Category: Lent

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

United Heart and Soul.

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COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY is at the heart of the gospel, and of what it is to be human. We are created to be in relationship with one another, with creation and with God. We can live individualistic and isolated lives, but we thrive best when we live in relationship with others.

It’s hardly surprising then that the resurrection calls Jesus’s followers together after they were scattered. It’s from this regrouping that the early church is born. Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the ideal at the heart of this new community:

“The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for their own use anything that they had, as everything they owned was held in common.”

This ideal still lies at the heart of the Church. It underpins the life of our parishes, and is at the heart our concern for the excluded and the marginalised. It’s was the basis of the life lived by the desert Fathers and Mothers.

It was taken up by the early monastic communities and is one of the main foundations of Benedictine life today. As a Benedictine it’s a principle that’s close to my heart.

Yet, however much we value the principle we often fall short of the ideal. St Benedict gives us a very clear idea of why that is:

“They must compete with one another in obedience. They should not pursue what they judge advantageous for themselves, but rather what benefits others. They must show selfless love to the community.”

Living in community is hard work. It demands that we put love at the heart of our lives in very real and concrete ways every day. It calls us to accept people as they are and to put their needs before our own regardless of whether we agree with them or like them.

Where is the risen Christ calling you to build community this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Holy Saturday Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Prayer Prophetic voices Scripture

In The Emptiness

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After the high drama of Good Friday people often talk of Holy Saturday as a “tomb day”, a time to sit with the emptiness that follows death, to allow the events of Good Friday to sink in. I recognise the yearning for that and its wisdom. Yet, it’s not an experience I recognise from monastic life.

In practice, for many of us Holy Saturday is very much a hybrid day, we are aware of its emptiness, the mourning and the uncertainty. We also have to acknowledge that the Easter vigil is fast approaching and that Easter liturgies and treats do not plan themselves. So it is also a day of preparation and anticipation that can be very busy.

As we move through this hybrid day I’m reflecting on these words from the Lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah from this morning’s Office of Readings:

“The favours of the Lord are not all past, nor his kindnesses exhausted; every morning they are renewed: great is his faithfulness. My portion is with the Lord says my soul, and so I will hope in him.”

Even in the midst of his lamentation Jeremiah is able to acknowledge the kindness and faithfulness of God, and to put his hope in that. His words speak to me of the hybrid reality of the day. It seems to me that the emptiness of Holy Saturday calls us to imitate God’s kindness to others as we get on with the many preparations for Easter, and to ourselves as we seek small moments of quiet during the day.

In the emptiness of Holy Saturday where are you aware of the Lord renewing your capacity for kindness?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Good Friday Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Scripture Triduum

Being There.

Image © Ally Barrett (www.reverendally.org) and used by permission

BACKGROUND READING MARK 15:1-41 AND
JOHN 19 17-37 OR JUST JOHN 19 17-37

Salome was one of women who followed Jesus through his passion and death to his resurrection.

Salome’s story is about remembering and forgetting. She remembers her friendship with Mary growing up in Nazareth. She remembers it falling apart after the angel’s visit, and being rediscovered after Mary, Joseph and Jesus returned from Egypt. She remembers how she initially followed Jesus for Mary’s sake, until his words touched her and she begins to follow for herself.

She remembers how, when they hear of Jesus’ arrest, they follow him to his trial and passion. She tells us that, with breaking hearts and dying hopes, they keep vigil at the cross while he dies.

Salome also knows what it feels like to be forgotten. She repeatedly reminds Peter and the other disciples that not all of Jesus’ followers ran away at his arrest. She admits that this might have been habit as much as virtue:

“It’s what I’ve always done. When disaster strikes and I don’t know what to do, I do what I normally do – day in, day out – until the moment comes when I do know what to do again. So, when we heard, when it felt as though the world was collapsing around us, we did what we’d been doing for the past few years. We followed him.”

When we come to the cross on Good Friday we are invited to remember the marginal. We are called to stand with those society rejects, ignores, and pushes aside. We are challenged to become one with them in Christ.

The cross also invites us to bring those parts of ourselves that we reject and ignore. We are called to bring them to the cross, to be welcomed into Jesus’ gaze of “pure love”.

As you stand before the cross this Good Friday where do you need to feel the pure love of Christ your life?
You can hear Salome’s story here:

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Communion Divine Office Eucharist Foot washing Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Maundy Thursday Scripture

Extragavant love… Extragavant heartbreak

BACKGROUND READING MARK 14: 12-25

Image © Ally Barrett (www.reverendally.org) and used by permission

Joanna was one of the group of women who follows Jesus. The wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, she was part of the group who used their personal resources to provide for Jesus. Feeling stifled by life at court she went to Capernaum to hear Jesus speak and became a follower.

