knitternun

How relevant is the Book of Common Prayer

2011-10-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

I lurk on a list about the Episcopal Church. I'm an Episcopalian myself. We have this Book of Common Prayer which includes all of the most common of services such as Eucharist, Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination, Reconciliation, Burial. We also have in it two forms of Daily Prayers: Morning, Noon, Evening and Compline. I like to call the latter the night might service.

I mention all this for the benefit of those who may have never heard of the BCP as we like to call it. On this list where I lurk, someone mentioned a new collection of prayers that are now available for use and raised the question of how kosher is their use since they are not part of the BCP. We Episcopalians are know to be big on right order and appropriateness. The original question then raised questions about the relevancy of the BCP to the 21st Century, how are we gonna keep them down in the pews now that any number of other things happen on Sunday mornings. And has the BCP lost its entertainment value.

Perhaps it is because I've spent 29 years as Benedictine, albeit as a solitary, but what I value about the BCP is the ability to sink into the words. We Benedictine read the same portion of the Rule on the same day every year except for a bit of slight of hand in Leap Years. When we pray the Daily Office, we pray the same psalms on the same days , often at the same time of day. Day in and day out. Year in and year out.

Some gentle readers maybe thinking "oh yuck, could it get more boring than this?" IMO, if that is the reaction, it is because the reactor is looking for the wrong thing. The point of the RB is the same as the point of the BCP. Both are meant to form Christians as Christians to serve and love the Most High God, to learn to love unconditionally every other person in the world and to find Christ in every man, woman and child.

There are rhythms and currents within the RB and the BCP that get inside a person and work on one much in the same way, I think , as the sacraments do. Sure the sacraments pin us to a moment, the moment when we participated in the sacrament but the BCP And the RB take us to a place outside of the space-time continuum to where the Holy Spirit can have Her way with us and us probably unknowing of it until we are changed, subtly and inexorably.

I know this because I think I first began to experience this current BCP through the Green Book in I believe autumn of 1974. Which is also when I finally began to attend a TEC parish regularly for the 1st time. So let's round up and subtract 1975 from 2011 and that gives us 36 years of exposure to the '79 BCP. I am a much better person today then I was. I will spare you the details. I still have significant problems. But almost 4 decades of praying the same words day in and out, year in out, decade in and out have contributed to making me stronger, healthier, nicer, all that good stuff. Most important, I begin to get a glimpse of what iot really means to be a Christian.

Seems to me that TEC may be loosing sight of that. Seems to me TEC may be falling into the trap of thinking that liturgy should have entertainment value. If we switch to that way of thinking, then we lose the formative aspect of the BCP and the liturgies it communicates.

Yes I know it may feel more than a bit like how are we gonna keep down on the farm now that they've seen Paree. I know around here in San Diego, many of our churches are losing members to mega churches with exciting power point presentations, strobe lights and rock music. And yes, I know that God can use anything and God does use everything, but where is the challenge to grow and develop into the full stature of Christ in these mega churches with their checklists of what it is to be a Christian and if a person can't check everything off they are not saved.

I don't think we can pick and choose what parts of Scripture we are going to follow and I don't think we can pick and choose parts of the BCP. The entirety of both is for our very best good to help us present ourselves as an offering to God.

Thinking about America's economic woes

2011-02-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

Over the last year or so, the number of beggars has increased in my city. There always were some but nothing like the numbers there are now. At literally every major and some not so major intersection, there are beggars. It breaks my heart to see them. I tend to believe their need is genuine because would people really expose themselves to that level of humiliation were it not absolutely their last resort? What is a Christian response?

What I would like to do except it is beyond my means, is to put together bags of basics such as cans of pop top chicken or tuna, juice, fruit, cookies, plastic flatware, napkins. Maybe also some travel sized toiletries. I live well below the poverty line for a single person myself, so I just can't do it. But I throw the idea out there for you, Gentle Reader. Maybe you are in a better place than to extend this small bit of comfort.

It's not enough, though, now is it? What is our Christian duty to God and our neighbor? It seems to me that each of us must undertake work, probably painful, to examine our relationship to wealth, money, possessions. And by "we", I mean all who call themselves Christians. We must allow the Holy Spirit in. Otherwise I fear we are all the rich young man whom Jesus loved but had to watch him walk away because the man loved his stuff more. I think this will hurt if we allow the Holy Spirit to have Her way with us.

But here's a simple way to start: how much do you spend at Starbucks in a year? I can't claim to know the prices there, but let's say a person spends $5 a day 5 days a week for a weekly expenditure of $25 a week. Multiply that by 52 weeks and it is a staggering $1300.00 a year. What is that same person buys lunch those same 5 days a week and it costs $10 a day. That adds up to another $2600.00 And what if that same person gets a mid-afternoon Starbucks every day, which would be another $1300.00. That's $5200.00 a year.

It's not my place to say whether or not this person should or should not do this. But isn't it a worthwhile question? Especially if that person also claims s/he cannot afford to tithe. My point is that we Americans can be very non-thinking when it comes to what we think we deserve. My point is that we embrace our luxuries at the expense of other Americans who lack the means to thrive. How can a Christian really justify it? Only through denial and a refusal to face up to one's own individual responsibility.

We also have to shake off all political rhetoric and oratory and just look at the facts. I am no economist but I am an observer. What I have observed is that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is no longer extended to every American citizen. I suggest part of why that is so is because we have changed the definition of happiness so that is more dependent on externals than it is on the person within. As if what we can buy is going to make and keep us happy.

I would welcome a list of facts and figures such as comparing where we are today to where we were 25 years ago. Has the incidence of homelessness increased? Has the dependency upon food stamps increased? How long is the wait to get rental assistance? What are the employment figures?

Frankly, I don't know enough to know all the questions one should ask. But there is a reason America is in an economic crisis and the reasons are bigger than whether or not the Bush tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans were extended. I suspect that if we were to simply compare facts and figures, allowing for population growth or decline, we would find that it started about 30 years ago when I new approach to our country's economics was implement. I suspect that we will find that it is very very horribly true that the rich are getting wealthier and not only are the poor getting poorer but the number of poor increased and will continue to increase.

We Christians must look anew at all the Bible says about wealth and money and the poor. We must allow the Holy Spirit to soften our hard hearts, to make all of us, rich and poor less greedy. What we need is conversion of life, Conservatio Morum, to conform ourselves to the Bible. Rather than trying to make the Bible conform to us.

Were we to do that we just might find ourselves moved to compel our politicians to so change things so that every single American has a roof over their heads, food in the home, means to prepare it, decent affordable medical care, clothing proper to the climate, heat, water, whatever is necessary to thrive.

And maybe that starts with giving up those $5 coffees and $10 lunches.

More thoughts on Work

2011-02-13T05:12:00.001-08:00

Please forgive some additional thoughts on the subject of work.

When last I wrote about this subject, I wrote about the joys of iconography and how finally the work that has my name on it has manifested itself. I would like to share with my Sisters and Brothers the extraordinary events of this past weekend.

This past Friday and Saturday was the Episcopal Diocese of Sand Diego's convention. For those who don't know, I am Episcopalian. Fr. Mike, my rector, decided that we would take the icons and cards he made of the icons to convention and that I was to staff the booth. Any icon I write belongs to All Souls', my parish. They invested in my training and in return, they sell the icons and the proceeds is wire transferred to our missionaries in Kenya where the money is quite literally used to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, provide for those unable to provide for themselves. As I have for years been quite passionate about social justice I have been so very delighted that the icons are being used to alleviate the violence of poverty.

Here in San Diego we have a store called O'Connors Church Supplies ( http://www.oconnorscatholicsupply.com/ ). Bob O'Connor came by our table at the convention. He discussed the icons with me and then asked about how we market them. I replied that we didn't quite know what we were doing about that and we meant to have some discussions. He then mentioned to me that in addition to the store they have a 600 page catalog and a website and that they could assist with the marketing as he would like to sell our product in his store, catalog and online. He would like original icons, cards and reproductions. I kept my wits about me long enough to ask for a business card and to tell him any such discussions would have to be with Fr. Mike.

There was then a lull in the shopping as people went back into their sessions and I raced out the door to find members of my parish to babble at them about what had just happened. One of them was Fr Mike who was obviously staggered.

I was then immediately consumed with performance anxiety. How would I ever supply enough icons? I think many of my icons are hideous so how could any one want to sell them? All sorts of "i, I, I, I" thoughts dominated my thinking. By the time I arrived home Fri even I was a mess of I this, I that, I, I, I. Naturally, I emailed friends and posted on facebook and as the email conversations started and I was overwhelmed with performance anxiety, a realization dawned on me.

If this potential business arrangement is any sort of an accomplishment, it is one that was accomplished by my parish and not by me. It is a result of our particular Body of Christ being the Body of Christ, everyone doing their bit. It is because we together have been conduits of the Holy Spirit. Yes, I write the icons but in reality all I am is the paint brush, it is the Holy Spirit who is the artist. My performance anxiety is not new news to my parish. They've been helping me through it for months and thanks to them that the Holy Spirit reveals Herself in the icons. If the deal goes through with O'Connors and money rolls in to be dispersed to our missionaries, it is not because I did it but because we as a parish, we together responded to our dear Lord.

What has me wondering, and here I finally get to the subject of work, is this. Here in the USA the question "what do you do?" is a big one. The emphasis is on "my job" of "my work."Here in the USA we speak of "my job" as if we are autonomous, solely self-reliant, as if we act as independent units. I have been guilty of thinking of iconography as "my job." But what this conversation with Bob O'Connor has forced me to realize is that iconography is not "my job." If there is anything of God or of His beauty in the icons, it is because the Holy Spirit put it there and She did it as a result of the combined efforts of all of us at All Souls'.

So... isn't this true of all work we are called to do? All of us are able to do the work to which God has called us only because others in the Body of Christ are being the person God has called them to be

The subject of work

2011-01-30T19:34:00.000-08:00

Here are 2 quotes from one of my favorite authors, Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB

"Benedictines were to `earn their bread by the labor of their hands,' and no devotion was to take the place of the demands of life… At the same time, work is not what defines the Benedictine. It is the single-minded search for God that defines Benedictine spirituality." (The Rule of St. Benedict: Insights for the Ages, p. 134)

"Manual labor is humility in practice." (Wisdom from the Daily, p.179)

Work and I have not had a good relationship for most of my life. I had a career that I accidentally feel into that started as a part time job while in seminary. My last year in seminary I had such health issues that I abandoned my dream of getting a Ph.D and instead explored this line of work. I was middle management in no time.

But I hated what I was doing. The American corporate workplace was a toxic environment for me. It made me sick and sicker and finally so sick I had to apply for permanent disability. While in seminary, I had made private vows to God as a solitary and the contrast between the values of the workplace and my religious life were too great. It created a cognitive dissonance I was unable to live with.

After I became disabled, my work was to learn to manage my symptoms and that was a work that made sense. In a way, this was a work that was also the search for God. Once the symptoms were managed, the voice of the Holy Spirit was much easier to hear. I had sought God all my life, but this was taking me someplace new. To out as it were, to be a witness for Christ. To demonstrate how faithful the Lord is. He heard my vows in 1982, He stuck with me as I became more and more mentally ill, He brought me through to the other side and now in my community He has made me a witness to demonstrate what it means to live a life solely for Him.

But He was not done with me. He has called me to iconography. I stumbled across a class being taught in the Diocese. The teacher allowed me to take it at 1/4 the asking price. George Bush had just sent me economic stimulus money so I was able to afford that small fee. And I was hooked. I remember writing to a correspondent and saying that iconography was in my blood.

My rector was the one who identified this as a gift of the Holy Spirit and something he was compelled to support. He gave me an empty office at the church to use as a studio, bought me paint and boards and talked to the Vestry and they decided to invest in my training and sent me to Pecos NM for three weeks where I met Br Peter.

Now my work is iconography and knitting. Both are in service to the Lord and my church. Every icon belongs to the church. My knitting is sold at our fundraiser. 100% of proceeds from the icon and knitting go to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick etc. I cannot begin to tell you the level of gratitude I feel that I am allowed to have a small part in my parish's endeavor to be the hands and feet of the Lord in the world.

My work is prayer. My work is part of my search for God. Doing my work takes me straight to contemplation. Joseph Campbell would say I had found my bliss. But it is only blissful because God is so intimately involved in it.

Once Was A Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming

2011-01-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, readers of a list upon which I have lurker status were offered a chance to get a reader's copy of the newest book by Julia Spencer-Fleming, One Was A Soldier. As I love free books, I wrote as per the directions and a copy arrived yesterday. http://tinyurl.com/476d6wc

At the time, I had never heard of this author or of her characters, Rev Claire Fergusson, an Episcopal priest in upstate New York and Russ Van Alstyne, Chief of Police . There was enough chatter on the list to intrigue me and I checked my local library where I was able to check out all of the series. I read them in order. In fact, I read one a day because I just could not put them down.

One Was A Soldier was no exception and I read it the same day I received it. Again I could not put it down. I found in it the same elements that so gripped me in the earlier books. It can be summed up in the world "realism." Ms. Spencer-Fleming does not offer a rosy picture of human relationships, does not shrink away from the hard stuff. She grapples it head on and make for a compelling story every time.

In this latest book she delves into the effects the Middle East War has on us. Characters that we have come to care about in her earlier books are dealing with some nasty repercussions to their war experience. Even our heroine wonders if God can help her.

Evolution conference invites us all to a 'new beginning'

2011-01-10T10:50:00.000-08:00

Evolution conference invites us all to a 'new beginning'

By Joan Chittister

Created Jan 10, 2011

• by Joan Chittister [1] on Jan. 10, 2011 From Where I Stand [2]

The Monastics of the Desert didn’t have anything to say about New Year’s resolutions but they had a lot to say about life. “Abba Poemen said of Abba Pior” one collection of early records report, “that every day he made a new beginning.”

Monasticism, we can see, is an ancient spiritual tradition with an eye for wisdom. Obscured as this new year may be by an era of financial fear, personal pain, and the struggle to survive, this new year is also, ironically, a time crying for great creativity and change. We are in need of ‘a new beginning’ on multiple levels.
The news media, however, long a bellwether of society’s deepest concerns, has become more and more torpid by the day.
It isn’t that the questions making the news aren’t important ones; it’s just that they’re stuck, it seems, on the old ones. Partisan politics are playground stuff: real governance demands decision-making now. Women are here to stay at all levels of society -- not simply to clean the buildings they’re in but to administer the programs that are housed there. Gays and lesbians are human and are finally demanding to be treated so. The birth control question has been long resolved: the pills are legal and condoms are common.

