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Monday Night at the Movies
Into the Great
Silence
(2007)
Into
Great Silence
(2007) is a meditative documentary about the daily life of Carthusian monks in
the Grande Chartreuse monastery in the French Alps. It offers profound Catholic
lessons on silence, asceticism, and the rhythm of prayer.
🎬 Film Summary
Directed
by Philip Gröning, Into Great Silence is a nearly wordless, 162-minute
documentary filmed over six months inside the Grande Chartreuse, the
motherhouse of the Carthusian Order. Gröning lived among the monks, using only
natural light and ambient sound, with no narration, interviews, or music. The
film unfolds slowly, immersing viewers in the monks’ daily rhythm of:
·
Silent
prayer and contemplation
·
Manual
labor and solitary meals
·
Communal
chanting of the Divine Office
·
Seasonal
changes and liturgical cycles
Scripture
verses appear periodically on screen, offering spiritual anchors amid the
silence. The film’s pacing mirrors the monks’ deliberate lifestyle, inviting
viewers into a contemplative experience rather than a traditional narrative.
✨ Catholic Lessons & Themes
1.
Silence as Communion
The
film reveals silence not as emptiness, but as fullness—a space where God
speaks. It reflects the Carthusian motto: Stat crux dum volvitur orbis
(“The Cross stands while the world turns”).
·
Lesson: Silence is not withdrawal but encounter.
It deepens awareness of God’s presence.
2.
Asceticism and Simplicity
The
monks live in austere cells, eat simple meals, and wear plain habits. Their
lives are stripped of distraction, focused entirely on union with God.
·
Lesson: Simplicity is a spiritual discipline. It
clears space for grace and clarity.
3.
Liturgical Rhythm
The
film follows the monks through the liturgical year, showing how time is
sanctified through prayer, work, and seasonal change.
·
Lesson: Catholic life is rhythmic and
sacramental. Time itself becomes a vessel of grace.
4.
Community in Solitude
Though
largely silent and solitary, the monks gather weekly to walk and speak freely.
Their solitude is not isolation—it’s communion through shared purpose.
·
Lesson: True community is rooted in shared
silence, not constant interaction.
5.
Scripture as Dialogue
The
film uses brief Gospel verses as intertitles, allowing Christ’s words to
punctuate the silence.
·
Lesson: Scripture speaks most powerfully when
received in silence and lived through action.
Christopher’s Corner
· Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
o Spirit Hour: Raise a glass of orange wine to toast the day.
· Foodie
o Polish American Heritage Month
o full 7-course Polish-American Heritage Month meal with recipe links for each dish. These selections honor traditional Polish flavors while offering refined, symbolic presentation for vineyard hospitality or communal sharing.
o 🇵🇱🍽️ Polish-American 7-Course Meal with Recipe Links
o 🥂 1. Aperitif: Żubrówka Apple Spritz
§ A refreshing cocktail made with Polish bison grass vodka, apple cider, and sparkling water.
§ No formal recipe needed—just mix 1.5 oz Żubrówka, 3 oz apple cider, splash of soda, cinnamon stick garnish.
Symbol: Orchard clarity and autumn harvest.
o 🥣 2. Soup: Barszcz Czysty (Clear Beet Broth)
§ A luminous beet broth served with a swirl of sour cream and mushroom uszka.
§ Spruce Eats Clear Beet Soup
Symbol: Eucharistic blood and Marian mercy.
o 🥗 3. Salad: Mizeria with Dill and Crème Fraîche
§ Polish cucumber salad with sour cream, dill, and lemon.
§ Eating European Mizeria
Symbol: Humility, simplicity, and renewal.
o 🐟 4. Fish Course: Baltic Trout with Horseradish Cream
§ Smoked or seared trout served over celery root purée with horseradish sauce.
§ Smoked Trout with Horseradish Cream
Symbol: Baptismal clarity and prophetic witness.
o 🥟 5. Main Course: Wild Mushroom Pierogi Trio
§ Handmade pierogi filled with chanterelles, porcini, and sauerkraut.
