Category: Prophetic voices

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Scripture

Trusting the promise.

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Today’s first reading, from the prophet Isaiah, is full of promise and hope. It presents an image all the peoples of the earth been welcomed by God to a banquet on God’s holy Mountain.

It is a promise of salvation and new life that is at odds with our current reality as we watch people’s lives torn apart by war and violence once again. I’m reflecting especially on these words:

“On this mountain God will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enveloping all nations, God will destroy Death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away the people’s shame everywhere on earth.”

It’s easy to be hopeful when life seems safe and secure. It’s much harder to hope when we are aware of how precarious life is. Isaiah was writing to people who knew what it was to lose all hope, people who had been exiled and lost everything they held dear.

Through centuries of seeming hopelessness his words kept their hope alive. These words, so full of hope, touch us all deeply because we all carry pain that feels inconsolable.

In these hard times they also bring to mind all those who are mourning the loss of homes, livelihoods, communities and loved ones. In the face of the suffering we see all around us give the passage a new depth and meaning.

This beautiful passage offers us a challenge as well as an invitation. We are also called to hope in that promise even in those times when life seems utterly hopeless.

Where is Christ calling you to hope in your dark times?

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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 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 Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Saints

Recognising Christ

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This Sunday’s gospel returns to a question that is at the heart of Christian life. Jesus asks his disciples what people are saying about him. It highlights Jesus’ humanity, like all of us he wonders what people think of him, and how much impact his message is having them.

He gets a varied response from the disciples. Some people say he’s John the Baptist, or Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Brushing this mixed bag aside he asks the disciples:

“But you…who do you say I am?”

This question moves the discussion to a deeper level. Directed, not to the crowds who hear him in the market place or synagogue, but to the people who left everything to follow him. It requires a deeper response than the comments the disciples have passed on.

I can imagine the silence that fell as the disciples realised this and pondered their response. As usual it is Simon Peter who has the courage to break that silence as he says:

“You are the Christ…, the Son of the living God.”

As the rest of the passage unfolds we see how life changing this response is for Peter. It’s left me pondering my own response to the question. It’s one we’re very familiar with and can easily take for granted.

Yet, each time it arises it has the potential to be as life changing for us as it was for Peter. Whenever it comes up we’re called to give it our whole attention so that we, like Peter, can answer it from the depths of our hearts.

How does recognising Christ transform your life?

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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 Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Prayer Prophetic voices Scripture Uncategorized

Being Courageous

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There’s a resonance between the story of Elijah in the first reading and of disciples on the stormy lake in the gospel. They are a call to focus our whole attention on God without allowing ourselves to be distracted by the inevitable storms of life.

Elijah waits attentively in his cave through mighty winds, earthquakes and fire, until he discovers the presence of God in the quiet of a gentle breeze. On the storm tossed lake Jesus invites Peter to walk across the water towards him.

While Peter focuses his whole attention on Jesus everything is fine, but as soon as he is distracted by the force of the wind he begins to sink. As Jesus walked across the water to his disciples he calls out:

“Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.”

Both the story of Elijah and of the storm tossed disciples require courage and trust. It takes courage to sit out the storms of life, not letting them blow us off course. It takes trust and faith to keep ourselves focused on Christ when life is challenging, uncertain and frightening.

We live in stormy & uncertain times. In the midst of those Christ calls to us not to be fearful, but to focus on his presence with us. As Julian of Norwich tells us that presence will not remove us from those storms, but it will prevent them from overcoming us.

Where do you need the courage to stay focused on Christ’s presence in your life today?

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

A life transfigured

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The Transfiguration is a beautiful feast that both draws us into the glory of God and grounds us in the reality of our daily lives on earth. Peter, James and John are drawn into the mystery and wonder of God’s presence.

In the midst of what started out as an ordinary walk up a mountain they see Jesus transfigured, conversing with Moses and Elijah, and they hear the voice of God speaking from within a cloud:

“This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.”

It must have been a life changing, and life shattering encounter. I can understand their fear, and Peter’s desire to control the situation by building tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

So often when we encounter the reality of God’s mystery we look for ways of taming it, of making manageable and understandable to our human minds. Or, we seek to hang on to the experience, not wanting to leave the place where we have encountered God’s presence.

The Transfiguration moves us beyond both of those natural human responses. It calls us to listen with our whole hearts to the voice of God. It invites us to be open to those moments in our own life when God’s presence breaks through and transfigures our reality.

Yet, even as it allows us to draw strength from such times, it moves us beyond them. It challenges us to listen to Jesus and to allow his presence to transform the ordinariness of our daily lives.

Where is Christ inviting you to allow his presence to transfigure your life today?