Mar 3 - Just Listen

God has spoken once. Twice have I heard it, *
that power belongs to God.
Psalm 62:13

If anyone, acting without an order from the prioress or abbot...
Benedict's Rule 26:1 (Chittister, Pg. 148)

Benedict wants the cure to have the time to heal. Meddling, agitating, distracting a person from the great work of growth at such an important time in a person's life is a grave fault itself.
Chittister, Pg. 148

In our budding community we started studying "Listening" this week. Sister Joan's admonition to allow time to work is appropriate to hear during this study. It is not always easy for me to listen, to let another have the floor, to not anticipate what they are going to say, but to instead simply let them say it.

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.