On a misty evening in Connemara, I began my retreat at Kylemore Abbey with Evening Prayer in the chapel. Outside, the mountains were wrapped in clouds and the lake lay still beneath the gray Irish sky. A deep quiet seemed to embrace the abbey, inviting me to slow down, breathe deeply, and simply be present.
As the Benedictine sisters began chanting the evening prayers in Latin, I tried at first to follow along. But since my Latin is almost nonexistent, that effort did not last very long! So I closed my eyes, stopped trying to understand every word, and simply listened.
And perhaps that was the first grace of my retreat. Listen.
The sisters’ voices rose and fell in the ancient rhythms of chant, drawing me into a stream of prayer much older than the twelve of us gathered in that chapel. For centuries, Benedictine women and men have paused throughout the day to pray, following a monastic way of life shaped in the sixth century by Benedict of Nursia and embraced by his sister Scholastica and generations of Benedictine women and men who followed.
Sitting there, I realized that sometimes we do not need to understand the words to receive their meaning.
Prayer is more than words. Prayer is presence. It is listening. It is opening ourselves to the Sacred Mystery already within us, around us, and flowing through all creation.
With my eyes closed, I became aware that the sisters were not praying alone. Their chant carried echoes of countless generations who had sung these same psalms before them. I felt connected with mystics and pilgrims, seekers and saints, and ordinary people in the communion of saints through the ages who have longed, as we all do, to know that they are loved and held by a Presence greater than themselves.
I thought, too, of the many ways people pray throughout our world. Some pray the rosary. Some chant psalms. Some sing gospel songs. Some sit in silence. Some dance. Some weep. Some walk through forests, along the sea, or beneath a starlit sky. And sometimes our entire prayer is simply one word which I often use: “Help.”
The Sacred Mystery at the heart of all life understands them all.
As I listened to the sisters chanting, I felt deep gratitude for this sacred pause in my journey. I had arrived at Kylemore as a pilgrim carrying memories, hopes, dreams and the weariness that comes with weeks of wonderful but tiring - packing and unpacking -travel. Slowly, I sensed that I simply needed to be here. No agenda!
Perhaps this was the first invitation of my retreat at Kylemore Abbey:to slow down the pace, listen with my heart, enter the silence, and rest in the infinite Love in whom we live and move and have our being.
Footnote:
The Rule of St. Benedict (6th century) was written by Benedict of Nursia and became the foundational text for Western monastic life. His twin sister, Scholastica, is traditionally regarded as the first Benedictine nun and is honored within the Benedictine tradition for her deep spiritual companionship with Benedict and her own contemplative witness.
ChatGPT was used for editorial assistance in this article.
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