Poustinia

It is amazing how one concert put me in touch with so many strings to my past.
As I sat there, getting ready for the show, I looked to my left, and I saw an old friend, Scott Bass. He and his wife Roberta, run a Catholic Workers House in South Raleigh. Their outreach is to the homeless, and to those either with familiy members on death row, or other people dealing with our justice system. They are the presence of Christ, within a broken world.
Scott lives a block away from Madonna House. Madonna House is a place where I have learned a lot about God's grace and mercy.
At Madonna House, there is a room called a poustinia.

Poustinia is a Russian word that literally means “desert.”

Catherine Doherty has written a book, Poustinia: Encountering God in Silence, Solitude and Prayer, which is now considered a modern spiritual classic. It explains in detail the concept of making a poustinia, which entails going apart from the community to fast and pray in solitude for 24 hours or more.


Scripture is the only book taken to poustinia. Through the praying of Scripture we are immersed in the word of God. To this, fasting on bread and water is added. The intention of poustinia is always for others, for the needs of the Church, the world and those who have asked us to pray for them.



Here is a place where I have learned a lot about the heart of God, and a lot about my own heart. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone who is deeply in love with God, and yet, at times, feels that their life is unamanageable, out of control, and without stillness.

Here is a quote from their websight.
http://www.madonnahouse.org/field/raleigh.html


"So we are to be passionately, utterly and totally in love with God. We exist to serve him whom our hearts love and to extend his Kingdom.

This is the plan of God. And the miracle of that plan is that he invites us to participate in it. What is the plan? Behold, the Crucifixion — a simple cross and on it, our God and our Love.

We of Madonna House are called to build a community of love, by integrating the Gospel into our lives. We try to do it by prayer: particularly by poustinia, which restores us to Christ. Poustinia is a place of solitude, fasting and penance, in order to atone and uphold others before God, for our sins and those of the world.
Also, we build a community of love through sobornost. Sobornost is a Russian word that means an intense and constant unity with the Trinity. It is not simply unanimity. Rather, it is the life of the Trinity in the midst of the community.

In Raleigh, the special accent and way it is lived out is to be a “prayer listening house.” It is a home where hospitality of the heart welcomes everyone: to be refreshed, to chat over a cup of tea, to find an oasis in the midst of a secular, competitive world.

Two poustinias (prayer rooms) are available to come to pray in solitude, to listen to God, and to touch the hem of Christ's garment."

Contact Theresa, and she will help you set up a time to come and have your soul refreshed by the presence of the Lord, in the desert.

Phone: 919-231-4049
Or, you could just go to a Derek Webb show, run into an old friend, and you never know what will happen, it may tap your soul back into a region that has gone lost, ridiculed, or simply fragmented. It is a great thing when God brings old friends back into our lives.