Monastic Practices

Monastic Practices
for Ordinary People
Sister Edith Bogue
Benedictine Center
St. Paul’s Monastery
24 March 2017

2
God bless our contradictions,
those parts of us which seem out of character.
Let us be boldly and gladly out of character.
Let us be creatures of paradox and variety:
creatures of contrast; of light and shade;
creatures of faith.
God be our constant.
Let us step out of character into the unknown,
to struggle and love and do what we will.
Amen

3
SESSION I
IlluminatedRuleofBenedict.Illuminationsby+SisterMary
CharlesMcGough,St.ScholasticaMonastery,Duluth,MN

5
Benedict’s wisdom and vision
 Benedict did not
invent the monastic
way of life.
 He drew on the
wisdom of the past.
 His approach was
moderate, flexible,
interactive, and
compassionate for
human frailty.
SaintBenedictseestheworldinasinglerayoflight.
MonteCassino.PhotobySisterEdithBogue.

6
Monastic Life Before Benedict
 St. Augustine in northern Africa (Augustinians)
 St. Basil in Cappadocia in Turkey
(Basilians; most Eastern Orthodox monks and nuns)
 St. Pachomius in Egypt
 The "Desert Abbas" or Desert Fathers and
Mothers – hermits in Egypt, Palestine, Syria
 The Jewish Essene community at the time
of Jesus
 The example of Elijah (Carmelite tradition)

7
Two types of answers
 "Flight from"
• Overwhelming temptations & addictions.
• Intensity and stress of modern life.
• Superficial relationships
 "Journey toward"
• Relationship with God
• Authentic relationships with others
• Freedom from bondage to transient values

8
"The Desert a City"
 Thousands of monks
as desert hermits
 Garden plot, work area,
cells for sleeping.

9
Common Practices
 Separation from "the world"
 Persistent prayer
 Work, usually manual work
 Extreme simplicity of lifestyle and diet
 Longing and striving for holiness
 Keen sense of eternity and eternal life
 Their practices form a "spiritual technology"
that enabled many to reach spiritual depths,
and also to help each other along the way.

10
“The external
practices of monastic
life are directly
connected with our
search for God. In
and through these
practices we express
our spiritual values
and ideals, & daily live
out our commitment
to God.”
Cummings, Monastic Practices
Obedience is not about rules

11
Dangers of Monastic Practices
 Focus on the practice,
not the spirituality.
 The practice becomes
a burden that brings
no joy, does not
connect to God.
 Occasion for rigidity and judgment.

12
Practice Hardens to Tradition
 It becomes THE
right thing to
do.
 Imposed on
others
 Ceases to have
meaning
 A “rut” is
another term
for a shallow
grave.

14
Monastic Schedule:
A Modern View
“DailyLifeinaMedievalMonastery"at"MostlyMedieval-
ExploringtheMiddleAges”
For most monks and nuns the basis of their daily life
was the Rule of Saint Benedict. In his rule, Benedict
devised a rigid, monotonous routine of
work, prayer, study and sleep designed to
make the mind and the will submissive to God. The
pattern of the day varied only according to the
seasons of the year and the liturgical calendar.

15
Order as the Source of Freedom
 Rule spells out details of
everyday life.
 Ten out of 73 chapters for the
schedule and method of prayer
 Job descriptions for all, from
leaders to kitchen helpers.
 Instructions for sick people and
those who care for them.
 Instructions for making a
mistake and correcting
someone who does.
 Prescribes an order for coming
and going and sitting at meals.
 Lays out a schedule for the day.