Those questions, in other words, are yesterday. They’re nowhere -- even though, in some circles, the resistance to them still goes on.

It took almost a hundred years, for instance, to move beyond the structures of racism and sexism and homophobia -- long after the laws were already on the books. De facto segregation still exists in some places.

Only now, even in the United States, have women as a class begun to be really accepted as equals. “DADT” -- the requirement that part of the population deny what they are, hide what they are, is being recognized as inhuman if not barbaric, however much the bullying that lags behind the law.

The real questions with which we must certainly grapple now, however, if we are to deal with a new future, are more cosmic in nature -- even more life changing than the continuing ripple of these old ones. These new questions are deeply spiritual ones.
What is unclear is whether or not the great churches and idea agents of the society will stop trying to reinvent the past long enough to bring us all to consider what is really facing us in the future.

The theological implications of evolution, the social and religious issues inherent in interfaith cooperation, and the kinds of personal spiritual conversion necessary if global justice and national accountability is ever to be achieved are boiling up everywhere while the world ignores them.

In the light of traditional institutional resistance in both church and state to past issues, new groups are rising everywhere to deal with the questions the old order apparently hopes simply to outlive rather than to face, to adjust to, to embrace.

One of these, the question of the relation of science to religion, for instance, has been simmering for years while churches went on using law and politics to secure old ideas and retard the development of science in the name of God.

Advances in medicine suffered from the rejection of anatomy. Advances in society suffered from the determination by both religion and science that people of color were anatomically, psychologically and spiritually inferior to whites. Advances in humanity suffered from the notion that females were physically smaller and therefore intellectually subordinate to the males of the species.

But this is a different world now. Now the great questions of life belong to us all.

It is always possible of course, to force people to do something as long as some group has the physical power to do so. But it is not possible, even then, to force a group to believe something they know must be otherwise: like racism or sexism or the notion of a three-tiered cosmos or even the definition of life itself.

Now with the internet, no one can keep the rest of us out of the discussion. Now we can all know together what before only the educated and the elite knew. Now we can get the information we need to take our own place in the decision-making arena of the world.

No wonder the foundations of one institution after another are trembling. No wonder the definition of ‘authority’ is shifting. No wonder it is now small groups of ordinary people who are raising the questions outside the institutions that should be guiding the public examination and discussions of them but are not. No wonder institutions, therefore, are losing their credibility as a result.

This month, for the first time, for instance, I got an invitation to participate in a project that simply sprang up out of the heads of an evangelical minister, Michael Dowd, and his science-writer wife, Connie Barlow, that may turn out to be one of the seminal public discussions of the year -- or more.

A group of ordinary people have launched a free teleseminar series on “Evolutionary Christianity.”
Their website, Http://evolutionarychristianity.com/ , brings together 38 scientists and religious figures of all ilk to consider the effects of evolution on religious thought and teaching, on what we have always been taught about things like the nature of God and the purpose of life.

Some of these speakers you already know, perhaps, like Matthew Fox, Diarmuid O’ Murchu, Richard Rohr, Mary Southard and I. Others you may hear for the first time but will be glad you did, like John Polkinghorne, Philip Clayton, Gloria Schaab and Brian McLaren.

All you need to do to be part of a discussion like this is to sign up. It’s free. It’s a collection of interviews on the subject with people who take the subject seriously and, in addition, apply it to their own lives and faith for you to listen to any time you want. They ask themselves what is the place of God in an evolutionary world and, on the other hand, what is God without evolution?

These people are saying all the things we’re all saying, asking all the questions we’re asking ourselves. They are simply thinking it through -- like us, but out loud.

Listen in, why don’t you? Eavesdrop a little. Help to bring so profound a spiritual question out of the closet. Because this is truly one of tomorrow’s questions.

This one will affect all our spiritual lives -- as well as the way we shape our souls, our catechisms, our churches and our world. It’s discussions like this that will make us spiritual adults.

From where I stand, evolution and its real-life implications is a very exciting, very real, very present question. It has to do with the kinds of issues that form the undercurrent of faith like “Did God really will the earthquake in Haiti?”

After all, evolution is a subject ninth grade science students already know more about than most of the adults in this world.

It may be time for the rest of us to catch up with them. That would really be a ‘new beginning.’

[Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister is a longtime contributor to NCR. Her Web column, From Where I Stand, is found on the NCR Web site: NCRonline.org/blogs/from-where-i-stand [4].]

Soulistry-Artistry of the Soul: Creative Ways to Nurture Your Spirituality

2010-12-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

Some months ago, it was my privilege to review a book which had not yet been published. Here's what I had to say:

"“Soulistry-Artistry of the Soul: Creative Ways to Nurture Your Spirituality” by June Mack Maffin, should come with a warning label. “Warning: this book propels us into God-time, into God-space!” If we take the book’s provocative Soul-Questions seriously, answers well up from our souls and we will be motivated to go further into ourselves than perhaps we have ever gone. I did and confronted new information about myself which opened me to transcendence. I encourage you to read this book and encounter the Divine in new ways."

You may pre-order the book at Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/Soulistry--Artistry-Soul-Creative-Spirituality/dp/1846946158/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293039421&sr=8-1

carrying one another's burdens

2010-09-14T09:44:00.001-07:00

On an email list for Anglican Women, one of our members recently had surgery. One of the things she shared with us is that she had trouble believing that she had cancer. It occurred to me that if she struggled to believe it,to convince herself, she divert energy from healing to worry.

My response to her was "How about if we believe it for you? That way you don't have to think about it and just concentrate on recovery from the surgery. Our prayers for you continue unabated, beloved sister."

My response was based on something I read in Charles Williams' novel, Descent Into Hell. In it a woman is terrified of meeting her doppelganger which she had actually spied once or twice. She shared this fear with a male character who immediately, as her brother in Christ, offered to carry her fear for her. That way she needn't be burdened by it. The idea is that we Christians can carry for each other that which prevents us from doing God's will. In the novel, it was a particular fear that was being carried by someone other than the fearful woman who was then, with a free mind and a glad heart, able to do what she had to do. When she did meet the doppelganger it was a positive experience. All because someone else was carrying that which weighed her down.

I thought we of this list could carry our sister's non-belief for her, leaving her free to get on with the healing. Her own belief that she has cancer can wait a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we will believe it for her, devote our prayers to her and she will be free to get on with healing from this surgery.

On a wider scale there is a way in which this applies to all of us. We know that a new member is anxious about certain conversations. We can carry her anxiety for her as she thinks through the content of the conversations she will have. Members of the list have, maybe without knowing it, been carrying my anxiety over my mother and I trust you are now carrying my grief for my friend, Doug dying of brain cancer, which frees me to be his friend as I have always been instead of a grieving friend looking to him for comfort while he should be busy preparing to see Jesus face to face.

Our anxieties, griefs, fears, worries get in the way of our doings. But we are only human, so of course we will have anxieties, fears and griefs. But one of the many miracles of the Body of Christ is that we can, if we will, carry the anxieties, fears and griefs of others while others carry our anxieties, griefs and fears. The burdens of another are much lighter than our own and the result is that we are all better able to go about doing God's will. Which is to love Him with everything we are and have, to love our neighbors as ourselves, feeding the hungery, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, providing for those who are unable at the moment to provide for themselves, preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations.

I hope this make some sense.

May the Holy Spirit dance in our hearts!

Thoughts on Iconography

2010-09-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

In one of the many books I've read about icons and iconography there was this statement: Icons must never be written for money.

I've mused over this for some time and had several thoughts... icons are theology... the Word of God... the Holy Spirit uses the iconographer to create the icon and so on. Since writing an icon is an act of worship and devotion, how could it ever be written for money.

For me personally the idea that the Holy Spirit is actually the artist is crucial to me. I can't paint. I've messed about with paints for years and never achieved anything. But for some reason the Holy Spirit has chosen me to be an iconographer. As a result, working on an icon is for me a meditation, prayer, part of my spiritual life as large a part as the Daily Offices. I listen to Ancient Faith Radio as I work so many of my senses are attuned to the holiness of the work.

Because my church has invested in my training and because as a nun I live under a vow of poverty, I refuse payment for the icons. Payment for any icon I write is paid to my church which then uses the funds for missionary outreach.

Sometimes I think my icons are clownish or cartoonish but people love them. I am then grateful that I think they are clownish or cartoonish because that keeps me humble and increases my reliance upon the Holy Spirit. I don't think I ever want to think myself good at it. I want them always to be the work of the Holy Spirit and for me to continue to be a tool such as the brush, palette, board and paint are also tools.

Keep an eye out for this book!!

2010-08-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

The E-book edition is scheduled for release in November of this year. The "regular" book version will be released in March or April, 2011. The author honored me by asking me to write a review:

Soulistry - Artistry of the Soul: Creative Ways to Nurture Your Spirituality is a book that should come with a warning label. The premise could not appear more simple. Obtain a journal. Begin to journal by writing one's name. Select a Journal Prompt. Answer the provocative Soulistry-questions which accompany the text. On the surface they may appear to be the obvious ones triggered by the quotation. But the answers are something else again because if we have taken the questions seriously, the answers well up from our souls.

Which brings us back to the label. "Warning: this book propels us into God-time, into God-space." We are driven into that dangerous space where we become transparent to God and ourselves. The questions motivate us to go further into ourselves than perhaps we have ever gone. As we do, we may confront information about ourselves that we want to label "good" or "bad".We would be better off to regard our discoveries as information which can open us, if we so choose, to transcendence, to an encounter with the Divine.

Intrigued yet? More info available at: www.soulistry.com

Beyond the Muffin

2010-05-15T14:33:00.001-07:00

Beyond the Muffin

For sometime now, I've attempted to organize my thoughts an feelings since i choked to death on that muffin. So many thoughts, sensations, hopes. It's as if the floodgates of my most hidden and secret desires have burst forth and i am confronted with how much i want things of God, how hungry i am for Him and only Him and was too afraid to really allow myself to feel it,.

On the one had life has taken some exciting turns since the Day of the Muffin. OTOH, life has also been very introspective.

First the exciting bits, Fr. Mike said in front of witness that I clearly have a gift for writing icons and in his opinion, it is well worth the church investing in it. He lived up to this opinion when he present the Vestry with the opportunity to spend $2500 or so to send me to the Pecos School of Iconography which I mentioned in the previous entry. The vestry unanimously actually approved this expenditure. My flight is booked, the course is paid for and on May 23 I leave San Diego for three weeks in Pecos, NM. I have never in my life had anyone willing to invest thousands of dollars in me. I realize that they are really investing in God but it sure still feels like a overwhelming gift to me personally.

As if this were not enough, Fr. Mike also gave me an empty office at the church to use as a studio. It has the best light in the whole building. I have a place to work in solitude which is so very in keeping with my Rule.

As if this were not enough, people at church keep asking over and over to see my icons. They can't seem to get enough of them. I thank them for their compliments. Then I tell them how I have messed about with paints for decades (messed being the operative word) and never produced anything lovely. So it is my deep conviction that God is painting the icon through me and I am but an instrument in His hand as the paintbrush is in mine.

Now for the introspective bits....

All this support has hit me hard. To the point of tears. I've never had such support. To tell the truth, I've not had any. And certainly not to the point of anyone being willing to invest thousands of dollars in me. When I say there is something I want to do the response is "if that's what you want, dear." Or "You want to do WHAT?" The most common is "You can't. Not you." I don't know where to find the words to communicate how deep an impact the support of my parish has been. Not a vague " whatever seems best to you," but a whole hearted enthusiasm from everyone in the parish and a huge chunk of money.

Choking on the muffin and being being revived so that I could continue to care for my mother and write icons was, I think, the Holy Spirit's equivalent of knocking me upside the head with a two by four as a means of gaining my attention. She means business. She means for me to write icons. All this parish support has been the two by four continuing its litany upside my head.

The thing is, my life has a purpose that has grown out of the Solitary vocation, a meaning that gives new depth to the vocation to which God has called me. To write an icon is to pray contemplatively. There is no other way to describe it. To write an icon for any other purpose is sacrilegious.

I am no good at writing this. Although I've lived 6 years now under vows and although my life has been structured around prayer and good works, I feel as if my life has been shot full of meaning and purpose I never had before. Oh it had meaning, it had purpose. But in many ways I was making the best of a bad job. After all I am disabled for major depressive Disorder and every day I have had to gauge where I was on the continuum of depression and adjust my plans accordingly. For the first time in my conscious life, I don't have to do that any more. I am free, liberated. It's as is I've never struggled with depression in my life. I wake up every dear eager to embrace it and to get to my studio to work.

I've never had that sense either. My wildest dreams have come true. I am free of depression. I never in my life thought that would be. I accepted depression as part of the had I was dealt, as part of sin being visited on the children and the children's children ad infinitum. Ad nasuem, as a matter of fact. I was cowardly and never asked God to take away the depression , only to make me endure it. But I wanted it gone and He took it away. Just like that,

The Holy Spirit guides my hand as I hold the brush and mix the paint then apply it to the board. I am doing another Good Shepherd. My prayers are constant as I work. "Here I am, Jesus, with Your beautiful face. Guide my hand, take over my hand and mind and body, You be the artist. You make the icon a fit receptacle for the image of Yourself. You make it lovely. To you the glory forever and ever." Such are my thoughts.

Oh, I'm not living in a halcyon utopia where everything is perfect. Years of living with depression have adversely affected my abilities with personal relationships and that is just as true as ever. But for the first time I feel as if it is possible for that to change. After all, if God took away my depression, maybe He will also turn me into a gracious person. I am willing to take the risks, now.

Writing an Icon for the Second Time: The Good Shepherd

2010-02-21T15:58:00.000-08:00

Once again I was privileged to take a retreat workshop with iconographer Teresa Harrison, www.teresaharrison.com/.
This time the subject was the Good Shepherd. You may see the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29907608@N04/sets/ Please click on the set with the same name as this blog entry.

That I took this class is amazing. For the past few months, there was an urging to email Teresa to find out when the next class was. My daily alloted computer time would come and go and I would every day forget to email her. Then the urging became ever more urgent and I finally remembered to email her on Wed, Feb 10, 2010 to learn the next day that the next retreat was starting on Mon, Feb 15!

The next issue was one of money and how much could I pay and would my parish priest and rector, Fr. Michael Russell, feel like he wanted to pay the rest. He told his wife, Kathleen, in my presence that I have a gift he believes is worth investing in. Frankly I am astounded by the degree of support and encouragement he offers. Growing up in my family, or later with the dysfunctional people I sought as friends, I am entirely unaccustomed to praise and encouragement. It takes some getting used to. Much of my prayers lately have been "Lord, what is going on here with this icon thing? Are You seriously proposing that I become an iconographer?" Evidently He intends this.

