. . . This is fascinating, this whole process-the chanting, the back and forth singing. The reactions it’s producing are almost physical in sensation. I feel rested after Centering Prayer, as if I’d just napped. The Singing of the Psalms and the Chanting (we alternate sitting and standing) puts me into a half-awake state and when I leave at the end I feel energetic and just…Good.
After the chanting, there is a secular reading-this week the focus has been Hope. What is Hope? Can Hope be bad? How does one maintain Hope in a Cynical world? Is Hope foolish in the face of certain things? Do we draw from God for our Hope externally or is it internal? . . . Between the chanting and the singing and the readings there are minutes of silence where we are encouraged to meditate on what we have just experienced. Sometimes, depending on the time of day there is a Gospel reading or a reading from the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) or one of the Letters.
. . .
For additional excerpts from Sarah’s on-going blog, click on this link: A Confirmed City Girl looks for God in a Monastery