16
Time as Cycle of God's Year

17
 Summer Schedule
1:30AM:Preparation for night office.
2:00:AM: Nocturns
3:30AM: Lauds at daybreak.
4:00AM:Change and wash.
5:00AM:Trina Oratorio, Reading
6:00AM:Prime, Morrow Mass, Chapter
7:30AM:Reading
8:00AM:Terce, Sung Mass
9:30AM:Work
11:30AM: Sext
12:00PM: Dinner
1:00PM: Siesta
2:30PM: None, Drink
3:00PM Work
5:30PM Supper
6:00PM Vespers
7:30PM: Change into night shoes, Collatio
8:00PM: Compline
8:15PM: Bed
2:30AM Preparation for night
office.
3:00AM Nocturns (aka Matins)
5:00AM Reading
6:00AM Lauds at
daybreak, Prime
7:30AM Reading
8:00AM Terce, Morrow mass,
Chapter
9:45AM Work
12:00PM Sext, Sung Mass
1:30PM None
2:00PM Dinner
2:45PM Work
4:15PM Vespers
5:30PM Change into night shoes
6:00PM Collatio
6:15PM Compline
6:30PM Bed
 Winter Schedule

18
Why is work spiritual?
 God works.
• God’s work never ends
• We are made in
God’s image
• Jesus rested in order
to go out in ministry
 We work to survive
• Food and shelter
• Comfort and joy
• To be able to give
PhotobySisterEdithBogue

19
When they live by the
labor of their hands,
as our fathers and the
apostles did, then
they are really
monks. Yet, all things
are to be done with
moderation on
account of the
fainthearted.
Rule of Benedict, Chapter 48 Sweet corn harvest, Yankton Benedictines
The Rule on Work
PhotobySisterEdithBogue.

20
Work
Work done in the
Benedictine tradition is
supposed to be regular;
it is supposed
to be productive,
it is supposed
to be worthwhile,
but it is not supposed
to be impossible.
Joan Chittister

21
The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling
Adventure of the Spiritual Life by Joan
Chittister, OSB
 “The liturgical year is the year that sets out
to attune the life of the Christian to the life
of Jesus, the Christ. It proposes, year after
year, to immerse us over and over again
into the sense and substance of the
Christian life until, eventually, we become
what we say we are: the followers of Jesus
all the way to the heart of God.”

22
LINEAR TIME, HISTORICAL TIME
Birth Child Youth Adult Death
 We enter at conception
 We live each moment
• Events form us (family of origin, schools, jobs,
families we make, world events)
 We exit at death
 How does the Christian live in linear time?

23
Sundays: The first cycle
The Cornerstone of Christian Worship
 Early Christians – Sunday
• The communion of heaven – the “Eighth Day”
• Do what Jesus asked: Remembrance
• Gathered in the community of disciples
• Celebrating the Lord’s Resurrection
 Borrowed from the Jewish and Roman rituals
 Retained what was compatible with Christianity
 Liturgies were a ‘stew’ of many elements
• St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians specifies early
elements

24
Major Feasts: The Second Cycle
Centered on the Life of Christ
• Easter – celebration of the resurrection
• Ascension
• Pentecost
• Christmas

25
Celebration of Saints: The Third Cycle
• Major figures in the life of Christ
• Mary and Joseph
• John the Baptist
• Apostles and Evangelists
• Major figures and event in the early Church
• Bishops, Martyrs, Holy men and women
• Locations become places of worship
• Witnesses to Christ’s love, power, mercy
and way of life – throughout history.

26
The Daily Cycle
 Liturgy of the Hours
breaks up the day
with times of
prayer.
 Some communities
pray midday prayer
at work, from
memory.

27
The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling
Adventure of the Spiritual Life by Joan
Chittister, OSB
 “The liturgical year is an
adventure in bringing the
Christian life to fullness, the
heart to alert, the soul to
focus. It does not concern
itself with the questions of
how to make a living. It
concerns itself with the
questions of how to make a
life.”

28
Time for Reflection
or Journaling

29
SESSION I

30
SESSION II

32
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/images/work/T/T01/T01455_10.jpg As regards the monastery: if possible it is to be so constituted
that all necessities, such as water, mill, garden, and various
crafts may be practiced within the monastery so there will be
no necessity for the monks to wander outside; for this is not at
all good for their souls. (RB 66.6-7)

33
Enclosure
 A form of simplicity
 Guard of the heart
 Limits accumulation
of material goods
 Limits frenetic
activity and
connection

34
Purpose
 Spaces have a
designated
purpose in The Rule.
 Gatehouse,
Novitiate,
Kitchen, Oratory, the
Abbot’s Table, the
Dormitory…
 Entering the space
thus prompts the
appropriate spirit
and practices.

