For the winter months we have moved venue, from the weathered beauty of Sullington church, nestled in a farm yard at the foot of the South Downs, to a newly created loft space at our home at Wild Fortune. From an ancient place to a new place, in Advent, the beginning of the year
in the Christian tradition ...
A little of the vision ...
Jesus said:
...whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your
Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
(Matthew 6:6)
One of the elements in the design of the Prayer Loft came out in an early conversation with our architect; it was to be a space which enabled hiddenness. So the windows in the walls are small, and low set, the roof gently sloping inward, enfolding, cocoon-like. At the same time there is
an openness to the sky with the high rooflight, inclined to the East, the place of the rising sun, the
bright Morning Star, the Risen One ...
Words from John of the Cross:
Since then, your Beloved is the treasure hidden in a field for which the
wise merchant sold all his possessions, and that field is your soul, in order
to find him you should forget all your possessions and all creatures and hide
in the secret room of your spirit and there, closing the door behind you (that
is, your will to all things), you should pray to your Father in secret.
Remaining hidden with him, you will experience him in hiding, that is, in a way
transcending all language and feeling. (The Spiritual Canticle CB 1:9)
Today is not the first day that there has been prayer here. It became a
prayer loft the day the chip board was laid across the rafters and the builders
left a ladder in the stairwell. Sitting on the dusty floor in the early evening, in my scruffy paint spattered work clothes, surrounded by the builders' tools, the work began ... deep speaking to deep.
Over the months, since May, there have been twist and turns, struggle and pain in the building of this
place – particularly in the stories that we have been told by those who have
helped to create it. It has been important
- it has felt vital – to breathe life and love into this place for the
sake of those people ...
And I am reminded of the Carmelite sisters at Quidenham in Norfolk, who I visited on retreat
some 4 or 5 years ago. Their enclosed life of prayer was for me the beating heart
and the breathing lungs of the body of Christ – hidden from sight, yet giving
life to the whole ...
Words from Thomas Merton, which continue to inspire our life here:
Let there always be quiet places in which we can take refuge. Places where we can kneel in silence. Houses of God, filled with His silent presence. There, even when we do not know how to pray, at least we can be still and breath easily. Let there be a place somewhere in which you can breath naturally, quietly, and not have to take your breathe in continuous short gasps. A place where your mind can be idle, and forget its concerns, descend into silence, and worship in secret. (Seeds of Contemplation - adapted)
My prayer today is that this place, the places where we each live, our personal life paths, our relationships with others and our companionship in the way of Christ, will echo and embrace being hidden in order to breathe the breath of God for the sake of the earth and all humanity
...
With our thanks to those who have helped birth this vision into reality.
Peace be with you - in hiddenness and breath ...