Joining Jesus in Jerusalem for Passover Joanna was anxious and unsettled. She senses a dark shadow hanging over them. Jesus has started to talk about suffering, death and rising again.

This added to her sense of foreboding. She found a practical outlet for her stress, worrying about where they will celebrate the Passover. Eventually she snaps at Jesus:

“So where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

To her relief, Jesus had it in hand. She went off with Susannah to make the arrangements and found everything as he said it would be.

They gathered to celebrate the Passover, drawing strength from the shared meal and remembering the story of their freedom. They received Jesus’ offering of his body and blood in the form of bread and wine, though they don’t understand its significance.

As Jesus left for Gethsemane with the disciples her discomfort turned to dread. Her friend sums up what they are facing:

“That’s the problem with extravagant love, it leads to extravagant heartbreak.”

Those words also touch the heart our Maundy Thursday liturgies that acknowledge both the best and the worst we can be. We all recognise the intimate link between the love and heartbreak.

How is the extravagant love of Christ helping you to face your heartbreak this Holy Week?
You can listen to Joanna’s story here:

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Prophetic voices Scripture

Freedom

Image © Ally Barrett (www.reverendally.org) and used by permission

BACKGROUND READING MATTHEW 26: 6-13 MARK 14: 3-9 LUKE 7: 36-50 JOHN 12: 1-8. OR JUST MARK 14: 3-9

Susannah was wealthy and well loved, living a privileged life. Reflecting on this later she says: “I had no idea how lucky I was.” On the surface her life of privilege carries on after her marriage as she moves from one comfortable, spacious home to another.

Her husband was a harsh man who relished hurting people. When, after several years, he put her aside he spreads rumours that damaged her reputation so badly that she could never return to her parents’ home.

Despite her father’s financial support, she is alone and isolated in a society that refuses to even listen to her side of the story. In our post truth society we recognise how easily that can happen.

Her friends, Joanna and Mary of Magdala almost had to drag her to meet Jesus. As he looked at her across a crowded room, she realises that there is no need to explain or justify herself to him. She recognised that he loves her just as she is. As he tells her: “Dear child, your sins are forgiven.” she was free from all her burdens.

She joined the women who followed Jesus, “providing for him out of their resources”. At Bethany she takes her most precious possession, an alabaster jar of pure nard. Breaking the jar, she pours its contents over Jesus’ head. It’s an act of extravagant love and self-giving, that was misunderstood then as now. But she knew that he understood the gesture, even if others did not.

What do you need Jesus to set you free from this Holy Week?

You can listen to Paula Gooder read Susannah’s story here:

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

Held in the gaze of God

BACKGROUND READING LUKE 2:22-38
AND Mark 12: 38-44

Image © Ally Barrett (www.reverendally.org) and used by permission

Anna’s story offers some background to the gospel story of the widow’s gift. It takes us beyond the story of a poor and destitute woman. Anna has not always been the poor woman of the gospel, struggling and doubting the faith that has sustained her for so long.

She once knew both material and spiritual security. She had a comfortable life, married with a family. A woman of faith, she’s a descendant of Anna the prophetess, who held the Messiah in her arms. She is called after that Great Aunt and remembers being taught the faith by her. Her faith was the centre of her life:

“The Temple, God’s Temple has been the centre of my life…Wherever I go the Temple is in the corner of my eye…reminding me that no matter what happens, God, my God, is right there with me.”

Then, everything suddenly changes. A mystery illness sweeps through the city, killing her parents, her sons and her husband. Post Covid this scenario touches us deeply, we can no longer dismiss it as something that was only a possibility in the distant past.

She’s left alone and poor. As age and poverty make her increasingly invisible to others she begins to question her faith. Her sense of being held in the loving gaze of God waivers. But it doesn’t quite die.

She makes the hard journey to the Temple to make her last tiny offering. It’s then that Jesus sees and comments on her offering:

“She, out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.”

She senses his gaze recognising his love and respect…and everything changes. Once again, she recognises the loving gaze of God on her. This enables her to accept the hospitality her neighbour Miriam offers her as a gift of love.

Where do you need to feel the loving gaze of God in your life this Holy Week?

