Posts Tagged ‘Psalm 112:1-9’

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Titus 2: 7-8, 11-14;

Psalm 112: 1-9;

Matthew 24: 42-47

When Hugh was five years old his family gave him to the Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse in the mountains of south eastern France to raise.  That a noble family would give a son at a tender age to a monastery to educate was not unusual during the Middle Ages because monastic foundations were centers of learning.  Even so, most parents might have hesitated sending a son for training to the strictest religious community in the Church.  Those of you who have seen the movie Into Greater Silence or read Nancy Maguire’s account of 20th Carthusians in England, An Infinity of Little Hours will have some familiarity with this religious order.  Into Greater Silence gave a glimpse of the daily life of the Carthusians at Grande Chartreuse, which has changed little since the order was founded by St. Bruno in the 11^th century.  Blanketed by deep snows during long winters, the silence of the season compliments the disciplined silence of the monks.  One can only imagine the impact such an atmosphere of holiness and austerity would have on children brought up in it.  We know that Hugh thrived there.  Read More