The Covenant Stories is an ongoing series by Gordon Atkinson. They are published at the The High Calling Blog Network each Thursday. This story is the 6th in the series. There is an archive where you can see them all.

When Philip Gröning wanted to make the documentary “Into Great Silence,” he asked the Carthusian monks at the Grande Chartreuse monastery in France if he might spend a couple of years quietly filming their lives. They said they would think about it and get back to him. 16 years later he received a letter from them. They had considered his request and were now ready for him to begin filming.

What kind of slow-moving world do these monks inhabit? 16 years in the modern world is time enough for two or even three careers. Why would these monks assume Philip Gröning was still interested in this project or even interested in filming anything at all? How did they find his address after 16 years? Did someone write it on a scrap of paper and keep it in a box all that time?

The monks of Grande Chartreuse mark time in their own way. Time in their world moves more slowly. Things unfold gradually. Nothing happens quickly, so when things do happen they are important things. Things that seemed important or even urgent one year might not be so important a year later. After 16 years, people may have forgotten them altogether. Consider for a moment how important a thing must be if it passes the deep consideration and patient process of the Carthusians of Grande Chartreuse.