§ Honest Food Wild Mushroom Pierogi
§ Polonist Mushroom Pierogi
Symbol: Pilgrimage, memory, and layered grace.
o 🧀 6. Cheese Course: Oscypek with Cranberry Compote
§ Grilled smoked sheep’s cheese served with warm cranberry sauce.
§ Oscypek with Cranberry Sauce
§ Cranberry Compote Recipe
Symbol: Mountain fidelity and Eucharistic joy.
o 🍰 7. Dessert: Szarlotka with Honey Whipped Cream
§ Polish apple cake spiced with cinnamon, served warm with honey cream.
§ Everyday Healthy Recipes Szarlotka
§ Polish Feast Szarlotka
Symbol: Autumn abundance and ancestral sweetness.
o Indulge in a sweet treat on Office Chocolate Day by sharing a box of chocolates with your coworkers or surprising a friend with their favorite chocolatey delight.
· Channel your inner chef on International Chefs Day by trying out a new recipe or treating yourself to a delicious meal.
· Monday: Litany of Humility
· How to celebrate Oct 20th
o You can start your day by lacing up for a fun run. Whether you’re a running pro or just starting out, participating in a local marathon can be a refreshing and energizing way to begin your day.
o Harness the power of suspenders to add a touch of whimsy to your outfit and spread joy to those around you.
o Embrace health awareness by learning about osteoporosis on World Osteoporosis Day. Take simple steps to improve your bone health, like incorporating more calcium-rich foods into your diet or going for a brisk walk.
· Bucket List trip[3]: USA 70-degree year trip:
o USA 70°F Pilgrimage – Week 43 Guide
Dates: October 20–26, 2025
Theme: Reconciliation and Radiance
Route: Fruita, CO → Tucson → Patagonia → Sonoita
Style: Desert pilgrimage with Eucharistic reflection, Marian devotion, and vineyard hospitality
Climate Alignment: Daily highs 72–78°F
Day 1 – Monday, October 20
Route: Fruita → Tucson (~600 miles)
Symbol: Desert Clarity
Ritual Prompt: “In the desert, distractions dissolve. Clarity emerges.”
- Drive south via US-191 and I-10
- Pause in Safford, AZ for midday reflection at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
- Evening walk at Sabino Canyon or Saguaro National Park
Day 2 – Tuesday, October 21
Location: Mission San Xavier del Bac, Tucson
Symbol: Radiant Mercy
Ritual Prompt: “Mercy is radiant—it heals, it remembers, it welcomes.”
- Visit the historic mission south of Tucson
- Pray the Rosary in the chapel or courtyard
- Light a candle for someone in need of mercy
Day 3 – Wednesday, October 22
Route: Tucson → Patagonia, AZ (~60 miles)
Symbol: Reconciliation in the Wild
Ritual Prompt: “Reconciliation begins with listening—to land, to story, to silence.”
- Drive AZ-83 S through desert grasslands
- Optional visit to Patagonia Creative Arts Center or a local chapel
Day 4 – Thursday, October 23
Location: Patagonia Lake State Park
Symbol: Waters of Communion
Ritual Prompt: “Communion flows like water—quiet, persistent, life-giving.”
- Walk the lakeside trails
- Pause for Eucharistic reflection by the water
- Share a symbolic act of communion (fruit, bread, prayer)
Day 5 – Friday, October 24
Route: Patagonia → Sonoita Vineyards (~20 miles)
Symbol: Fruit of Repair
Ritual Prompt: “Repair is not perfection—it is fruit born of pruning.”
- Visit Arizona’s oldest commercial vineyard
- Optional stop at Arizona Hops and Vines
- Prepare a symbolic tasting ritual: bread, wine, fruit, and blessing
Day 6 – Saturday, October 25
Location: Marian Chapel or Vineyard Rosary Walk
Symbol: Marian Benediction
Ritual Prompt: “Mary welcomed the Word. I welcome the weary.”
