Category: Prayer

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Prophetic voices Scripture Uncategorized

Considered choices

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In today’s gospel Jesus warns his disciples to be on their guard against false prophets:

“Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves.”

He calls us to pay attention to the false prophets within ourselves who would draws down personal path that would lead us in ways that are life denying rather than life-giving, however delightful they might appear at the outset. There is also a communal element to this call for discernment as we consider the common good.

There is a cacophony of voices out there telling us what is best for ourselves as individuals and our society as a whole. This can be disconcerting, confusing and overwhelming.

In both cases Jesus’ advice to his disciples can stand us in good stead. Having warned them of the dangers he goes on to offer a solution saying:

“You will be able to tell them by their fruits… A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit… I repeat you will be able to tell them by their fruits.”

It seems to me that his words are a call to discernment on both a communal and a personal level. He calls us to pay attention to where we find good or bad fruits in our personal life and in the lives of our communities.

He invites us to think carefully about the choices we make and where they lead us. His words remind me of Deuteronomy’s call to choose life over death.

Where are you being called to turn away from false prophets today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Communion Corpus Christi Divine Office Gospel Liturgy Prayer Resurrection Scripture

In the presence of Christ

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As we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi I’m reflecting on the nature of Eucharist. The Scripture that comes to mind is the Emmaus story. Although it’s not part of the feast’s liturgy it seems to me to capture something of its essence.

It acknowledges the despair and hopelessness of the disciples as they trudged home disappointed and unsettled by all that has happened. We can identify so strongly with those feelings in our own lives that we almost feel the weight of it all as they pour out their story to Jesus. They remind me that Eucharist offers us an opportunity to bring our brokenness, hurt and disappointment into the presence of Christ.

Jesus responds to their despair by taking them through the Scriptures already know, reminding them of the passages that speak about the Messiah. As he does this their hearts are ignited, and through their sadness they glimpse something so good that they don’t want to let it go, so they invite him to stay with them. Full recognition only dawns as they sit down to eat together and:

“He took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened, and the recognised him…”

It seems to me that the essence of the Eucharist is an invitation rediscover the reality of Christ’s presence in every part of our lives, in our liturgies, in our communities, in all our relationships and activities.

As we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi where do you recognise the reality of Christ’s presence in your life?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Prayer Scripture

Alone with God.

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Today’s gospel is full of advice about living humbly. Jesus warns us against seeking attention and admiration for our faith and our good deeds. Humility is also essential in Benedictine spirituality. It’s not easy, it requires self-knowledge, self-awareness, self acceptance and self-love.

It calls us both to accept our limitations and our giftedness, to acknowledge that we are both made of dust and the beloved children of God. As I reflected on this I was touched by these words from the gospel:

“When you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.”

It seems to me that Jesus shows us the best way to learn to live humbly. He calls us to come alone into God’s presence, to spend time in a quiet, private, intimate space with God. It’s not an easy or comfortable place to be. Like the desert, it can be a place where we both wrestle demons and discover angels.

Entering that private place where God is we can come to acknowledge our weakness and our failings, learning to accept them lovingly as God does. We can discover the precious gifts that God has given us and discern how best to use them in the service of others.

The secret place where we encounter God is a place of challenge, it is also a place of consolation, healing and encouragement.

How do you draw strength from your times alone in God’s presence?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Eastertide Holy Spirit Lectio Divina Liturgy Monastic Life Pentecost Prayer Scripture

Come Holy Spirit.

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As we begin to celebrate Pentecost I find myself reflecting on our Pentecost tapestry and how it highlights the themes of the feast, listing our hopes for the coming of the Spirit into our lives:

“Come, cleanse, renew, heal, guide, fill, strengthen.”

I often find myself thinking that it seems a little bit crowded. The words seem to be jostling for space, almost overflowing the narrow hanging. This thought was in my mind as I read the first reading from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. He tells us:

“There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them.”