35
The Oratory
The oratory is to be what it is called, and
nothing else should be done or kept
there. When the Work of God is finished
all should go out in complete silence and
with reverence for God, so that a member
who wishes to pray alone will not be
impeded by another’s insensitivity. … And
therefore one who is not performing this
work is not to be permitted to remain in
the oratory after the Work of God, so
that, as was said, no one else is impeded.

37
Personal Ownership
These beds are to be frequently
inspected by the abbot so that personal
possessions are not found there; and if
anyone is found with something he has
not received from the abbot, he is to be
subjected to the most severe discipline.
And so as to cut out this vice of
personal ownership at the roots, the
abbot is to give out everything that is
necessary: that is, cowl, tunic,
stockings, shoes, belt, knife, stylus,
needle, handkerchief, and writing
tablets; so that every excuse based on
necessity is removed.

39
In The Rule
 Ch. 54, Whether a Monk May Receive
Letters or Anything Else
" If [the abbot] orders [the letter, blessed
object or little gift] to be received, it is in
his power to decide to whom it will be
given; and this is not to sadden the brother
to whom it was sent, so that occasion is
not given to the devil (Eph 4:27; 1 Tim 5:14). But one
who presumes to act otherwise is to be
subjected to the discipline of the Rule.

40
In The Rule
Ch 39,
The Measure of Food:
"If it happens that the
work is heavier the
abbot can choose to
exercise his power,
when expedient,
to add something,
provided that before
all else over-
indulgence is avoided,
and that no monk
suffers indigestion."

41
In The Rule
 Ch 58., The Table of
the Abbot
"The table of the abbot
should always be with
guests and pilgrims.
Whenever there are few
guests it is within his
power to invite any of
the brothers he wishes.
He is, however, always to
leave one or two seniors
with the brothers for the
sake of discipline."
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/52/24/de/5224de5d31ae381dc62138ae90d4dee3.jpg

42
“Vessels of the Altar”
The cellarer is to
look upon all the
vessels and goods
of the monastery
as though they
were the sacred
vessels of the altar.
She is not to
neglect anything.

43
More recently…
How beautiful will be the day when all the baptized
understand that their work, their job, is a priestly work, that
just as I celebrate Mass at this altar, so each carpenter
celebrates Mass at his workbench, and each metalworker,
each professional, each doctor with the scalpel, the market
woman at her stand, is performing a priestly office!
How may cabdrivers, I know, listen to this message there in
their cabs, you are a priest at the wheel, my friend, if you work
with honesty, consecrating that taxi of yours to God, bearing a
message of peace and love to the passengers who ride in your
cab.
Archbishop Oscar Romero
November 20, 1977
http://liturgyhouse.blogspot.com/2008/03/quotes-from-archbishop-oscar-
romero.html

https://viewersite.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/leunig-2013christmas-wish.jpeg

45
Time for Reflection
or Journaling

46
SESSION II

47
SESSION III

48
https://s-media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3e/48/72/3e4872967e719b86ea3c6cf35c31b169.jpg

50
Latin custodio, a verb
 To guard, to keep watch
 This is the verb St. Jerome used to where
modern translations say "keep" as in
 faciens misericordiam in millia his qui
diligunt me, et custodiunt praecepta mea,
SHOWING STEADFAST LOVE TO THOUSANDS OF THOSE
WHO LOVE ME AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS
 CUSTIDIO has many and deep meanings across
Scripture, worthy of its own study.

