Chapter 23
The Rule of Benedict June 30
Instead of focusing on the punishments in this chapter, I would like for us to consider how to rid ourselves of any fault that would warrant correction. Let us lay aside our resistance and be motivated by a desire to share more fully in the spiritual riches of our common life and practice.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
June 29
Chapter 22
The Rule of Benedict June 29
Let us each remember during this upcoming month of quiet that we have in each other a mutually supportive community of prayer. We do not bear the burdens of our life alone even when we feel isolated due to our circumstances. You are each held in prayer every day.
The Rule of Benedict June 29
Let us each remember during this upcoming month of quiet that we have in each other a mutually supportive community of prayer. We do not bear the burdens of our life alone even when we feel isolated due to our circumstances. You are each held in prayer every day.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
June 28
Chapter 21
The Rule of Benedict June 28
It has become clear to me that the emphasis on roles was premature in the BSBSB. We can revisit the work we have done to that end if it seems that it would benefit our life together at some future time.
The Rule of Benedict June 28
It has become clear to me that the emphasis on roles was premature in the BSBSB. We can revisit the work we have done to that end if it seems that it would benefit our life together at some future time.
June 27
Chapter 20
The Rule of Benedict June 27
I hear from this chapter that the Divine Office is not an end in itself, but a means by which we are compelled to live a life of humility and devotion before God, our own highest end.
As I have taken on a practice which includes more Offices each day, our Father Benedict's instructions here have found new resonance in me. Each experience of praying an office is far less important than the cultivation of the disciplined obedience that comes from the act of stopping and turning my attention to God. A desire for a particular set of emotions or mental states only serves to further fix my attention on myself.
It is then, when we obediently turn our hearts and minds from ourselves that we can be surprised by divine grace, which may inspire us to linger in response to God's presence.
The Rule of Benedict June 27
I hear from this chapter that the Divine Office is not an end in itself, but a means by which we are compelled to live a life of humility and devotion before God, our own highest end.
As I have taken on a practice which includes more Offices each day, our Father Benedict's instructions here have found new resonance in me. Each experience of praying an office is far less important than the cultivation of the disciplined obedience that comes from the act of stopping and turning my attention to God. A desire for a particular set of emotions or mental states only serves to further fix my attention on myself.
It is then, when we obediently turn our hearts and minds from ourselves that we can be surprised by divine grace, which may inspire us to linger in response to God's presence.
June 26
Chapter 19
The Rule of Benedict June 26
I appreciate that Benedict describes the desired relationship between mind (our thoughts) and voice (the words we sing) in the Divine Office as "in harmony". "Harmony" implies a pleasant relationship between two distinct entities, not a top-down conformation of one to the other. Our task as we pray is not so much to submit our thoughts to the words of the Office, but to allow our thoughts the freedom to sing along. And as we all know from experience, such freedom takes practice.
The Rule of Benedict June 26
I appreciate that Benedict describes the desired relationship between mind (our thoughts) and voice (the words we sing) in the Divine Office as "in harmony". "Harmony" implies a pleasant relationship between two distinct entities, not a top-down conformation of one to the other. Our task as we pray is not so much to submit our thoughts to the words of the Office, but to allow our thoughts the freedom to sing along. And as we all know from experience, such freedom takes practice.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
June 25
Chapter 18 pt. 4
The Rule of Benedict June 25
Benedict places a high value on covering all the Psalms in the Divine Office. I believe this is because the Psalms serve a central role in his vision of spiritual formation. In our order, I wonder if one way we can honor this value is to eventually discern a schedule according to which we can cover the entire Psalter while praying only one or two offices a day. We have a very good example of such a schedule in the Daily Office at the back of our own Book of Common Prayer.
Over the last several months I have been using the BCP Daily Office arrangement of Psalms for Morning and Evening inserted into Lauds and Vespers from the Breviary. It has provided for me some needed expansion of Psalm repertoire in my daily prayer practice.
The Rule of Benedict June 25
Benedict places a high value on covering all the Psalms in the Divine Office. I believe this is because the Psalms serve a central role in his vision of spiritual formation. In our order, I wonder if one way we can honor this value is to eventually discern a schedule according to which we can cover the entire Psalter while praying only one or two offices a day. We have a very good example of such a schedule in the Daily Office at the back of our own Book of Common Prayer.
Over the last several months I have been using the BCP Daily Office arrangement of Psalms for Morning and Evening inserted into Lauds and Vespers from the Breviary. It has provided for me some needed expansion of Psalm repertoire in my daily prayer practice.