I managed to get a $50 discount on the class by offering to bring all of my own supplies which meant that I used a clay board instead of one of Teresa's prepared wooden boards. I think this was a mistake as I learned I preferred to us the wood. That's one lesson learned.

The second lesson was my realization how significantly less anxious I was about this second class. God had used me once to write an icon and I approached this class confident that our faithful Lord would again use me as His instrument.

The third lesson was to realize how obnoxiously I had behaved in the first class as a result of my inability to contain and control my anxiety. Although I have made quite the fuss about switching psychologists due to changes in Medi-Cal and as distressed I have been about having a man as my therapist, I must give Dr. Hodges his due. He is teaching me a lot and already I could see differences in my approach to these total strangers. Not all of them were. There were 3 other students who had been in my first class. And even though I believed I acted like a brat in that first class, Teresa welcomed me graciously and commented that she knew I love this work as much as she. We all have to learn humility somehow and God will make every effort to teach us.

An experience I prized from the first retreat was the sense of sinking into the work, losing sense of self to feel as if I was elsewhere while Someone Else moved my hands. I don't know if the English language really has the words, but I know several times as I worked on the Good Shepherd I was somewhere else and some unknown something would recall me to attention and I would see what my hands had done without my conscious awareness of it.

This sense of being elsewhere was sharpened by an event that occurred around 10AM on Wed morning. I don't want to go all drama queen on you, but I believe I died that morning and God brought me back to life through the intense fervor of the prayers of my classmates and teacher.

Here's what happened. Every morning after an 8:30AM Eucharist (and what a deep delight it is to receive every day) we met for a time to discuss how the time was going and to share any significant insights. At the end of this time, we would prayer the iconographer's prayer, stop in the kitchen for the beverage of choice (tea for me, please) and return to the classroom to work. I realized that I had left my folder with my template in the kitchen and quietly left the classroom to get it. While in the kitchen, I took a small piece of blueberry muffin, chewed and swallowed and swallowed and swallowed until I realized it was stuck and I could not breath. Dashing into the classroom as fast as my handicapped body would move, I terrified Teresa by putting my hands against my throat to pantomime choking and below my breasts to pantomime that I needed the Heimlich maneuver. Rick attempted to do it but could not and as I sank to the floor with death approaching, I said to Jesus "Ok, Lord. Take me if it's time but please send someone to care for my mother." Mom is 85, not in good health and I am her sole care giver.

What happened next is indescribable. All care, concern and fear left me. I was cradled in warmth and love all around me and even within me. It was wonderful. I guess that was the state of bliss and although I was not particular aware any longer of self, it was that which I have wanted more than anything in my life and it took being dead to get it. All my life I have not been too worried about being dead because I knew that would be wonderful but the means of getting dead are more than a little intimidating. The reality of being dead was more wonderful than I ever imagined.

Very gradually I became aware of an annoyance distracting me in an unwelcome manner from the warmth and light. It was a paramedic asking me my name. I don't remember this next bit, but my classmates relished telling me this over and over and over and over. I am told I told the paramedic my name is Gloriamarie and he said "Ok, Gloria" and I said "No, it's Gloriamarie." While I was senseless of saying such, I could feel relief whoosh through the room like a mighty wind. It was my classmates' realization that I was going to be all right. It seemed to me to take forever before I was fully aware of where I was. But throughout it, I felt warmth and love cradling me and eventually I realized that Rick was holding me and ever so gently rubbing my back in a circular manner. I knew that at some point it had been Jesus and not Rick, or maybe Jesus used Rick's body for a bit.

It took the rest of the day for me to fully recover. I continued with the class, working on the icon. I have no idea what part I was working on or what notes I took during demonstrations. I really felt half way between there and here and except for worries that my mother would be left all alone, I would have happily gone back to where I had been.

At noon that day we went to the church for the Ash Wednesday service. My legs weren't working really well and I sat in the last pew and Fr Edward (Teresa's husband and priest/rector of Christ Episcopal Church, Coronado, CA) had to come to me to give me ashes. Nothing can be more poignant than receiving ashes with the reminder that we are from dust and to dust we shall return on the day one has died and been brought back to life through prayer. The dust seems a lot closer than ever before.

When I awoke the next morning, I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that God meant me to live, to care for my mother and to write icons. So many disparate parts of my life are coming together to form a whole... the fact that art was my first major in college, that I have messed about with paints, colored pencils, crayons since forever, been drawn to and delighted in icons and religious art whenever they crossed my path, my vocation to the religious life... all these form a whole, a purpose, an identity, a calling. I had been so scared of my life losing all purpose when mom passes away but that fear is relieved and the solution offered.

During the coffee hour this morning, Fr Mike sat down for a long look at the icon. He talked about his plans to photograph the icons, reproduce them onto masonite and sell them as one of the ways our church raises money to care for the 1900 AIDS orphans in Nairobi, the Mother's Union who are taught ways to become self-sufficient, the children in Tijuana, Mexico and the Peninsula Shepherd Center, an outreach to the elderly and housebound of the Point Loma neighborhood where is our parish. He spoke of special equipment he needed. We talked about which icons to write next and how St. Francis Day was approaching.

Then I very tentatively mentioned the Pecos School of Iconography http://www.pecosmonastery.org/IconSchoolSchedule.htm
which I had just discovered yesterday. The tuition fee is $2100 and on top there is transportation costs from San Diego to Albuquerque and from Albuquerque to Santa Fe and from Santa Fe to the Abbey. I am none too good in math, so please forgive me if my estimate is way off, but I shouldn't wonder if the entire cost would end up around $3000, what with also having a bit of spending money for an unforeseen needs that might arise. To me, such an amount of money is about as possible to find as would be expecting to get the moon if I asked for it.

Already my mind is full of the work God has in store for me. Fr Mike is giving me an office in the church office building to use as a studio, the church is paying for paints, supplies everything. All I need to do is show up and work. I beseech your prayers. The doors could not open any wider or any faster. God is calling and my response is "Here I am, Lord. Let it be done to me according to Your will."

Have Faith in Love

2010-02-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

February 8, 2010
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Have Faith in Love
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/opinion/08lax.html?em
By ERIC LAX
Beverly Hills, Calif.

THE election, two months ago, of the Rev. Mary Glasspool, a priest who has been in a committed relationship with another woman for more than 20 years, as a suffragan (assistant) bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, has brought added turmoil to the Episcopal Church in the United States and to the worldwide Anglican Communion. There has been sporadic schism since the regular ordination of women as priests in 1977 and especially since the election of the Rev. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003. He is the first openly gay bishop in the history of those Christian bishops — Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Greek and Russian Orthodox among them — who trace their succession back to the apostles.

In protest, several dozen parishes have aligned themselves with conservative Anglican bishops in Africa, and the Roman Catholic Church has offered to take in disaffected Episcopalians. In 2008, the leadership of the Anglican Communion, to which the American church belongs, tried to keep things together by urging the Americans not to elect other openly gay people as bishops until the Communion could establish more common ground. The Los Angeles electors’ choice of a gay woman as bishop has pushed the denominational envelope to the point of tearing.

The Glasspool election and its ensuing uproar make me realize how much has changed since 1976, when my father, who came to the Los Angeles diocese as a priest in 1947, died. About the biggest controversy within the church during most of his ministry was over proposed revisions to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.

At that time, marriage was strictly Adam and Eve. Gays were closeted, whether they were in the congregation or the male-only priesthood. Until 1971, when women were first ordained as deacons, the highest post a woman could attain was member of the vestry, the elected group that manages parish business. But even that was uncommon; usually the highest ranking woman in the parish was the leader of the altar guild, which arranges the flowers in the church, sets up the Eucharistic vessels and washes and irons the linens used in the service. Women could not be priests because — according to the reasoning that had held for two millenniums — none of the apostles was a woman. This made as much sense as saying that, as none of the apostles was a scholar, scholars could not be priests, or that because all the apostles were Jews, only Jews could be ordained.

In 1977, I interviewed one of the controversial new priests, the Rev. Carol Anderson, for an Esquire article, and thought she was simply marvelous. Twelve years later, as either coincidence or a wave of the hand of God, she arrived as the new rector of my now nominal parish, All Saints’ in Beverly Hills, and we have become great friends. Oh, and now the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is a woman, Katharine Jefferts Schori.

These changes did not come until I was in my 30s. I had always been deeply devout, an altar boy from age 6, a regular at church camp and then on its summer staff, and the vice president and then the president of our diocese’s Episcopal Young Churchmen. I attended Hobart College, in Geneva, N.Y., which is affiliated with the Episcopal Church, my tuition paid in part by a clergy scholarship. Until well into my 20s, I gave regular consideration to becoming a priest myself.

I had a good model in my father, a man of immense humor who understood the frailties of humanity and who annually challenged his faith by reading agnostics from Thomas Huxley to George Bernard Shaw. He was a solid defender of Anglican orthodoxy and the guidance of the New Testament, but he also believed that every bit of Christian teaching could be summed up in three words: God is love. “The miracles,” he once told me, “are window dressing.”

Love. Treat others as you would have them treat you. If you feel you are a child of God, then honor your common and equal status with others as children of God. Except (and there are always exceptions with sibling rivalry) if they are women and therefore not qualified to perform the holiest sacraments of the church. Except if two members of the same sex engage in long, committed and faithful love; God may be love, but this love is ungodly.
Just look, some vigilant Christians say, at the “clear teaching” in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (“Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers — none of these will inherit the kingdom of God.”); in 1 Timothy 1:9-11 (“The law is laid down ... for the unholy and profane ... for murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God.”); and especially in Romans 1:26b-27 (“Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.”)

I know that this will offend some Christians, but the notion that Scripture is perfectly clear is wishful thinking, as a recent white paper prepared by the All Saints’ clergy demonstrates. The writers of the four Gospels don’t agree on even so simple a thing as which people were present at Christ’s empty tomb. Considering that, over the centuries, the Bible has been translated into and out of multiple languages, it only makes sense to consider the context of what’s written rather than believe that every word is literal divine revelation. In rebuttal to the notion of a clear teaching of Scripture, the evangelical author and speaker Tony Campolo has said that “sodomites” is a word of dubious translation. “Nobody knows what the word means,” he said. “Interestingly enough, up until the 14th century it was translated as masturbation.”

Timothy’s reference to sodomites, for its part, is in the context of boys who were castrated to maintain their feminine and childlike characteristics and then exploited for sex — a far cry from two consenting adults of the same sex consummating their committed love.

Today, there is much reference to the supposed Christian teaching that marriage is a sacrament between one man and one woman, but it was not until the 12th century that marriage became a sacrament in the Western church.
Sex, though, has always been a particularly Christian problem. Orthodox Jews are commanded to marry, but the early Christians found celibacy a high calling. St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7 that he wished all Christians could stay single and celibate, as he had. He knew, however, that not everyone could and so he adds, “But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.”

Less quoted than Paul’s advice that it is better to marry than to be engulfed by desire is what he says earlier in the passage: “I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has a particular gift from God, one having one kind and another a different kind.” One having one kind of gift and another a different kind is a pretty good definition of humanity in all our variety, and to me this passage expands the heart of what it means when two people, gay or straight, commit themselves to each other in the sight of a God who understands human differences.

A central tenet of Christianity is that all of us are born into sin. Then, as we grow older, we decide that some of our equals sin more than others, and in far worse ways than we do ourselves. We divine the word of God to mean that the acts we don’t like of others — what they eat, how they pray, whom they fall in love with — are an abomination in his sight, as if we can presume to decide in our own way what pleases God, and therefore what acts should be excluded and whom we can judge and damn in his name.

Exclusion always seems to become part of some people’s faith, though often over time what was excluded becomes accepted, only to be replaced by another ban: People of one denomination can’t marry those in another; people of one color cannot marry those of another.

Among my father’s parishioners in the 1950s were two men in their late 40s who came every Sunday to the 7:30 a.m. communion service and who shared a house. My parents referred to them as “confirmed bachelors,” code words for the love that dare not speak its name. They were kind and gentle men, who to even a 10-year-old obviously had some sort of special and personal bond. I am certain that they were in a loving and committed relationship that the church would then not recognize or bless, but as long as the fiction of their just being two people who happened to live together was maintained, they would continue to be accepted and valued members of the congregation. Which, of course, was well meaning but also hypocritical. Now, a multitude of parishes across the country would openly welcome the couple.

My own faith has eroded over the years, though my father’s belief in the supremacy of love still guides me. And so I can’t help but wonder, how can Christians not recognize and honor love that binds two people, any two people, together unto themselves? And if a priest has fulfilled her sacred duties with the distinction that persuades those to whom she would minister to elect her their bishop, and has led an open life of committed love that honors the essence of their God, why should her choice of a partner matter?

Eric Lax is the author of the forthcoming “Faith, Interrupted: A Spiritual Journey.”

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Faith and Works

2010-01-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

Someone on one of my lists asked me this:

>I realize that many protestant Churches purport that it is only through Jesus Christ that we are saved and that >his saving grace is given to us freely. That we do not need to do anything to be received in heaven but to >express our believe that Jesus Christ is our savior. I gather from your writing that the EO church is more like the >RCC in its view of salvation. Is that correct?

I am not exactly sure what you are asking me. What the RCC has always taught about salvation is that it is only through the RCC that a person can ever really know God and be saved.

What you describe as Protestant sounds more like Evangelical to me. There are various forms of Protestantism and they would not all express their views of salvation in the same way.

>If you believe as the RCC and from what you have said the EO church that we are to perform works for Christ >then we are saved. The end result for both of these is "good works." Is it really important the reason that the >person performs good works? Just curious what your thoughts are on this issue.

First of all let me be very clear: I do not know what *you* mean by the RCC view of salvation. I don't think you defined it. Secondly my understanding of the RCC view of salvation, which I was taught as a child and still hold in RCC today is that it only through the RCC mediation of the Gospel that anyone will be saved and I utterly reject that.

I am a sacramentalist. I believe very strongly in sacraments and their efficacy. One way a person can embrace salvation is through baptism. By baptism I mean not only the bits with water and oil but also all the questions, statements and prayers that form the entire rite. We move from rejecting Satan and all his works to the water and oil and then straight to promises of good works.

Why are good works important? Is this your question? Please correct me if I am misunderstanding you, please.

If that is your question, then I would say that I believe good works are important because they are a gift of love we give to God. Faith and good works are flip sides of the same coin. Here is what I deeply believe: when we truly open ourselves to God's love, we are so filled with it that it just plain overflows the limits of our flesh and spills out in ways that benefit others.