- Create a Rosary Walk near the vineyard or visit a Marian chapel
- Pray the Glorious Mysteries at sunrise
- Leave a Marian offering (flower, stone, prayer card)
Day 7 – Sunday, October 26
Location: Departure or Eucharistic Sending Forth
Symbol: Go Forth Radiant
Ritual Prompt: “I was reconciled. I now radiate. I go forth in communion.”
- Final walk or vineyard reflection
- Write a blog post or communal blessing: “What I carry forward from the desert”
- Share a Eucharistic meal or vineyard act with fellow pilgrims
Here is Day 20: St. Thérèse of Lisieux — Enthusiasm in Hidden Devotion, choreographed to continue the rhythm of Leafing the World Behind, now deep in the movement of the creative mind—where wonder becomes worship and smallness becomes sanctity.
🌊 Leafing the World Behind: Day 21
Witness: St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Theme: Enthusiasm in Hidden Devotion
Virtue: Zeal
Virtue Connection: Joy in the Invisible
Symbolic Act: Do something beautiful today that no one will see. Clean, write, pray, or serve in secret. Let it be a liturgy of love.
Location: A hallway, a laundry room, a garden path—any place where devotion hides in plain sight.
🕊️ Introduction: On Enthusiastic Hiddenness
Enthusiasm is not noise—it is fire.
It is not performance—it is presence.
To leaf the world behind is to burn brightly in secret, to love without applause, to serve without stage.
Today, we do not seek recognition—we seek radiance.
Enthusiasm, in this rhythm, is not ambition—it is adoration.
It is the courage to say: “Let my hidden acts be holy.”
🌺 Witness of the Day: St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Thérèse Martin entered the Carmelite convent at 15.
She never traveled far, never preached, never led.
She swept floors, folded linens, and prayed in silence.
And yet—her “Little Way” of love transformed the world.
She wrote:
“To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul.”
She believed that small acts, done with great love, echo into eternity.
Thérèse reminds us:
Devotion is not measured by visibility—it is measured by love.
Zeal is not loud—it is luminous.
Holiness is not always heroic—it is hidden.
🛡️ Virtue Connection: Joy in the Invisible
Zeal becomes virtue when it is joyful in obscurity.
When it does not demand credit.
When it burns quietly, faithfully, daily.
Thérèse did not seek greatness.
She sought God in the ordinary.
She reminds us:
Zeal without humility becomes ambition.
But zeal with humility becomes sanctity.
🕯️ Symbolic Act: Serve in Secret
Choose one act of devotion today.
Do it without telling anyone.
Let it be a hidden liturgy.
As you act, say:
“Lord, let my zeal be hidden.
Let my hiddenness be holy.
Let my holiness be joy.”
If you cannot act, pray for those whose devotion is unseen.
Let your prayer be a candle in their cloister.
🔥 Reflection Prompt
Where have you craved recognition?
What hidden act has shaped your soul?
Can you name one person whose quiet devotion changed your life?
Write, walk, or pray with these questions.
Let St. Thérèse remind you:
Hiddenness is not weakness—it is witness.
It is the strength to serve unseen, the grace to love quietly, the joy to burn brightly in secret.
OCTOBER 20 Monday
St
Irene
Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 6
The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and PEACE.
A Christian is a person who lives life in the spirit. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that liberates us from the flesh and gives us peace and allows us to give sacrifice, forgiveness, and "confirmation in the end without crime" (1 Cor. 4.8).
Christian Life in the Spirit[1]
In the final analysis the indwelling Spirit of
God who raised Jesus will also raise us in the resurrection. So, the
inescapable conclusion is that we are in debt to the Spirit. We have an
obligation to put to death the deeds, actions, pursuits of a person dominated
by the flesh and live instead by the Spirit. A very important result of being
subject to the Spirit is that one becomes a true child of God.
Copilot’s
Take
On
October 20, the feast of St. Irene, we are invited to contemplate the peace
that flows from life in the Spirit, as proclaimed in Romans 8:6: “The
concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and
peace.” Irene’s story—rooted in legend and martyrdom—tells of a young woman
committed to a life of study and spiritual devotion, falsely accused by a
corrupt monk and tragically killed by Britald, a nobleman misled by slander.
