Category: Monastic Life

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Monastic Life Rule of St Benedict Saints

Listen with the ear of your heart.

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Today we’re celebrating the feast of the Passing of St Benedict, so for my Lent word I’ve gone back to the wisdom of his Rule. The 17 word in my Lent lexicon is:

LISTEN

Listen is the first word in the Rule of St Benedict. It takes me back to the basics of the Christian call. We’re getting close to the halfway mark in Lent. I always think of this as a bit of a “dead” time in Lent. The novelty of our Lent practices has worn off, and we’re still a long way from the impetus of Holy Week.

This means that it’s the time when it’s easiest to let our Lent practices slip. In such times I find it helpful to go back to the basics. St Benedict opens the Rule with these words:

“Listen carefully to the master’s instructions and attend to them with the ear of your heart.”

The call to listen is at the heart of the Rule and of the gospel. We can’t follow the call of the gospel unless we allow ourselves to hear it. For that to happen we need to create space. We live surrounded by 24 hour sound. This can be very distracting.

If we are to allow God the chance to speak to our hearts, we have to switch off some of the other sounds that surround us, even the good & helpful ones. We have to create a quiet space where we can hear the gentle, loving voice of God calling us to follow.

What is helping you to listen to God’s voice this Lent?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Monastic Life Rule of St Benedict Saints Scripture Uncategorized

The power of love.

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Today is the feast St Scholastica, sister of St Benedict and the patron saint of Benedictine women…It’s a feast about the power and importance of love.

We hear it in St Gregory the Great’s account of her last visit with St Benedict. At St Scholastica’s request they stay up all night “conversing of holy things”. This means Benedict has to spend the night outside his monastery. He initially refuses her request until her prayer results in such a fierce storm that he is compelled to stay with her. St Gregory comments:

“It is not surprising that the woman…was more effective than he [St Benedict] was on that occasion. For according to the saying of John, “…God is love.” So it was entirely right that she who loves more should accomplish more.”

The gospel is the story of Martha and Mary, so often seen in opposition. Mary is prayerful and contemplative and Martha as active and practical. The reality is more complex; they are both aspects of love. If we are to truly seek God, we need both of them, not in a hierarchy, but working together in union and tension.

We can see them come together in St Scholastica. She can only have recognised the significance of this last meeting with St Benedict if she had been a woman of prayer. She would also have been used to a life of practical service of others. She will have recognised the tension between them in her own life as Martha and Mary must have done. It may be that it was this that enabled her act out of love in praying for the extra time that she and her brother needed together on this last visit.

Where are you called to act out of love today?

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Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Lectio Divina Liturgy Monastic Life Scripture Vespers

O Rex Gentium, Source of our longing.

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Today we sing the 6th O antiphon, O Rex Gentium, O King of the nations. It can be tempting to dismiss this antiphon because kingship can seem like an outdated or untrustworthy notion in our days. We live in times that are generally suspicious of leaders and authority figures can encourage us to distance ourselves from this challenging antiphon. But the antiphon, and the gospel, present a different view of kingship, leadership and power:

“O king of the nations, whom they long for, the cornerstone who made two into one: come and save humankind, whom you formed from the earth.”

The King of the antiphon, the one we long for is not like the earthly rulers we’re used to. He doesn’t abuse or misuse power, he doesn’t overwhelm or manipulate others. Instead he comes quietly, refusing to trample those who feel crushed by life. With gentleness and kindness he reaches out, offering hope and consolation to all who grieve and suffer.

He is the saviour, the servant king of the Gospels, come to dwell with his people. He washes the feet of his disciples, and cooks them breakfast by the lake of Tiberius. He doesn’t come with the pomp or power of earthly rulers. He comes gently, kindly, compassionately and courteously into our lives, offering us hope and solace in these painful and challenging times.

What do you long for from the coming of Christ the King in this challenging Advent?

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Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Monastic Life Scripture

Making space.

The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner 1896

Today I’m reflecting on the Annunciation. Luke tells the story beautifully, depicting the encounter as a moment of calm, serenity and stillness.

Beautiful, moving and inspiring as these portrayals are, I sometimes think that in some way they miss the mark, their beauty and serenity can make it seem like Mary’s response was a foregone conclusion, the outcome already settled before the question is even posed. It’s easy to see how hindsight would lead us to think that. I suspect that the reality was somewhat different. St Bernard of Clairvaux writes of the Annunciation:

“The angel is waiting for your answer, it is time for him to return to the God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady…If you consent straightaway shall we be saved…by one little word of yours in answer shall we all be made alive.”

