The Lettera Files: 02.07.2025

Some Carthusian wisdom in prayer

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My Olivetti Lettera 32

Dear reader,

Today’s Lettera File comes from a 17th century monk in the monastic order that most captures my imagination - the Carthusians.

I first encountered the Carthusians through a meditative film, Into Great Silence. It’s a masterpiece. It is a truly contemplative watch. It stands as my favourite film well above anything else. It is not an easy watch as it has long shots, no narration, and no music, but if you can sit still for almost 3 hours and go with it, you’ll notice your heart slow and your senses experiencing the world more intently at the end of it.

Here’s a short explanation of the film:

Since I first became fascinated with the Carthusians I have read much of their writing. When it comes to western Christian monasticism, the life of their order is the most austere, and no other western monasticism is as dedicated to silence. Across in eastern Orthodoxy there are a number of comparative orders. On prayer; the thing their lives are most dedicated to, that commitment to austerity and silence leads to a whole other way of thinking. Theirs is a mystical, contemplative well that I like to draw from. It feeds my soul.

Unusually for these Lettera Files, After the transcript under the image of this one I am going to offer some thoughts to help contextualise the quote for those unfamiliar with a slow, quiet approach to prayer. Because these are meant to be brief, don’t feel a need to engage with my explanation if the quote itself gives you enough to ponder.

If you’re new here, I publish a Lettera File every Wednesday. They are typed on my Olivetti Lettera 32 (pictured above). Excuse any typos and formatting issues since I am using a typewriter where I can’t easily correct things. In this one you can see where I got carried away with the rhythm of typing without watching the page (and therefore, clearly, don’t have my margins for these little pages set properly). There’s also one misspelling I’ve spotted.

This feature is always a short thought for contemplation whether you agree, disagree, or anything in between.

It’s worth pointing out that almost all of these are quotes, and they usually come from books I own and have read, or am reading.

Here is today’s file, followed by a transcript of the text in the image (with mistakes corrected) for ease of reading…