By Ella Fordyce, Class of 2019
The students and faculty of Thomas More College of Liberal Arts embarked on a silent retreat at the end of the fourth week of Lent. Beginning Thursday evening and ending Saturday at dinner, the silent retreat created a campus-wide hush. No word was spoken, save in prayer, or in necessary conversations. The retreat was planned as a means to aid both the students and faculty on their Lenten journey. Without the thousand distractions that music and chatter provide, all were free to turn their minds to God. As Mother Theresa said, “God speaks in the silence of the heart.”
The retreat began Thursday evening, with President Dr. William Fahey addressing the student body. In his speech, he briefly outlined the schedule and purpose of the retreat. He concluded by introducing the first event: a viewing of the film Into Great Silence. This documentary follows a year in the life of Carthusian monks in the Grande Chartreuse monastery. As Carthusians, the monks are bound to total silence, except when they pray the Liturgy of the Hours. To reflect this, the film has no soundtrack save the singing of the monks, and no sound effects save the ringing of the bells. Thus, the film is almost entirely silent, providing an excellent model for the silent retreat.
There were no classes the following day, as a class would obviously be difficult to conduct in silence. Instead, Friday was a Traditio Day, where the students and faculty together explore a particular text. The text in question was Saint Thomas More’s The Sadness of Christ, which he wrote shortly before his execution. Instructor John McCarthy gave the main talk for this Traditio as part of his preparation to become a Fellow of the College. In his talk, Mr. McCarthy explained that while The Sadness of Christ is a scriptural commentary on Christ’s suffering in the garden, it may also be read as belonging to the classical genre of the consolatio. A work of consolatio was a piece that sought to comfort the sufferer through the means of philosophy. In The Sadness of Christ, More sought to comfort martyrs, as well as perhaps himself.
After this excellent talk, the campus returned to quiet; even the meals were conducted in silence. The students spent their time reading, going on solitary walks, and praying. On Friday, students met in the chapel for the Rosary, Mass, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and the Stations of the Cross. From evening to morning, students took turns in the chapel for all-night Adoration. Saturday featured a similar schedule of Mass and prayers, and also a talk given by the Pastor of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Nashua, Father John Brancich, FSSP. In this way, students filled the silence in prayer to God, much like the Carthusian monks.
Of course, TMC is not the Grande Chartreuse, and the quiet had to end. It did so on Saturday evening, as students and faculty met to celebrate the joyous feast of Saint Patrick. Freed from the bounds of silence, everyone chatted and laughed over corned beef, roast vegetables, and beer. After dinner, students celebrated the return to music with song and dance. Despite the celebration, however, Lent is not yet over. Renewed by silence and strengthened by prayer, the students and faculty intend to bring the spiritual season of Lent to a fruitful close.
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