Jan 3 - It is too much

How wonderful is God in his holy place! *
The God of Israel gives strength and power to his people
Blessed be God!
Psalm 68:36

What is more delightful than this voice of the Holy One calling us? See how God’s love shows us the way of life?
RoB (Chittister) Jan 3/Prologue:19-20

There is simply too much to take in all at once. I could spend hours on just the pages for Jan 3 in Ms. Chittister's book. I read her reflections on the spiritual life not being a "collection of asceticism's",  or how some of us may find it easier to pray than to go into the world to "make fools out of ourselves for the Christian religion..." And that is only page 11, there are another two pages today! I stop and reflect on almost every sentence in the reading.

And the struggle doesn't stop with just the reading itself. Today I found I was questioning her division of Benedict's Rule between today and tomorrow. It is different from others.

But are these struggles the important struggles for me? I don't think so. The important struggle for me is to recognize the "both/and" of this path that I am on. I find both comfort in some of my habits and challenge to move beyond those habits. I find both confirmation that much of what I live is good and knowledge that new work is still needed.

I pray that I can hear and remember both the Psalm verse and the portion of the Rule I quoted, that I may remember that God's love shows me the way of life and gives strength and power.

A Note To Anyone Reading:

This entry is part of a series that is developing as I read The Rule of Benedict, A Spirituality for the 21st Century, Joan Chittister, Crossroads, 2010. Unless stated otherwise I will be using the translation St. Benedict's Rule from her book. I am offering this both to those at St. George's Episcopal Church, Arlington VA, that may be reading Ms. Chittister's book and to anyone that is interested.

Psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer, The Episcopal Church, 1979 unless otherwise noted.

Comments are welcome, and encouraged, please use the blog comment feature.