Category: Prophetic voices

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Advent Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Scripture

Advent blessings

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However small and faltering our faith might seem Advent reminds us that we can discover God’s blessing in our lives. Today’s readings paint a beautiful picture of the blessings God showers on us. Isaiah shows the people of God being welcomed home to a place of safety, plenty and consolation:

“On this mountain God will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations, God will destroy Death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek…”

In the gospel, Matthew’s version of the feeding of the 5000, Jesus makes that vision a reality for the crowds who follow him. Both readings offer us a glimpse of the Kingdom in our midst, of the blessings a loving God showers on us.

It’s easy to believe in such blessings when our lives are relatively easy, when our societies feel stable and secure. But we live in times of great uncertainty, suffering and fear. That makes it harder to discover and acknowledge the blessings that God is still showering on us.

Advent calls us to be open to the possibility of blessing even in times when all our instinct tells us to be wary. This is not a new situation, all through their challenging and difficult history the people of Israel believed in and sought God’s blessing even when it seemed very far from them.

Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah and Joseph stayed open to the possibility of blessing even in hard and dangerous circumstances. They were able to journey on trusting that if they lived with integrity they would receive the blessings God promised.

Where are you discovering God’s blessing in these challenging times?

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

Recognition

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We often go through life so caught up with our own affairs that we miss the important signs of Christ’s kingdom that are all around us. Advent invites us to move away from that way of being. It’s a time to start paying attention again, to notice what is going on around us. It especially calls us to pay attention to where we discover the presence of Christ and the signs of his kingdom in our everyday lives.

Today’s gospel, the story of the centurion’s sick servant, is a reminder of that. It’s not the disciples, the faithful followers of Jesus, or the people who’ve waited generations for the Messiah who recognise Jesus. It’s a complete outsider, a solider of the occupying nation who is alert enough to recognise the authority Jesus carries.

Jesus looks beyond the Centurion’s otherness, and, seeing into his heart, recognises his faith saying:

“I tell you solemnly, nowhere…have I found faith like this. And I tell you that many will come from east and west to take their places with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven.”

As we start Advent this encounter calls us back to attentiveness. Jesus’ response calls us also to look beyond the surface of our prejudice, and to recognise the Christ who comes to us in surprising and unsettling guises. It reminds us that the kingdom will become apparent in unexpected ways and places. It calls us to notice Christ being revealed not only in the familiar, but in the outsider, the marginalised, the people we are inclined to reject or even despise.

Where is Christ calling you to recognise his presence in challenging encounters this Advent?

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Christ Divine Office Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Saints St Teresa of Avila

The gift of love.

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In these increasingly challenging and uncertain times it can be easy to despair and to lose hope. At such times it can be helpful to look for inspiration from the lives of others who’ve also faced challenges. Today, we’re celebrating the feast of St Teresa of Avila, Carmelite nun, reformer, theologian and Doctor of the Church.

She faced her many challenges with courage and perseverance. There’s much in her writings and in the example of her life to inspire and encourage us. I came across this from her writings:

“Whatever we think of Christ, let us always bear in mind that love of his which drove him to bestow upon us so many gifts and graces. Let us bear in mind to how great is the love God has shown us, since God has given us in Christ such a pledge of that love which God has for us; for love calls for a return of love.”

When life is difficult it seems surprisingly easy for us to lose sight of God’s love. The day-to-day struggles, the seemingly insurmountable challenges and anxiety leave us little energy to discover or reflect on that love. Yet, it is precisely at those times when life is hardest and most challenging that we need to be held and sustained by that love.

The love St Teresa speaks of is not the love of cinema or romantic novel that promises those happy ever after endings that are so beguiling, it is much stronger and deeper than that. Christ doesn’t promise that we won’t be hurt or disappointed, that we won’t feel pain or suffer.

Instead, he promises that whatever sufferings we face, whatever breaks our hearts and disappoints us, he will be there loving and sustaining us through it all.

Where do you need to be aware of the greatness of God’s love for you today?


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#ConsecrateLife #SimplyJubilee Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Jubilee Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Rule of St Benedict Scripture

Accepting freedom

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Today I’m reflecting on freedom. The biblical concept of freedom goes beyond that our human understanding of freedom. It is rooted first of all in our position as children of God. It’s an invitation to become the person God’s calls us to be. It also carries a challenge.

In the course of life’s ups and downs we encounter much that draws us away from that freedom. Much as we desire it, we find ourselves making choices that limit and curtail it. The prophet Isaiah promises:

“He has sent me… to proclaim liberty to captives, release to those in prison…”

Biblical freedom is communal as well as personal. One of the things I’ve learned in my time in the Monastery is that there is always a balancing act between individual freedoms and communal freedoms. No one is free to do exactly as they wish or need of the Rule at the expense of others. In chapter 72 Benedict says:

“No one is to pursue what the judge better for themselves, but instead what they judge better for someone else.”

Part of being free means that we have to choose to put aside some of our freedom for the good of others. In our individualistic times, with the concerns for personal freedoms and rights this can be a real challenge.

