Jan 4 - Living In the World

These people reverence God, and do not become elated over their good deeds; they judge it is God's strength, not their own, that brings about the good in them.
RoB Prologue:29 (Chittister, Pg 14)

There is much wisdom for me in the portion of the Rule today, and in Ms. Chittister's reflection. I am not called to be a solitary ascetic desert Father or Mother, as much as I may wish to compete in this area. As a 21st century Christian and oblate I am called to live among my family and coworkers, among the church members in my parish and the oblates and community I am connected with. My mother provided an example that makes sense: When I am flying in an airplane I expect the pilot of that plane to be paying attention to flying the plane, not closing her or his eyes and praying.

I will be honest: This is hard for me. I read about St. Benedict and other saints (Benedictine and otherwise), I see fellow parishioners and coworkers, and I see accomplishment and honor. It is like reading about Jesus in the Gospels where we see a few great acts, but so little of Jesus and the disciples spending long days walking to the next town, talking one-on-one, just living each day. I forget that doing the laundry, preparing the monthly report at work, and being present are all about reverencing God, and all call for God's strength, not my own.

There is a portion of psalm 66 that seems appropriate:

Bless our God, you people; *
make the voice of his praise to be heard;

who holds our souls in life, *
and will not allow our feet to slip.
Psalm 66:7-8

I pray to remember that as I let go of my preconceived idea of what "holy" is, God will not let my feet slip.

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 am 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.

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.

Jan 2 - Run Toward the Light

The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them *
and delivers them from all their troubles.
Psalm 34:17 (The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, The Episcopal Church)

Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God
RoB Prologue:2 (The Rule of Benedict, a Spirituality for the 21st Century, Chittister

Today I think about running toward the light. Toward, not completely in the light. Yesterday, as I thought about this commitment to reading the Rule (and reading psalms in the morning and evening) I was thinking I would read the Rule early in the morning, and since I am on vacation I would spend extra time meditating on what I read, then put together a short blog entry and be done by breakfast. It didn't happen that way.

The actual day has been great. I slept in, had breakfast with my wife, spent time at Great Falls Park where I took a "sort of annual" beginning of the year self-portrait, paid bills, and helped my son and grandson grocery shopping. Now, at the end of the afternoon I finally sat down, read the morning Psalm, the portion of St. Benedict's Rule often read on Jan 2nd and Joan Chittister's reflection.

But God is with me. And has been with me. I haven't forgotten, the light is around me even if I don't feel it. Of that I am sure.

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.

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

Jan 1st: Not Ease, But Comfort...

The labor of obedience will bring you back to God from whom you had drifted...
The Rule of Benedict. Prologue:2 (From J. Chittister, The Rule of Benedict, A Spirituality for the 21st Century, pg 3)

I drift. I look forward to return. Is it easy? Not always.

In my blog yesterday (Dec 31, 2014) I shared I am not feeling the same balance I have previously, and that I miss that balance. As I read Joan Chittister's reflections in The Rule of Benedict, A Spirituality for the 21st Century (Crossroads, 2010) I come across a number of nuggets that speak to me:

• We begin to grow when we finally want to grow
• We cannot be our own guides
• The person who prays for the presence of God is, ironically, already in the presence of God
• We come to realize that we did not find God; God finally got our attention
• God is the only lifeline that life guarantees us

Today I see comfort. Not ease, but comfort. I need to labor, but as Ms. Chittister reflects, simply starting to let God in is part of the answer.

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 that 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.

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

Endings, Beginnings, Discovery, and a Bit of Discernment

I begin here with an open question to myself: "Am I Called?"

"Of course" is the easy answer, we all are. The harder question is "Am I Called to something specific?" My answer is equivocal, as you might gather from the "Bit of Discernment" in the title for this entry.

So, what's the deal? The "deal" is getting back to basics and attempting to read the Rule of Benedict on a daily basis. In the past decade the Rule has become an important part of my life: I have read and re-read it, I have spent retreats at a monastery, and I have become a Benedictine Oblate associated with the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia. I am also a rather fallible human being that still finds I put myself first more often than I like to admit and struggles with giving myself to God on a daily basis. Over the past year I have even acted like I have "accomplished" spirituality, recently spending more time in career and less in God to the point I am now a bit uncomfortable with the current balance.

However, I do feel a call to a new ministry that my church (St. George's Episcopal Church, Arlington VA) is working to join called The Community of Hope a ministry that is "shaped by Benedictine spirituality". This effort uses Joan Chittister's The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century as part of our study of Benedictine Spirituality.

I am hoping (and expecting really) that as I read the Rule I will again feel the Lord in my life and become part of the balance that Benedictines have experienced over these past 1,500 years.

And the blog entry out of no-where? It is the day before the start of the new year! By tradition the Rule has been divided so that it can be read three times through in the year. January 1 is the traditional start, and I am hoping to share this journey with others for at least the next four months. I don't expect any great insights, just a few thoughts that some might find useful, and just the knowledge that others are not alone. (Not being alone is an understatement, as there are thousands of Benedictines reading the Rule daily, but that will wait for another blog entry.)

Please watch this blog, and join me in the daily reading of the Rule of Benedict.

Six things I am looking forward to in the United States

I have been really quite for a while, but the more I ponder all the political "discussion" these days, I realize that there are six things I am looking forward to in the United States. There may be others, and I may end up rebuilding the list as we go forward, but as a start I look forward to the following six:

1.       Big Business and Big Government are both subject to the citizens of our country

2.       All citizens have equal say in these decisions regardless of:

·         Sex

·         Age (as long as they have reached voting age)

·         Job (or lack of job) status

·         Economic status

·         Health Status

·         Marital Status (and if married, the sex of their marriage partner)

·         Sexual Preference

·         Handicap

·         Education

3.       Women have the same ability, at the same economic cost, to choose if (and when should the wish) to become a parent as men

4.       We stop killing people in wars or in the name of “justice”

5.       We worry more about how to care for the earth than how to reduce the cost of energy

6.       We pay for what we provide, without borrowing from our children and grand children

Jump-starting and New Year's Resolutions (and God)

The headline "Jumpstart your New Year's resolution" appeared in my email "In" box this morning. What spoke to me wasn't a renewed interest in getting back on the health and wellness site that sent me the email, but more the concept of starting anything at all.

For the first time in several months (OK, since early September) I wrote in my journal this morning, mentioning that life has changed, I have resolved a health issue, that it is a new year, etc. Then, just before I glanced at my email, I began to wonder which little project I should attempt "today". Four came to mind before I could finish writing down the first one, so I captured the first four in my journal and glanced at my email...

No, I don't have a New Year's resolution this year, at least not one that I have written down. I do want to be a good husband, grandpa, and employee. I still love taking walks and taking pictures, but I also find it so easy to read a book or watch a movie for several hours at a time...

As I write this I now remember the missing part: God. God was not in my journal entry either.

Today is the tenth day of remembering Jesus has come into our lives, my life.

No "Jump-Start" needed. Nor some glowing and bouncing New Year's resolution. Just the same old, same old: continue to do the work that God has called me to do, and trust that He will call me, all I need to do is listen...

(Now, where is that pad, I need to write down the shopping list...)