Category: Benedict

Benedictine wisdom

9/7/2022

Benedictine nun, Joan Chittister shares this story in The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages. With a smile and plenty of humility, I pass it on to you.

   The spiritual life takes discipline. It is not something to be learned, to internalized. It’s not a set of daily exercises; it’s a way of life, an attitude of mind, an orientation of soul. And it is gotten by being schooled until no rules are necessary.
   Among the ancients there is a story told that confirms this insight to this day:
   “What action shall I perform to attain God?” The disciple asked the elder.
   “If you wish to attain God, the elder said, there are two things you must know. The first is that all efforts to attain God are of no avail.”
   “And the second?” The disciple insisted.
   “The second is that you must act as if you did not know the first,” the elder said.

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Seasons of faith~

4/22/2013

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I aware that catastrophic news events can detract from my prayer life. On one level I’m praying all the time, but on another I am distracted from my usual prayer and meditation routine. Maybe I need to remember that Christianity is a seasonal faith with the yearly church calendar of Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, and Ordinary Time, Our lives, and surely our prayer lives, reflect this in an arbitrary and seeming random fashion—anticipation, birth, suffering, little deaths, resurrections, and all those time when nothing much seems to be happening.

Last week I discovered how easy it is for me to let go of my usual prayer practice. As I forgive myself (once again), I want to recommit (once again) to the stability that the monastic tradition that passed on through the centuries. We are told to stay in our cell, for it is there that we will come to know all that we need to know. The Rule of St. Benedict tells us, “Listen carefully with the ear of your heart.” That calls for attention to the seasons of my faith.

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Obedience to God; the gate is narrow~

6/29/2012

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Assisi

Lately I’ve been annoyed at the idea of obedience. I don’t want to be obedient to anyone but myself and God, which is terribly hard and something that I don’t always/usually do. But why the annoyance? I think it has to do with my awareness that obedience is foundational to the patriarchy of the Roman Catholic church, which means being obedient to another human being, specifically to a man. Obedience is foundational in The Rule of St. Benedict, in the structure of the Society of Jesuits and other religious orders, and of course in the Pope's ‘job description’.

Having just returned from Italy, this idea is imprinted on my mind. But it doesn’t have to be my limited view, my definition. I don’t have to settle on the idea that obedience is to another human who thinks he knows what I need or should do. That may be the easy way out but I want to be obedient to God’s call, which is the hard way. The gate is narrow. What a challenge.

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7.13

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Hospitality of the heart

5/21/2011

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I have been taking a four week E-Course through Spirituality and Practice, entitled “Creating a Monastery of the Heart with Joan Chittister,” based on Benedictine spirituality. Friday’s topic was “Hospitality,” and here’s what I posted on the ‘Practice Circle.”

It’s easy for me to think that hospitality means that I have to let people into my life every living minute of my day. I can get in a tizzy believing that more is better—more people invited over, more people visited, more people chatted with, more soup kitchens worked in. Although I’m exaggerating to get my point across, this kind of attitude puts enormous strain on all of us, certainly the introverts, but also the extroverts.

For the past ten or so years I have felt God’s call to intercessory prayer. I’m still a novice and my response falls short much of the time. Nevertheless, I do know that when I have hospitality of the heart, something powerful happens between me, the person or situation I’m praying for and God. To me, hospitality of the heart means that I welcome without judgment.

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Where's the time to pray?

5/18/2011

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Cathedral of the Pines.

      I’m feeling rather depleted from all the extroverted activities that have been part of my life for the past few weeks. Um, seems that that’s the way it always is unless I am at my cottage by the sea or traveling by myself, with large chunks of time in solitude. So what to do about it? I believe that I am called to prayer but that takes time and I don’t feel that I have been getting the time I need; or perhaps I haven’t been taking the time?

       What do I hear when I take the time to pray about this? That I am called to intercessory prayer, which must be steeped in a full devotional way of living, in a Benedictine way of life of prayer, study and work. This doesn’t mean neglecting the obligations I have out in the world. After all, Benedict also talks about obedience. It’s a question of sifting the wheat from the chaff, of discerning what of value fills my days and what is really a waste of time and energy?

       I like to think I know the differences, but I’m not certain it’s that simple. I’ve been fairly faithful practicing Centering Prayer and they say that its fruits appear In unexpected place and at unforeseen times. I’m still waiting.

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Benedictine wisdom

Seasons of faith~

Obedience to God; the gate is narrow~

Hospitality of the heart

Where's the time to pray?

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