In every relationship of love, those who love have 2 choices. They can choose that which limits the love that keep it from growing OR they can choose that which increases and nurtures the love. Good works are what increases and nurtures the love and they are also the result of love. They are the impetus of love.

"Faith without works is dead" because faith without works is not faith. When we say the Nicene Creed we start off by saying "I believe" which is a very weak translation of the Latin credo which is more properly translated as "I give my heart to." When we give our hearts to someone, we find the ways to show the beloved they have our hearts. Good works is how we show God we love Him.

One of the implications of the Cross is that it is both vertical and horizontal. The hugest good work of all is Jesus dying on the cross. One of the Niebuhrs said "It is only on the cross that a man dies with his arms outstretched." The Romans, the cross was a merely a brutal way to kill someone. Jesus transformed that brutality into love. He dies with his arms arms outstretched to embrace us, to hug us, to draw us nearer to Him. When we accept God's love, we become Jesus' outstretched arms.

What Would Jesus Buy?

2009-12-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

Please forgive me. It is Advent and here in the USA we are bombarded by temptations to buy, buy more, buy even more, buy even yet still more. I get antsy. There are so many hungry, naked, sick, uncared for people in this world and we Americans are so heavily encouraged to ignore them and prove to our wives that we love her by giving her diamonds and prove our love to our children by purchasing every new toy, that I just get queasy. Was reading chap 56 of the Rule of St. Benedict ( http://www.osb.org/rb/ )and reflecting on how the medieval and later abbots abused the porivileges of that chapter. The excesses of medieval abbots at table remind me of the excesses in the USA during Advent.

It's not easy to even recognize them. Just the other day I went to J C Penny's to pick up the new robe I had ordered before Thanksgiving. It's for mom for Christmas. It has been my habit for a number of years to fast from shopping during Advent. It's my own private protest against the commercialization of this holy season. Except for food, medical needs and gas for the car, I buy nothing.

There I was picking up the robe. As I turned to leave I spied with my little eye a display of those roll up piano keyboards and I instantly recognized it as Just The Thing to aid me in chanting the Psalms and Canticles. I am incapable of singing a capella
and have been trying to think how I could have some sort of accompaniment so that I don't assault my own ears with my flat and sharp notes. Particularly the sharps. Oy gevalt. This gizmo costs only $50 and if I happened to have the money, I would have bought it without a second's thought. I avoided that temptation to impulse spend only because my wallet is empty. I don't use credit cards, haven't for 20 or so years.

Why do I call it a temptation when it is Just the Thing and I oh so obviously would put it to a holy use? First of all, it would not have been a prayerful purpose. It would been a knee jerk one. It also would not have been a researched purchase. After all, I do not know how to play the piano. Who could give me lessons (for free) that would allow me to play chant on my keyboard? And then of course, surely I would want to learn to play hymns. The roll up keyboard is indeed Just The Thing, But am I ready to utilize the purchase even if I save up money to purchase it? For that matter, I'd also have to research if it was a good price or not. And then there are all the considerations of which features do I need? Well, all I would want is for it to sound like a piano. But could I even find one just that simple? Betcha one that simple is more expensive than the fancy dancy one I saw in J C Penny's which can apparently imitate all sorts of sounds.

Advent Resources, 2010

2009-11-10T11:50:00.001-08:00

May we have a blessed and Holy Advent

ADVENT RESOURCES
compiled by
Sister Gloriamarie Amalfitano, November 10, 2009

About Advent

Advent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Advent (from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming") is a season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent

The Christian Season of Advent
Information on the Christian Season of Advent from a Protestant perspective, including the meaning of the symbols used to celebrate it and its theological ...
www.crivoice.org/cyadvent.html

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Advent
According to 1907 usage, a period beginning with the Sunday nearest to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle and embracing four Sundays.
www.newadvent.org/cathen/01165a.htm

Advent Conspiracy
[AC] Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption.
www.adventconspiracy.org/

The Season of Advent
Information about the Season of Advent, including what it means, when it starts and ends, how it originated, and how it sets the theme for Christian ...
www.kencollins.com/holy-01.htm

Advent
Why is Advent such an important season in the life of the church? ... The Advent season focuses on Christ's threefold coming: past, present, and future. ...
www.stpaulskingsville.org/advent.htm

Worship - Where Did the Season of Advent Come From?
So where did the season of Advent come from? Here is an attempt at a partial response — going back to the sacred Scriptures and to the early centuries of ...
http://tinyurl.com/5moyfx

Advent: Time to Remember, Time to Prepare
By: MaryJane Pierce Norton
http://www.interpretermagazine.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=7905

The Hungry Spirit: The Habit of Advent: What habits do you have that generate hope?
by Rose Marie Berger
http://tinyurl.com/yd8aeq

Waiting for God by Molly Marsh
http://tinyurl.com/ye84mn

Anglicans Online: Resources for Advent
http://anglicansonline.org/special/advent.html

From the website for the Episcopal Church:
http://tinyurl.com/ygo6pw

Reducing Stress During the Christmas Season

-Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season (Paperback)
by Jo Robinson, Jean C. Staeheli
$10.75 at Amazon http://tinyurl.com/y265py

-Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case For A More Joyful Christmas
by Bill McKibben
Price: $9.60 at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/y8qza9

-Celebrate Simply: Your Guide to Simpler, More Meaningful Holidays and Special Occasions (Paperback)
by Nancy Twigg
Price $11.01 at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/y2nvgv

-Simplify Your Christmas: 100 Ways to Reduce the Stress and Recapture the Joy of the Holidays (Elaine St. James Little Books) by Elaine St. James
Price: $11.66 at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/yy429n

Setting the Christmas Stage Readings for the Advent Season By John Indermark

Are you in perpetual frantic motion during the holidays?
Advent brings a rush of activities that often makes the pre-Christmas season lose its meaning. Taking time for spiritual reflection may seem an unaffordable luxury. Setting the Christmas Stage will help you find rest for the journey, where you'll refocus and thoughfully regain the season.
Indermark looks at the Christmas story as a dramatic and well-known pageant, reminding us of holidays past and present. He provides a dynamic view of how Advent gradually moves the drama forward to the climax of Christmas. Readers will see how the stories flow together into an encounter with God in Christ.
"Envision the scenes, though distant, that may seem as close as home this season," writes Indermark. "Struggle to hear anew the choruses brought by angels and shepherds, magi and martyrs. And watch with parents as words and dreams and birth comes to pass … and as God takes the stage in the child."
Each of the four sections contains reflections that invite connection between the biblical stories and our own spiritual journeys. Appendixes contain suggested carols and where to find them, session outlines for use with small groups, and ideas for family Advent celebrations and observances.
Set the stage, linger with the familiar stories, and truly welcome Christmas this year!
Paperback $11.00  .  Ten or More: $9.35 each 128 Pages  .  Trim Size: 5 1/2" x 8 1/4" ISBN# 0-8358-0947-1  .  Order# 947
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=52546&category=53&sub_category=

Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent By Pamela Hawkins

The subtitle is quite appealing, isn't it? Restoring calm in the midst of Advent.
Reality, though, can intrude. Instead of fostering stillness during the holidays, you're apt to cram it in (eye on the clock) or collapse into a form of it between shopping battles at the mall. Many of us spend Advent out of breath from details of a Christmas that hasn't yet taken place!
You know you need to focus on the spiritual aspects of Advent to internalize the experience of the season. Good intentions sometimes only intensify your stress — especially when the must-have toy is sold out everywhere and when even a quick grocery trip involves rush hour-like traffic snarls.
What if it really wasn't that hard to find more peace, more quiet, more room in your heart for the Christ child to be born? Hawkins will guide you — calmly and simply — through the hustle and bustle of Advent, and you'll come out of the four weeks centered, rested and spiritually renewed.
"The idea for this book arose from my own experience of contemplative prayer, prayer that finds its home not in busy doing or speaking but in becoming, in being," writes Hawkins.
Some Advent titles promise reflective simplicity but actually require a lot of time or reading; Simply Wait is the exception. The exercises are very do-able and focus on anticipation, hope, patience and obedience. Questions and journal space are provided to help you contemplate more fully. This is an ideal individual or small group study; a guide for groups is included.
Instead of doing more and moving faster, find a way to reflect more, worry less and connect authentically to season with the grace-filled wisdom of Simply Wait.
Paperback $12.00  .  Ten or More: $10.20 each 112 Pages  .  Trim Size: 5½" x 8½" ISBN# 978-0-8358-9917-8  .  Order# 9917
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=461406&category=53&sub_category=

Slow Down. Quiet. It's Advent! Poster
A 2009 Advent calendar poster with 25 days and ways to keep faith to keep faith with the season. This calendar for Advent is much more than the place to count down Christmas shopping days. This exciting Advent poster includes suggestions for each day, such as do a good deed, pray, be thoughtful in the holiday rush, write a nice note, or think about the real meaning of Christmas. Slow Down. Quiet. It's Advent! is a gentle--and fun to read--reminder of the true meaning of the season. The Slow Down. Quiet. It's Advent! Poster is sold in packs of 25 for multiple placements around church, in homes, or as gifts for the congregation. 17" x 22" folded to 8-1/2" x 11".
Pack of 25
List Price: $12.00
PAPER ,
ISBN-13: ADVP09

Meditations: Private and/or group

Voices of Advent
Katerina Katsarka Whitley
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2494
Imagine the hushed excitement and the vivid anticipation of a child on Christmas Eve. How much more intense that anticipation must have been for those who waited for the wonder of the very first Christmas. From the ancient prophets to the three kings, from the angel Gabriel to the stalwart Joseph, Katarina Katsarka Whitley imagines their astonishment and joy at the events unfolding around them. In her inimitable style, Whitley places herself in the hearts and minds of the biblical characters–both real and imagined–who played a part in the Christmas narrative. She weaves stories, solidly based in Scripture, at once compelling and thought-provoking. The voices of her characters lead us closer to the Christ Child and deepen the meaning of the season of Advent for twenty-first century readers.
List Price: $12.00 PAPERBACK , 112 , 5.5 x 8.5 Morehouse Publishing ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2125-4

Come, Lord Jesus!
Daily Readings for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany
Geoffrey Rowell and Julien Chilcott-Monk
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=1310
Come, Lord Jesus! invites readers to enter more deeply into the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation of Christ. For each day from the first Sunday of Advent to the Feast of the Epiphany, readings, prayers, and suggestions for daily devotions help readers interact imaginatively with the reactions and feelings of the biblical figures involved with the story of Jesus' birth. Rowell and Chilcott-Monk focus particularly on Mary, her "yes" to God at the Annunciation, and her own journey from Bethlehem to Calvary. The title of the book is a translation of a New Testament prayer, Maranatha!, an expression of the longing, hope, and unity of purpose among the first followers of Christ. At a time of year when commercial pressures threaten to obscure the child in the manger, Come, Lord Jesus! will focus hearts and minds afresh on the miracle of love at work among us.
List Price: $13.00, PAPERBACK , 176 , 5 x 7, Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1964-0

The Light Will Shine: Advent Resource Book
Carol J. Miller
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2449
Discover new light in traditional texts and seasonal themes and find fresh perspectives on the journey through Advent to Christmas and beyond. Designed for 4 or 5 sessions of 60 or 90 minutes. Session themes: Watchful Expectancy; John the Baptizer; The Fulfillment of All Promises; The Dawning of Day; Shine, Jesus, Shine: Epiphany Day.
List Price: $12.00 KIT , 38 ,Morehouse Church Supplies ISBN-13: 978-1-8822-3644-

Let Us Bless the Lord, Year Two: Advent- Holy Week
Meditations on the Daily Office
Barbara Cawthorne Crafton
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=1914
Popular author, retreat leader, and priest Barbara Crafton rises early each morning, lights a candle, opens her Book of Common Prayer, and reads the morning office—the ancient Christian service that praises God at the beginning of a new day. When she is done, Crafton sits down at her computer and sends out an e-mail that says simply, "Let us bless the Lord," the traditional closing line of the morning prayer service. Her devoted readers reply, "Thanks be to God.” Crafton communicates with thousands of subscribers to her daily e-mail meditations. They—and others who say the Daily Offices—will treasure this collection of brief meditations. Based on the assigned biblical texts for each day of Year Two from Advent through Holy Week, Crafton’s writings complement perfectly the morning, noon, evening, and nighttime prayers that are the Daily Offices.
List Price: $19.00, HARDCOVER , 192 , 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1983-1

Let Every Heart Prepare
Meditations for Advent and Christmas
Barbara Cawthorne Crafton
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=1912

For centuries the words and poetry of our hymns have spoken deeply to us. Many people, in fact, find that what is heard in poetry and music sinks deeper into the soul than does ordinary prose. And so it is to the beautiful seasonal hymns that Barbara Cawthorne Crafton turns for inspiration for daily meditations during the great devotional seasons of the church year: Advent/Christmas, and Lent.
List Price: $10.00, PAPERBACK , 96 , 6 x 4.5, Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1755-4

Love Came Down
Anglican Readings for Advent and Christmas
Christopher L. Webber
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=1938
“Easter Day is the center and crown of the Christian year, but no season of that year provides us with richer material for meditation than Advent and the twelve days of Christmas.” So writes Christopher Webber in this thoughtful and inspiring collection of meditations from the most gifted Anglican writers of the past six hundred years.
Love Came Down draws on the best sermons, books, poems, and hymns by these writers, with a reading for every day in Advent and for each of the twelve days of Christmas. Writers include Christina Rossetti, R. W. Church, F. D. Maurice, John Donne, Jeremy Taylor, Madeleine L’Engle, Phillips Brooks, John Keble, William Temple, Thomas Traherne, William Law, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and many others. Brief biographies of the contributors are included.
List Price: $13.00, PAPERBACK , 112 pages , 5.5 x 8.5, Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1898-8

Run, Shepherds, Run
Poems for Advent and Christmas
L. William Countryman
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2333
The Advent season is filled with rich themes that have fascinated poets. In Run, Shepherds, Run, Bill Countryman presents a poem a day for devotional reading during Advent and theTwelve Days of Christmas. Readers will find classic poets they know and love, including George Herbert, John Donne, Christina Rossetti, Emily Dickinson, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, as well as contemporary poets, known and unknown. Run, Shepherds, Run includes helpful hints for reading poetry, for those who have less experience reading it than others, as well as useful annotations to help readers with older language that may not have easily apparent meanings for today's readers.
List Price: $13.00, PAPERBACK , 112 , 5 x 7, Morehouse Publishing ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2151-3

Our December Hearts
Meditations for Advent & Christmas
Anne McConney
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2039