His words convey a sense of uncertainty and waiting make the whole encounter seem more realistic. Henry Ossawa Tanner’s “Annunciation” portrays this sense for me. It encompasses both the divine and the human as Mary’s room, slightly messy with unmade bed and rumpled rug, is illuminated by the Gabriel’s light.

The look on Mary’s face has such a questioning, uncertain quality that it’s very clear that she struggling to make sense of this strange occurrence I can almost hear the “but how can this be?…” echoing through her mind as she tries to make sense of the strange occurrence. When Mary’s answer came it was the result of a completely free choice so she could respond with her whole heart:

‘Let what you have said be done to me.’

We too are called to welcome the Word into the depths of our hearts, discovering God’s will for us and allowing it to shape our lives. Like Mary, we are free to accept or reject that invitation.

Where do you find space for God’s Word in your heart this Advent?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Monastic Life Prayer Rule of St Benedict Scripture Uncategorized

The goodness of the Lord.

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Today, as we’re celebrating the dedication of our Oratory I’m reposting this from our archives. The scripture reading at the vigil was from the first letter of St Peter:

“Be sure you are never spiteful, or deceitful, or hypocritical, or envious and critical of each other. You are new born, and, like babies, you should be hungry for nothing but milk – the spiritual honesty which will help you grow up to salvation – now that you have tasted the goodness of the Lord.”

Several things resonate with me in in. It’s reminder of how we are called to behave and to treat one another seems especially important just now. Living through stressful and challenging times can give us all a short fuse and doesn’t always bring out the best in us. St Peter reminds us that, whatever challenges and uncertainties we face we are called not to give into the temptation to spitefulness and criticism. The call is still to become more Christlike whatever we face.

He goes on to tell us that as we have tasted the goodness of the Lord already our desire and long should be for those things that will help us grow into our salvation. This brings to mind a favourite psalm, psalm 34, “taste and see that the Lord is good”, and I’m reminded to keep seeking the goodness of the Lord in whatever challenges and uncertainties life is currently throwing at us.

Where are you tasting the Lord’s goodness in these challenging times?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Monastic Life Scripture Uncategorized

Discovering the good.

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Today were celebrating the Birthday of Our Lady, a solemnity for our congregation. It’s the anniversary of the day I entered the monastery, so it carries a certain resonance for me, and I often find myself looking back to that day.

So I was especially struck by these words from our first reading at Mass:

“We know that for those who love God, everything works together for good…” (Romans 8:28)

These are not the words of Scripture that would have come to mind on the day I entered. I can see the truth in them with hindsight but, I’m not sure I could have seen it on that day of mixed and sometimes conflicting emotions. The reality of the hope that they express is central to our faith, yet it is very easily pushed to one side as soon as we struggle with the challenging realities of life.

When I think of Mary I imagine that she too experienced mixed and conflicting emotions as she faced the consequences of the “yes” that changed the world for all of us. Yet, she is still able to trust and rejoice in God’s great goodness:

“I exult for joy in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God!”

Her words offer me hope and encouragement that seem particularly important in our unsettled times. She reminds me that, unlikely as it may seem, we are loved and held by God. Whatever we face, whatever we suffer, the God of love will be there, not necessarily to remove the suffering, but to hold and support us as we face it.

Where are you being reminded of the presence of the God of love in your life today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Monastic Life Rule of St Benedict Saints Scripture

Love in action.

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Today we’re celebrating feast of St Bernard Tolomei, the founder of the Olivetan congregation. He was a 13th century lawyer who, with a few friends, left the city to live as hermits in the hills outside of Siena.

However, things did not turn out quite as they planned. Having being led out into one of those “desert places” where God speaks to the heart, they were called back into the city to nurse the victims of the plague in 1349. It was there that St Bernard fell ill and died.

Reflecting on Bernard’s life in the light of that gospel I was touched by this:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”

It sums up both the essence of St Bernard’s life and of the call to contemplation that we all experience. The result Bernard’s contemplation was not to cut him off from the world and its sufferings, but to make him more aware of them. This led him back to the city to give his life in serving others.

It’s tempting to make a division between a life of contemplation and one of service. Bernard’s life suggests that there is no such division, they are two parts of a whole. It is our time spent with God that enables and sustains our service to others. It is the love we discover in the heart of God that enables us to love our sisters and brothers.

