Fortress of Solitude

City churches are sometimes quiet and peaceful solitudes, caves of silence where a man can seek refuge from the intolerable arrogance of the business world. One can be more alone, sometimes, in a church than in a room in one’s own house. At home, one can always be routed out and disturbed (and one should not resent this, for love sometimes demands it). But in these quiet churches one remains nameless, undisturbed in the shadows, where there are only a few chance, anonymous strangers among the vigil lights, and the curious impersonal postures of the bad statues. The very tastelessness and shabbiness of some churches makes them greater solitudes, through churches should not be vulgar. Even if they are, as long as they are dark it makes little difference.

Let there always be quiet, dark churches in which men can take refuge. Places where they can kneel in silence. Houses of God, filled with His silent presence. There, even when they do not know how to pray, at least they can be still and breathe easily. Let there be a place somewhere in which you can breathe naturally, quietly and not have to take your breath in continuous short gasps. A place where your mind can be idle, and forget its concerns, descend into silence, and worship the Father in secret.

There can be no contemplation where there is no secret.

– Thomas Merton,"New Seeds of Contemplation"

Will there be music or will there be war?

I am sorry for the length of time between this and my last post, but I too suffer from a lack of leisure time. In our current culture the absence of work is looked down upon. It seems to be the thought that if one is not working then one is not being productive. This is completely false. As Robin Hood has stated "leisure is more than a state of not working, it is an attitude of the mind and a condition of the soul which allows people to look on the world in wonder and wonder in turn leads to contemplation." If our world is to change people must think. They must contemplate on their existence, on the world around them, and on ideas and ideals. This is part of the very essence of being alive, of taking each day as it comes.

This brings to mind, at least it brought to my mind, music. The very word has a passion and fire, yet also a sense of peace and understanding. It is alive, and ever changing. A force so powerful that it can change history, create wars and revolutions. Music most perfectly realizes the endless yearning of the soul. It is so powerful that it can never be explained. To one never having heard of it, it would be impossible for one to convey the passion, the life, the moods of music. Music is one of the highest forms of art, giving inspiration to anyone who has the ears to hear. If one does not have time for leisure, if one does not think, not contemplate, then they will never hear, they will never even be able to hope to understand.

As I have said previously my lack of leisure time has effected my posting. Again it causes me to barely even start to explore a topic that even the most powerful and insightful minds have great difficulty in properly conveying the meaning of, for that is the power of music. Therefore I say we use this as an introduction that has simply opened the floor to music.