A jubilee calls us to revisit what it means to be free, to ask ourselves where we have set up barriers and limitations to this gift of freedom. It’s a time for asking what we have to let go of to allow ourselves to embrace in ways that are life-giving for us and for our communities.

What freedom is God inviting you to embrace today?

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Christ Discernment Divine Office Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Monastic Life Prayer Prophetic voices Saints Scripture St Therese of Lisieux

Love at the heart of the Church

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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 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?

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

Considered choices

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In today’s gospel Jesus warns his disciples to be on their guard against false prophets:

“Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves.”

He calls us to pay attention to the false prophets within ourselves who would draws down personal path that would lead us in ways that are life denying rather than life-giving, however delightful they might appear at the outset. There is also a communal element to this call for discernment as we consider the common good.

There is a cacophony of voices out there telling us what is best for ourselves as individuals and our society as a whole. This can be disconcerting, confusing and overwhelming.

In both cases Jesus’ advice to his disciples can stand us in good stead. Having warned them of the dangers he goes on to offer a solution saying:

“You will be able to tell them by their fruits… A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit… I repeat you will be able to tell them by their fruits.”

It seems to me that his words are a call to discernment on both a communal and a personal level. He calls us to pay attention to where we find good or bad fruits in our personal life and in the lives of our communities.

He invites us to think carefully about the choices we make and where they lead us. His words remind me of Deuteronomy’s call to choose life over death.

Where are you being called to turn away from false prophets today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Holy Spirit John the Baptist Lectio Divina Liturgy Prophetic voices Saints Scripture

Marked by God

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Today we’re celebrating the birth of St John the Baptist, prophet and precursor of Christ. His role is central to the gospel. He is called to prepare the hearts of the people for the coming of the Messiah, and to point him out to others when he appears.

He is also at the heart of his Jewish faith, both his parents can trace their heritage back through the history of the people of Israel. His father, Zechariah, is a priest. These are good and faithful people, living out the covenant and waiting in hope for the coming of the Messiah.


This might make him seem like the ultimate insider, yet from the beginning it’s clear that John is to perform this role from the fringes. He is always to be an outsider, a presence that challenges people and makes them uncomfortable.

From the beginning he is marked out. He’s born to parents long past childbearing. His birth was announced to his unbelieving father by an angel. Zechariah’s doubt leaves him without speech until after John’s birth. The angel tells Zechariah:

“Even from his mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.”

The angel’s words are full of hope and promise. Yet, they also carry a challenge. John’s call put him at odds with his times, constantly compelling him to challenge his people to make the changes necessary to prepare their hearts to welcome Christ. That challenge is just as relevant to us today as it was when John first preached.

Where are you being challenged to prepare your heart to welcome Christ today?

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

Into the unknown.

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Today we’re celebrating the feast of St Augustine of Canterbury who, somewhat reluctantly, was sent by St Gregory the Great to bring the Gospel to the English. I’ve been reflecting on this from today’s gospel:

“I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals.”

It makes me realise just how vulnerable we become when we respond to Christ’s call to follow him. I imagine that St Augustine felt the full weight of that vulnerability when he accepted the task Gregory set him.

Travelling to a foreign land, which in itself was risky, dealing with unknown customs and practices and uncertain of his reception I wonder if he felt a bit like those lambs surrounded by wolves that Jesus talks about.

Following Christ means that we, like St Augustine, are called to step out into the unknown. We too live in increasingly challenging, dangerous and uncertain times. Hardships such as war, hunger, homelessness and climate change are now affecting daily life for many people.

So we have to face our vulnerability again in a new way, accepting that much of what happens in our lives is beyond our control. It can very easily leave us feeling like “lambs among wolves”.

We can find props to help us avoid that vulnerability, but that is not the call of Christ. Instead, Christ calls us to leave behind those props that would distract us and to follow him once more into unknown territory with “no purse, no haversack, no sandals.”


Where is Christ calling you out into the unknown today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Resurrection Saints Scripture

Staying with Christ.

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We can easily forget or brush aside the real challenge at the heart of the gospel. Centuries of familiarity and tradition have removed most of the shock that Jesus’ first followers would have felt when they heard his words. Today’s gospel brings us back to just how shocking his teaching was, and still is if we allow ourselves to really hear it. In today’s gospel Jesus has challenged his listeners so much that they say to themselves:

“This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?”

At that point many of them left and stopped following him. Faced with their departure Jesus does nothing to tone his message down. In his conversation with his disciples he even seems to increase the challenge asking them:

“What about you, do you want to go away too?”

He gives the Twelve complete freedom to walk away like the others. Having learned something of his teaching, each of them has to face and answer his question for themselves. It’s the same question that each of us has to face and answer.

Simon Peter’s answer sums up the situation for all of us. Turning the question round he says:

“Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe, we know you are the Holy One of God.”

His response brings us to the heart of our faith. Once we’ve recognised Jesus as the “holy one of God” however challenging it is to walk with him it becomes inconceivable to walk away from him.

What helps you to stay with Christ in this challenging Eastertide?