Friday, June 24, 2011
June 24
Chapter 18 pt. 3
The Rule of Benedict June 24
Last night we celebrated the Feast of St. Benedict (July 11) at our last Vespers service until August. Gil shared that the goal of the Benedictine path is to live a transparent life to oneself, to God, and to others. The Psalms are used in the Benedictine tradition to fulfill this end by giving voice to both our shadow self and to our self that walks in the full light of God. One task that is ours on Benedict's path is to recognize ourselves in these ancient songs of the human experience.
The Rule of Benedict June 24
Last night we celebrated the Feast of St. Benedict (July 11) at our last Vespers service until August. Gil shared that the goal of the Benedictine path is to live a transparent life to oneself, to God, and to others. The Psalms are used in the Benedictine tradition to fulfill this end by giving voice to both our shadow self and to our self that walks in the full light of God. One task that is ours on Benedict's path is to recognize ourselves in these ancient songs of the human experience.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
June 23
Chapter 18 pt. 2
The Rule of Benedict June 23
I have found that returning to the psalms designated for Terse, Sext, and None (Tuesday-Saturday) has ministered to me in unexpected ways. Psalms 120-128 seem to resonate within the depths of the human experience, and during some of my life's greatest challenges, they rise from my lips better than any words I could have mustered on my own.
Psalm 124 has been especially poignant for me this week as I encounter and process pain and tragedy in my life and in the lives of others in our community.
The Rule of Benedict June 23
I have found that returning to the psalms designated for Terse, Sext, and None (Tuesday-Saturday) has ministered to me in unexpected ways. Psalms 120-128 seem to resonate within the depths of the human experience, and during some of my life's greatest challenges, they rise from my lips better than any words I could have mustered on my own.
Psalm 124 has been especially poignant for me this week as I encounter and process pain and tragedy in my life and in the lives of others in our community.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
June 22
* I had difficulty blogging from the retreat center in Canada due to a intermittent Internet connection, and then I struggled getting back on the wagon, as it were, once I was reconnected. If you would like to re-read my thoughts about Chs. 12-17, they can be found by clicking on February in the Blog Archive on the right side of the screen and finding the posts titled February 14-February 20. At any rate, here we go . . .
Chapter 18
The Rule of Benedict June 22
I have been struck over the last couple of years by the fact that almost every hour of the Divine Office begins with the versicle, "O God, come to my assistance," and the response, "O Lord, make haste to help me." How profoundly honest to begin prayer with such a request. And the expectation that, even if I'm praying 7 times in one day, I need God's help each time I approach God in prayer is naked realism on the part of Father Benedict. What joy it is to experience the Presence of a God who honors such a request.
Chapter 18
The Rule of Benedict June 22
I have been struck over the last couple of years by the fact that almost every hour of the Divine Office begins with the versicle, "O God, come to my assistance," and the response, "O Lord, make haste to help me." How profoundly honest to begin prayer with such a request. And the expectation that, even if I'm praying 7 times in one day, I need God's help each time I approach God in prayer is naked realism on the part of Father Benedict. What joy it is to experience the Presence of a God who honors such a request.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
June 14
Chapter 11
The Rule of Benedict June 14
My intuition at this time is that our community should not break from the whole of the Christian tradition in designating a day other than Sunday as our sabbath.
The Rule of Benedict June 14
My intuition at this time is that our community should not break from the whole of the Christian tradition in designating a day other than Sunday as our sabbath.
Monday, June 13, 2011
June 13
Chapter 10
The Rule of Benedict June 13
The Rule of Benedict June 13
I hear from this chapter (with Sister Joan's help) that it is okay for us, like Benedict, to hold our standards lightly. We should learn from Benedict's adjustment of the prayer regimen that legalism does not serve us well as we approach the development of our personal practice. We are free to move slowly and sustainably.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
June 12
Pentecost
Chapter 9
The Rule of Benedict June 12
A blessed Feast of Pentecost to you all today. May the Spirit manifest her many gifts in our midst this year.
Chapter 9
The Rule of Benedict June 12
A blessed Feast of Pentecost to you all today. May the Spirit manifest her many gifts in our midst this year.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
June 11
Chapter 8
The Rule of Benedict June 11
I hear in Chapter 8 an instruction to intentionally structure our sleep in such a way that allows us time to arise in prayer. Personally, I have found that such intention must be focused on both sides of sleep if this is to be possible.
Not to make anyone jealous, but I arose early this morning (after a late flight) to pray Lauds in a beautiful 19th Century Anglican parish in downtown Edmonton (I'm staying with friends who live in the rectory). I'll need to nap later, but it was worth it!
The Rule of Benedict June 11
I hear in Chapter 8 an instruction to intentionally structure our sleep in such a way that allows us time to arise in prayer. Personally, I have found that such intention must be focused on both sides of sleep if this is to be possible.