"The Advent walkabout is not an easy journey, nor was meant to be. This journey leads into the deeps of our own being. It is an opening of portals we have taken care to keep closed, a letting in of the knowledge and doubt and pain without which there can be no letting in of Christ, the child whose touch blesses, burns, heals and transfigures. The Advent walkabout cannot be for the faint-hearted for it demands extravagant courage and uncompromising honesty. It begins today. It ends at the manger that is not merely a pretty story but the transforming reality of God." - from the First Sunday in Advent. What does it mean to be human in this season of waiting, asks Anne McConney in Our December Hearts. And what does it mean to believe that God became human? This collection of meditations for the season of Advent examines--in sometimes serious and sometimes humorous fashion—the various emotions that the Advent and Christmas stories stir in us: hope, trust, compassion, as well as fear, doubt, and grief. In language drenched in poetry, Anne McConney explores what it means to gaze into the mystery that is the Incarnation
List Price: $12.00 PAPERBACK , 112 , 5.5 x 8.5 Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1786-8

Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Advent and Christmas with Charles Wesley
Paul Wesley Chilcote
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2645

Advent and Christmas meditations based on the seasonal hymns of Charles Wesley. Each daily meditation, keyed to the scripture reading for the day and portions of Wesley's texts, concludes with a brief prayer based on the day's theme. Reflective material place Wesley within his rich Anglican heritage. Daily readings are between 500/600 words in length.
List Price: $14.00
PAPERBACK , 128 pp , 5.5 x 8.5, Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2250-3

Waiting in Joyful Hope 2009-2010
Daily Reflections for Advent & Christmas
Robert F. Morneau
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=7390

Based on Scripture, these brief daily meditations and prayers for each of the days of Advent and Christmas 2009-2010 make an excellent companion and guide for one of the Church’s most holy seasons. This pocket-sized book is a popular gift for churches to provide for each of their parishioners during the Advent season to encourage them to prepare spiritually for the feast of Christ’s birth.
List Price: $2.00 PAPERBACK , 108 pages , 4 x 5.125 Morehouse Publishing Oct/2009 ISBN-13: 9780819223661

Songs in Waiting: Spiritual Reflections on Christ’s Birth
Paul-Gordon Chandler
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=6591

There remains a constant need for new perspectives on the liturgical church seasons in order to keep them spiritually fresh and to bring them to life in new ways. This book will enable Christian readers to experience a new depth in their faith journey as they celebrate the season of Advent.
This is a short book of spiritual meditations for the Advent season on the four “Middle Eastern” songs sung around the birth of Jesus: canticles that play an important role in the liturgical worship of the church over the centuries. These canticles include: the Song of Mary (Magnificat), Song of Zechariah (Benedictus), Song of the Angels (Gloria), and Song of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis). The devotions emphasize the Middle Eastern cultural elements of these songs.

List Price: $20.00
HARDCOVER , 112 pp , 5 x 7
Morehouse Publishing, Jul/2009 ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2360-9

The Uncluttered Heart: Making Room for God During Advent and Christmas
By Beth A. Richardson
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=645281&ep_id=4001

God is waiting for you to remember.
Advent is a time to prepare our lives — hearts, minds and spirits — for the coming of the Christ child. We sweep out the corners of our hearts, cleaning up the clutter, to make space for God's hope, peace, joy, love and presence.
Great plan, poor execution.
"Advent is often the busiest time of the year," writes Richardson. "And yet, we are called to make time and space to prepare our lives for the coming of the Christ child. What a challenge. …No matter how busy we may become, God is waiting to break through our endless tasks and distractions to remind us that we are not alone."
The Uncluttered Heart offers four weeks of guided reflection through the weeks of Advent on through Epiphany. Each day provides a
• quotation
• scripture passage
• reflection
• prayer
Stop and connect with God this Christmas. Remember God as much as you can. Even unplanned pauses such as watching a child laugh at Santa's post in the mall remind you of God's presence and help you maintain a true center in this holy time. This practice is a skill developed over time and learned over a lifetime. And the gifts are bountiful.
This book includes a study guide for groups. To take the uncluttered season a digital step further, go to www.unclutteredheart.org and sign up for free inspirational Advent text messages and emails from the author.
Paperback $13.00  .  Ten or More: $11.05 each 128 Pages  .  Trim Size: 5½" x 8½" ISBN# 978-0-8358-9994-9  .  Order# 9994
"Seeing through God's Eyes - Daily Readings for Advent" from Forward
Movement, by Cynthia Caruso, 47 pages, softcover, c. 2009, $3

[Forward Movement] Cynthia Caruso invites us to spend Advent looking at our world the way God does in our 2009 book of Advent meditations, asking us to "pretend you are God, walking through own town, our state, our country, the world ... to look at the world as if you had created it in love."

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

"The Womb of Advent" from Church Publishing, Inc., by Mark
Bozzuti-Jones, 114 pages, paperback, c. 2007, $13

[Church Publishing, Inc.] This talented and imaginative writer offers a unique perspective on the season of Advent. Along with Scripture readings and prayers, he offers four weeks of meditations that focus on the growth of Jesus in the womb of Mary as he approaches the day of his birth, learns his mother's voice, responds to the presence of light and dark, and begins to position himself for birth. What does this teach us about our own spiritual journey through Advent? That waiting and preparation is essential to the Christian life. By reflecting on our own birth experiences and Jesus's own progress through the womb, Christians learn how to remain intimate with God, how to approach the light, and how to get ready for new birth in Christ.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit
your local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

"From Holidays to Holy Days - A Benedictine Walk through Advent" from
Church Publishing, Inc., by Albert Holtz, O.S.B., 127 pages, paperback,
c. 2008, $16

Rather than criticizing trappings of the holiday season, this book looks at them from the viewpoint of Christian contemplation, once aptly described as "a long, loving look at the real." The author, a Benedictine monk who lives in the center of downtown Newark, New Jersey, invites the reader to join him on his daily walks as he points out dozens of often-unnoticed connections between our holidays and the spiritual meaning of Advent and Christmas. In a string of colored lights, a crowd of shoppers, or the window of a toy store, he uncovers such traditional Advent themes as watchful waiting, repentance, and selfless love. On the bustling sidewalks, he introduces us to
Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Jesus himself, all speaking their ancient Advent and Christmas messages of peace and hope and good will.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

"Between Two Worlds - Daily Readings for Advent" from Cowley
Publications, by Kate Moorehead, foreword by Barbara C. Crafton, 130
pages, paperback, c. 2003, $9.95

[Cowley Publications] Advent -- the season in which we prepare for the coming of the Savior -- provokes a certain ambivalence among modern believers. We know that Christ has come in the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth, and we live anticipating his return, knowing that our true home is one which he has gone ahead to prepare for us. In the meantime, we are left living between those two worlds. Moorehead uses the witness of the scriptures, her wealth of experience in long years of ministry, and the wisdom of her own life of prayer to guide us in praying the ambiguity of living faithfully between "here and now" and "there and then."

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit
your local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

"Light to the Darkness" from Church Publishing, Inc., by Katerina
Whitley, 140 pages, paperback, c. 2008, $18

Light to the Darkness is a fresh interpretation of the well-loved Advent tradition of Lessons and Carols. Replacing the usual scriptural readings from the Old and New Testaments
are first-person dramatic monologues based on these and other passages of scripture. Special emphasis is given to the role of the prophets, pointing the way to the Messiah and offering guidance to the Hebrew people, while providing very contemporary guidance for the 21st-century.

With a reading for each day of Advent, churches can choose pieces for their services of Lessons and Carols, while individuals can use the book for private devotions. Suggested music for these services is also included, encompassing a broad range of selections to accommodate parishes' needs and abilities.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

Variety of Pamphlets
http://forwardmovement.org/index.php?page=shop.browse&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=75

Advent with Evelyn Underhill
Edited by Christopher L. Webber
Publisher: Church Publishing, Inc.
Details: 86 pages, paperback, c. 2006, $12.95

Description: For generations, readers have found in the writings of Evelyn Underhill the guidance to help them deepen their own interior lives in the Christian mystical tradition. In this lovely volulme, Anglican author and editor Christopher Webber has carefully selected inspirational passages from Underhill’s most significant works, providing readings for every day of Advent.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

The Womb of Advent
By Mark Bozzuti-Jones
Publisher: Church Publishing, Inc.
Details: 114 pages, paperback, c. 2007, $13

Description: This talented and imaginative writer offers a unique perspective on the season of Advent. Along with Scripture readings and prayers, he offers four weeks of meditations that focus on the growth of Jesus in the womb of Mary as he approaches the day of his birth, learns his mother's voice, responds to the presence of light and dark, and begins to position himself for birth. What does this teach us about our own spiritual journey through Advent? That waiting and preparation is essential to the Christian life. By reflecting on our own birth experiences and Jesus's own progress through the womb, Christians learn how to remain intimate with God, how to approach the light, and how to get ready for new birth in Christ.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

Advent 2008: Hearing God Through the Noise
by Albert Kennington
http://www.forwardmovement.org/showbook.cfm?prodid=1978

Our 2008 booklet of Advent meditations calls us to pay careful attention to listen for the still small voice of God amidst the winter cold, holiday busyness and loneliness, and all other problems and distractions of this world that seek to overwhelm us.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

Lo! He Comes: Meditations on Advent Hymns & Carols
by FM Editors
http://www.forwardmovement.org/showbook.cfm?prodid=1873

Lo! He Comes explores the preparation, anticipation, and joy found in some of the most popular Advent hymns and carols. These reflections, written by the Forward Movement editors, bring to life the Word made flesh through a daily examination of the deeper meanings found in these classic musical texts.

The featured hymns and carols include "O come, O come, Emmanuel," "Hills of the north, rejoice," "Lo! He comes with clouds descending," the Magnificat, and "Of the Father's love begotten."

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

Advent Adventure
by Alison Gibson
http://www.forwardmovement.org/showbook.cfm?prodid=1813

This undated collection of inspiring meditations, will guide and challenge daily from Advent Sunday through Christmas Day, placing the focus on our Savior's birth. Inviting us into a time of self-examination and reflection, these meditations help us welcome the new Church Year by reminding us of the joy found in the gift of new beginnings.

Alert for Signs: Seeing and Praying through Advent
by Titus Presler
http://www.forwardmovement.org/showbook.cfm?prodid=1940

This Advent book of meditations examines God as a sign-giver, longing to be in touch with us through all the designs and textures of our lives. Titus Presler, Sub-Dean of General Theological Seminary, reflects on experience in parish ministry and the world church to explore how we can cultivate an alertness for signs of God's presence in our lives.

Simply Wait
Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent
By Pamela Hawkins
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=461406

The subtitle is quite appealing, isn't it? Restoring calm in the midst of Advent.

Reality, though, can intrude. Instead of fostering stillness during the holidays, you're apt to cram it in (eye on the clock) or collapse into a form of it between shopping battles at the mall. Many of us spend Advent out of breath from details of a Christmas that hasn't yet taken place!

You know you need to focus on the spiritual aspects of Advent to internalize the experience of the season. Good intentions sometimes only intensify your stress especially when the must-have toy is sold out everywhere and when even a quick grocery trip involves rush hour-like traffic snarls.

What if it really wasn't that hard to find more peace, more quiet, more room in your heart for the Christ child to be born? Hawkins will guide you calmly and simply through the hustle and bustle of Advent, and you'll come out of the four weeks centered, rested and spiritually renewed.

"The idea for this book arose from my own experience of contemplative prayer, prayer that finds its home not in busy doing or speaking but in becoming, in being," writes Hawkins.

Some Advent titles promise reflective simplicity but actually require a lot of time or reading; Simply Wait is the exception. The exercises are very do-able and focus on anticipation, hope, patience and obedience. Questions and journal space are provided to help you contemplate more fully. This is an ideal individual or small group study; a guide for groups is included.

Instead of doing more and moving faster, find a way to reflect more, worry less and connect authentically to season with the grace-filled wisdom of Simply Wait.

Paperback
$12.00 . Ten or More: $10.20 each
112 Pages . Trim Size: 5" x 8"
ISBN# 978-0-8358-9917-8 . Order# 9917

Reflections of Messiah
Contemporary Advent Meditations Inspired by Handel
By Jim Melchiorre
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=133229

Looking for a Stimulating Advent Study for Groups or for Personal Use?

If guilt creeps into your holiday cheer, you're not alone. Advent is the time to prepare for the arrival of the Messiah, yet most of us instead are swept away by the hyper-busyness of the holidays.

Melchiorre has found a personal antidote in Handel's Messiah. One holiday season, he turned to the familiar music and text to find solace from rampant consumerism. This simple exercise led him to find a way to intentionally observe Advent. His words will help you too.

Melchiorre read the scriptures on which the great oratorio is based as he listened to the music. He was inspired to explore the message of Messiah for contemporary American society. As a journalist in New York City, Melchiorre is accustomed to writing about what surrounds him. What he wrote is full of fresh understandings of the prophetic mission of the Christ.

In short meditations for all the days of Advent plus Christmas Day, Melchiorre reflects a passionate understanding of Jesus. Each meditation includes

* a scripture verse (often the same scriptures Handel used in Messiah)
* a powerful story about a contemporary person or event
* a brief prayer
* reflection questions for individuals or groups

Melchiorre reminds us that the work of the Messiah always has and always will be to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.

If you're looking for a challenging, thought-provoking resource to help you live expectantly and intentionally in anticipation of the Messiah, you won't want to miss this book.

Paperback
$12.00 . Ten or More: $10.20 each
128 Pages . Trim Size: 5" x 7 1/4"
ISBN# 0-8358-9856-3 . Order# 9856

Expecting the Unexpected
An Advent Devotional Guide
By Blair Gilmer Meeks
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=318075

"Fear not," the angel said at Advent. The power of God is coming .

Fear of terrorism, rumors of epidemic, the pressures of consumerism. Are today's anxieties shrinking your Christmas spirit, your sense of joy, your purpose, your song?

This Advent, expect the unexpected.

Reconnect with the Christmas story, the arrival of Christ's biblical message of hope and healing for this world.

Expecting the Unexpected is a spiritual feast for mind and imagination. Use it each day of the four-week Advent season. Open it and find:

* vivid day-by-day biblical images and reflections on Jesus life and message
* small-group discussion themes and prayers
* a featured weekly Christmas hymn by Charles Wesley, whose lyrics ("Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and others) witness to a faith of gusto and courage

"I often wonder how we can decorate our tree, haul out the nativity set, sing 'Away in a Manger' once or twice, pack it all away again, and think we have celebrated Christmas adequately," writes Meeks. "The season holds so much more for us. God's work through Jesus Christ only begins in the manger. Our joy in God's gift of Jesus to us should be part of our lives every day."

