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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Gospel Holy Spirit Lectio Divina Liturgy Resurrection Scripture Uncategorized

A promise & a hope.

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Eastertide a dynamic season. From Easter Sunday onwards there’s lots of movement, disciples running to and from the tomb, setting out on journeys as soon as they reach home to share the news of the resurrection, moving around the area sharing this Good News with anyone who will listen.

All this activity is grounded in their intimate, personal and life changing encounters with the risen Christ. For several weeks the risen Christ has revealed the resurrection and deepening our understanding of who the he is. Now, approaching Ascension there is a new movement. Jesus says to his disciples:

“I have said these things to you while still with you; but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.”

Jesus is beginning to prepare his disciples, and us, for another departure. Once again he is leaving them, this time to return to his Father. As we move towards the Ascension he makes it clear that he’s not leaving them emptied handed.

As well as their own personal experiences of him he has broadened and deepened their understanding of who he is. Now he promises them the Holy Spirit, the Advocate.

The Spirit will be with them to teach and support them, to give them the courage to face the challenges that will come. The Spirit will remind them of all Jesus said, all those things that might be forgotten in the emotion of the moment.

This is equally true for us today. In all the challenges we face Jesus promises us that the Spirit will be there with us.

What is your hope for the action of the Spirit in your life this Eastertide?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Eastertide Good Shepherd Gospel Lectio Divina Resurrection Rule of St Benedict Scripture Uncategorized

Shaped by and for Love.

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Today is both Good Shepherd Sunday and vocations Sunday. The Gospel with it’s call to listen makes the link between the two very clear:

“Jesus said “the sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and the follow me…They will never be lost and no one will ever steal them from me.’”

It takes me back to the heart of Benedictine spirituality and so of my vocation, the call to

“Listen with the ear of your heart”.

There’s no shortage of voices trying to attract our attention in today’s world. We’re exposed to a constant cacophony of voices drawing us in opposing directions. It can be confusing, unnerving and debilitating.

In the midst of all those voices there’s another one, gentle and persistent that calls to us. It’s the voice of the Good Shepherd reminding us that we are made for love, and are held in being by love. It’s a voice that calls us back to our true selves.

It tells us that however uncertain or chaotic our times the love of Christ will never let us go. The Good Shepherd calls us to allow his voice to silence the confusion of the myriad voices around us and to focus on the one really matters, the one that can lead us to a life shaped by and for love.

Where is the Good Shepherd calling you to respond to his love today?

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Baptism Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Lectio Divina Liturgy Resurrection Saints Scripture Uncategorized

Bearing the light of the risen Christ.

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Today’s first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles recounts the conversion of St Paul. I’m reflecting on Ananias, the Christian from Damascus who was told in a vision to seek out Saul of Tarsus to restore his sight. The instruction was clearly a shock to Ananias who, already knowing of Saul’s reputation, protested:

“Lord, several people have told me about this man and all the harm he has been doing to your saints in Jerusalem. He has only come here because he holds a warrant from the chief priest to arrest everybody who invokes your name.”

We’ve just heard how resolute and thorough Saul was in persecuting Christians. I imagine his name is enough to strike terror into the heart of these new Christians who are still struggling to come to terms with the resurrection. In such a time Ananias’ action would have seemed at best foolhardy if not downright reckless. Yet, despite his reservations, he accepts God’s call. He goes to Saul and says to him:

‘Brother Saul, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on your way here so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’

The result is that Saul has his sight restored and, filled with the Holy Spirit, is baptised.

Ananais’ action requires courage and faith. Ananias reminds me that we too are called to be courageous in sharing our faith. We’re called to carry the love of the risen Christ to those who need it. The risen Christ calls us to share the light of his love in the darkness of our challenging times.

Often I think that call comes in a myriad of small, seemingly insignificant encounters through the day. It’s in those little things that offer a glimmer of brightness in a challenging day… a smile to a passing stranger, the offer of a seat on a bus, holding open a door for someone struggling with bags or pushchairs…A endless list of small kindnesses…


Where is the risen Christ calling you to bring his light to those around you today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Eastertide Lectio Divina Prophetic voices Saints St Julian of Norwich Uncategorized

No bigger than a hazelnut

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I’m revisiting the work of Julian of Norwich on her feast day. She has a gentle and unshakeable certainty that is calming and soothing in challenging times. Today I’ve been reflecting on these words:

“And in this he showed me something small, no bigger than a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand…In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second is that God loves it, the third is that God preserves it.”