51
The Rule of St. Benedict, Ch. 4
In Ch 4.51-54, Tools for Good Works:
"to keep custody of one’s
mouth against depraved
speech, not to love
excessive speaking. Not
to speak words that are
vain or apt to provoke
laughter (cf. 2 Tim 2:16), not to
love frequent or raucous laughter (cf. Sir 21:23;)."
These words have been given a variety of
meanings, often leading to difficulty.
ThisExclusiveClipFrom‘TheInterview’FeaturesJamesFrancoAsADepravedTalkShowHost
http://brobible.com/entertainment/article/exclusive-clip-the-interview/

52
Reading the Bible with St. Benedict
 Monastics learned scripture by heart.
 In St. Benedict's era:
The OT had some divisions.
The NT may have had divisions
but not our modern chapters
 There were no verses or verse numbers.
 Memory was entirely according to meaning.
 SO: Quoting a phrase would bring to mind
the entire passage related to it.
 Sister Irene Nowell taught an entire course on
"Reading the Bible with Benedict" from which
some of these ideas were drawn.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/1QIsa_b.jpg/220px-1QIsa_b.jpg

53
Medieval Scripturehttp://www.medievalists.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/800px-Illuminated.bible_.arp_.jpg

54
Scripture at the time of BenedictCodexClaromontanus:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Codex_claromontanus_latin.jpg
Codex Claromontanus V, 4th or 5th century Latin manuscript
of the New Testament. The text, written on vellum.

55
2 Timothy 2:16 in contextFromtheNewAmericanBibleviatheBibleGateway:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Timothy%202
14Remind people of these things and charge them before
God to stop disputing about words. This serves no useful
purpose since it harms those who listen. 15 Be eager to
present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who
causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without
deviation. 16 Avoid profane, idle talk, for such
people will become more and more godless,17 and their
teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are
Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have deviated from the
truth by saying that [the] resurrection has already taken
place and are upsetting the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless,
God’s solid foundation stands, bearing this inscription,
“The Lord knows those who are his”; and, “Let everyone
who calls upon the name of the Lord avoid evil.”

56
Custody as Danger Control
 The Letter of James
focuses on the harm
the tongue can do. It is
a warning.
 St. Benedict forbids the ill
use of the tongue, but is
not afraid of the organ.

57
Custody as safekeeping
 Custody indicates value
• Valued possessions
• Children, our future
• Even prisoners, we
keep safe to guard the
dignity of all humans.
• God's commandments,
our guide and hope.

58
Custody as Encouragement
 Benedict tells us how
to use our tongues:
for praise, for prayer,
to edify others by our
reading, for blessing.
 Scripts: At start of
prayer, on meeting
another monastic, for
start of service.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/artspan-fs/member_files/kiryah/The_Psalmist.jpg

59
Custody as Training for Proper Use
 Custody of a person
involves all needs,
not only physical.
True even in prisons.
 Adequate custody
allows the person to
develop and flourish.
 Many of the joys of life are possible only if we
tame passions and learn procedures.
 Custody is a two-way relationship.
 Obedience can be seen as custody relationship.
PartnershipTraining:
http://www.partnersdogtraining.com/images/img_sendsitgroup_HI.jpg

60
Custody of the Tongue
 …is not the same as
keeping silence
 …is related to "custody of
my ways"
 …may occur in the face
of "the wicked" and
of calamities
 …has to do with hope and
trust in God
 …is an integral part of
being acceptable to God,
carrying out God's work
acceptably
AbandonedWorship:
http://www.drawneartogod.com/ArtDetail.asp?ID=20010905&art=abandoned-
worship#.WHs2mlMrJeM

62
Lectio Divina
 "Holy Reading"
 Remember that the best time of the day
was given to Reading in the medieval
monastic schedule.
 Pondering the Word, hearing it new, letting
it speak: these are the goals. Quantity of
reading is not a goal at all.