In the light of his words I it seems hardly surprising that the words on the tapestry seem to burst out of the available space. Pentecost is a feast overflowing with a generosity and energy that are impossible to contain. The variety of gifts God pours out at Pentecost cannot be contained.

They overflow, just like the words on our tapestry, insisting that we use them in all sorts of different ways to help, support and nurture the people of our times. Just as the disciples were compelled to reach out to the world by wind and fire the Spirit demands that we burst out of whatever upper room imprisons us to share her gifts generously with our needy world.

What gift of the Spirit do you need to overflow in your heart this Pentecost?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Resurrection Saints Scripture

The Way, the Truth & the Life.

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St Thomas is one of my favourite disciples because he is so direct and has the courage to ask awkward questions. He asked the questions that other people didn’t quite have the nerve for.

There are many reasons why we avoid asking the awkward questions. Maybe we don’t want to be seen as troublemakers, or appear uninformed or unintelligent. Maybe we are scared that there will be no answers, or that they will be too challenging and hard for us to cope with.

Thomas doesn’t seem to have such qualms. When Jesus says something that puzzles him Thomas takes the risk of asking for clarification. His question:

“Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’”

Allows Jesus to clarify who he is and to deepen the disciples understanding of who he is:

“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

Far from being a distraction or a nuisance Thomas’ questions gives us a deeper insight into who Jesus is. Jesus’ answer leaves us with some questions of our own. Thomas’ example gives us the courage to acknowledge those and to reflect on them, asking Jesus to show us their significance for our lives.


He gives us the courage and maybe even the “permission” to ask who Jesus is for us. It allows us to ask ourselves what Jesus’ words mean for us, and to reflect on how it might shape our lives.

How does your understanding of Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life shape the way your life?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Scripture

Welcoming Christ.

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All through Eastertide the risen Christ invites us to follow him. In his actions and words, he shows us how what that means, how to live as Christians. In today’s gospel he calls us to be open and welcoming:

“I tell you most solemnly, whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”

His words are, of course, a call to open our hearts and welcome him into our lives. It’s a call to allow him to allow him to form us in his image.

But that’s only one part of the call to be welcoming. There’s another aspect to it. He calls us to be open to the circumstances we find ourselves in. He speaks these words at the last supper, already aware that Judas is about to betray him.

In that painful and frightening situation, he doesn’t run away. Instead, trusting in his Father, he opens himself to welcome this most painful situation, accepting all that it brings.

He shows us that even in the most challenging, painful and unlikely of circumstances we can open our hearts to Christ. He challenges us to welcome the painful situations we face. He asks us to welcome him in to even the darkest areas of our lives, and allow him to be there with us.

There’s also more to it than that. It’s a call to be open to others, to offer them the same welcome and acceptance that we would to Christ. Even, and maybe especially, when we find them challenging.

Where is the risen Christ inviting you to be open to this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Resurrection Saints Uncategorized

Action & contemplation.

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Today we celebrate the feast of St Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church. A third order Dominican she was a woman of both action and prayer. She took a public role in the life of the church, speaking out against schism, promoting unity and advocating for clerical reform. These words from her dialogue on Divine Revelation touched me:

“By your light you enlighten our minds… In this light I know you and I picture you to myself as the supreme good, the good beyond all good… Beauty beyond all beauty, wisdom beyond all wisdom. You are the food of angels, who gave yourself to us in the fire of your love.”

Her public activity was nourished and sustained by the prayer that kept her connected to the God who is the supreme good. It was because she drew her strength from the fire of God’s love that she gained the courage to speak truth to those in authority.

She speaks to me especially powerfully at this time, when our world seems so consumed by cruelty and suffering. In such times it can be hard to see the goodness, beauty and wisdom of God in our lives. It’s easy to get discouraged, to feel swamped by sufferings we can’t alleviate. We can be drawn to despair which stops us from acting at all or we can rush in, attempting to fix everything, ending up burnt out and exhausted.

