Between now and June 22 read Joan Chittister's article, Benedictine Prayer: A Larger Vision of Life, at http://www.eriebenedictines.org/praywithus/aboutprayer.html.
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The article is pretty long. You may find it helpful to read just a paragraph or two each day and ponder what she has to say. Or, read it through once to get an overview and then come back for a daily dose!
I'm thinking we could easily spend the whole summer just chewing on the tidbits Joan Chittister serves up in this article.
I like the opening sub-title: The function of prayer is to change my own mind, to put on the mind of Christ, to enable grace to break into me.
Especially since so often we think of prayer as asking for things.
The comment she made about the sand in the oyster is what struck me the most. There are times when I'm praying that the sand shows up and the irritation lasts until I figure out what it is the Holy Spirit is trying to tell me, whether it is something I need to do differently, think about, or just need to be quiet and listen. And that's the hard part.
Nancy
Boy, isn't that true, about how hard it is. As beautiful as its sounds - the grain of sand turning into a pearl - it ain't no fun when it's happening. Somewhere else I was reading Joan Chittister and she commented about "learning to bear hard things well." I don't bear hard things well, but I'm learning and prayer is a big help; in fact, I think it's the only way I get through the hard spots.
Did you ever stop and think that perhaps this is what the Lord may mean when he speaks of a "pearl of great price"? The gritty grain of sand becoming a pearl.
Trying to find out if this makes it. ct
testing to see if I can post a comment.
Now trying to post comment without a google account
Sister Joan says,"Community prayer in the Benedictine tradition is a constant reminder that we do not go to church for ourselves alone. It is a chosen people, a human race, a body of faithful who stand in witness, first to one another, that God is God. And yet it is not that there is no room for the self here. It is just that the self grows best when self is not its end."
This definition - this clarity of the WHY we go to church seems to go hand-in-hand with Bill Tammeus' article in the FAITH section yesterday. Bill was saying that he had been a member of his church for 30 years, altho not all of it had been easy...BUT it was the community that grounded him, and sometimes forced him to grow and/or come to terms with people or actions that weren't necessarily to his liking. And that through thick and thin, good pastor or bad, that was HIS chosen community and he wasn't about to run off to another with his tail between his legs when the going got rough. It certainly gave me pause for thought as it related to St. Matthew's. I'm so proud of the ones who have had the strength and courage and conviction to stay in spite of clergy woes or service time squabbles or financial stress. I'm so proud of the ones who have dug in their heels and have refused to give up - why heck - there are some there who are even hopeful! Because St. Matthew's is their community of choice and that's where they're planted. What was it James said this evening about ROOTS?
I'm checking to see if this will post..just like Carl and Brenda...testing, testing, testing
Boy, that's a great quote that Laurie left, along with her comment. Let's chew on it as we work on our personal rule 'reports' for next meeting. Talk about balance! Personal devotion and community devotion. A place for the 'self' but just not the end all and be all of our lives. Oh wait, first love the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind and strength; and the second is like unto it: love my neighbor as my self. That looks to me like a pretty good way to put it to keep things balanced. O right, it's the Word of God! ;-)
Last night our HOPE Group met, and we studied the 6th Chapter (Balance) of "Seeking God". Although it wasn't planned, Bill Noone started us off with this same reminder..."first love the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind and strength; and the second is like unto it: love my neighbor as my self." It seems everywhere I turn, I am being reminded of this "NEW First Commandment" (and the 2nd is like unti it). I do believe that sometimes God speaks to us using repetition, and I've learned that when I am hearing the same message everywhere I turn, or I keep running into a person in many different areas of my life, it is God telling me to pay attention! And always there is that struggle for BALANCE.
OK, here goes, all of you make me feel way out of my league... please be gentle with me, I am but a infant!
I finally got a chance to read Joan's article and am trying to let it sit so I can even come close to getting the message! My immediate take is this: how important community, connection in general is with others. I don't believe people are meant to live in isolation, it seems like prayer is a way of bringing us together hopefully in a more humble way, maybe more innocent and sincere to connect in a way that is truer to God's intent. We are certainly more powerful and more truthful as a group especially if we are being guided by the word and work of the Lord. It seems therein lies the challenge, to leave ones ego and personal agenda on the side and to come into prayer with the intention of receiving a divine message. Does this make sense or am I rambling?
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