Category: Divine Office

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Scripture

Called to pray

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In today’s gospel the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray:

“Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

When they discover him praying they recognise something of value, something they want and feel that the lack. I guess they felt something similar when they heard from John’s disciples about how he taught them to pray. I’m always touched by this scene.

It’s tempting to think that as the disciples were always with Jesus prayer came easily and naturally to them. This interaction shows us they struggled to pray, just as we do. I find that both consoling and encouraging.

Even knowing the value of a regular practice of prayer we ignore the promptings of our heart to take time for prayer. There are a myriad of reasons why prayer can be left at the bottom of our “to do” list.

It might be that we are too busy, or that we think we will pray when all our other jobs are done, or when we are less tired… But I am inclined to think there is a deeper reason for our reluctance.

Prayers’ fruits are often hidden or unrecognisable. In a society that values achievement that can make prayer feel pointless. Alongside that we live in times that expect us to be in control of every aspect of our lives.

Prayer is a call to the very opposite of this. It involves letting go of all control. It calls us to let Christ lead us in challenging and unexpected paths.

Where is Christ challenging you to make prayer a daily practice in your life?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Prophetic voices Saints Scripture

Minds filled with Christ

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Writing to the Philippians in times of full of challenge and uncertainty Paul offers a message of hope, saying to them:

“There is no need to worry, but if there is anything you need, pray for it…and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”

In a world that is growing ever more fragmented and violent his words have a new rfesonance for us. In the face of the news we hear daily it’s tempting to let ourselves spiral down into despair and hopelessness.

St Paul invites us to find another way, reminding us that even when we feel powerless we can still make choices that can be life changing. Echoing Deuteronomy’s call to “choose life” Paul tell the Philippians to deliberately choose to fill their minds with what will keep them focussed on Christ and his peace:

“Fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise.”

We have so much choice it can be overwhelming. This can encourage us to choose mindlessly, without reflecting on the consequences for ourselves or for others. That is not good enough for Paul. He calls us to examine our choices, to make them mindfully and prayerfully.

He reminds us that our choices have a real effect on our lives and the lives of others. He tells us that part of our Christian calling is to be discerning about our choices.

We are called to choose to hope when life feels hopeless, to give the benefit of the doubt to others, to trust and focus on the peace of Christ so that we can share it wherever we can.

Where is Christ calling you to focus on his peace today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Prophetic voices Saints Scripture St Therese of Lisieux Uncategorized

The power of love.

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Today we are celebrating the feast of St Therese of Lisieux. She entered Carmel at 15 and died at 24. Once she entered Carmel she never left, she built no career, had no wealth and little influence. Even after her death, when her saintliness is recognised, she is often presented with an overlay of sentimentality and sweetness.

Her spirituality is often called “a little way” and that can make it tempting to dismiss her. In these challenging times we might be tempted to look for a saint who is more obviously heroic than this young woman. To do that would be to greatly undervalue St Therese’s message

Saint Therese was a woman of faith, courage, wisdom and discernment. Her little way takes us to the heart of the gospel. In a time when the church placed little value on love she was courageous in putting it at the heart of Christian life. Reflecting on St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians she writes:

“Love, in fact is the vocation which includes all others; it is a universe of its own, comprising all time and space – its eternal… My vocation is love… I had discovered where it is that I belong in the Church, the niche God has appointed for me. To be nothing else than love… That’s to be everything at once.”

She was able to see the one thing that she could do that had the power to change the world, one small act at a time. In these times when we are overwhelmed by the suffering we see in every area she offers us a way of making a difference. By choosing to show love in a world that often feels hateful our actions can affect real and lasting change.

Where are you being called to put love at the heart of your life today?

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

Fairness and generosity.

Vindemia Winery

Some thoughts on fairness and generosity from our archives: Today’s gospel is all about fairness and generosity. At the beginning of the day a landowner goes out to hire workers for his vineyard, offering them a fair price for the day’s work.

He goes out again several times later in the day, right up to the 11th hour, and still finding idle workers sends them to his vineyard offering them “a fair wage”.

At the end of the day he tells his bailiff to pay all the workers the same amount, starting with the ones who came last. This causes some consternation to those who have been working all day, and they grumble that it’s not fair as they have worked longer and should receive more.

They evoke our sympathy because we all know what it feels like to be treated unfairly. Yet, the vineyard owner takes a different view, saying to them:

“My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius?… Why be envious because I am generous?

His words turn the situation on its head, challenging his workers, and us, to look at it from a different perspective. He calls us to look at our motivations and to acknowledge that there can be a thin line between our desire for fairness and envy.

His generous action points out that generosity is a hallmark of the Kingdom. It compels us to reflect on where we can be generous towards those around us with both our material goods and our time.

