Father Kelly Nemeck spoke on Origen

Today I drove to and from San Antonio with friend MB to hear a lecture about Origin by Fr. Francis Kelly Nemeck of Lebh Shomea. This is in a course on Christian Mysticism, which is sponsored by the Oblate School of Theology and Contemplative Outreach of SA; there is a two-hour class once a month.

MB and I were thrilled to have Fr. Kelly speak, as we have come to know him at Lebh Shomea House of Prayer. (Fr. Kelly wrote about Lebh Shomea and its history here.) I initially began taking classes at Oblate School of Theology, because of Fr. Kelly, who is a priest of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. His quiet humor, years of dedicated service and prayer, and deep contemplative knowledge bless those around him.

I was pleased to find an article from 2005 about Lebh Shomea, with a glimpse of Fr. Kelly:

It suits Nemeck just fine, though. A frail man with an easy smile who deflects the South Texas sun with a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, he speaks slowly and selects his words with care.

"Silence is different from the absence of sound," Nemeck said from his seat on a porch, watching the mesquite trees sway in the coastal breeze. "Silence is listening to God in and through nature. It quiets you down from the feverish pace of so much of our society."

The "rat race" creates a void in people, Nemeck said.

"Silence is a kind of void, but it's a fulfilling void," he said. "The void of the fast pace leaves you frazzled, but the void of silence leaves you receptive."

Nemeck, who wrote his doctoral thesis on "the positive and constructive value of human suffering," stressed that the silence observed at Lebh Shomea is the result of discipline, not rigid vows.

"There's no idle conversation," he said. "We address what needs to be addressed."

Go here to read the rest of the article, which is by Brian Chasnoff.