With Meeks as your companion and guide, reclaim excitement and refreshment. Expect Christs reign in your life today.

Christmas is just the beginning.

Paperback
$13.00 . Ten or More: $11.05 each
128 Pages . Trim Size: 5 1/2" x 8 1/4"
ISBN# 978-0-8358-1004-6 . Order# 1004

Lighted Windows
Advent Reflections for a World in Waiting
By Margaret Silf
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=192807

Have you ever read Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Matchgirl?" (If not, go here.) In the story, a poor little girl sees marvelous visions of the small luxuries life has denied her whenever she strikes a match.

Sometimes it takes looking at familiar seasons from a different perspective to be inspired again by the event. This book will help you look into your own "lighted windows" to rediscover "God with us" this Advent. Silf's observations are like the windows of an Advent calendar, leading you closer to the mystery that is born in Bethlehem.

Join Silf on a 37-day pilgrimage from the first day of Advent through Epiphany. Each daily meditation includes

* a brief scripture passage
* a thought-provoking commentary
* guidance through a spiritual exercise
* a closing prayer

During the first three weeks of the book's journey, you'll glimpse evidence of God's guidance and wisdom. During Christmas week, the "windows" open wide, inviting us to the heart of the mystery of God's coming to earth. As the readings move to the fifth week, the windows turn into doors, through which we're sent back into the waiting and wounded world.

Silf writes, "[This book is intended] as an invitation to connect the God-story with your story and your circumstances in a way that makes a difference so that 'God with us' becomes 'God with you.'"

For readers who want to make the Advent journey with a group, Lighted Windows contains a five-session, small-group discussion guide within the book.

Paperback
$13.00 . Ten or More: $11.05 each
160 Pages . ISBN# 0-83558-9886-5
Order# 9886

Child of the Light
Walking Through Advent & Christmas
By Beth A. Richardson
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=259338

If the Christmas season has become more of a chaotic consumer ritual rather than a nurturing spiritual one, you need this brilliant "Advent Survival Guide!"

If you set aside just 10 minutes per day, Child of the Light will help you find your quiet center amid the stressful flurry of the November/December busyness. As you read the book's brief readings inspired by the season's carols and hymns, your spirit will be lifted, and your thoughts will be redirected to the purpose of the season: preparing for the coming.

"Take time for God: that's exactly the challenge God gives us during this season of preparation," writes Richardson. "Personally and culturally this time of year already seems to race out of control toward a Christmas finish line. In Advent, we are invited to take time out. [In] doing so, we nurture our spiritual self, that sometimes fragile part of us who longs for a connection with God."

The reflections extend past Christmas to Epiphany, January 6, encouraging you to live into the joy of Christmas beyond traditional seasonal celebrations.

A small-group guide is included among the daily meditations, recommended spiritual disciplines for the week, reflection questions, and leader helps. The use of hymns and carols will engage even the most non-musical among us to fully appreciate the lyrical richness of the season.

Long for a more sacred and measured observance this year? Be joyfully carried through the pre- and post-Christmas pandemonium as a child of the light!

Need suggestions on how to use Child of the Light with choirs? Download this. (Free Adobe Reader required.) Hazve to go to the URL above for the download.

Paperback
$12.00 . Ten or More: $10.20 each
112 Pages . Trim Size: 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
ISBN# 0-8358-9816-4 . Order# 9816

While We Wait
Living the Questions of Advent
By Mary Lou Redding
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=90595

Sometimes we struggle to believe we'll experience anything new as Advent comes around. What could we possibly learn that we haven't seen or heard before?

If you're looking for an Advent study of a different slant, While We Wait: Living the Questions of Advent offers new ways of connecting the story with your own questions of faith and approaches an all-too-familiar narrative from perspectives we may have missed.

You'll read about biblical figures mentioned in passing in the "original" Advent. Somewhat surprisingly, Tamar, Ruth, Mary, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and the Magi ask questions that resonate with contemporary Christians.

"I hope While We Wait will help people who don't want to gloss over their questions about the Christmas story," writes Redding. "This book examines Advent as a journey in which God seeks us at many levels of our understanding and spiritual willingness. It allows for real-life struggles and questions as a part of Advent's spiritual exploration."

Designed as a complete Advent study, this book offers readers or groups

* unique perspectives on the events of Christmas
* complete plans for small-group sessions
* a fifth session for the week of Epiphany
* daily scripture reading and reflection questions
* an introduction to the spiritual discipline of breath prayer

What are the questions you bring to God this season?

Paperback w/lay-flat binding
$12.00 . Ten or More: $10.20 each
136 Pages . Trim Size: 7 5/16" x 9 1/4"
ISBN# 0-8358-0982-X . Order# 982

Setting the Christmas Stage
Readings for the Advent Season
By John Indermark
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=52546

Are you in perpetual frantic motion during the holidays?

Advent brings a rush of activities that often makes the pre-Christmas season lose its meaning. Taking time for spiritual reflection may seem an unaffordable luxury. Setting the Christmas Stage will help you find rest for the journey, where you'll refocus and thoughfully regain the season.

Indermark looks at the Christmas story as a dramatic and well-known pageant, reminding us of holidays past and present. He provides a dynamic view of how Advent gradually moves the drama forward to the climax of Christmas. Readers will see how the stories flow together into an encounter with God in Christ.

"Envision the scenes, though distant, that may seem as close as home this season," writes Indermark. "Struggle to hear anew the choruses brought by angels and shepherds, magi and martyrs. And watch with parents as words and dreams and birth comes to pass and as God takes the stage in the child."

Each of the four sections contains reflections that invite connection between the biblical stories and our own spiritual journeys. Appendixes contain suggested carols and where to find them, session outlines for use with small groups, and ideas for family Advent celebrations and observances.

Set the stage, linger with the familiar stories, and truly welcome Christmas this year!

Paperback
$11.00 . Ten or More: $9.35 each
128 Pages . Trim Size: 5 1/2" x 8 1/4"
ISBN# 0-8358-0947-1 . Order# 947

In My Heart I Carry a Star
Stories for Advent
By Derek Maul
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=577693

What's a tree doing in my living room?

Have you ever found yourself reclining in your favorite chair on a cold December evening, a cup of coffee poised on your lap, staring at the Christmas tree in the corner and wondering that very thing?

Whether you're an observant Christian who loves the meaning and celebration of the season or a burned-out one, In My Heart I Carry A Star is a devotional-story almanac to understand and appreciate the possibilities Christmas offers. No matter where you are spiritually, Christ desires to bless you with an Advent journey overflowing with expectation and peace and life and hope and love.

"This is my prayer," writes Maul, "that in the midst of all the wonder, and the bustle, and the peace, and the constant performance art that is December, the Jesus who makes my life necessarily uncomfortable at times will work God's inexorable way out of the margins and into the heart of Christmas Present for each of us."

Derek Maul is a great storyteller. Along with a knack for commenting on life with wit and humor, he recognizes God's grace in the midst of it all. The stories within this book reveal the light to be found in the season's swirl of festivities, stresses, memories and difficult realities.

Paperback
$14.00 . Ten or More: $11.90 each
144 Pages . Trim Size: 6" x 9"
ISBN# 978-0-8358-9966-6 . Order# 9966

The Vigil
Keeping Watch in the Season of Christ's Coming
By Wendy M. Wright
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=12515

"Our entire lives are a vigil, a keeping watch, for the fulfillment of our hope. But it is especially in this season, the season of the coming, that we rise on tiptoes to dance. We open our throats to sing and to proclaim this vigil that we keep."

Watch a child's eyes light up when seeing the lights that go up in the first days of December. There's definitely something magical about the season, and it goes beyond the bright sparkling bulbs. It's about expectancy and hope and mystery and wonder.

The Vigil will help you enter more prayerfully into the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Mixing classical, contemporary, and personal stories, Wright's narrative will reawaken the wonder of the waiting.

In captivating, lyrical prose, Wright weaves together threads of the liturgical calendar, traditional Christmas themes, and scripture.

A thought-provoking study for small groups or a delightful gift for those with whom we share the waiting and the watching in the season of hope, The Vigil is a blessed companion in the seasons.

This book is also available in the Wendy Wright Seasonal Trilogy.

Paperback
$12.00 . Ten or More: $10.20 each
176 Pages . Trim Size: 5" x 8"
ISBN# 978-0-8358-0661-8 . Order# 661

On the Way to Bethlehem
Reflections on Christmas for Every Day in Advent
By Hilary McDowell
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=12694

Through richly creative, thoughtful meditations, McDowell invites us to travel imaginatively to Bethlehem to thrust off unnecessary emotional luggage, to smell the hay in the stable, and to interact with the wise men. Six weeks of meditations take us on a spiritual journey that engages both heart and mind and lands us gently at our final destination, at home in the presence of Christ.

If you struggle to eliminate the busyness of the Christmas season and find time to prepare yourself for the coming of the Christ child, this title offers help. Experience the incarnation in a dramatic, fresh, and life-changing way. McDowell brings the Advent journey to life, and offers you a better understanding of Christ in our lives.

Paperback
$13.00 . Ten or More: $11.05 each
160 Pages . ISBN# 0-8358-0920-X
Order# 920

Biblical Meditations for Advent and the Christmas Season
By Carroll Stuhlmueller
http://tinyurl.com/64u6lw

Daily Bible readings for each weekday and Sunday of each of three church-year cycles are summarized. Reflections for each day are given, based on scriptural scholarship.

The Magnificat Advent Companion

Advent is the sacred season of anticipation and expectation in which we prepare for the coming of our blessed Savior. To live Advent is to live in an awareness of a Presence that changes our lives. The Magnificat Advent Companion is a rich spiritual guide that will accompany you daily through the 4 weeks of this holy season. It provides original daily reflections based on the Scriptures of the Mass for each day of Advent written by some of the finest Catholic writers in the world. In addition, it offers superb essays, devotions, prayers, and other liturgical and spiritual aids to guide and enrich the reader's experience of Advent. This invaluable booklet will bring you ever closer to the Infant King. 85 pages; Paperback (Item #88854) $3.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/chadvbooks.html

Prepare Him Room: Advent for Busy Christians

This collection of 14 reflections, based on the scriptural birth narratives and applied to contemporary life, empower busy Christians to re-focus on the true meaning of the Advent season. Written by popular author Mary Latela, these gentle meditations are aimed at helping readers recall and reconnect with Jesus through the Christmas story. A wonderful personal companion for the Advent season and a marvelous way to awaken the Christmas spirit in your home! (Item #81333) $5.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/chadvbooks.html

Living the Days of Advent and the Christmas Season 2008
http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/chadvbooks.html

This collection of daily reflections a perennial favorite of our readers is an ideal way to prepare for Advent. Instead of being a month of increasing stress, with the help of this book Advent can be a quiet season reflection on the miracle that God has come to us, will come, and is already with us now. For each day the author includes a selection from scripture or the divine office, a brief meditation, and a prayer. Together they help the hassles and trivialities of the season fall away to reveal the real and unchanging meaning beneath. Provides a page a day uncovering the rich meanings of the scriptures and Feasts of these two seasons. Features:--handy tear-out, page-a-day format.--runs from the First Sunday of Advent to the Baptism of the Lord, noting feast days and holy days.--simple, evocative line drawings. Paperback. (Item #84722) $3.95

Waiting in Joyful Hope:Daily Reflections for Advent & Christmas, 2008-2009
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

In the especially busy season of Advent and Christmas, Bishop Robert helps us pause and prepare spiritually for the coming of Christ. Waiting in Joyful Hope, though a little book, is a treasure of down-to-earth and yet deeply meaningful reflections that bring prayer and Scripture into everyday life in a thought-provoking and lasting way. Through Morneaus insightful reflections on Scripture readings from the daily Mass, readers will grow in their understanding of the Word of God. Small enough to fit in a pocket or purse, this book is perfect for busy people who wish to enrich their personal prayer life during the seasons of Advent and Christmas. (Item #84009) $2.00

Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Henri J. M. Nouwen
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Daily Scripture and Prayers Together with Nouwen's Own Words

The inspiring words of Henri J. M. Nouwen guide the faithful on a spiritual journey through the Advent and Christmas season in this book of waiting, hope, anticipation, and celebration. Each day of the Advent season (28 in all, to accommodate the varying number of days in the season) and each day of Christmas (12 in all, ending with Jesus' baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist) contain a pertinent excerpt from the writings of Father Nouwen, a related quotation from Scripture, a prayer for the day, and a suggested activity that offers a concrete response to mark the season.

Advent and Christmas Wisdom is indeed an easy-to-use, daily program to celebrate the momentous arrival of the Christ Child and the joyous news of our salvation. It is also an ideal book for the individual seeking active participation in the season and a renewal of faith for the start of the liturgical year. (Item #84078) $9.95

Day by Day in Advent

Provides a scripture reading, reflection, and prayer for each day in Advent. This devotional makes each day's devotion become a link in an Advent word chain. The chain marks the passing of time as we wait for Christ's coming. Paperback. 32 pages. (Item #81844) $5.99
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Padre Pio

Daily Scripture and Prayers Together With Saint Pio of Pietrelcina's Own Words
Padre Pio was one of the most beloved and intriguing holy men of the 20th century. In this book his own words lead readers to Christmas with a heightened sense of the sacred. Reflections for each day--from the first Sunday of Advent until the end of the Christmas season--begin with selections from letters and messages of Padre Pio, followed by Scripture, prayer, a suggestion for an appropriate seasonal activity, and blessings.

Advent and Christmas Wisdom is ideal for those who want to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ's Incarnation as they prepare room in their hearts for his birth. During this joyous season readers can experience the special closeness to God that Padre Pio felt. 112-page paperback 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 (Item #87386) $9.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Advent and Christmas with Fulton Sheen

Beginning with the first day of Advent and continuing through the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, these selections from the immortal pen of Fulton J. Sheen encourage readers to explore the essence and promise of the season. Those looking to grow in their prayer life and become more attuned to the joy of Advent and Christmas will find a wonderful guide in this spiritual companion. (Item #84200) $9.95 http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Advent and Christmas with Thomas Merton

Reflections for each day of Advent and the Christmas season begin with a scriptural quotation and continue with a thought from the writings of Thomas Merton on a timely theme: the Incarnation, anticipation, angels, and many more. An appendix includes a suggested plan for using each days meditation as part of a morning or evening prayer. (Item #84368) $9.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Life is for Living: Advent Reflections
Joan Chittister, OSB
Prepare your heart for a new birth into Christ with these wise and penetrating reflections. This 50-page booklet includes writings by Joan Chittister for each week of Advent and Christmas as well as poems and quotations from other spiritual writers.

