Category: Benedictine Spirituality

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Prayer Resurrection Scripture

Remembering…

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REMEMBER

Today gospel is full of challenge. Jesus reminds us disciples that they will face persecution because of him. It’s a dark gospel for Eastertide which we think on as a time of joy and celebration.

While that is true it doesn’t wipe out the suffering that makes up any life. So today my Eastertide word is REMEMBER. Jesus tells his disciples:

“Remember the words I said to you…”

He reminds them that they can draw comfort, support and strength for the sufferings they face from his teaching. He knows that they won’t remember everything, even from their own intimate experiences with him.

He makes allowances for that. He tells them elsewhere in John’s gospel that the Holy Spirit will come and “remind” them of all he has taught him. His words remind me of the importance of memory for our faith journey.

It’s important for us as a Christian community to remember all that God has worked in the life of the church, even when the church has been broken and sinful.

t’s important each of us to remember where we have known the presence of God and the working of the spirit in our own lives, even when those lives have been full of struggle and pain.

Eastertide calls us to actively remind ourselves of the times when we’ve been aware of Christ’s presence so that we can draw strength from them to face the hardships of these challenging times we’re living through.

What is the Risen Christ inviting you to remember this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

Christ’s Chosen

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CHOSEN

Today’s Eastertide word is CHOSEN. 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 also manages to feel both overwhelming and limiting.

We can cause ourselves a lot of anxiety in our efforts to make the “right” choice in every situation. On the surface it looks like this myriad of choices is a good thing, that’s not always the case

Jesus brings a whole new perspective to the idea of choice, reminding us that, in his love, he chose us first. His words draw me to a deeper reality that is both truer and more liberating. He says to his disciples:

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

His words go to the heart of our Christian vocation, recalling the words of psalmist quoted by St Benedict:

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

In our yearning for life all we have to do is to respond to the choice Christ has made. So 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 new life.

How are you responding to being chosen by Christ this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Scripture

A moment of stillness

REMAIN

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Today’s Eastertide word is REMAIN. It’s a call to stillness in the midst of a busy, action packed season. Eastertide is so full of movement and momentum as the disciples discover the resurrection and rush to share its joy and hope.

We see it in Mary Magdalene setting out before dawn, in Peter and John racing each other to the tomb, in the disciples on the road to Emmaus turning round and rushing back to Jerusalem. This carries on in the Acts of the Apostles as the disciples begin to teach, preach and establish their new community.

In today’s gospel Jesus tells the disciples to:

“Remain in my love.”

His words are a call to pause and ground ourselves in the love of the risen Christ. It’s not a call to walk away from preaching, teaching and sharing the good news. Rather, it’s a call to ensure that all of those actions grow out from a time of stillness in the presence of the risen Christ.

That’s not always an easy call to hear especially in a world that values busyness and productivity. We are generally more comfortable being active than we are being still.

Yet, if we desire to embrace the new life the risen Christ promises, we have to learn to be still in his presence. We have to risk letting go of all our activity and busyness, and let his call to new life echo through our hearts.

Where is Christ calling you to be still in his presence this Eastertide?

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Intertwined with Christ

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VINE

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 Eastertide Gospel Holy Spirit Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

An Eastertide Peace

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PEACE

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 peace this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

Taught by the Spirit

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TEACH

Today’s Eastertide word is TEACH. In today’s gospel Jesus is teaching his disciple about the centrality of love in all relationships. He tells them that it is central to his relationship with the Father, to his relationship with the disciples and to the disciples’ relationships with one another.

He knows they will not understand everything. So, he has a backup. He promises them that when he goes to the Father, he will send the Holy Spirit to remind them of everything taught them and to show them how to put it into practice:

“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.”

This his words, and his example, reminds me that teaching is a relational activity. It is only really effective when it’s based on a relationship of trust, openness and mutual respect. Jesus invites and challenges us to allow him to teach us everything he knows about love and relationship.

To truly learn from his teaching we have to come to him with open hearts. If his teaching is to do more than skim the surface of our lives we have to be vulnerable in his presence and to be open to change.

To allow him to teach us to love we need the humility to admit what we don’t know. Like the disciples we have to take the risk of bringing him our questions and uncertainties. Then, we have to be prepared to allow his responses to puzzle us and to change us.

What do you most need the risen Christ to teach you this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

Mystery and revelation

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MYSTERY

Throughout Eastertide we’ve seen the risen Christ appear to his disciple in moments of revelation and MYSTERY. We’ve also been listening to those parts of John’s Gospel where Jesus explains to the disciples who he really is.

