SPEAK NO EVIL
A VOW OF SILENCE
A young man who felt he had a call to the religious life, began to consider his options. After reviewing several possible choices, he finally decided to apply to an order which also required him to take a vow of silence. Upon acceptance into the order, he took the name, Brother Thomas . Brother Thomas’ Superior explained to him: “You must respect the vow of silence you took. Every 10 years you will be permitted to speak only 2 words to your Superior - that is all.”
Brother Thomas managed to successfully complete his first 10 years, and on the day of its completion, his Superior said to him, “Brother Thomas, you have been with us 10 years now, have you anything you would like to tell us about your time with us that can be summed up in two words ? “ Brother Thomas nodded enthusiastically and emphatically blurted out , “Bed, hard !!” “And so, it shall be duly noted”, replied his Superior.
Although it was a struggle at times, Brother Thomas managed to share another 10 years successfully with his order, and on the day of the completion of his second decade, his Superior once more called him forward, asking , “Brother Thomas, praise God. You have shared your life and ours for yet another 10 years now. Have you anything else you would like to tell us about your time with us that can be summed up in two words ? ” Brother Thomas again nodded enthusiastically and this time blurted , “Food, horrible !!” “And so, it shall be duly noted”, replied his Superior.
The next 10 years with his order proved to be the most trying for Brother Thomas , but he remained adamantly committed to see it through to its completion , yet by the time 30 years had been completed, he found himself at an impasse.
On the day of completion of his third decade with his community, his Superior once more called him forward, saying , “Brother Thomas, you have been with us 30 years now, praise God. Have you anything you would like to tell us about all your time with us that can be summed up in two words ? “ Brother Thomas nodded enthusiastically and said , “I quit ! ”
To which his Superior quickly stood up and quipped, “Well, quite frankly, I’m not the least bit surprised – You’ve been here 30 years and all you’ve done is complain ! ”
A VOW OF SILENCE
A young man who felt he had a call to the religious life, began to consider his options. After reviewing several possible choices, he finally decided to apply to an order which also required him to take a vow of silence. Upon acceptance into the order, he took the name, Brother Thomas . Brother Thomas’ Superior explained to him: “You must respect the vow of silence you took. Every 10 years you will be permitted to speak only 2 words to your Superior - that is all.”
Brother Thomas managed to successfully complete his first 10 years, and on the day of its completion, his Superior said to him, “Brother Thomas, you have been with us 10 years now, have you anything you would like to tell us about your time with us that can be summed up in two words ? “ Brother Thomas nodded enthusiastically and emphatically blurted out , “Bed, hard !!” “And so, it shall be duly noted”, replied his Superior.
Although it was a struggle at times, Brother Thomas managed to share another 10 years successfully with his order, and on the day of the completion of his second decade, his Superior once more called him forward, asking , “Brother Thomas, praise God. You have shared your life and ours for yet another 10 years now. Have you anything else you would like to tell us about your time with us that can be summed up in two words ? ” Brother Thomas again nodded enthusiastically and this time blurted , “Food, horrible !!” “And so, it shall be duly noted”, replied his Superior.
The next 10 years with his order proved to be the most trying for Brother Thomas , but he remained adamantly committed to see it through to its completion , yet by the time 30 years had been completed, he found himself at an impasse.
On the day of completion of his third decade with his community, his Superior once more called him forward, saying , “Brother Thomas, you have been with us 30 years now, praise God. Have you anything you would like to tell us about all your time with us that can be summed up in two words ? “ Brother Thomas nodded enthusiastically and said , “I quit ! ”
To which his Superior quickly stood up and quipped, “Well, quite frankly, I’m not the least bit surprised – You’ve been here 30 years and all you’ve done is complain ! ”
this cat & dog photo! (*lol*)