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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Resurrection Rule of St Benedict Scripture

Chosen to bear fruit.

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“You did not choose me: no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last…”

We live surrounded by choices that often require a lot of time, thought and effort. This can give us a sense of control, but if I’m honest it can also feel overwhelming and limiting. As is so often the case Jesus’ words draw me to a deeper reality that is both truer and more liberating. Going to the heart of our Christian vocation they recall the words of psalmist quoted by St Benedict:

“Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days?”

I find these gospel words both hopeful and humbling. They remind me that my role is to listen and respond. They call me back to humility, telling me that control is not in my hands, but in the hands of Christ. They fill me with hope as they tell me I am already chosen, Christ has already chosen me, and each one of us, and is waiting with love for us to respond to his call to life.

How are you listening and responding to the call of Christ in your life today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

Abiding in the love of Christ.

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Today I’m reflecting on this from St John’s gospel:

“Remain in my love… I have told you this so that so that my own joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. “

It touches on the deepest desires of our hearts, to know ourselves loved. We can easily finish the concept of love. We can use it lightly to talk about favourite foods or activities. Or we can sentimentalise it, focussing only on the positive feelings that feeling loved arouses. Those feelings are important and essential for all of us, but the love Jesus offers is something much deeper than that.

His love offers us the deep assurance we seek, promising to accept us as we are, with all our faults and failings.  Yet, Jesus offers an invitation and challenge beyond that. This love is willing to put itself aside. Jesus illustrates that in his total self giving, putting himself aside for love of us.

He invites us into this love, calling us to live as he does. He challenges us to live in a way that calls us to put ourselves aside for the Good of others. It’s a call St Benedict echoes, telling the community to choose what is better for others rather than ourselves.

It’s a call we can live in both big and small ways. It can mean anything from supporting someone through a crisis to greeting a passer by with a smile when we don’t feel like it. It is in practising this self giving love where we can that we will discover the joy Jesus promises.

Where are you called to abide in the love of Christ today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

At home in Christ

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Each time we revisit today’s gospel I discover something new in it. Sometimes the “new” message is something that has touch my heart in the past that I need to be reminded of again. Other times I’m struck by something that seems so completely new that it’s as if it’s only just been added to the text as I read it. Today I’m reflecting on these words, which seem completely new to me. Jesus says to his disciples:

“Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.”

His words touch a deep yearning within us. We all have an inbuilt yearning for home. We all need a safe place where we can be accepted and nurtured, a place where we feel that we can belong, flourish and grow. That yearning seems especially sharp in times like these when so much that we assumed was solid has turned out to be fragile and uncertain.

The more aware we are of life’s challenges and fragility the more we recognise our need for a safe place. As the circumstances of the past few years erode our sense of safety and security Jesus’ words become a beacon of light, offering us love and hope. However fragile and uncertain our circumstances we can still find a safe place in him, a place where we can be held nurtured, grow and bear fruit.

How are you finding your way home to the heart of Christ this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

The peace of Christ.

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In today’s gospel Jesus offers his disciples the gift of peace:

“Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.”

We always need this gift of peace. We can sometimes lull ourselves into a sense of false security, accepting a surface status quo as peace, ignoring the conflicts that lie beneath it. In reality, however much we disguise it, there is always some situation in our personal lives or in our societies that needs the healing touch of peace.

Having said that there also seems to be times when our need for peace is more obvious and urgent. There are times when those conflicts and disagreements that have simmered under the surface breakout bringing violence and destruction in their wake. We are living in such a time now.

There are so many places today facing war and conflict. We can no longer ignore the huge costs of these conflicts to ordinary people. The destruction they bring to ordinary lives and communities is truly horrific.

This gives Jesus’ offer of peace a new and deeper meaning. When our own fragile attempts at peace making feel our only hope is to trust in the peace he offers. His peace is universal; it is offered without judgement or partisanship. If we are to have any hope of healing our war-torn world, we each have to open our hearts to accept the peace he offers. We have to it to shape our life, and share it with others in ways that change and rebuild broken relationships.

Where is Christ challenging you to accept and share his piece this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Holy Spirit Lectio Divina Liturgy Resurrection Scripture Uncategorized

A promise & a hope.

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Eastertide a dynamic season. From Easter Sunday onwards there’s lots of movement, disciples running to and from the tomb, setting out on journeys as soon as they reach home to share the news of the resurrection, moving around the area sharing this Good News with anyone who will listen.

