Category: Discernment

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Scripture Truth

The call of authenticity.

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In today’s gospel Jesus is challenging the scribes and Pharisees. He is clearly outraged by their behaviour, and is willing to call them out on it. His language is strong, forceful, and even off-putting. He calls them out for being hypocrites, for presenting a false image of themselves.

It’s so tempting to put it all on the “Scribes and Pharisees” of the past. That way we can avoid looking at our own lives to see if we are falling into the same traps. To do that robs the gospel of its power to shape us and to be a living, life-giving word for today.

Instead, this challenging passage offers us an opportunity to look at our own lives. We live in times that are very concerned with image. Our social media feeds mean it’s never been easier to create and present a persona that highlights only the good and positive in our lives, making us appear better than we are. Jesus is clear, this is hypocrisy:

“You appear to people from the outside as if you were good and honest, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

As we look around our post truth world we can’t fail to acknowledge that we know both this temptation and its dangers. In in the first reading St Paul offers us a way of avoiding this temptation:

“Live a life worthy of God, who is calling you to share the glory of his kingdom.”

St Paul’s words call us to look honestly at where we might veer towards hypocrisy in our actions and in our thoughts. He challenges us to ensure that our ideals shape our actions and interactions so that we can live with integrity.

Where are you being called to live with integrity today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Scripture

Through a narrow door.

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Today’s gospel is full of challenge. It begins with a question, one we would all like answered, though we might not all have the courage to ask it:

“Sir, will there be only a few saved?”

The challenge becomes apparent in Jesus’ response

“Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because I tell you many will try to enter and will not succeed.”

We live in a world that claims to offer limitless individual freedom and choice. This is a compelling myth. So it’s hardly surprising then that we find the idea of any sort of limitation or restriction at best challenging and at worst an outrageous infringement of rights.

The Kingdom Jesus promises is not about individual rights. It’s about love, kindness, compassion and inclusion. If this kingdom is to become a reality in our daily lives we have to walk away from that beguiling myth. We have to acknowledge that we can’t have everything we want, do everything we want, be everything we want.

To choose the way of the kingdom we have to, like the first disciples, leave something behind. We have to discern what is life-giving and what isn’t. Then, we have to put down those things that aren’t life-giving. That’s relatively easy when we are faced with things that we know are bad for us.

It’s much harder when are called to put aside something that is good and life-giving for the common good or for the good of another. But, if we want to get through that narrow door Jesus talks of that is what we are called to do.

What is Christ calling you to put aside for the sake of the kingdom today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Scripture

Celebrating the Assumption

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Today as we’re celebrating the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary I’m revisiting Luke’s account of the Visitation. It’s a beautiful encounter of two women connected by family ties and by the unusual, miraculous circumstances they find themselves overtaken by. It shows us Mary at the beginning of a life’s journey that culminates in the Assumption.

The young Mary can have had no idea of where this journey would lead her. Yet, despite her trepidation she is already full of the Spirit. She has the courage to use the words that have been passed down through her faith sing of the greatness of the God who has transformed her life:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit exults in God my saviour…”

It is easy to imagine that Mary knew how her life would unfold. We easily forget that she didn’t have our gift of hindsight. She had no idea of how her “yes” would shape her life and all our lives. She was a young girl stepping out into the unknown, hanging on to a promise from God that she didn’t fully understand.

It must have taken huge amount of courage and trust to take that step, singing God’s praises and trusting that the promise would be fulfilled.

In our own uncertain and challenging lives and times we are called to follow her example, trusting in dark times that God’s promise will also be fulfilled in our lives in ways beyond our dreams.

Where is Christ inviting you to step out in trust today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Scripture

The call of reconciliation.

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In a world that is growing ever more fractious and fragmented today’s gospel offers an important and valuable insight. We know all too well the experience of being hurt by those we love. We’ve all experienced the breakdown of relationships that can result from that.

