Silence Brings the Soul into Motion

Hermits – Support Personnel
It is a Christian tradition of long standing for people to take leave of their everyday life and go off into the desert. For the men and women participating in the “Tower Hermit” project, the Türmerstube hermitage in St. Mary’s Cathedral will serve as this barren place.

What many people who go on retreat are seeking is to shut out extraneous concerns, attain composure and get in touch with their inner self. The hermits in the Cathedral tower go beyond this:
Over the course of a week, they dedicate themselves to quietude and silence. They—with the support of those accompanying this project—will focus on essential, mystical questions: What exists when nothing exists anymore? What do you perceive once you have taken leave of familiar routines, when you’ve achieved serenity and disengaged from matters of lesser importance? What are you deep inside?
Many people will pursue their spiritual longings and discover surprising answers.

Professionals who accompany such spiritual processes know that silence brings the soul into motion.
In addition to dealing with the necessities of everyday life, the hermits will be confronting the movements of their soul—an exciting, unpredictable undertaking.

The Catholic Church of Upper Austria offers seminars that deal with silence in its manifold forms: exercises, meditation and contemplation. These are conducted by trained workshop leaders.
Details about these seminars are available in the catalog put out by the Diocese’s Department of Spirituality and online at www.dioezese-linz.at/spiritualitaet.