He shares with them the nature of his relationship with his Father which is the foundation of who he truly is and of his ministry.

His explanations are moments of both revelation and of deepening MYSTERY. He repeatedly tells the disciples “I AM…” A phrase that both explains who he is, and recalls the God of the burning bush.

He explains to them the mysterious reality of his union with the Father, describing a deep union that we can only dimly grasp:

“I am in the Father and the Father is in me…”

Eastertide both reveals the risen Christ in the midst of our daily lives and shrouds him in mystery. It shows us his absolute humanness as he walks alongside his disciples, explaining the Scriptures, sharing food with them and even cooking and breakfast.

It also, as true revelation must, shows us the utter difference between our human experience and his divinity. In times like ours that want simple facts and easy truths it can be especially hard to hold those two truths in balance.

It’s tempting to tip over one way or the other, either focusing entirely on humanity of Jesus or on his divinity. Eastertide calls us to continually strive to acknowledge the tension and hold them in balance.

How is the mystery of the risen Christ touching your life this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Scripture

Led by the Truth

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TRUTH

TRUTH is essential for human flourishing and engagement. We need it in our personal relationships and in our societies. It helps us discern what is authentic and real. It enables us to decide who and what to trust. It alerts us to times when we need to be cautious and wary.

For centuries this has been fairly straightforward. Although there have been some differences it has been relatively easy to discover where TRUTH lies in most situations and circumstances. A broadly acceptable consensus has been maintained. This balance has required discernment, nuance and compromise.

In recent times that has changed. We have moved towards a completely individual interpretation of TRUTH which enables each of us to develop and identify with our own version of the truth, regardless of how others might perceive it.

This seems to give us a great deal of personal freedom and integrity. It also leaves us facing a multitude of TRUTHS, claiming equal validity. This is confusing covering up falsehood, increasing division and mistrust.

In today’s gospel Jesus gives us an answer:

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

His words remind me that if we give our attention to following him, he will lead us to the TRUTH. If we give this our full attention, he will guide us through the myriad uncertainties we face. He will show us the way to rediscover the TRUTH of his everlasting love that draws us into new life.

Where is the risen Christ offering to lead you into the truth this Eastertide?

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Out of the shadows.

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SHADOW

Today’s Eastertide word is: SHADOW. It doesn’t comfortably sit with Eastertide, the season of light and new life. Yet, there are plenty of shadowy moments in the Easter gospel, the Acts of the Apostles and our own Eastertide experiences. The light of the risen Christ can make as even more aware of our shadows.

Today is the feast of St Joseph the worker. In many ways it’s hard to imagine a more shadowy figure. He is always in the background, supporting Mary and the child Jesus, bringing stability and respectability to difficult situation.

Yet, if we look beyond that image we find a different story. I’m reflecting on these words from a hymn for his feast:

“His love was humble, flame of God’s own fire,
A light to guide the path he trod alone;
Like Abraham, like Moses he believed,
And went in faith to find a land unknown.”

They speak of a man of great faith who is not afraid of the shadows. He allows them to guide him into God’s light following in the footsteps of his ancestors, leaving everything to follow God into the unknown. It can’t have been an easy choice, it will have required both humility and courage.

It’s impossible to think of this without reflecting on the ever-darkening shadows that overwhelm our world today. In such shadowy times St Joseph can be a valuable role model for us.

In this challenging Eastertide St Joseph reminds us that however dark shadows seem the risen will be with us, leading us into new life by the light of his love.

What are the shadows that you need the risen Christ to dispel in your life this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Scripture

A Welcoming Heart

WELCOME

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Today’s Eastertide word is WELCOME. Hospitality is central to Christianity. It’s especially important to me as a Benedictine. St Benedict tells us that we should welcome guests to our monasteries we would welcome Christ.

Today’s gospel speaks to the form of hospitality that underpins that instruction. Before we can begin to think about welcoming others, we have to welcome Christ into our own hearts Jesus says to his disciples:

“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 call us to open our hearts to him, to welcome him into the very centre of our lives. That sounds like a fine idea, the reality can be more challenging. Jesus isn’t asking us to open the “good” part of our lives to him.

He isn’t asking to be invited into the parts of our lives that are going well or that we are proud of. He isn’t asking us to put our lives in order and then welcome him in.

Instead, he wants to be invited into the heart of our messy, broken, imperfect and failed lives exactly as they are now. For that to become a reality we have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable.

We have to acknowledge and accept our brokenness and allow the risen Christ to see it. In a world that values certainty and perfection that can be a real challenge.

What enables you to welcome the risen Christ into your heart this Eastertide?