It can often feel impossible to get past the hurt and the damage we cause one another. Jesus offers his disciples a way of dealing with such situations. He offers a process that helps us to examine the hurt together and move towards reconciliation. He says to his disciples:

“If your sister or brother does something wrong, go and have it out with them alone, between your two selves. If they listen to you, you have won them back. If they do not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if they refuse to listen to the community, treat them like pagans or tax collectors.”

His suggestion offers hope, but allows for the possibility that the situation will not be easily resolved however well-intentioned we are. In these uncertain times we want the certainty of knowing that others agree with us and we have little patience or time to truly listen to those who don’t.

In a world of instant communication, it’s so much easier to react without taking the time to listen or understand another’s viewpoint. Such attitudes do nothing to build the trust and understanding. They don’t create the necessary conditions for our communities to become places where people can flourish.

Jesus isn’t suggesting an easy option. His process requires openness, humility and a willingness to listen attentively to views we disagree with. All of this makes us vulnerable. Yet, it is this risky process that will enable us to build the communities of love and hope that we so desperately need.

Where is Christ challenging you to seek reconciliation today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Scripture Uncategorized

Discerning treasure.

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We live in a world that presents us with a dizzying array of choices in almost every situation. There are times when this give us a sense of control but it can also be a burden. When presented with such variety it can be hard to know which to choose.

In many situations this may be fine, but if we are seeking to live a meaningful, prayer for life it is not enough. In today’s gospel Jesus reminds us that the choices we make matter. He says to his disciples:

“Sell your possessions and give alms. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

He has already told us that we have no need to fear, even in our fearful times, because the Father has already given us the kingdom. But that gift requires a response from us. If we want to be able to accept and embrace that kingdom we have to practice discernment. We can no longer make surface choices based on our passing moods or whims.

Instead, our choices have to be based on the self-knowledge that comes from true discernment. Jesus asks us to learn to know our own hearts, to be open and honest about our true desires, and to base our choices on those.

Then, however whatever we face we will have a solid basis for the choices we make. Then, we are able to make them freely, knowing that the desire of our hearts and our actions will align with the values of the kingdom.

Where is Christ calling you to discernment today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Scripture Transfiguration

Transfiguration

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The Transfiguration is a beautiful feast. It gives us an insight into the mystery of God. It shows us how God’s glory can break through into our ordinary lives, transforming them and enabling us to see them in a new light. Yet it’s also full of challenge. Like Peter, when we glimpse that glory we want to stay with it.

We long to be held in the shelter of God’s presence, protected from the storms and hardships of our lives. Tempting as that is it misses the point of the Transfiguration. Those moments of intense encounter with God are not places to hide away but ones to draw courage from so that we can face the turmoil of the challenging lives and times we live in.

It seems to me that the key to the Transfiguration is in these words spoken from the cloud:

“This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.”

It’s a call to listen to Jesus that requires we are open to those intense moments of transformation, but are also willing to move on from them. It’s a call not only to listen, but to respond to his words, allowing them to shape our actions and encounters.

It’s a call to leave the places where we feel safe and comfortable and follow him whatever challenges life presents, and to learn to respond to those challenges with love, kindness and compassion.

Where are you being called to listen to Christ in your life today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Scripture

Empty handed.

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For those of us who live with more than we need it’s impossible not to be unsettled by today’s gospel. Having been asked to arbitrate about a disputed inheritance Jesus challenges the whole principle of consumerism. He calls us to look again at our possessions and how we relate to them.

Our society tells us that possessions are the way to a fulfilled and happy life. It promises that possessions are the road to peace, happiness and contentment. We are all too willing to surrender ourselves to this idea, though our own experiences repeatedly tell us the opposite.

Talking to his disciples in today’s gospel Jesus warns of the dangers of this view:

“Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for life is not made secure by what we own, even when we have more than we need.’”

He then tells a parable of a man responds to a better than expected harvest by pulling down his barns and building bigger ones, congratulating himself on a secure future. We all recognise that temptation. We use our possessions to make us feel secure, comfortable and in control. The parable ends when the man dies before he is able to benefit from his hoarding.

