should have no fear of death.
On the contrary!

For us, it is a great joy
to find a Father once again.

The past, the present,
these are human.

In God there is no past.
Solely the present prevails.

And when God sees us,

He always sees our entire life.

And because...
He is an infinitely good being...

He eternally seeks our well-being.

Therefore,
there is no cause for worry

in any of the things
which happen to us.

I often thank God

that he let me be blinded.

I am sure that he let this happen
for the good of my soul.

It is a pity that
the world has lost all sense of God.

It is a pity...

They have no reason to live anymore.

When you abolish the thought of God,

why should you go on
living on this earth?

One must always part
from the principle

that God is infinitely good,

and that all of his actions
are in our best interest.

Because of this a Christian should
always be happy, never unhappy.

Because everything that happens
is God's will,

and it only happens
for the well-being of our soul.

Well, this is the most important.

God is infinitely good, almighty,

and he helps us.

This is all one must do,
and then one is happy.

I am the ONE who is.

The Lord passed by.
Then a great wind

tore the mountains apart
and shattered

the rocks before the Lord,
but He was no

in the wind. After that there was
an earthquake, but the Lord was not

in the earthquake.
After that came a fire

but the Lord was not in the fire.
After the fire came a gentle whisper.



INTO GREAT SILENCE

The Monastery
of the Grande Chartreuse

is considered to be one of the most
ascetic monasteries in the world.

In 1984, I asked them for permission
to film on location.

It was said that it was too early.
Maybe in 10, 13 years.


from the Chartreuse.

They were now ready.