How is Christ calling you to serve today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Lectio Divina Liturgy Monastic Life Scripture Trinity Uncategorized

People of Hope

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As we begin our celebration of Trinity Sunday I’m drawn to this from St Paul’s letter to the Romans:

“Our sufferings bring patience, as we know, and patience brings perseverance, and perseverance brings hope, and this hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”

I’m touched by his realism as he openly acknowledges that suffering is part of life. He makes no attempt to run away from it, to disguise or numb it as we are so often tempted to do. He doesn’t expect, or even seem to want, a trouble-free life. Instead, in accepting the inevitability of suffering he discovers the transforming power of hope.

Like St Paul, we all know suffering is part of life, and hope is often its first victim. When life gets challenging or painful we tend to fall into a hopelessness that tells us that all is lost. The voice of hopelessness can be both persuasive and beguiling, it’s one we are all too willing to listen to.

St Paul, writing from his own experience of suffering, to others who were also suffering, draws us away from that voice of hopelessness. He tells us that, however painful or challenging our lives, the hope Christ offers us can never be undermined or destroyed. It’s not a hope based on empty promises or dreams that deceive or mislead. Instead, it’s a hope firmly grounded in the love of God which has existed since the beginning and which will always hold us in being.

This Trinity Sunday how is the hope the Spirit brings transforming your daily life?

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Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Monastic Life Resurrection Rule of St Benedict Scripture Uncategorized

The true vine

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In today’s gospel Jesus uses the image of a vine to explain the relationship between his Father, himself and the disciples:

“I am the true vine; you are the branches.”

It’s an image that we hear repeatedly in the Gospels. sometimes such images can become so familiar that they lose their potency. Sr Verna Holyhead gave me a fresh perspective on this:

“The vine is a radically non-hierarchical image of the people of God for all the branches are so intertwined that…it is almost impossible to tell where one branch begins and another ends.”

She reflects that this is a radically new way of thinking about relationship and community. It suggests a closeness and equality of relationship that treasures each member and the gifts they bring to the whole. It’s an image that works against our natural inclination to be independent, to look after ourselves first at the expense of others.

This reminds me of my favourite part of the Rule of St Benedict, chapter 72 where St Benedict tells his community they should:

“Support with the greatest patience one another’s weaknesses of body or behaviour… No one is to pursue what the judge better for themselves, but instead what the judge better for someone else… Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and maybe bring us all together to everlasting life.”

His words highlight in a very practical way what a community based on this beautiful image of the vine would look like. They remind us that our goal is to come to Christ all together, not racing ahead and leaving others behind, but finding ways of supporting and encouraging one another on the journey, making sure everyone has what they need.

Even in these most challenging times we have choice and opportunity. We can choose to build communities based on the love, hope, trust, mutual respect and interdependence that the gospel suggests. While that choice is challenging it has the potential to bring us to new life in ways we could never have imagined.

As we move through Eastertide how does being intertwined with Christ shape your life and your relationships?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Monastic Life Scripture Uncategorized

A time of promise.

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Since we started Lent the word that’s been going through my mind is promise. I look this year Lent seems to be offering a promise, reminding me that God is calling us back into a covenantal relationship that is based on love in today’s first reading God makes a covenant with Noah, promising never again to sweep everything away in a flood:

“Here is the sign of the Covenant I make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all generations: I set my bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”

St Peter talks about the waters of baptism that lead us to the promise of resurrection. In the gospel we see Jesus driven into the wilderness by the Spirit. His time in the wilderness is a time of testing:

“The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness and he remained there for 40 days, and was tempted by Satan.”

As I look back at Jesus’ wilderness experience I find there is hope and promise as well as struggle. As he is driven into the wilderness he carries with him the promise of his baptism, when the clouds were torn open and God reminds him that he is God’s beloved son. Even in his experience of temptation there is hope and a reminder of the promise carried in those words of God. Jesus doesn’t only face temptation in his wilderness time, as Mark tells us:

“And the angels looked after him.”

Lent is a time for us to face our own wilderness and the temptations it brings. It can be easy to lose sight of the promise that is also there. Yet, as we face the temptations and challenges of Lent we are also offered the promise of God’s everlasting love.

As you begin your Lent journey where are you aware of the promise of God’s love sustaining you?