This challenges us to reflect seriously on how we view our possessions. It also offers us hope and freedom. Unlike the world Jesus values each of us for who we are, not for what we do or don’t possess. He challenges us to put aside our need to possess so that we can come to him vulnerable and empty handed, trusting his promise of a deeper and more secure fulfilment.

Where is Christ inviting you to come to him empty handed today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Scripture

A priceless pearl.

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Today’s gospel, the pearl of great price, has always deeply resonated with me. Every time we hear it, I find something new to reflect on. It describes a very regular occurrence in daily life in a way that gives it a whole new perspective. We so often miss what we seek because it doesn’t match our expectations. I find this happens if I go to get something from a cupboard and it’s not on the shelf or in the container where I expect to find it. It’s almost like my expectation overrides the reality before me.

The description today’s gospel offers of the kingdom of heaven suggests that the same pattern applies when we are seeking the kingdom. Jesus tells the crowds to look out for the kingdom in unexpected places, in the midst of ordinary, unremarkable or even dull things. In the midst of a field or in a pile of oyster shells that might well end up in a dustbin. He says to the crowds:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.”

His words are a call to openness and attentiveness. He calls us to look beyond our expectations and prejudices, to allow ourselves to be surprised by the presence of the kingdom. He calls us to look for the signs of the kingdom not only in great and momentous events and occasions, but in the ordinary, apparently unimportant interactions and encounters of daily life.

Where are you discovering the treasures of the Kingdom in your life today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Scripture

In rich soil.

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The key challenge of the parable of the Sower is in its closing line:

“Listen, anyone who has ears!”

The familiarity of the passage can make that especially challenging. It can lead us to be less attentive because we already “know” what the passages about.

Scripture doesn’t let us off with that attitude for very long, surprising us with new challenges and unexpected interpretations.

Generally, my thoughts and prayers go towards those places where the seed doesn’t take root. I think of the times when I push God’s Word to the fringes of my awareness, so I don’t have to hear its challenge to act. Or, I might reflect on those places in my heart that have become too hard to receive the Word in a way that allows it to become truly life changing.

Today, I found myself reflecting on the rich soil within me. We are very quickly aware of the times when the Word fails to take root, we know our lack of attentiveness, we know our hardness of heart. We are often less aware of the “rich soil” within us.

There is a part of us already open, waiting and longing for the Word to take root in our hearts and to allow it to transform our lives. It seems to me that in our challenging times it’s as important to pay attention to that “rich soil” and allow it to nourish and sustain us.

Where is Christ’s presence helping you to recognise the “rich soil” in your life today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Scripture

Attentive to the Kingdom.

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In today’s gospel Jesus once again turns our ideas on their heads. He calls his listeners to step back from their challenging, complex and uncertain lives and discover a new way of being. His alternative is a surprise, even a shock for his listeners. He doesn’t tell them to pay attention to the learned and the clever, the experts and politicians. Instead he tells them that the mysteries of the kingdom are revealed to children:

“I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learners and the clever and revealing them to mere children.”

As so often happens with the gospel we have become so familiar with this text that we no longer hear the initial surprise that must have caused. Very few people, then or now, really look at children as bearers of wisdom. The gospel calls us to examine that view. It invites us ask what Jesus saw in the children that he didn’t find in those learned and clever adults, and to look at what we can learn from them.

Children have the capacity for openness and attentiveness that we seem to lose as we grow. When they are involved in some activity they give it their whole attention, it absorbs them completely. To watch that is a delight and a challenge.

We can only ever do one thing at a time, yet we prize multitasking, convincing ourselves that this is a good way to deal with the many things that we have to cope with in any day. The challenge of today’s gospel is to allow seeking the kingdom to absorb us completely, to give it our whole and complete attention.

Where is Christ calling you to give him your whole attention today?