The mystical beauty of the abbey Carmel Notre Dame de Surieu finally comes into view, and I was so tired that I found myself wondering if I might be able to hide out in its church sanctuary and spend the night therein; uttering the same out loud in more than a mere whisper as I opened the door to the same — and entered into the silent evening prayers of 10+ resident nuns … :O … Slightly aghast at my breach of etiquette, I slinked quietly into the back pew to wait until they were done worshiping.

And as I did so, the energy of the room began to pulse a most soothing ambience, made all the more so by the tiny robin who had entered equally unbidden and was calmly flitting about from stained-glass window to stained-glass window while the prayers continued … 🙂

And then, via some unseen cue, all of the nuns began to sing a closing hymn in voices that truly were — my apologies — nothing short of angelic … 😉

I remained therein for awhile after their departure, and then headed over to the abbey proper to ask about a possible nearby place where I could lay my head for the night. Sister Marie Celine greeted me warmly, heard the abbreviated tale of my Peace Walk, and then gave me some freshly picked strawberries to munch on while she sought advice as to what to do with my presence … 😀

“Let your gentleness be known to everyone,
knowing that the Lord is within them all.”
~ inspired by Paul (Philippians 4:5)

Filed under: Peace Pilgrimage #02: Walking HOME (2019) by Scaughdt