63
Monastic Contemplative Tradition
 Grounded in Scripture
 Begins with Lectio
• Reading. Read a passage slowly many times. Read it
silently, read it aloud. Try memorizing the passage.
• Meditating. As words or phrases stand out, focus
on them. Dialogue with. What do they remind you
of?
• Praying. Do you find yourself asking God questions?
Do people or situations come to mind? Allow the
connections to become a natural conversation with
God.
• Contemplating. This is a gift from God. It may not
happen and it is not the “reward” for a well-done
lectio divina! It is the delightful “aha-moment,” a
sense of timelessness, an inner awe at the beauty
or love or wisdom or of God.

64
"A word"
 Silence
 The "word" of an abba
was for a particular
person and need.
 Hundreds of stories,
sayings and lives were
collected.
 Now slowly becoming
available in English.
ChristandaDesertHermit.Ancientfresco.

65
Outside the Monastery
“No one shall presume to tell
others what he may have seen
or heard outside the monastery,
for this is very destructive. If
anyone so presumes, he is to be
subjected to the punishment of
the Rule. It is to be the same
with one who presumes to leave
the enclosure of the monastery,
whether to go anywhere or do
anything, however small,
without the order of the abbot.
http://fisheaters.com/twomonks.jpg

66
Turning Towards God
 Augustine: "You have made
us for yourself, O God, and
our hearts are restless until
they find rest in you."
 Desiring God (John Piper)
 Michael Casey, Toward God
 Monastic practices give us
the opportunity and means
to turn our hearts to God.

67
Time for Reflection
or Journaling

68
SESSION III

69
SESSION IV

72
Encountering Christ
 In God’s word
 In the superior
 In the pilgrim and guests
 In the sick and the young
 Members to each other
 Present in all places
 Therefore present in
oneself as well.

73
Spiritual Life in the Body
Benedict prescribes
postures & gestures
 bow to fellow server
 prostrate for pardon
 novice prostrates to receive
the prayers of all
 traveler lies prostrate for
pardon of accidental errors

74
Romano Guardini – Sacred Signs
(1911)
“EVERY part of the body is an
expressive instrument of the
soul. The soul does not
inhabit the body as a man
inhabits a house. It lives and
works in each member, each
fibre, and reveals itself in the
body's every line, contour
and movement.”

75
Romano Guardini – Sacred Signs (1911)
Even when we are praying alone, to pray standing may
more forcibly express our inward state. The early
Christians stood by preference. The "Orante," in the
familiar catacomb representation, stands in her long
flowing robes of a woman of rank and prays with
outstretched hands, in perfect freedom, perfect
obedience, quietly attending to the word, and in
readiness to perform it with joy.”
“Stand up straight: not leaning, both feet on the ground,
the knees firm, not slackly bent, upright, in control.
Prayer made thus is both free and obedient, both
reverent and serviceable.”
https://www.ecatholic2000.com/guardini/signs6.shtml

76
Divine Presence
 We believe that the Divine Presence is
everywhere, and the eyes of the Lord in
every place look upon the good and the
evil. (Prov 15:3). We especially believe this
without any doubt when we are assisting
at the Work of God. (RB 19.1-2)
 Chant psalms in such a way that our mind
and voice are in concord with each other.
(RB 19.7)

77
Body a Temptation
“If it happens that the work is heavier the
abbot can choose to exercise his power,
when expedient, to add something, provided
that before all else
overindulgence is
avoided, and that no
monk suffers indigestion.
For nothing is more
contrary to all things
Christian than overindulgence, as Our Lord
says: See that your hearts are not weighed
down through overindulgence (Luke 21:34) (RB 39)”

79
AUTHORITY
 We have paradoxical ideas about authority
• We hope everyone will be “a leader” and train them for it
• We promote independent thinking and individual choice,
rather than looking for and following a leader
 Benedict tells us to follow TWO authorities all the time:
• The Rule AND the Abbot who takes the place of Christ
• The Rule describe how to be a good follower
o Don’t grumble and complain, but be satisfied with the work you’re
asked to do
o If a task seems impossible, explain the problem but try it.
o Don’t get puffed up about your contributions
• If the Rule and the Abbot are in conflict, try to keep the Rule
but remember that it tells you to obey the Abbot.

