Growing in Benedictine Spirituality

Growing in Benedictine Spirituality

“Together [the three vows] are not, as they might seem at first glance, about negation, restriction, and limitation. ... They involve us in the need to face a number of very basic demands: the need not to run away, the need to be open to change, the need to listen... And yet the paradox is that they bring freedom, true freedom.” —Esther de Waal in Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict (The Liturgical Press, 1984), p. 55.

Last year I had the privilege of reviewing The Rule of Benedict with an amazing group from St. Nikolas and St. Peter’s Episcopal Churches who were learning to be pastoral caregivers through a program called Community of Hope. Following a rule of Benedictine spirituality involves taking a vow to seek spiritual growth by connecting to three areas of support in our lives: conversion, obedience, and stability. Stability speaks to our connecting to a certain community, at work, at a place of worship, within a family, in a recovery group, in the world. Obedience speaks to seeking the Christ in everyone we meet, especially in our community. Conversion or change occurs as we seek the Christ in others in our community, and they in turn begin to see and reflect the Christ in us. This mutual exchange then leads us to growth.

A priest I worked with, Peggy Bosmyer, compared this concept to a sailing ship. We get into the boat. We make a commitment to be in the boat. That is stability. How we direct our boat is the rudder. That is obedience, being diligent in attempting to see the Christ in others. The Holy Spirit, the wind, then moves the sails, bringing about conversion—a change in movement as we begin to see and feel the Christ in ourselves. Seeing the Christ in our neighbor leads to and reflects back the Christ within us, a process that leads to transformation into new life.

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Purchase a copy of a Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter from me joannaseibert@me.com, Wordsworth Books in Little Rock or on Amazon. Proceeds go for Hurricane relief in the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.

Benedictine Life

Benedictine Life

“Listen, my child, with the ear of your heart.” —Prologue, The Rule of Benedict.

I keep returning to The Rule of Benedict. Listen “with the ear of your heart” is in the first line of the Prologue to this pattern for living in community written by St. Benedict of Nursia. It was composed in the sixth century during the dark ages, and is still used by Benedictines fifteen centuries later. The Rule is a balanced model of life that offers a radical alternative to a culture out of control. It was written for monastic life, but is also applicable for anyone seeking a spiritually disciplined rule for living in the world. The Benedictine day is organized around regular periods of private and communal prayer, sleep, work, recreation, hospitality, and study.

Joan Chittister’s book, The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century, is used by the Community of Hope International, a program equipping and supporting lay pastoral caregivers who minister to people in all conditions. The Community of Hope International emphasizes developing skills and spiritual practices through immersing ministers in Benedictine spirituality in community. Chittister’s book can be used privately or in group discussions of the Rule. She writes a very helpful meditation and interpretation after each selected part of the Rule that can be read in daily segments.

Memphis lawyer John McQuiston has written another concise modern interpretation of The Rule of Benedict called Always We Begin Again. It is pocket sized, so it is easily carried with you during the day.

A third book I recommend is Spirituality for Everyday Living: An Adaptation of the Rule of St. Benedict by Brian C. Taylor. This is another offering to help those outside the monastery experience Benedict’s rule of obedience and stability in relationships with others. It promotes living in the balanced tension of the paradox of turning our lives over to a higher power, while continuing to stay in relationship with others. The aim is to keep from becoming stagnant in order to be able to change and grow.

Esther de Waal focuses on this aim, even in the title of her book of reflections or meditations on Benedict’s Rule: Living with Contradiction. She also gives us, in her book To Pause at the Threshold, numerous Benedictine and Celtic reflections and prayers to practice when we cross a threshold from one room to another. She invites us to say a short prayer, trying to leave behind the “baggage” in our heads so that we are open to a new experience. This can be especially helpful when visiting the sick or homebound, as we enter their hospital room or front door.

There are so many other books on Benedictine spirituality; but these are five that have made a difference in my life, and the ones I give to people seeking a spiritual rule of life. Again, I would love to hear from you about the books on Benedictine spirituality that have made a difference in your life.

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Purchase a copy of a Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter from me joannaseibert@me.com, Wordsworth Books in Little Rock or on Amazon. Proceeds go for Hurricane relief in the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.

Crafton: Praying for Others

Crafton: Praying for Others

“I can compare prayer to a river—strong, clean, swift, carrying everything along in its powerful current. When I pray, I have stepped into the river and allowed it to carry me. When I pray for you, I have taken your hand and together we step into the river and let it carry us with power.” —Barbara Crafton in The AlsoLife (Morehouse, 2016), p. 128.

Episcopal priest and well-known speaker and writer, Barbara Crafton, teaches us a different view of prayer. It is surrender prayer, prayer of few words, feeling the power of prayer as we pray, bringing others with us into prayer. It is prayer that comes with sitting, swimming, or walking in silence and simply waiting for the Spirit’s lead.

Swimming is still a favorite exercise of mine. I can indeed visualize those in my prayers swimming or walking in the water with me. This is an even more powerful image: swimming in a river or the ocean where we surrender to let the current move us.

Crafton also writes about prayer as connecting ourselves to God, aligning ourselves with the energy of God’s love. Prayer is loving—loving God, loving ourselves, loving our neighbor. Some people imagine Jesus in prayer, and walk with or carry friends to Jesus, leaving the person they are praying for in Jesus’ arm. I so often have used this prayer image when praying for my children, and now my grandchildren.

For some, kneeling at the rail for Eucharist is an image used in prayer. We can imagine walking with or bringing friends in need along with us, in prayer, to that rail, and then kneeling with and beside them. This image also helps me in praying for enemies or those with whom I am having difficulty. It is hard to keep hate in my heart when my enemy is kneeling beside me, waiting as I am for the body and blood of Christ.

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Purchase a copy of a Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter from me joannaseibert@me.com, Wordsworth Books in Little Rock or on Amazon. Proceeds go for Hurricane relief in the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.