All this activity is grounded in their intimate, personal and life changing encounters with the risen Christ. For several weeks the risen Christ has revealed the resurrection and deepening our understanding of who the he is. Now, approaching Ascension there is a new movement. Jesus says to his disciples:

“I have said these things to you while still with you; but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.”

Jesus is beginning to prepare his disciples, and us, for another departure. Once again he is leaving them, this time to return to his Father. As we move towards the Ascension he makes it clear that he’s not leaving them emptied handed.

As well as their own personal experiences of him he has broadened and deepened their understanding of who he is. Now he promises them the Holy Spirit, the Advocate.

The Spirit will be with them to teach and support them, to give them the courage to face the challenges that will come. The Spirit will remind them of all Jesus said, all those things that might be forgotten in the emotion of the moment.

This is equally true for us today. In all the challenges we face Jesus promises us that the Spirit will be there with us.

What is your hope for the action of the Spirit in your life this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

People of Love.

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In today’s gospel Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure by leaving them a blueprint for how to live by his example. He says to them:

“My little children, I shall not be with you much longer. I give you a new commandment: love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another. By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”

He not talking about love in any abstract way, but as an action that changes our behaviour and our lives. He has just washed his disciples’ feet, showing them what love might look like in practice. He knows Judas is about to betray him, and Peter to deny him.

Yet he neither judges nor blames. Instead he chooses to remind them that their lives are grounded and held his love. and shows them how to allow that love to shape their lives and relationships.

He wants his disciples to be recognised firstly as a people who love one another. It’s a call to put the needs of others before our own, to put the common good before personal gain. We might be called to a myriad of small, hidden acts of love throughout the day. It might be something as simple as opening a door, offering a cup of tea or smiling at a passing stranger.

Or it might be that we’re called to love in some bigger way, sacrificing something that really matters to us for the sake of those we love. Either way our love is grounded in the love of Christ, and that gives us the courage and strength to be recognised as people of love.

Where is the risen Christ calling you to reach out in love today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

New Horizons.

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All through Eastertide the gospels show us Jesus revealing himself to his disciples. Each revelation begins where the disciples are. It then takes them beyond that into new, uncharted and challenging territory. Jesus starts with their current understanding uses that to lead them to a deeper understanding of who he is.

Today it’s Phillip’s turn. When Jesus tells the disciples:

“If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him.”

Phillip responds:

“Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.”

Phillip’s response reflects dissatisfaction and desire, he wants more. Jesus doesn’t criticise him for that, instead he offers another, deeper revelation, telling Phillip:

“To have seen me is to have seen the Father…”

Jesus opens Phillip’s heart to the possibility of a new way of seeing God. He offers us the same opportunity. If we allow him to open our hearts, we will discover he is present with us in the midst of human life. We will find him alongside us in the midst of our daily activities, however mundane, frustrating or challenging we might find them. This is a promise full of hope, joy and encouragement.

This new understanding is also a challenge. If we are to discover God’s presence in the midst of daily life, we have to pay attention in a new way. We have to be alert and attentive. We have to risk being open and vulnerable to allow that presence to be revealed, and to respond to it.

As we move through Eastertide where is Christ opening your heart to his presence in our midst?

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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 Gospel Lectio Divina Saints Scripture

Held in the love of Christ.

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Today we’re celebrating the feast of St Matthias, the disciple chosen to replace Judas. I often wonder if that was a particularly uncomfortable position to take up. I imagine that there was a lot of emotion and distress around whole situation. People would have been feeling betrayed and hurt by Judas’ actions.

In one sense the choosing of Matthias would have felt like a new beginning, but it would also have carried some pain. When new beginnings grow out of painful circumstances it’s not always so easy to walk away from the hurtful baggage.

It may be that in those times of mixed blessings it’s particularly important to hear these words from John’s farewell discourses. Jesus tells the disciples:

“Remain in my love.”

So often in painful situations we are tempted to walk away from love. When we are hurting all our instincts tell us to put up barriers to protect ourselves. Yet, those are the very times when we need to find the courage to do the opposite, to allow ourselves to remain open to the possibility of love, even if that is a costly and risky prospect.

If we desire to embrace the new life the risen Christ promises, we can’t afford to walk away from love. We have to take the risk of allowing his love into our lives, letting it shape and change is, moulding us into the new creation he calls us to be.

How is Christ moulding you into a new creation this Eastertide?