September 1

Feast of David Pendleton Oakerhater, Deacon and Missionary

Prologue pt. 1

The Rule of St. Benedict September 1

"To you, therefore, my words are now addressed . . ."

This "you" at the beginning of the second paragraph of the Rule is not abstract.  St. Benedict is addressing real people called to the path he is laying out.  As we begin again, let us each consider the question at the heart of it all, 

Is the "you" me?

If your answer is, "yes," begin again, as our Father Benedict instructs, with earnest prayer for the grace to walk this path.

Our first priority along the Benedictine way is to develop the capacity to listen with the ear of the heart to the Voice of God in every given circumstance.  Our second is to learn to obey that Voice rather than our own.  

This capacity is developed and obedience is learned through receiving the loving advice of our Holy Father Benedict. This advice calls us into an ordered life that holds a gentle balance between prayer, work, and study.  

Sr. Joan reflects,

A dull, mundane life stays a dull, mundane life, no matter how intent we become on developing spiritually. . . . What attention to the spiritual life does change is our appreciation for the presence of God in our dull, mundane lives. We come to realize that we did not find God; God finally got our attention. The spiritual life is a grace with which we must cooperate, not a prize to be captured or a trophy to be won.

May God have our full attention as we embark on this new beginning.

Br. Chad 2012