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Abbey Stillness

2010 March 28
by Stephen T Berg

A weekend at St. Peter’s Abbey reminds me of the second vow of Benedictine spirituality: stabilitos–resisting inner escapes and staying still long enough to adhere to the given moment—to receive what’s here, now, as it is.

StPetersBell

The kitchen clock,
the florescent light,
a cedar outside,
birdsong,
wind on brick,
a rattle
of dead leaves,
meltwater
over gravel,
monks
at choir,
true quietude, 
of things in their place,
like the vast space
around a verse on a page,
the immensity
of what can’t be said.

2 Responses Post a comment
  1. Meredith MacInnis permalink
    March 28, 2010

    Well, wow …

    A blessed Holy Week to you, Stephen.

    Meredith

  2. March 28, 2010

    Thank you Meredith…and a beautiful Easter to you.

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