Reflecting on the Power of Hidden Sanctity
Canonized saints sometimes reach celebrity-like status. The names Saint Teresa of Kolkata, Pope Saint John Paul II, Saint Joan of Arc, and Saint Francis of Assisi all carry weight in Catholic and secular circles alike. These saints are powerful examples of great sanctity and self-sacrifice, and their popularity does not detract from holiness, but in their shadow the hidden saints are often forgotten.
Though these hidden saints can take many forms, some found their home within cloistered, monastic communities. These men and women who chose the hidden life vowed to live out their days in solitude, physically removed from the outside world. Though we don’t know exactly how many cloistered religious live and pray in the world, in the United States alone there are 125 cloistered women’s communities and 19 men’s communities. There is no way for us to know how many saints have lived and died within the walls of these cloisters, but we do know that their sanctity should be emulated just like the sanctity of the officially canonized saints.
Emulation of this hidden sanctity is hard. It is easy for us to forget that this quiet, secluded avenue in the Christian journey even exists. Until recently, I only wanted to be like the great saints—the Blessed Pier Giorgios and Blessed Chiara Luces of the world. But last month I read a tear-jerkingly beautiful book which changed my perception of the cloistered life and inspired in me a new desire to imitate this type of holiness.
In This House of Brede by British author Rumer Godden relays the experience of cloistered life in a poignant way. Written in 1969, this book tells the story of a successful businesswoman named Philippa Talbot who left her wealth and career to enter a cloistered Benedictine Abbey. To some, this novel might seem boring. There is no action-packed climax, no intense drama, and no clear antagonist. There is, of course, a moving plot, but mostly the book relays the day-to-day details of monastic life. Godden weaves humor and heartbreaking loss with deep spiritual insight to create a novel that not only tells a story, but also creates a window through the stone walls of the monastery to allow us who live in the world to follow the path of the cloistered life.
Intercession alone
The first inspiration I received from reading about cloistered life in In This House of Brede is the importance of intercessory prayer. Some perhaps view a cloistered nun or monk as useless, asking what good they contribute to society. From a secular worldview, that question is completely valid. These cloistered men and women don’t make money, they aren’t “productive,” in the way we understand productivity in the modern world, and they aren’t socially engaged with the outside world in the same way most of us are. They aren’t being fulfilled by romantic relationships or climbing the corporate ladder. So what do the hidden saints of cloistered monasteries contribute to the world? In the novel, Godden argues that the contribution of the Benedictine nuns to society is intercessory prayer. There are several scenes in the book where the sisters stay up late into the night, praying for someone in need. It doesn’t matter if they are a stranger or a family member—the nuns of Brede pray with fervor and devotion for anyone in need. A dialogue between the main character Philippa and her friend Richard illustrates this poignantly:
‘And we pray in reparation, to make up for all those who won’t or can’t pray for themselves – especially anyone in grave sin. That’s why communities say the longest and most arduous Office at night – the time when most sin is committed in the world.’
‘You mean a little Carmelite might sit up and pray for a murderer?’
‘She has, with results,’ said Philippa.
There is no way to know the impact the prayers of cloistered religious have had on the world. But we do know that prayer is powerful, and those of us who live in the world are called to imitate this example of intercessory prayer.
Sanctity as the perfection of personality
Godden also taught me through her book that pursuing sanctity does not mean I have to eradicate my personality. The nuns in her story all have wildly different personalities. Sister Agnes is outspoken and feisty. Sister Catherine is soft-spoken and a natural leader. Sister Philippa is composed and intelligent. Sister Polycarp is clumsy and endearing. Throughout the story, there is strife, comedy, and love as the different personalities navigate life within the walls of the abbey. But though these women are very different, they are all imitating the same model—Christ.
To become Christ-like does not mean to mold oneself to one preconceived notion of what sanctity looks like. Rather, like the sisters of Brede demonstrate, being Christ-like means allowing obedience, surrender, and sanctity to prune what is not of Christ and to nourish what is of Him. Godden illustrates how personality finds its perfection and fulfillment in imitation of Christ. Through her storytelling, I have learned that to be holy does not mean I have to become less myself; rather it means I must let Christ perfect it and mold it to what He wants it to be.
“Is it easier to be than to do?”
In This House of Brede also challenged me to examine the way I live my life. Though I am not going to run off and join a cloistered monastery, after reading Godden’s beautiful work I want to live in the world the same way the sisters do. During a dialogue between a sister and a lay person, the sister says, “People think we renounce the world. We don’t. We renounce its ways but we are still very much in it and it is very much in us.” Like the sisters, I want to renounce the ways of the world, yet embrace the world, with its brokenness, its beauty, and its challenges. Cloistered men and women throughout history did not run away from the world and into the monastery—they embraced the world by their lives in the monastery. Those of us who live our day-to-day lives in the world can do the same.
This is easier said than done, but one thought-provoking line from the novel can help us begin to live in this way. About halfway through the book, Sister Philippa challenges another character by asking “Is it easier to be than to do?” The challenge found within this question is issued to the reader as well. Godden challenges us to examine our lives and ask where we put the most effort, to consider what we view as the hardest and most important thing in our lives. Do we focus most on doing, checking tasks of our to-do lists and measuring productivity? Or do we focus most on being, being in prayer, being in communion, being in love, and being with God?
There are many more lessons to be learned from the story of the Benedictine sisters of Brede. If you have time, read In This House of Brede for yourself. But if not, remember this: Hidden sanctity is good. It is good to focus on prayer, sanctification, and simply being with God. If we do this, we will be amazed at how much these simple acts can create space for God to work and bring about His kingdom on earth.