They’re some of her most famous and well known words. They remind me of the of the fragility of our human life and of all of creation. The crises we’ve faced in the past few years have taught us taught us how little control we have over the events that affect us. We will never again be quite so enthralled by that beguiling myth that we control our own destiny.

Our challenging and uncertain times leave us all too all too aware that our lives are every bit as small and fragile as the hazelnut Julian describes. We will always now wonder, as she did, how anything so small and fragile could exist. That could be a despairing thought, especially in these times.

Yet, Julian’s revelation carries on and God shows her that it is held in being by the love of God. That love turns any despair we might feel in the face of our fragility into hope. As we tentatively navigate these challenging and uncertain times, that hope in the loving presence of God, holding us in being, gently cradling us in our fragility is essential.

Where are you aware of your need to be cradled in the love of God today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Saints Scripture Uncategorized

Renewed in love.

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I find it really helpful that we hear the Easter gospels repeatedly during Eastertide. They all hold too much wisdom for just one reflection. Today we’re revisiting Jesus’ appearance to the disciples on the beach and I’m reflecting on Jesus’s conversation with Peter.

It’s the first time they’ve spoken since Peter’s denial of Jesus in Holy Week. I can imagine that Peter felt the full weight of that as he walked along the beach with Jesus after the meal. Jesus doesn’t revisit Peter’s betrayal. He offers him a way forward into renewed and healed relationship. He says to Peter:

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others do?”

When Peter replies “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus accepts that with no questioning or recrimination based on his earlier betrayal. Instead he offers them a commission:

‘Feed my lambs.’

Yet he repeats the question twice more until Peter, getting upset, repeats his affirmation again:

“Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”

We have no idea why Jesus repeats his question, but I assume that it’s to reassure Peter. I can’t imagine that the risen Christ needed the reassurance. Jesus allows Peter the opportunity to reaffirm his love for Jesus three times and then to be commissioned by him three times.

This doesn’t undo his denial, but it balances it it in a way that I imagine Peter will find helpful to remember in his darker moments. We too need the opportunity to reset & renew our relationship with Christ from time to time.

As we move through Eastertide where is the risen Christ inviting you to a renewed relationship?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Eastertide Lectio Divina Liturgy Prayer Resurrection Saints Uncategorized

Action & contemplation.

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Today we celebrate the feast of St Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church. A third order Dominican she was a woman of both action and prayer. She took a public role in the life of the church, speaking out against schism, promoting unity and advocating for clerical reform. These words from her dialogue on Divine Revelation touched me:

“By your light you enlighten our minds… In this light I know you and I picture you to myself as the supreme good, the good beyond all good… Beauty beyond all beauty, wisdom beyond all wisdom. You are the food of angels, who gave yourself to us in the fire of your love.”

Her public activity was nourished and sustained by the prayer that kept her connected to the God who is the supreme good. It was because she drew her strength from the fire of God’s love that she gained the courage to speak truth to those in authority.

She speaks to me especially powerfully at this time, when our world seems so consumed by cruelty and suffering. In such times it can be hard to see the goodness, beauty and wisdom of God in our lives. It’s easy to get discouraged, to feel swamped by sufferings we can’t alleviate. We can be drawn to despair which stops us from acting at all or we can rush in, attempting to fix everything, ending up burnt out and exhausted.

St Catherine’s example suggests an alternative. We could begin by building up a prayer life that connects us to the fire of God’s love in a way that nourishes and sustains us in all of our actions and all that we are called to face.

How does the fire of God’s love nourish you in all that you face in life?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Eastertide Gospel Lectio Divina Liturgy Resurrection Scripture Uncategorized

Resurrection Joy

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All through the Easter Octave we revisit the story of the resurrection again and again. Each time we hear it from a fresh perspective, hearing a different response and picking up a different nuance. This can sometimes feel frustrating and confusing, but there is a gift in all this variety.

If nothing else, they show us how how impossible it is to completely capture or understand the reality of the resurrection, and is good for us to know that.

They’ve gone to the tomb early Mary Magdalen and “the other Mary” they’ve come through earthquake and an encounter with an angel, before running off full of “awe and great joy” to share their news with the disciples. Their encounter with the resurrection is full of drama and movement, quite different from John’s account where Mary meets the risen Christ alone in the quiet of the garden.

When they encounter Jesus on the path he says to them:

“Do not be afraid; go tell the disciples that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.”