St Catherine’s example suggests an alternative. We could begin by building up a prayer life that connects us to the fire of God’s love in a way that nourishes and sustains us in all of our actions and all that we are called to face.

How does the fire of God’s love nourish you in all that you face in life?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Prayer Scripture

Prayer

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The seventh word in my Lent lexicon is:

PRAYER

Along with almsgiving and fasting prayer is one of the three pillars of Lent. Lent gives us an opportunity pay extra attention to our prayer life. It might be that we manage to take more time for prayer, or try a new practice. It might also be that rather than adding more we give ourselves more fully to the practices we already have.

In today’s gospel Jesus give the disciples some guidance about how to pray. He reminds them that they do not need many words to pray, that God already knows what they need:

“In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

He then goes on to teach them the Our Father, a prayer we are all so familiar with that we can use it without much attention or thought. Valuable as a framework of words are prayer is about more than that. Jesus reminds us that prayer is as much about an attitude of heart as about the words we use.

The call to prayer is first of all a call to come into the the presence of God. When we pray we don’t have to know what to say or how to solve the issues we carry in our hearts problems. We only have bring ourselves into God’s presence and to wait there doing our best to be attentive to God and allowing God to take the lead. It’s a call to openness, humility and trust.

What helps you to open your heart to God’s presence in prayer this Lent?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Ecumenism Gospel Lectio Divina Prayer Prophetic voices Scripture

Christian Unity

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As we celebrate the week of prayer for Christian Unity I’ve been reflecting this from St Paul’s letter to the Colossians:

“Clothe yourselves in heartfelt compassion, in generosity and in humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must do the same. Over all these, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, to which indeed you are called in one body.”

His words are an inspiration and a challenge. They show us the best that the Christian community can be, and they remind us of how often we fall short of that ideal within and between our denominations.

This has particular resonance as I reflect on our ecumenical journey. We all stand in need of forgiveness, having misjudged and misinterpreted the insights, gifts and intentions of other denominations. At other times we have all been able to take the risk of reaching out towards other Christians in ways that have brought healing and moved us closer to unity than we could ever have dreamt of.

Many of our denominations and churches are dealing with internal situations that take most of their energy and resources. That is understandable and necessary, but it can make ecumenism feel like its on the backburner. My hope is that we have learned to love and respect each other enough be able to bear with one another in compassion, generosity and gentleness in a way that allows us the freedom to take the space to deal with internal issues without losing sight of the ground we have gained. Then, when the time is right we will be ready and able to take the next steps in our ecumenical journey together.

In this week of prayer for Christian Unity where are you inspired to be generous and compassionate?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Scripture Uncategorized

Time for prayer.

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Today’s gospel is all about service. It opens with Jesus leaving the synagogue going immediately to Simon’s house where he cures Simon’s mother-in-law. Immediately she gets up and begins to serve them. The evening sees Jesus serving again, as crowds of people come to him seeking healing. It must have been a long and tiring day, and all of us know that feeling. The next morning Mark tells us:

“Long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there.”

We tend to read this as a break in the pattern of service, Jesus taking time out to pray in order to return to serving refreshed and renewed. On one level that is is true, but the Gospels often have layers of truth. On another level I would suggest that Jesus’ act of taking time to be alone in God’s presence is also an act of service.

It is an act of self-care which allows him to draw the strength from God that he needs to carry on. It’s also an act of service to others, a reminder that part of what it is to be human is to need time to rest and recharge.

When the needs of the people we serve seem to be overwhelming we can feel pressured to keep going regardless of our own needs. Jesus doesn’t wait until every need is met, every person healed, every situation resolved before he takes the time he needs. It seems to me that he doesn’t expect us to do that either and that there is both an invitation and a challenge in that.

Where is Jesus inviting you to take time to pray in the midst of your serving others?