Searching amid the calm

Searching amid the calm The group from Trinity College who travelled to Taizé this year
Youth Space
Aisling Connolly recalls her experience at Taizé this year

 

“A simple prayer is like a soft sighing, like a child’s prayer, it keeps us alert” – this is a quote by Bro. Roger, the founder of the monastic Taizé community located in the beautiful southern French countryside, expressing his belief in the centrality of simple prayer for living a Christian life.

In the 1940s, Bro. Roger set up a Christian monastery which fulfilled this way of life, Taizé being an ecumenical community where life is structured around simple songs of prayer at morning, midday and evening. Whilst originally acting as a sanctuary for WWII refugees, Taizé now serves as a site of pilgrimage for the thousands of people who yearly feel drawn to join the brothers in community, work and prayer.

I once again made the journey to Taizé this summer, accompanied by a group of Trinity students, to experience the peace there I am yet to find elsewhere.

Upon arrival at my first morning prayer, I was pleased to find I remembered some of the songs from previous years and excited to learn new ones (the Taizé song book is extensive!). These short chants are repeated over and over, in a variety of languages, creating a meditative form of worship. The chants are simple, yet are all that is needed to express our core, shared beliefs thus allowing total focus to be placed on God.

While some of the students found it difficult at first to adjust to the nine minutes of silence which interjects each prayer, by my third trip to Taizé I have found myself appreciating these meditative minutes more and more, as time devoted entirely to reflecting on my Faith, something not usually afforded during busy college life.

Each pilgrim is given a job to do in order to contribute to community life. This year I was part of the ‘Night Watch’, entrusted with ensuring the sleeping barracks are quiet during the night and that the brothers wishes that all remain within Taizé after dark, are respected.

Whilst not the most desired job in Taizé given the late hours and long shifts, perks included seeing the sky filled with more stars than I’ve seen ever before (unlike Dublin, there’s little or no light pollution) and having more time during the day to visit the Source. The Source is a place of silence and reflection, consisting of a tranquil garden of walking trails, a lake, bridge and a flower-filled field where all that can be heard are the birds, frogs and crickets.

The role of Taizé varies for every person, and for me, has varied with each visit. On my first visit, Taizé acted as a place of renewal of my Faith, having felt disconnected from it in a growingly secular Ireland. To see such a huge number of young people coming to pray and talk openly about their Faith made me rediscover my own. For some, it is a place to delve deeper into Faith.

Discussion

Daily Bible studies are held to discuss Scripture and create a platform of discussion amongst pilgrims of different nationalities and denominations.

A memorable conclusion of one such discussion was “a questioning Faith is a strong Faith”, in response to resurfacing doubts among one of the pilgrims.

The subject of God being forgiveness yet the difficulty it sometimes is to truly forgive one another was also delved into On this latest visit however, I found Taizé serving a new role in life, in helping guide me in my next steps in life as a university graduate. Having newly finished college, I am unsure of what direction I should take. At Taizé I found many other people also at a crossroads in their lives, whether it was having quit a job, finished college or completing secondary education; all were there searching for answers to the same question – what next?

From those encounters I began to feel less worry and more excitement at the joy of new beginnings and gained a renewed trust that God will guide me to what’s right in this next stage in life.

Despite the simplicity and repetitiveness of life in Taizé, each visit serves to answer a person’s individual search, across a diversity of needs and backgrounds. Perhaps this is why so many like myself, chose to return again and again.

This Taizé trip is run annually by the ecumenical chaplaincy at Trinity College, with Fr Peter Sexton and Rev. Dr Julian Hamilton.