Not to make anyone jealous, but I arose early this morning (after a late flight) to pray Lauds in a beautiful 19th Century Anglican parish in downtown Edmonton (I'm staying with friends who live in the rectory). I'll need to nap later, but it was worth it!
Friday, June 10, 2011
June 10
Chapter 7 pt. 16
The Rule of Benedict June 10
The final step of humility concerns the outward demeanor of the monastic. It is Benedict's desire that the monastic "should be free of any hint of arrogance or pride in their manner or the way they look about them" (Patrick Barry OSB). Pride or arrogance are hinted at by different behaviors in different cultures, and we must be aware of what behaviors hint at them in our own culture(s) if we hope to follow Father Benedict's instruction here.
To conclude this chapter, Benedict paints a beautiful picture of a person whose life is fully at home in God's house. That our lives can likewise be at home with God is our hope and the goal of our life together.
The Rule of Benedict June 10
The final step of humility concerns the outward demeanor of the monastic. It is Benedict's desire that the monastic "should be free of any hint of arrogance or pride in their manner or the way they look about them" (Patrick Barry OSB). Pride or arrogance are hinted at by different behaviors in different cultures, and we must be aware of what behaviors hint at them in our own culture(s) if we hope to follow Father Benedict's instruction here.
To conclude this chapter, Benedict paints a beautiful picture of a person whose life is fully at home in God's house. That our lives can likewise be at home with God is our hope and the goal of our life together.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
June 9
Chapter 7 pt. 15
The Rule of Benedict June 9
Let us keep the eleventh step of humility in mind as we are present to our beloved Blair during this time of grief.
The Rule of Benedict June 9
Let us keep the eleventh step of humility in mind as we are present to our beloved Blair during this time of grief.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
June 8
Chapter 7 pt. 14
The Rule of Benedict June 8
Laughter is often put to uses other than a pure expression of delight. Habitual laughter can serve to guard our conversations from ever going beyond the polite. Such laughter can belittle or trivialize, which enables us to avoid honest, vulnerable engagement with a person or topic. The tenth step of humility is intended to free us from this habit.
The comments beneath this post on February 7 are worth reading.
The Rule of Benedict June 8
Laughter is often put to uses other than a pure expression of delight. Habitual laughter can serve to guard our conversations from ever going beyond the polite. Such laughter can belittle or trivialize, which enables us to avoid honest, vulnerable engagement with a person or topic. The tenth step of humility is intended to free us from this habit.
The comments beneath this post on February 7 are worth reading.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
June 7
Chapter 7 pt. 13
The Rule of Benedict June 7
I perceive the ninth step of humility to be Benedict's way of weaning us from the belief that our daily circumstances stand in need of our uninvited interpretations and solutions. By keeping silent until addressed, we cultivate the capacity to be truly hospitable and open to reality on God's terms instead of our own.
I am currently being taught that this is especially true with respect to speaking in order to get myself out of unflattering light. I am learning to trust that my truest interest is served in silence when others' negative regard, real or imagined, is upon me.
The Rule of Benedict June 7
I perceive the ninth step of humility to be Benedict's way of weaning us from the belief that our daily circumstances stand in need of our uninvited interpretations and solutions. By keeping silent until addressed, we cultivate the capacity to be truly hospitable and open to reality on God's terms instead of our own.
I am currently being taught that this is especially true with respect to speaking in order to get myself out of unflattering light. I am learning to trust that my truest interest is served in silence when others' negative regard, real or imagined, is upon me.
June 6
Chapter 7 pt. 12
The Rule of Benedict June 6
Trailblazer. Entrepreneur. Innovator. These are the titles of aspiration in our culture and antitheses of Benedict's eighth step of humility. We must take care, as a part of a lay order that has no clear precedent, to not become a law unto ourselves. It's up to us to find those who act as our elders on this path and place our feet in their footprints.
My novitiate as a Benedictine canon is part of this process of seeking "elders". Let us hold the question together of whether the identity of a Canon Community of St. Benedict fits well at the center of our common life to the end of helping us to establish "the common Rule of the monastery."
The Rule of Benedict June 6
Trailblazer. Entrepreneur. Innovator. These are the titles of aspiration in our culture and antitheses of Benedict's eighth step of humility. We must take care, as a part of a lay order that has no clear precedent, to not become a law unto ourselves. It's up to us to find those who act as our elders on this path and place our feet in their footprints.
My novitiate as a Benedictine canon is part of this process of seeking "elders". Let us hold the question together of whether the identity of a Canon Community of St. Benedict fits well at the center of our common life to the end of helping us to establish "the common Rule of the monastery."