PERFECT FOR
- prayer groups
- religious education classes
- parishes
- family prayer time

http://tinyurl.com/ylrcgr
Benetvision
50 pages

Item #B070
Quantity / Price
1 - 9 $5.00
10 - 24 $4.50
25 - 99 $4.00
100 + $3.00

"O Come Emmanuel: A Musical Tour of Readings for Advent & Christmas" from Paraclete Press, by Gordon Giles, 176 pages, paperback, c. 2006, $14.95

Make Christmas special this year by exploring the legends, message, and theology behind some of your favorite carols and hymns. This book of daily devotions will take you from December 1 to January 6, from the first days of Advent, through Christmas, ending at Epiphany. Each day, Gordon Giles invites you to draw closer to God through spiritual and historical explorations of beloved, familiar music.

As you read and reflect, you will be asked to consider the meaning of some of the famous Christmas carols that we sometimes sing without a passing thought. You will be introduced to obscure saints as well as living poets and musicians of faith, and you will hear the timeless truths of love and forgiveness, pain and loss, darkness and light.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org or call 800-903-5544
For Families:

What We Do in Advent
An Anglican Kids' Activity Book
Anne E. Kitch
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2521
Fun-filled activity book for kids ages 4 to 7 shows how to make an Advent wreath, help Mary and Joseph find their way to Bethlehem, and count the gifts the Magi bring to the Christ Child. Filled with mazes, crossword puzzles, connect-the-dots, and word searches. A great way for kids and their parents to focus on the true meaning of the Advent and Christmas seasons. An invaluable resource for families and Christian formation teams alike.
List Price: $8.00 PAPERBACK , 48 , 8.5 x 11, Morehouse Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2195-7

Teach Us to Number Our Days
A Liturgical Advent Calendar
Barbara Dee Baumgarten
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=2436
This practical handbook for homes and church communities helps to enrich the Christian celebration of Advent through the creation and use of an Advent calendar. Written for people of all skill levels, Baumgarten provides instructions for a calendar made of paper or junk mail, a no-sew felt version, and a fabric version for more advanced sewers.
Teach Us To Number Our Days, however, is more than a simple crafts book. Baumgarten provides readers with a brief history of the development of Advent in the Christian calendar, as well as detailed explanations of the various Christian symbols that can be used during the season. Paying attention to both the Old and New Testament symbols, as well as the Sundays of Advent and the Great ‘O’ Antiphons from December 17-23, this book is a complete guide to Advent for individuals, families, and churches.
List Price: $14.00 PAPERBACK , 160 pages , 8.5 x 11 Morehouse Publishing ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-1765-3

Best of Blessings: Advent, Christmas, & Epiphany
by Ginny Arthur, Editor
http://www.forwardmovement.org/showbook.cfm?prodid=1509

A collection of reproducible resource material to inspire lively worship. Offers a variety of creative activities for children of all ages and for children and adults together. Includes resources for church school sessions, a holy day children's event, and worship plans. From the Anglican Book Centre.

Includes a CD-ROM of reproducible materials.

Sessions and Events include:

Our Church Family: Caring and Sharing
A one-evening session for all ages

Circles of Light and Life
A 2-hour event for all ages

The Jesse Tree Gathers the People
A 10-minute addition to the Sunday morning liturgy

A Jesse Tree Celebration
An all-age eucharist featuring the Jesse tree

The Mouse Ministries Christmas
Christmas workshop for families with young children

A Birthday Party for Jesus
A 1-hour worship experience for children aged 5 and younger

The Kings and I
A 45-minute program for children in church school

Feast of the Kings
A one-evening session for all ages

The Fir Tree
Several sessions for all ages with follow up at worship

Advent Family Prayers

Perfect for uniting families in prayers of thanks and inspiration, this double-sided, table-tent prayer card offers families a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time of devotion together while celebrating the arrival of Jesus. This prayer card commemorates the reason God sent Jesus to earth, and in doing so, reveals the warmth and love that God freely gives to us all.

Size: 14" x 8-1/2"; fold to 3-1/2" x 8-1/2"; double-sided. (Item #81335) $1.50
http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/chadvbooks.html

Absolutely Advent! 2008

No time of year is more exciting for children than the weeks and days leading up to Christmas. Now Absolutely Advent! can give them a new understanding of what the expectation and excitement, the celebration and joy are all about.

Absolutely Advent! helps children enter more fully into the real spirit of this special Church season − even as they are distracted by Christmas commercials, music, and decorations.

A page a day, November 30 through December 24, provides young readers with a paraphrase or quote from the day's Gospel, a brief exploration about what that message means for them today, and a game, puzzle, or activity to reinforce the learning.

In the primary edition, Levi the Lamb returns for another year with his adventures in verse. The Jesse tree - a favorite Advent activity - is a weekly feature in this year's intermediate edition. It's a fun way to learn about Jesus' ancestors and the role they played in our salvation history.

You'll want all children in your program to have a copy of this engaging new book. Deeply discounted pricing is available for larger quantities. 32 page, 6"x9"

Primary Grades (Item #87261) $8.95
Grades 4-8 (Item #87260) $8.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/CHRISTMAS/chadvbooks.html

Every Day of Advent and Christmas Year A: A Book of Activities for Children

Children in grades 3, 4, & 5 will love the games, puzzles, mazes, and activities designed to help them focus on the themes and traditions of the Advent season. Packed with colorful illustrations, Every Day of Advent and Christmas includes an Advent calendar to help children focus day by day on the meaning of Advent and Christmas in a way they are sure to enjoy and remember.
32 page booklet; 8.5 x 11 (Item #87489) $2.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Advent Is for Children: Stories, Activities, Prayers

Through creative lessons, unique activities, games, and puzzles, this book gives children a better understanding of how and why they celebrate Advent. It helps kids remember that Christmas isn't all glitter and wrapping -- Christmas is about Christ! Ideal for classroom use. For grades 3-5. (Item #81258) $4.95

Advent with Saint Nicholas DVD
by Allison Berger

Customs from Around the World
Puzzled by the classic pre-Christmas rush, nine-year-old
Holly wonders about the spirit of Advent. She receives help
from an unexpected source when a surprise visitor appears and
helps her find the message and the meaning of Advent in
popular Advent/Christmas customs. (Item #95656) $19.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

The Jesse Tree: Stories and Symbols of Advent

Study Jesus' family tree by decorating a Jesse Tree. For each day during Advent there is a Bible reading, prayer, and color symbol that can be hung on the Jesse Tree. Paperback. 64 pages. (Item #84633) $9.99 .
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Jesse Tree Kit
An Advent Project for Family, Classroom or Parish
Written and illustrated by Lynn M. Simms and Betsy Walker

Three-piece kit. This kit offers two options designed to make the Jesse Tree project accessible to any family, class or parish. Option 1: Provides instructions to prepare an actual tree with designs for do-it-yourself three-dimensional ornaments.
Option 2: Provides a Jesse Tree Poster with pre-drawn ornaments to be colored and attached. Kit also includes a short history of the Jesse Tree, suggested Scripture verses for each ornament, and a Jesse Tree prayer service. (Item #88154) $10.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

101 Things to Do for Christmas

A colorful, fun-filled book, packed with exciting projects that can be kept and enjoyed or given as gifts to family and friends. Creative, colorful craft projects ranging from "Edible Boxes" and "Lace Chain Garlands" to "Jingle Bell Socks" and a "Paper Tube Nativity" make this book the perfect gift for children at Christmas time. All projects are shown in clearly illustrated, step-by-step stages, making them both fun and educational. Each activity includes a checklist of materials, most of which are inexpensive and readily available from craft or variety storesor from your own household supplies. Paperback. 64 pages.
(Item #84629) $10.99
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Before and After Christmas

Debbie Trafton O'Neal offers a treasury of ideas and activities for celebrating the days before Christmas, and also things to do after the Christmas tree is taken down. Specific activities, including crafts, service projects, and family worship ideas, are included for each day in Advent and through the twelve days of Christmas. In addition, each day offers a Bible passage for reading together. Full-color illustrations bring the text to life and make completing the activities a snap! Includes a punch-out Christmas ornament. Paperback. 64 pages. (Item #84631) $10.99 http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? 2006 - Ecumenical Version
http://www.simpleliving.org/

Our most widely read resource! Simplifying Advent and Christmas for families, individuals and congregations. 32 pages in full color. New each year.

TABLE of CONTENTS

• What Happened to Christmas?
• Why a Simpler Christmas?
• Let Us Have a Truly Christ-like Christmas
• Top 10 Uses of “Whose Birthday?”
• Going Beyond “Whose Birthday?”
• Alternative Giving

INSPIRING REFLECTIONS
• The Spirit of St. Nicholas
• My Hand-Make Advent Wreath
• I Am a Recovering Christmas Hater
• Strangers Invited in for Christmas
• A Christmas Cow
• Putting Christ in Christmas
• Christmas Dinner
• “Posada sin Fronteras” (Shelter without Borders)

FUN ACTIVITIES
• There’s a Camel in our Bathroom!
• Giving Circles
• Gifts of Kindness
• Reducing Christmas Chaos
• Enough, Already!
• Christmas Year-round
• Discover NO COST Gifts!
• New Cards from Old
• Peace in Any Language
• St. Nicholas on Parade
• New Christmas Traditions You Can Share

Music for Advent:

Advent
The Gregorian Singers
Monte Mason
http://www.churchpublishing.org/products/index.cfm?fuseaction=productDetail&productID=331

Monte Mason and the Gregorian Singers of Minneapolis present a concert of music not limited to the liturgical confines of the season of Advent, but which expounds on the concept of advent and includes themes from Christmas and Epiphany. Not only do we hear Advent standards such as "Creator of the Stars of Night" and "St. Olaf's Sequence," but we are also treated to a rare performance of Hugo Distler's Christmas Story based on the music "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming" and several unpublished original carols written by members of the Singers. Plainsong, hymns, and anthems alike make up a varied and engaging performance. Listen especially to the beautiful arrangement of the gospel hymn "Softly and Tenderly" which has become the signature piece by the Gregorian Singers. Recorded in the live acoustic of two cathedrals, St. Mark's in Minneapolis and St. Paul's in St. Paul, the Gregorian Singers are supported by the Ascension Youth Choir, the Consort of Viols, and an Orff Ensemble and Instrumentalists.
List Price: $18.00 Church Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0-89869-433-

The Upper Room Book of Christmas Carols (Revised Edition)

Just in Time for Seasonal Rehearsals
Can you imagine Advent and Christmas without the beloved, familiar carols?
Music nurtures the soul, triggers memories, and stirs emotions. Carols seem all the more special because they're not sung every day. That creates a problem, though: Who can remember all the verses and arrangements?
With the revised edition of The Upper Room Book of Christmas Carols, you'll never have to hum everything past the first verse (until the chorus) again!
Still compact enough to carry or slip into a music folder, this booklet has the words and music to favorite carols in a larger size than the previous best-selling edition. The musical arrangements are singer-friendly and include accompaniment for both guitar and piano.
Featuring an array of beloved seasonal hymns that reflect a diversity of origin, language, and theology, this carol book is perfect for your church members and choir. Suggestions for a special carol service are also included.
Whether you're a veteran or in-private-only musician, The Upper Room Book of Christmas Carols will become a family or congregational treasure used each year. Even if singing is not your strength, the words of the songs are beautiful poetry.
Through classics like "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "Deck the Halls," you'll transcend the materialistic frenzy to more joyously and authentically celebrate the season in song!
Paperback $2.50  .  Ten or More: $2.13 each 35 Pages  .  Trim Size: 6" x 9" ISBN# 0-8358-9897-0  .  Order# 9897
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=196942&category=53&sub_category=

The Night of the Child CD
Highlights Read by the Author with Musical Accompaniment
By Robert Benson, Carol McClure
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=53358

Blending word and carols, The Night of the Child CD offers a spiritual feast and oasis this Advent season.

Author Robert Benson reads highlights from his book The Night of the Child with musical interludes provided by Carol McClure, master harpist and composer. Benson and McClure's moving collaboration relates Christ's birth as inspired by scripture and the Nativity collection of The Upper Room Chapel and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

The poignant text and exalting music recount the story of the Incarnation and how it shapes our lives especially as we prepare our hearts for the night of the Child in the midst of seasonal busyness. (Hear sample Real Audio files by clicking the links under List of Tracks.)

Selections from these beloved Christmas carols are woven among the spoken text:

Carol of the Child
Angels We Have Heard on High
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
Lo How a Rose E'vr Blooming
Jesus Our Brother, Kind and Good
I Wonder as I Wander
O Little Town of Bethlehem
What Child Is This?
O Come, O Come Immanuel
The Angel Gabriel
How Far Is It to Bethlehem
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light
Hodie Christus Natus Est
Czech Carol
Silent Night

Sorry, this item is excluded from special promotional discounts.

CD
$13.99 . Ten or More: $11.89 each
ISBN# 0-8358-0966-8 . Order# 966

Jesse Tree

Written to be used during an Advent prayer service involving children, Jesse Tree is a simple but powerful song linking the four weeks of Advent. For example, the first week tells the stories of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. Jesse Tree is a "cumulative song, like The Twelve Days of Christmas. Each refrain gets progressively longer, until, by the final week, the children are able to mentally "step back and see the whole amazing story of salvation. The song is intended to be used along with the presentation of symbols, which are placed on the Jesse Tree by the children.

The full score, used by the leader, keyboard player, and cantor, contains the full music: vocals, keyboard, guitar chord symbols, bass, flute, and handbells. (A separate edition is planned for guitar and bass, which will also include a simplified piano part ideal for a student. Separate parts will also be available for flute and handbells.) The full-score edition also contains introductory material about the different ways the song can be used, along with four complete Advent paraliturgies.

The Singers Edition contains the parts that are to be sung by the participants. (Cantor verses are found only in the full score.)

Jesse Tree is sure to enhance the joyful season of Advent for your children for years to come.

Full Score (Item #71547) $9.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

In Dulci Jubilo: Music for Advent and Christmas
http://www.amazon.com/Dulci-Jubilo-Music-Advent-Christmas/dp/B0000030YV

The Word Is Born: Music for Advent and Christmas
by Francis Patrick O'Brien
Label: GIA Publications
http://www.audiolunchbox.com/album?a=37274

Music for Advent
http://theshop.gracecathedral.org/Music_for_Advent_p/mus-007.htm

A wonderful CD that helps you celebrate Advent as you prepare for Christmas.

To hear a short sample from this CD (Hark! A thrilling voice), click below.

