Chapter 7 pt. 15
The Rule of Benedict February 8
Some of us have had the opportunity to serve on a discernment committee at St. Augustine's. When functioning as intended, discernment committees are able to hold big, weighty questions gently with humility and sincerity. Words spoken in the course of a meeting are to arise from silence at the prompting of to the Spirit for the sake of the hearers. This is the sort of speech Benedict would have us use in our life together.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
February 7
Chapter 7 pt. 14
The Rule of Benedict February 7
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 Rule of Benedict February 7
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.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
February 6
Chapter 7 pt. 13
The Rule of Benedict February 6
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.
The Rule of Benedict February 6
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.
Friday, February 4, 2011
February 5
Chapter 7 pt. 12
The Rule of Benedict February 5
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.
The Rule of Benedict February 5
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.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
February 4
Chapter 7 pt. 11
The Rule of Benedict February 4
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 February 4
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.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
February 3
Chapter 7 pt. 10
The Rule of Benedict February 3
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.
I happened by that Saturday on my way somewhere important (I'm sure) and saw him out there by himself doing the work of a crew. He didn't see me rumble by.
Benedict would have us to become people who stop and join in the work.
The Rule of Benedict February 3
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.
I happened by that Saturday on my way somewhere important (I'm sure) and saw him out there by himself doing the work of a crew. He didn't see me rumble by.
Benedict would have us to become people who stop and join in the work.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
February 2
Chapter 7 pt. 9
The Rule of Benedict February 2
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 February 2
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)