80
RESPONSIBILITY
 Jesus Christ is the authority
• The Rule embodies a particular
path to follow Christ.
• The Abbot is the presence of
Christ guiding our actions.
• We want to respond to Christ
with our best self.
 RESPONSIBILITY means that our community, our
superior, and the people we encounter believe in
us:
• The know our monastic commitment
• They sincerely expect us to live out our promises
• They will let us know when we fall short.
• They will encourage us as we try to improve.

81
What Authority Cannot Do
 Abbot's power depends on the obedience
of the monks.
 Benedict knew this:
he told the unruly
monks they would
not like him.
 Ch. 28 is about the
limits of the abbots
power, and the priorities when he must
deal with things he cannot control.

82
Preserving and
transmitting the
“technology” of
community:
skills of stability, love,
neighboring,
commitment, bearing
with, and fidelity.
Care and Support

83
“Choosing not what she
judges best for herself but
what is best for the
other.”
Relationship and
awareness of the others
revitalizes a sense of the
common good.
Care and Support

84
Working Side by SideSlidetotellthestoryofSisterAquinataBockmannandthepotatoes

85
Theology of Reproof
 RB 27.2-3 He ought to use every skill of a
wise physician and send in senpectae…
under the cloak of secrecy, may support
the wavering brother… and console him
lest he be overwhelmed by excessive
sorrow. (2 Cor 2:7)
 RB 27.4 Rather… let love for him be
reaffirmed (2 Cor 2:8) and let all pray for
him.

86
Caring Abbot
 For excommunicated and sick RB 27
• He should realize that he has undertaken care
of the sick, not tyranny over the healthy.
(RB 27.6)

87
Caring Cellarer
 For brothers
(RB 31.6-7)
• He should not annoy
the brothers.
 For sick, children,
guests, and poor
(RB 31.9)
 For poor and pilgrims
(RB 53.15)

88
The Good Shepherd
 Goes beyond charity
 Repentance of the
offender, with
genuine conversion
of heart
 Forgiveness by the
community to bring
about the salvation of “weak” brother
 It is the image of the Good Shepherd
who wants and needs to save the one
lost sheep

89
"These practices do
not create union
with God. If that
happens, it is an
accident. But these
are the practices
that will make you
accident prone."
Fr. Greg Mayers

90
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/05/b1/86/05b186783413a6c78ca45e1967335c07.jpg

91
Time for Reflection
or Journaling

92
SESSION IV

94
SESSION V

95
We give thanks for the blessing of winter:
Season to cherish the heart.
To make warmth and quiet for the heart.
To make soups and broths for the heart.
To cook for the heart and read for the heart.
To curl up softly and nestle with the heart.
To sleep deeply and gently at one with the heart.
To dream with the heart.
To spend time with the heart.
We give thanks for the blessing of winter:
Season to cherish the heart.
Amen.

97
Inside the Monastery
 The Rule was meant for a community.
• A leader who follows its precepts
• Fellow workers seeking similar paths
• Common understanding of practices and goals
• Common language, spoken and symbolic

98
Outside the Monastery
 Homes and workplaces
• Other missions and goals
• Few or no others following this path
• Various (competing) practices and goals
• A different (or no) common language,
spoken and symbolic

99
Benedictine Adaptability
 Designed for cloistered
communities
 Even so, great variety
• Some very secluded
(especially the reforms)
• Some in urban areas
• Size varies from a dozen
to hundreds
• Focus on liturgy and
prayer, or on ministries
• The ministries and
means of livelihood vary
http://www.archirhett.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/mona_09.jpg

100
Shaped by Social Realities
 Christianity came to
Germany in 700s by
the foundation of
monasteries
• St Boniface
• St Walburga
 Came to America to
teach immigrant
children
• Sr. Benedicta Riepp
ak0.pinimg.com/564x/d9/45/b8/d945b8269539cc74eed1b64750964988.jpg

