Daniel's conversation with Mitch

Mitch: Well, personally speaking, what was appealing for me to enter a monastic lifestyle (when I tried in the past) was the sense that they just totally withdrew from the world, and the temptations and stuff, and kinda like, you don’t want to say they hid themselves, but in a sense they did. Um – and its just for something deeper. The more that you grow in your spiritual life, the more you feel God calling you, and its always to go deeper. And its like, to seclude your self in this sense, is to just kinda be alone with God and to let Him purify you and go deeper than stay on the surface level. And I think it’s a powerful – it’s a powerful way of life.

Daniel: Did you get to know something more by being here these two days. What would be the best thing about Solesmes – the monastery of Solesmes. What did you get to know?

Mitch: By staying at the monastery, here at Solesmes, I got to see the monastic life lived out to the fullest. In Louisiana you don’t see that a whole lot, there are smaller orders. Here there are over sixty men that are just totally dedicated to God. The way that they would chant - I mean, it was just beautiful – it would just really move my soul to another level of prayer. Just, the order of their life made me realize how much of my life is just so not ordered and centered around God, the way that they center their life. I mean, they have bells to tell them when to go to something else. And everything is just about God, and trying to live in the moment, right here and now. And that’s what being holy is about. And that’s what I realize. Its that, even though I’m single right now, I can still live a holy life, because its just about the moment. And that’s what I learned from them – was just to be with God right now, and that is His will.

Daniel: What is the ordered life – how is that you have an ordered life in a monastery?

Mitch: To have an ordered life in a monastery is to have a schedule of things to do. And you know when to do them, you know - you know that have morning prayer at...

Daniel: I don’t understand. Why is it good to have a scheduled life in a monastery?

Mitch: Its good to have a scheduled life in a monastery because you stay focused – you know – you stay focused completely on God. Because throughout the day in my busy life, I get so caught up, that, come nighttime, I’m like – oh man, I didn’t stop and pray today. But over here, in the monastic life, its so scheduled for you that you keep God as the center of your life through the entire day. And that was totally incredible to be in there, at Night Prayer with them, and they’re chanting Night Prayer and the lights are all out, and the candles are lit – it was just beautiful. And they end their night that way in silence. And it was a beautiful experience.

Daniel: Quite an attractive style of life for you.

Mitch: It is. Very attractive.

Daniel: What was the most attractive?

Mitch: The most attractive in this lifestyle for me would be – I guess two things. Number one the community life that they live. They live as brothers in a fraternity, so to speak. And so, in that, there is church, and they support one another in their daily and their growth with Christ. And the other important thing that would attract me to it is their schedule, that they know which way they’re going, and they know how to keep God as the center of their day. And that’s something that I struggle with personally in my everyday life, is just, trying to keep Him the center.