Where is Christ calling you to act generously today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Scripture

Before the cross

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As we celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross I’m reflecting the variety of meanings that the cross carries for us. As today’s feast suggests it signifies the ultimate triumph of Christ over death.

It’s a symbol of hope, reminding us that this is not the end. It speaks of the lowest point of human suffering, ensuring us that even when we reach that point we are not alone, because our God understands that suffering completely.

We have to be honest and admit that it is also sometimes used to signify less positive and less hopeful things. We can, and have used the cross as a sign of judgement, exclusion and alienation.

That brings me to another important role that the cross has in our lives. It can act as a mirror, inviting and challenging us to reflect on how our lives measure up to the call of love which is the heart of the gospel. I’m reflecting on this from today’s gospel.

“Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.”

The cross promises us that our suffering will never separate us from God’s love. The passage continues:

“For God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.”

We live in times that are quick to condemn and to judge, and it’s very easy to get caught up in that or even to use the cross to justify it. Today’s feast reminds us that the call of the cross is not to condemn, to bring God’s love and healing to our broken world.

How does the cross challenge you to bring God’s love and healing to your encounters?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Scripture

In the presence of God

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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 Cross Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Scripture

The challenge of discipleship.

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In today’s gospel Jesus makes clear to his disciples that he is heading towards Jerusalem and suffering. His words are stark and challenging. Once again, I find myself sympathising with Peter’s response. He says to him:

“Heaven preserve you, Lord;… This must not happen to you.”

Peter rushes to make things better, to help Jesus avoid the suffering. We often feel like that when we encounter a loved one in pain. Our first instinct is to do whatever we can to remove the pain, to “make everything better”. We do this even when we know from experience it is not necessarily the best or most helpful way.

Jesus points out that God’s way is different. God calls us not to avoid the necessary suffering life brings, but to accept it:

“Those who want to be followers of mine must renounce themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their lives will lose them; but those who lose their lives for my sake will find it.”

We can all identify with the suffering this passage talks about. Jesus is not glorifying suffering, or suggesting that we should deliberately seek or hang onto it when it comes. Instead, he suggests that in embracing the suffering that comes our way we move through into the new life that he promises.

The cross is a vital part of our faith, that we all experience in some form. But it is not the point of the gospel, or the end of the Christian story. Sometimes it is more challenging to trust and embrace that hope of new life than it is to accept the suffering of the cross.

Where is Christ inviting you find the hope of new life in the sufferings you face?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Discernment Divine Office Lectio Divina Liturgy Monastic Life Prayer Prophetic voices Rule of St Benedict Saints Scripture

With softened hearts

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In challenging times such as ours it can be helpful to look to our Christian past for role models whose example can give us courage and hope. St Bernard Tolomei, the founder of the Olivetan congregation, whose feast we celebrate today is one of those. He was a 13th century lawyer who, with a few friends, left the city to live as hermits in the hills outside of Siena.

13th century Siena could be a violent and dangerous place. Bernard and his companions may have been glad to leave all that behind as they chose a radical form of contemplative life. But choosing the contemplative life is an act of love, not an escape from the challenges of living with others. This was summed up this morning at Lauds:

“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

That call of Love leads us into desert places to spend time alone with God. It can also, as Bernard and his companions found out, lead us back into the midst of the bustle of society with all its challenges.

When plague struck Siena in 1349 the Love that called Bernard and his companions into the desert called them back to nurse the victims of the plague. It was there that Bernard fell victim to the plague himself and died.

His life suggests that it’s 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 softens our stony hearts and enables us to love our sisters and brothers.

How is God softening your heart towards your neighbour today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Saints Scripture

Called to integrity & justice.

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It’s tempting to divide the world into “them and us”. This is especially true when we feel threatened or endangered, when we tend to look for someone or something to blame. We close in on ourselves locking into our own communities, and viewing those we consider to be “different” to us with suspicion.

All of that is a perfectly normal, human reaction to threatening a dangerous situation. In our current times, fraught with danger and uncertainty in so many different directions we can already see the effects of such attitudes on our communities and societies.

Today’s readings point us very clearly in a different direction, pointing us towards the all-inclusive nature of God’s love. In the first reading the prophet Isaiah makes it clear that God expects his people to act with integrity towards those who are considered “other” saying:

“Have a care for justice, act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest.”

His words, written thousands of years ago, could have been written have real resonance for today. He reminds us that we are called to treat all people with justice and integrity. It’s a call we hear again and again through Scripture. This is not an optional extra to Christian faith, imitating this all-inclusive love of God is essential.

We can’t all be campaigners or policymakers, but we can all strive to make a difference. We are all called to do whatever we can to ensure everyone has what they need to live with dignity and self-respect whatever their background.

Where is Christ calling you to act with integrity today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Scripture Uncategorized

In trust and hope.

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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?