Prayer Central

It is amazing in this age of scepticism and talk of decline regarding religion that people still flock to cathedrals. It is perhaps something to do with the amazing the sense of place that almost overwhelms as one walks into a cathedral and the sense of people having worshipped in a place for many centuries.

Another aspect of cathedrals that is not often mentioned is the cloister.  The cloister is a beautiful symbol of Christianity as a way of life, God’s presence at the centre, and flowing outwards as healing into all the other aspects of living. It was a place for silence and reflection but it was also the organisational fulcrum, joining all the various aspects of the monastic community’s life. The cloister garden was at the centre, a place of ordered beauty and peace. It reflected the ideals of taking that which is of value both sacred and secular and treasuring it, enhancing and nurturing it. This was a ministry of great importance because in that way, the monasteries preserved great texts and art and were centres of learning and healing during the middle ages.

Scripture reminds us that we can hear the call of God in creation – and the call is for us to live eternal values.  We are called to find God in that life rhythm of creation, wherever we are. The cloister and the cloister garden were about taking time to listen to God at the centre of a busy life and ministry. One of the ways God calls us to do that is through listening to nature, through listening to the music of creation.

Perhaps that’s why cathedrals are still so relevant to life today hundreds of years later because they were built around careful rhythms of prayer, of study and of singing at certain times of the day. As we encounter the rhythms of the Creator, we are able to set ourselves in tune with His call. We are able to be true to ourselves as He created us, to encounter wholeness and everything that means.

So perhaps we should seek to build a sort of cloister into our daily living. It doesn’t have to be big or important – a corner of a room or even a desk or if we are lucky enough, a garden or a beach, or a special place of natural beauty. It can be anywhere but it should be a place of prayer in the midst of everything, a place of connection and peace, from which the presence of God can flow into everything we do.

Passages for study:

Genesis 1:1-31

Mark 6:30-44

Jeremiah 33:1-16

Psalm 1

Isaiah 58:9-12

John 15:1-17

Psalm 92:12-15