101101
 Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum
Benedictine Sisters Differ

102
“Shaped by social realities”
SistersofSt.ScholasticaMonastery
We might see things one way
from a monastery descended
from Mother Benedicta Riepp’s lineage
or the other sisters who came from
Europe to teach or nurse in the late 1800s…

103
PhotobyS.MaryAgnesPattersonofMountSt.Scholastica,Atchison,KS
… but quite
differently from a
monastery
founded by the
Missionary
Benedictines
in rural Africa …
Sisters Susana, Imane, and Presentasia are thrilled with
the new dam that brings electricity to their monastery in
Chipole, Tanzania

104
PhotobySisterEdithBogueattheAbbeyofSt.Walburgain
VirginiaDale,Colorado.
… and still differently
from the viewpoint of
other monasteries in
America founded from
European abbeys in
the 20th century.
Sisters measuring rain water near the garden at
the Abbey of St. Walburga, Virginia Dale, CO.

105
Lay & Monastic connected
http://c8.alamy.com/comp/E79D3Y/aerial-view-melk-abbey-benedictine-monastery-austrian-baroque-melk-
E79D3Y.jpg

107
 Conflicts of
old (Roman) &
new (German)
cultures
 Inequality
 Uncertainty
 Factions &
Violence
 Senatorial family: learn the arts of
rhetoric and manners of government
frescofromSantaScolasticainNorcia
Social Unrest in Benedict’s Era

108
Now: Koyaanisqatsi
 Koyaanisqatsi:
• Hopi term for
“chaotic life” or “life that calls
for another way of living” or
“unbalanced”
 “The economy” has
become a force on its own.
 Family relationships and
life are complex and
increasingly uncertain.
 Life is fast, pressured,
scheduled, controlled.
 Human dimension is lacking.
KoyaanisqatsiandPowaqatsi
http://www.koyaanisqatsi.org/films/powaqqatsi.php

109
Social Unrest in Jesus’ Time
 Conflict of Empire
and local cultures
 Great inequality
 Differences of faith
and values
 Injustice & violence
 Many expected a political or military
Messiah, or God to intervene in force.
ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a0/57/ec/a057ec9c5f2ffe7a874dd70f1d76f
1f3.jpg

110
Jesus, the Surprising Savior
 No distinctions by class
 Jew and Gentile alike
 Undaunted by Romans
but not their foe
 Teaching the fulfillment
of values already spoken
 Embodying God’s love
and sacrifice for all
 Inviting us to follow.

111
"Your way of acting should be different
from the world's way."

112
Benedictine Practices
 Entirely Gospel-based
 The practices are the
result of long lectio on
the Scriptures and on
the life of Christ.
 “What if we spent a
year trying to live out
‘Love one another’ and
really meant it?”

113
Monastic Practices
 Common “technology”
with many traditions of
monastic life – Sufi,
Essene, Buddhist, and
Native American
• Silence
• Separation
• Meditation
• Community
 The effectiveness of these methods is etched
into our bodies, our embodied spirituality.

114
“Do these things in
memory of me.”
Joseph,K.(2013).Re-focusingtheBenedictineTradition.
BenedictinesLXVI:1Spring/Summer2013
114

115
RESPONDING TO THE
CALL
 Our encounter with Christ, our
belief, makes claims on our lives
that are real.
 Responding means shaping our
actions, our choices, our words,
even our hopes and dreams
towards Christ, out of love for him.
 The Rule offers us a template and many
practices to translate our “Yes” to Christ into a
lived reality of new life.

116
Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far
as I can, I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I
live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else
can I do?” Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands
towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he
said to him, “If you will, you can become all flame.”
- From the Desert Fathers

117
May this time of retreat bring
many blessings to you.

118
SESSION V

Monastic Practices

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Ähnlich wie Monastic Practices

Ähnlich wie Monastic Practices (20)

Mehr von Sister Edith Bogue

Mehr von Sister Edith Bogue (17)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Monastic Practices