“Do not be afraid” is a theme that runs through the resurrection gospels, it begins almost every encounter with the risen Christ. I’m struck that Jesus acknowledges and calms their fear, yet doesn’t allow it to prevent him from sending them out to proclaim the resurrection. This is also true for us, the risen Christ knows our fears, our doubts, the uncertainties we live with. In the midst of all that he invites us to rejoice in his resurrection and to proclaim its reality with our lives.

Where is the risen Christ bringing joy into your life today?

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Baptism Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Scripture Uncategorized

The anointed one.

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The 41st word in my Lent lexicon is:

ANOINTED.

It’s a word that has deep roots in our faith history and in our liturgical practices. At baptism we are all anointed with chrism to share in Christ’s role as “priest, prophet and king.” We are anointed again at our death. Throughout the Scripture anointing marks someone as having a special role from God.

Today’s gospel opens a new perspective on anointing. In frightening and uncertain times the disciples gather at Martha’s house It offers them an oasis of hospitality and safety in the increasingly dangerous times.

In times of great danger questions and doubts that we thought we’d put to rest often resurface so it is easy to understand Judas’ distrust and questioning. I imagine he wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

In the midst of the tension Mary’s action provides a fresh focus. Her action doesn’t deny or banish the fear or the danger, instead it points to a deeper reality:

“Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it and anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the house was full of the scent of the ointment.”

Her anointing once again marks Jesus as the chosen one of God. Jesus tells his disciples that she has anointed him for his burial, acknowledging that he is facing death, and preparing his disciples for that. As the scent of her ointment fills the house her simple action is a sign that love is stronger even than death. As she anoints Jesus she reminds us that our Holy Week journey ultimately leads us through death to the new life of resurrection.

As we move through Holy Week how does the anointing of your baptism sustain you?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Scripture Uncategorized

Called to be compassionate.

The thirteenth word in my Lent lexicon is:

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COMPASSION.

We’re called to be compassionate as God our Father is compassionate. It’s always an important part of our call. In these challenging times when our structures seem so precarious it is even more essential to learn how to be compassionate.

There are so many ways we can misunderstand, misconstrue and judge others harshly that it can come to seem the norm. It can be difficult to take a stand against it, yet in today’s gospel Jesus makes it clear that being judgemental can never be the way of the gospel. His Kingdom is to be built on love and compassion:

“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned.”

His words are a call to a new way of being. It’s a way that has the potential to change and renew our relationships and our communities. But it has to begin with an inner transformation. The call to be compassionate requires us to weed out the attitudes that would incline us to harsh judgements of others.

It calls us to put aside our hurt and our anger enough to give others the benefit of the doubt. It invites us to believe the best of others even if that’s not on display. It seems to me that the best way to move towards this is to acknowledge our own need for compassion. Once we admit to ourselves that we can cause hurt it becomes much easier to be compassionate when we see others do the same.

Where is Christ inviting you to learn to be compassionate this Lent?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Divine Office Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Rule of St Benedict Scripture Uncategorized

Fasting, a Lent challenge.

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The third word in my Lent lexicon is:

“FAST”

Often the first question anyone asks us about Lent is “what are you giving up? Fasting carries a heavy weight of history and of personal experience. This can make it a particularly sensitive issue. It can be an area that’s open to judgement and misinterpretation. It’s a word I find challenging and I’m coming to it with some trepidation.

I find St Benedict’s chapter on Lent helpful in facing the challenge. Instead of prescribing a particular fast for everyone he gives a list of things that we might fast from, food, drink, sleep, talking, idle jesting. He openly acknowledges that people have varying needs and capabilities. He knows that what might be manageable for one isn’t possible for another. His words carry a call not to judge ourselves or others harshly, allow people the freedom to choose the “fast” that will most help them on their spiritual journey.

In today’s first reading the prophet Isaiah gives another perspective on fasting:

“Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me – it is the Lord who speaks –to break unjust fetters and undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke, to share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor, to clothe the person you see to be naked and not turn from your own kin? Then will your light shine like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over.”

While this is deeply challenging it is also helpful. It reminds me that our spiritual practices have to have a knock-on effect in the way we live our lives. They are not just for our personal benefit.

They are to draw us out of ourselves towards our neighbour, to help us become kinder and more compassionate. It seems to me that as Isaiah calls us to fast from the thoughts and behaviours that would harden our hearts to those around us.

How are your Lent practices helping you to become kinder and more compassionate?