A Well-ordered Life

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Joan Chittister, monastery, monastic life, prayer, spiritual life, St. Benedict, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, work

St. Benedict (c. 480 – c. 547) is credited with bringing monasticism to the West. After more than 1500 years, his influence is still felt around the world in monasteries and over the past half-century it has been growing as well in “monasteries without walls.” This movement is a resurgence of the desire in “ordinary people” for a deeper spiritual life and is characterized by attention practices and balanced living, not only for monastics but for lay people as well.

At the heart of Benedictine life is mindfulness and a spirit of hospitality. It has been described with a simple daily formula of four quadrants: prayer alone and prayer together, work alone and work together. Someone once asked where leisure comes in that description and the answer was that if one divides the circle of the day and writes in all that has taken place, the entire circle should be a leisurely and peaceful walk through the hours.

Many authors have written on this topic – none better than Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, especially in her book, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today. This feast reminds me to return, not only to Sr. Joan’s book but also to the practice of drawing that circle each day, where I can assess the balance of my life’s activities and get back to a mindful way of being. Simple? Yes, but not always easy. Worthwhile? Always…as a lifelong daily practice…Oh, yes!

No Getaway Solution

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clarity, consciousness, David Keller, desert elder, humility, interiorized monasticism, life, monastery, monastic life, monk, Oasis of Wisdom, prayerfulness, purity of heart, St. John Chrysostom, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, virtues, wisdom

Between conflicting stories on broadcast news and devastating weather reports of raging fires in the west and three additional hurricanes brewing in the waters off the southeastern coast of the United States, I decided moments ago that the only answer for me would be to race to the closest monastery and close the door on it all. So I pulled out David Keller’s book, Oasis of Wisdom, to give me something to work with – a verification of the need to escape, I mean. Here’s what I found in the first few pages of this book on the early Christian monastic life, stories of the “desert fathers and mothers.”

The desert elders did not teach that everyone must live as they lived. They taught, by their actions, that purity of heart, humility and charity are virtues that lie at the heart of all human life. Their renunciations, practical wisdom, and prayerful living taught people from all walks of life in their day to see themselves and the way they lived in the context of God’s love and desires for human life. Perhaps the desert elders will evoke a change of consciousness in us as well. They exhort us to practice an interiorized monasticism whether or not we are monks. From its earliest days, Christianity has proclaimed that the heart of monastic life is for all Christians…One of its greatest leaders, St. John Chrysostom said…”You are entirely mistaken if you think there are some things required of ordinary people and others of monks.” 

So I guess I need to stay the course here and ride out the events that agitate my mind and heart. Perhaps the crux of the answer was at the beginning of the above paragraph. Purity of heart, humility and charity are not easy right now but renouncing all the outer turmoil by consistent prayerfulness might help. Actually, it might be the ticket to the wisdom found in staying the course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Mercy

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abbot, Benedict, gracious, Joan Chittister, judgment, kindness, Lent, merciful, mercy, monastic life, perfection, Pope Francis, Psalm 95, spirituality, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, Year of Mercy

I’ve thought and talked a lot about mercy, especially since I came to understand that it has more to do with love than with pity. At the conclusion of the “Year of Mercy” declared by Pope Francis, it was suggested that we continue to keep that virtue front and center in our lives. Not a bad idea, it seems, in our broken, frustrating world as we attempt to maintain equilibrium and good faith each day.

Lent is a perfect time for practicing mercy and contemplating the breadth of what it can mean – not just as an aspect of God but in our human interactions as well. Psalm 95 acknowledges God’s mercy to us this morning with the refrain: The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.

From the human side, Joan Chittister has a great paragraph about mercy in monastic life in her book Wisdom Distilled From the Daily. In speaking about the qualities of the abbot she writes the following which I find to be comforting as well as challenging.

The abbot must be more intent on mercy than on judgment. But if that is the case, then clearly Benedict knew the world was made up of the very imperfect, the very human where a great deal of mercy would be necessary as we each wound our stumbling, human way to God. We, on the other hand, find it so hard not to expect perfection of ourselves and, because of that, to expect it of others as well. We drive ourselves and drive everyone around us beyond any achievable standard and then wonder why we fail and fail and fail. Benedictine spirituality says that life is a set of weaknesses in search of wholeness and we must be patient with one another’s growth. (p. 115)

What’s My Line?

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aging, Antony of Egypt, centenarians, Don't judge a book by it's cover, family, Hebrews, Jesus, Levi, long life, Lord, loved ones, Mark, monastic life, obituaries, psalm, spirit, Spirit and life, tax collector, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Having lived and ministered in the same area for 43 years I have come to know many individuals and families so I have made it a practice to read the obituaries each morning as a practice of remembrance and prayer. It seems lately that there are more long-lived people – centenarians even – who appear along with others tragically taken “before their time.” Often, when I read the entire entry of someone I recognize, I learn many things about lives that only touched mine as students or parishioners – interesting things about their occupations or other activities. The most common theme, regardless of age, is their love for their families and how their presence will be missed.

This morning the gospel of Mark continues the recitation of the call of the disciples but this time Jesus is not tapping fishermen for his followers but rather someone of unseemly credentials: the tax collector, Levi. It seems Jesus wants to prove a point, i.e. “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” As if that were not enough to ponder, the saint of the day is Antony of Egypt, a man who lived from the year 251 to 356! Yes, you read it correctly. He was 105 years old when he died in the 4th century! That’s certainly a good advertisement for the solitary life since Antony left the noisy, busy city life of Egypt for the desert around age 20 and is credited with much of early eremitic monastic development; many men (and women!) gathered in cells around Antony’s cave, influenced by his holiness.

Perhaps I’m stretching a point to think there is a connection in all this – long life or not, different occupations…but for me, it makes sense as I read this morning’s psalm refrain: Your words, O Lord, are Spirit and life!”  We all hear God’s word in a particular way and, if listening deeply, find it to be “living and active” (HEB 4:12). Whether it leads to a busy life or the silence of a cave, and whether we are given long life or just a few short years, the call is ours. It may grow in us slowly or take us by surprise but, once heard, it must be followed all the way home.