Sunday, June 5, 2011
June 5
Chapter 7 pt. 11
The Rule of Benedict June 5
For a good idea of that which Father Benedict seeks to accomplish with the seventh step of humility, consider its opposite. We've all experienced an individual who inflates his virtues to anyone who will listen. Some of us have been such individuals. This tendency is born out of a deep belief that the admiration of others will satisfy the deepest needs of one's soul--that other people's regard is the key to well-being. The seventh step of humility is an attempt to pull up that belief from its roots.
The Rule of Benedict June 5
For a good idea of that which Father Benedict seeks to accomplish with the seventh step of humility, consider its opposite. We've all experienced an individual who inflates his virtues to anyone who will listen. Some of us have been such individuals. This tendency is born out of a deep belief that the admiration of others will satisfy the deepest needs of one's soul--that other people's regard is the key to well-being. The seventh step of humility is an attempt to pull up that belief from its roots.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
June 4
Chapter 7 pt. 10
The Rule of Benedict June 4
There's an image that comes to mind when I read this passage. It's an image of Gil, in August of 2006, the week he was appointed Vicar at St. Augustine's, in sunglasses, a baseball cap, shorts, a long-sleeved shirt, and gloves cutting back the palo verde that had grown to completely cover the church sign on College Ave. It was well over 100 degrees that day and cloudy, and we all know how Gil feels about the %*##@ heat. But, as the new Vicar, he didn't demand that anyone other than he brave the Summer weather and tend to the grossly neglected landscaping in front of the Parish.
The Rule of Benedict June 4
There's an image that comes to mind when I read this passage. It's an image of Gil, in August of 2006, the week he was appointed Vicar at St. Augustine's, in sunglasses, a baseball cap, shorts, a long-sleeved shirt, and gloves cutting back the palo verde that had grown to completely cover the church sign on College Ave. It was well over 100 degrees that day and cloudy, and we all know how Gil feels about the %*##@ heat. But, as the new Vicar, he didn't demand that anyone other than he brave the Summer weather and tend to the grossly neglected landscaping in front of the Parish.
Friday, June 3, 2011
June 3
Chapter 7 pt. 9
The Rule of Benedict June 3
Perhaps over time the Benedictine Sisters and Brothers of St. Brigid will entail a relational dynamic wherein regular confession of secret wrongdoing to the Prior or Prioress is natural and appropriate. It seems that this is not the case now, at least not for most of us. However, it does seem appropriate that we each find ourselves in a relationship with a spiritual guide of some sort from whom we hide no evil thoughts or deeds. To confess with our mouth that which we have intentionally hidden can be a powerful healing act in the proper context. We would do well to incorporate such acts into our Benedictine practice.
The Rule of Benedict June 3
Perhaps over time the Benedictine Sisters and Brothers of St. Brigid will entail a relational dynamic wherein regular confession of secret wrongdoing to the Prior or Prioress is natural and appropriate. It seems that this is not the case now, at least not for most of us. However, it does seem appropriate that we each find ourselves in a relationship with a spiritual guide of some sort from whom we hide no evil thoughts or deeds. To confess with our mouth that which we have intentionally hidden can be a powerful healing act in the proper context. We would do well to incorporate such acts into our Benedictine practice.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
June 2
Chapter 7 pt. 8
The Rule of Benedict June 2
The fourth step of humility reminds us that spiritual formation, not utopian community, is the end, or goal, of Benedict's Rule. Community is a messy organism that can fail at every possible level, but the monastic is not thereby excused from her commitment to remain engaged and malleable to the work of the Spirit through community.
The Rule of Benedict June 2
The fourth step of humility reminds us that spiritual formation, not utopian community, is the end, or goal, of Benedict's Rule. Community is a messy organism that can fail at every possible level, but the monastic is not thereby excused from her commitment to remain engaged and malleable to the work of the Spirit through community.
June 1
Chapter 7 pt.7
The Rule of Benedict June 1
After the instruction to love not our own wills, but to love the will of God, we are, in the third step of humility, admonished to submit ourselves in obedience to the will of a flesh-and-blood human being. It is Benedict's understanding, so it seems from chapter 5, that such obedience prepares us to obey the will of God in our lives.
In our order, there is not an obvious set of circumstances that call for obedience to the will of the superior. Therefore, it seems to me that it is incumbent upon the Prior to make occasions for obedience to serve in the spiritual formation of the members.
The Rule of Benedict June 1
After the instruction to love not our own wills, but to love the will of God, we are, in the third step of humility, admonished to submit ourselves in obedience to the will of a flesh-and-blood human being. It is Benedict's understanding, so it seems from chapter 5, that such obedience prepares us to obey the will of God in our lives.
In our order, there is not an obvious set of circumstances that call for obedience to the will of the superior. Therefore, it seems to me that it is incumbent upon the Prior to make occasions for obedience to serve in the spiritual formation of the members.
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