Mar 22 - Just Start Again

The Lord is my strength and my song, *
and he has become my salvation.
Psalm 118:14

Indeed nothing is to be prefered to the Opus Die.
Benedict's Rule 43:3 (Chittister, Pg. 197)

Nothing in life qualifies as an exchange for the Word of God, not good work, not a job almost finished, not an interesting conversation, not the need for privacy... Benedictine spirituality says Stop. Now. A spiritual life without regular prayer and an integrated community consciousness is pure illusion.
Chittister, Pg. 198, 199

I start back after my "day off" with this reading, a gentle reminder about the importance of prayer time. Already I am making excuses: I needed sleep, my schedule didn't allow time, I did other good things...

Enough! Let's get down to basics: I am committed, I needn't worry about if or how to continue. The answer is simple: Just take the time today to read, pray, meditate, then plan that I will continue tomorrow and the next day...

A Note To Readers:

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, OSB, Crossroads, 2010. I am offering this both to those at St. George's Episcopal Church, Arlington VA, that may be reading this book and to anyone that is interested.

Unless stated otherwise quotes from St. Benedict's Rule are from the translation in this same book. Psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer, The Episcopal Church, 1979 unless otherwise noted.