You can listen to Paula Gooder read Anna’s story here:

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

Whispers on the wind

Image © Ally Barrett (www.reverendally.org) and used by permission

BACKGROUND READING MARK 11: 27 – 12:34 OR
MARK 12: 28-34

Sarah, the wife of Jacob, a priest, has also travelled from her home in Sephorris. She makes the journey three times a year to celebrate the major festivals.

She hears about him first from Miriam, a neighbour from home that she bumps into in the busy streets of the city. She surprised and intrigued by how her practical and down to earth neighbour is carried away by a brief encounter with the strange man. It’s so noisy in the crowd that she doesn’t even get the whole story, just snatches here and there before the crowd forces them apart:

“On the air, I just heard “steadfast love” and “forever”. And then she was gone.”

Later, she’s surprised to hear her husband speak of the same person. After his priestly duties were done, he had spent time doing what he loved best, discussing the Law. Sarah is not surprised by the answer her husband gets to his question about the greatest commandment, it’s what they both already knew:

“First you love God; second you love your neighbour. Together they are the most important commandment all rolled into one.”

It’s her husband’s description of how Jesus said it that is transformative for her, and for him:

“Like it was a truth to be lived. Love God; love your neighbour…. And looking at him, I knew he lived it with all his heart and soul and mind and strength.”

Sarah’s story has reminded me that the faith of those close to us can transform and enrich our own faith in surprising and transformative ways.

How is your faith being enriched by the experiences of those around you this Holy Week?

You can listen to Paula Gooder read Sarah’s story here:

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Palm Sunday Scripture Uncategorized

The call of steadfast love.

© Ally Barrett (www.reverendally.org) and used by permission

BACKGROUND READING: PSALM 118 AND MARK 11:1-11

The first woman of Holy Week is Miriam. She is practical and down to earth. She doesn’t like living under Roman occupation but realises that her family’s well-being relies on her finding a way to live with it. She lives in Sephorris where she and her family make a good living as fish traders. They have travelled to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival.

She comes to this festival with mixed feelings. She loves the sense of togetherness and hope that the festival brings, but hates the jostling and disagreements that come with being part of a large and excited crowd.

A woman of deep faith she lives with the hope and expectation that the Messiah will come and set her people free. As she walks with the rest of the crowd she carries the image of the Messiah, weary, exhausted and quietly triumphant, riding towards Jerusalem. She puts her whole heart and soul into singing:

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good: his steadfast love endures for ever.”

Then she sees a surprising sight. Two people bring a donkey and a man got onto it, riding it she says “just like I always imagined the King would have done – except that it was a donkey and not that impressive”.

A little impatient with the gesture she initially him as another “wannabe Messiah”. Something in the man’s demeanour compels her to look again. It’s then that she sees past the externals and recognises the Messiah at the centre of this unlikely scene.

Where is Christ calling you to recognise his steadfast love in unexpected places this Holy Week?

You can listen to Paula Gooder read Miriam’s story here:

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Divine Office Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Palm Sunday Prophetic voices Psalms Scripture Uncategorized

Women of Holy Week

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From Palm Sunday I’ll be using Paula Gooder’s book “Women of Holy Week” as the basis of my prayer. They tell the stories of ordinary women, some we know from the gospels, though their stories are not elaborated there. Others are not mentioned in the gospel, but it’s possible that someone like them was there in the crowd.

All of their lives were touched and changed, either by encountering Jesus on his journey through Holy Week and Easter or by hearing about him. from others. I will include a link to Paula’s audio reflection at the end of each day’s post.

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

Overshadowing

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Today celebrating the feast of the Annunciation I’m struck by the mixture of calm, serenity, and chaos that it portrays. It’s generally depicted in art and literature as a beautiful moment of calm encounter between Gabriel and Mary, between heaven and earth, leading to Mary’s act of obedience.

That is certainly one aspect of the gospel, but as I reflected on it today I’m very aware that there is also another side to it. The news the angel brings to Mary must have been both surprising and overwhelming to a young, unmarried woman who was not expecting to become pregnant.

It must have seemed to her that she was facing at best a challenge and at worst a disaster. Yet in the midst of the upheaval she was able to find a way through the chaos to say yes. I’m especially struck by the angel’s response when she asks, “How can this be?” He replies:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…”

His words take me back to the Spirit hovering over the waters at Creation drawing life out of chaos. That’s a comforting image image in these times when so much of our world seems to teeter on the brink of chaos.

In our dark and frightening times this image offers hope and encouragement. I find it helpful to remember that however chaotic our situation the Spirit hovers, overshadowing us and promising new life.

Where do you need the Spirit’s overshadowing in your life this Lent?