Her witness reminds us that Christian peace is not passive; it is forged
through fidelity, sacrifice, and the courage to resist injustice. In contrast,
the 2007 documentary Into Great Silence portrays real-life Carthusian
monks living in the Grande Chartreuse monastery, whose silent, ascetic rhythm
embodies the Spirit’s quiet work. Though Britald is not part of the film, the
monks’ lives offer a visual echo of Irene’s interior surrender—choosing silence
over accusation, and mercy over vengeance. Together, Irene’s martyrdom and the
monks’ contemplative witness call us to live not by the flesh, but by the
Spirit—where peace becomes a Eucharistic offering, and every act of fidelity
confirms us as true children of God.
Saint Irene[2]
Irene,
a beautiful and chaste Portuguese girl, was murdered before she reached the age
of 20. "An assiduous pupil and a devout believer, the only times she ever
left her house was to attend mass or to pray in the sanctuary dedicated to
Saint Peter on his feast-day. A young nobleman named Britald happened to see
her on one of these rare outings and fell desperately in love with her. Every
time that she went out, he waited to catch a glimpse of her, followed her to
church, and eventually made his suit known to her; however, Irene gave him to
understand that she would never marry him. "Thus rejected, Britald fell
into a deep depression and became so ill that the doctors who were called in to
tend him gave him up for lost. Hearing of this, Irene visited him and told him
that she had refused him because she was no longer free, having already taken a
vow of virginity.
Britald
at once accepted her decision and gradually recovered his health. Before Irene
left him, he had sworn that he would respect, and make others respect, her
vocation as a holy virgin, and the two had parted like brother and sister,
promising each other that they would meet again in Paradise. “Irene returned
home and resumed the life of seclusion and study, intending to make her
entrance into a convent before long. But the monk who was giving her private
lessons proved to be a lecherous scoundrel and behaved towards her in a manner
as dishonorable as Britald's was honorable. “Irene repulsed him and had him
dismissed at once; but his lust turning to a desire for revenge, the monk then
began to spread slanderous rumors about her. To those who asked him why he was
no longer giving the girl her private lessons, he replied that he had left on
learning that she was about to become a mother.
This
rumor quickly circulated throughout the town and at length reached Britald who,
being frank and trusting and unused to lies, believed what he was told. In a
passion of rage and jealousy, he hired a mercenary soldier to kill her. Soon
afterwards, as she was returning home from visiting an old man who was
crippled, the assassin approached her from behind and killed her with a single
stroke of his sword. “Her body, which was thrown into the river, was later
retrieved by some Benedictines on the banks of the Tagus, near the town of
Scalabris. They gave her a proper burial, made known her story, and not long
afterwards, so great was the veneration in which she was held, the name of the
town of Scalabis was changed to Santarem (Saint Irene)" (verbatim from
Encyclopedia).
Santarem
in Portuguese means “Saint Irene”, patron of the city. In the Church of St.
Irene, we can find the Miraculous Crucifix of Monteiraz. Church documents
relates that the Body of our Lord became alive (like the Miracle of Limpias), Jesus’
arm came down from the crucifix and embraced a small shepherd girl of the time
of the Eucharistic Miracle. The crucifix belonged to a community of the 12 Benedictine
monks (Abby of 12 apostles) is from the XII century, it is still venerated
today.
Visit
this link (http://www.piercedhearts.org/treasures/eucharistic_miracles/santarem.htm) to learn more about the Eucharistic Miracle.
As we continue reading from 1 Samuel, Fr. Mike points out how God gave the
people a king like they wanted, even though it was not part of his plan. This
reveals to us that even when we choose things that God does not want for us, he
is still with us. The readings are 1 Samuel 11-12 and Psalm 55.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite
in the work of the Porters of St.
Joseph
by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: Reparations for
offenses and blasphemies against God and the Blessed Virgin Mary
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: October
·
Litany of the Most Precious Blood
of Jesus
·
Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[1]
The Collegeville Bible Commentary
[3] Schultz,
Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List Workman
Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
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