John Fenstermaker, Christopher Putnam, and the Choir of Men and Boys combine their talents to bring you:

* Palestrina: Matin Responsory; Rorate cæli de super.
* Howells: A spotless rose.
* Handl: Aspiciens a longe
* Prætorius/Distler: Lo! How a rose
* Basque carol: The Angel Gabriel
* Fenstermaker: Come quickly, Lord Jesus
* Gibbons: This is the record of John
* Bullock: St. John Baptist
* Bach: Zion Hört die Wächter singen
* Wood: O thou, the central orb
* Plainsong: Veni Emmanuel
* Rorate cæli de super
* Magnificat
* Hymns
o Come, thou redeemer
o Hark! A thrilling voice
o Creator of the stars
o On Jordan’s bank
* Sowerby: Prelude on Veni Emmanuel (organ solo)

Nativity Sets:

The Night of the Child
Photographs from The Upper Room Museum Nativity Collection
By Robert Benson
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=55656

While Supplies Last! Wonderful Christmas Gift Idea

Blending word and image, The Night of the Child offers a spiritual feast for the mind and heart, the eye and ear. Scripture, thoughtful text, and detailed photographic images from the Nativity Collection of The Upper Room Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, provide a new and fresh approach to the wonder of Incarnation.

Over many years The Upper Room Museum has collected Nativity sets from donors from around the world. These visual reminders of the birth of Jesus teach us that the love of God knows no boundaries. The Nativity sets represent many cultures and nations. The variety of materials range from clay to gourds, thorn wood to porcelain to a coconut shell and a starfish. The Night of the Child shows us these Nativity scenes and offers such detailed images that we see in the isolated details a word of proclamation coming from an American Southwest Joseph, serenity radiating from a Bolivian Mary, wisdom from Korean magi, joy from those who visit the baby Jesus. These visual details connect us with sisters and brothers in Christ from around the world and in many different eras.

Robert Benson's thoughtful reflection provides a spiritual oasis in the midst of the busyness of the Christmas season. Benson moves us to see God's promise and the faith, hope, and love that we know in the birth of Jesus.

A CD featuring Benson reading portions of the book with musical interludes by Carol McClure, master harpist is also available.

Hardback w/Dustjacket
$25.00 . Ten or More: $21.25 each
134 Pages . Trim Size: 8" x 9"
ISBN# 0-8358-0948-X . Order# 948

Stations of the Crib

In the tradition of the Stations of the Cross, Joseph Nassal leads us through 15 Stations of the Crib, a journey to the manger and the mission that lies beyond it. Drawn from the infancy narratives in Luke and Matthew, these poetic reflections are filled with stories, images and insights that entertain, enlighten and engage. Each Station illumines a different aspect of the story of Jesus' birth, reflecting the reality of "God in our midst" at the different stations of our own life journeys. Leading us to our "down-to-earth God," Stations of the Crib reminds us how hope is born right here, right now, in each of our worlds, and challenges us even in the face of turmoil, tragedy and terrorism to embrace, celebrate and live out our call to Advent hope. Paperback. 144 pages. (Item #80813) $13.95
http://www.catholicsupply.com/christmas/chadvbooks.html

How To Arrange A Nativity Set
Learn how to arrange the nativity set according to the meaning behind each piece .
www.nativitysets.com/

Internet Resources:

Online Resources for Advent Activities

-Advent and Christmas
Advent. The season to prepare for the coming of the baby Jesus on Christmas - God with us, who as an adult would show Himself as the executed Christ and ...
www.spirithome.com/advent.html

Advent and Christmas Resources
http://www.catholicmom.com/advent.htm

-Advent
An excellent set of planning helps and articles about Advent from the United Methodist Church General Board of Discipleship. ...
www.textweek.com/advent.htm

Advent Resources
http://anglicansonline.org/special/advent.html

-The Holy Season of Advent
Advent. Advent · Advent Wreath · Jesse Tree · Advent House & Calendar · Manger Scene · Christmas · Christmastime & Epiphany.
www.ewtn.com/devotionals/advent/index.htm

-The Christmas Story Advent Coloring Book. Print out these 24 coloring pages with quotations from Luke (first 15 pages) and Matthew (last 9 pages) to ...
www.dltk-bible.com/advent/

-Advent and Christmas: Prayers and Customs
Along with the Advent Season, Christmas time is rich in traditions which, despite modern commercial exploitation, still stir our hearts and imagination. ...
www.cptryon.org/prayer/adx/

-Advent Prayers - Advent Wreath - Advent Collects
The gradual lighting of the four candles, one on each Suday of the Advent season , combined with the liturgical colors of the candles (purple is the ...
www.wf-f.org/ADVPray.html

-What is Advent in relation to Christmas 2008?
The meaning behind the Season of Advent in England, including information about advent wreaths and advent calendars.
www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/advent.html - 23k

-Lift Up Your Hearts
Advent, Christmas & Epiphany Resources
Bookmark http://www.worship.ca/

-An Advent Calendar
http://fullhomelydivinity.org/articles/Advent%20Calendar/advent%20calendar.htm
http://fullhomelydivinity.org/articles/Nicholas%20Ferrar.htm
http://fullhomelydivinity.org/articles/Twelve%20Days%20of%20Christmas%20full%20page.htm

-Alternatives for Simple Living
at http://www.simpleliving.org/
This Christian organization offers many resources to scale down our style of living so that we can give more toward feeding the hngry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, providing for those unable to provide for themselves while making disciples of all nations.

Advent and Christmas resources
http://peace.mennolink.org/advent.html

Online Meditations

Praying Advent
to see all the resources for Advent and Christmas, including those that are added ... This site offers simple ways to enter into this Advent season, ...
www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Advent/

Advent to Epiphany: Catholic Christmas Season 2008
A Catholic Christmas feature with a 2008 Advent calendar updated daily from Advent through Christmas to Epiphany.
www.americancatholic.org/Features/christmas/

Advent & Christmas quotations
Advent & Christmas quotations. ... Following is a compendium of Advent and Christmas reflections that I have collected for your own use in making straight ...
www.appleseeds.org/Christmas-quotes.htm

http://www.byzantines.net/feasts/christmas/advent1.htm

http://www.byzcath.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2019&Itemid=1

Sayings of the Desert Christians: Abba John the Dwarf 6

2009-09-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_John_the_Dwarf

Abba Poemen said of Abba John the Dwarf that he had prayed God to take his passions away from him so that he might become free from care. He went and told an old man this; 'I find myself in peace, without an enemy,' he said. The old man said to him, 'Go beseech God to stir up warfare so that you may regain the affliction and humility that you used to have, for it is by warfare that the soul makes progress.' So he besought God and when warfare came, he no longer prayed that it might be taken away, but said, 'Lord, give me strength for the fight.'

Some thoughts:

Abba John really wanted to be free of care. We read the other day about how he wanted to be like the angels, free of care. Have to admit, it sounds good to me.

A theme that used to be more common in science fiction than it is today was utopian societies. These stories were all pretty boring until some outside force impacts on the utopia. Without conflict, a story would not be interesting. I have heard more than one Christian tell me that heaven sounds like a boring place where nothing ever happens. I tell them that I think we can't begin to envision what it will be like to see God face to face and how that will so fill us up.

Abba John's mentor knew that in order to grow, in order to prevent vanity and pride, we need conflict in our lives to remind us of how much we need to rely on Jesus and not ou

Stand Firm at it again

2009-09-28T11:06:00.001-07:00

The following is posted with permission of the author as you will see in the body of his letter. It was originally posted to the email list House of Bishops and Deputies of the Episcopal Church on Set 28, 2009:

This morning Stand Firm posted an article by Susan Hey in which she reflects on an article from a spurious "Episcopal Majority" which references a number of derogatory pieces on me, Lisa Fox and several Episcopal Majority writers.

The site from which Sarah got the article is a sham site which was set up to malign the Episcopal Majority site (with our writers which included Ernest Cockrell, Mark Harris, Bill Coats, David Fly, Christopher Webber and a host of prominent lay people, clergy and bishops (and one primate)). Apparently, when some extreme dissidents saw that a broad range of people were forming "The Episcopal Majority," they quickly paid for the domain "episcopalmajority.org" so most early searches would send people to their defamatory articles. We were left with "episcopalmajority.blogspot.com"

Since I and others from the real Episcopal Majority have been blocked from responding to this kind of article - or anything casting aspersions on us, I hope someone with posting privileges there will forward this to Sarah, Greg or Matthew there. On the other hand, they regularly read things here. I hereby grant them permission to reprint this post.

SFIF - ordinary courtesy requires that when you provide links to defamatory articles about someone, you need to provide those defamed sufficient access to correct the defaming remarks.

Tom Woodward

This is my reply:

Did Stand Firm request permission to use this material elsewhere, I wonder? I have been thinking about their habit of lifting material without permission to post on their website. Have they ever heard of the copyright laws? Not only is it discourteous and disrespectful to quote someone's stuff without permission, it is also illegal as it violated the original author's copyright. Is Stand Firm above the laws of the land?

Someone on HoB/D said a while back that he thought it was "silly" to have to ask permission to quote material from this list. It's really immaterial whether or not a law is silly. Is it silly to have to stop at a stop sign when no one is coming the other way? Is it silly to wait for a red light to change to green when there is no one else on the street? Do we really have the authority to decide which laws we will obey and which we will not?

As for your own point quoted above, Tom. I would interpret the block to mean they don't want to hear from those with whom they disagree. It's a pity because sociologists have demonstrated many times that when a group of people eliminate those other voices with whom they disagree, that group only closes in upon itself and becomes more and more extreme until they are fanatics.

Religious fanatics who are extremely to the right, no matter what religion, have more in common with all other religious fanatics of other religions than they have with their own religion. We see commonalities between those Christians who kill those who perform or assist in abortions, bomb clinics and those who have attacked our nation. In both cases, their extreme religious right views lead them to believe they serve a higher purpose and the laws don't apply to them. We call such people terrorists.

It is because of this sociological truth that it is imperative that we Anglicans learn to agree to disagree. It is crucial that we continue to listen to each other with mutual respect and validation. Humility is vital in that all of us need to remember that any of us could be mistaken about anything. No matter how clearly we think we read Scripture, hear the voice of our beloved Lord in prayer, we are but human and we might be wrong. None of us are God and none of us can know the mind of God. Thank God we have Jesus, that's as close as we will ever get to knowing the mind of God and in 2000 years we haven't gotten that perfect.

I don't know why there is such a fuss about allowing every single baptized and confirmed Episcopalian to the full life of the church. I really don't. I do, however, accept that there are those who disagree. As long as the conversation demonstrates mutual respect and validation, I'll talk to anyone. But as soon as someone, no matter which "side" of any debate falls into insult, no matter how clever, my side of the conversation is over.

Sayings of the Desert Christians: Abba John the Dwarf 5

2009-09-28T11:03:00.001-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_John_the_Dwarf

It was said of him (Abba John the Dwarf) that one day he was weaving rope for two baskets, but he made it into one without noticing, until it had reached the wall, because his spirit was occupied in contemplation.

Some thoughts:

Have you ever experienced this? When work and prayer blend?

Once there was this blessed day when I was on retreat and I was asked to help out by folding some of a stack of paper and slipping each folded piece into a plastic bag. The paper I folded was instructions on how to pray the Anglican Rosary and I was doing the preliminary work for shipping them out.

In the early afternoon just after lunch I took the box of materials into the library and sat at the table under the window where I looked out onto the property and watched the guinea hens as they scoured the yard for bugs, ticks, etc. Guinea hens are talkative birds. "Where are you? Where are you?" "Over here. Over here." "Here's a good spot. Here's a good spot." "I'm alone. You left me. I'm alone. You left me." "Here we are. We're sorry. Here we are. We're sorry." That seemed to be the burden of their conversations. As I watched the birds and prayed, I got lost in my head as if time stopped and there was only the glorious day, God's creation and the perpetual motion of the guinea hens. The best I can say was that I was in a Now. It ended only when Sister put her hand on my shoulder. She had been trying to get my attention to come to dinner.

As for the box of paper... I had folded all of it and put all of it into those plastic bags and without ever really knowing I was doing it. They had enough ready for 2 years worth of shipping, they told me. Sister also scolded me as I should have stopped the work for some afternoon prayer. I felt the whole afternoon was prayer. That day I learned that work and prayer can merge and blend. It often happens when I am knitting

Sayings of the Desert Christians: Abba John the Dwarf 4

2009-09-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

from:http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_John_the_Dwarf

Some brethren came one day to test him to see whether he would let his thoughts get dissipated and speak of the things of this world. They said to him 'We give thanks to God that this year there has been much rain and the palm trees have been able to drink, and their shoots have grown, and the brethren have found manual work.' Abba John said to them, 'So it is when the Holy Spirit descends into the hearts of men; they are renewed and they put forth leaves in the fear of God.'

Some thoughts:

It seems mean to lay a trap for another person, does it not? What motivated them? Meanness? Curiosity? Wonder that someone could truly fix his thoughts on God 100% of the time? What a good test. The monks out there in the desert would be dependent on the weather and they needed work in order to buy food. How much time do we spend talking about the weather and our jobs? Important stuff.

Look at John's answer. It is a wonderful comparison with the rain and the Holy Spirit. How is that John is able to make that connection instead of responding in kind? It's as if his silent meditation is something more the absence of words. It's as if his silence is more like an attitude, intention or habit of his heart. His hermitage is not merely his physical surroundings. His true hermitage is his heart and so he takes his hermitage and his silence with him wherever he goes. He has learned to create silence within by doing without all the inward chatter.

I read a great book on this very subject a number of years ago: _Hermitage of the Heart_ by a Carthusian monk. I recommend it to all. Also if you are able to find it, _The Call of Silent Love_ by a Carthusian monk. "A Carthusian monk" is listed as the name of the authors on my copies. These books are part of the Carthusian Novice Series.

Sayings of the Desert Christians: Abba John the Dwarf 3

2009-09-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_John_the_Dwarf

One day when he was sitting in front of the church, the brethren were consulting him about their thoughts. One of the old men who saw it became a prey to jealousy and said to him, 'John, your vessel is full of poison.' Abba John said to him, 'That is very true, Abba; and you have said that when you only see the outside, but if you were able to see the inside, too, what would you say then?'

Some thoughts:

This is a curious little saying. The jealous monk says a really horrible thing to Abba John who doesn't do a thing to defend himself but instead agrees with him, implying that what is on the surface is only the beginning.

I don't know about you, but if someone said that to me, my 1st instinct would not be to agree. My 1st instinct would be to get angry and want to defend myself against such abuse. There is a great to be said, though, for just agreeing, letting go, not getting into the argument and not getting all invested in someone else's opinion of me. I think it is a healthier response for all concerned.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba John the Dwarf 1

2009-09-21T09:22:00.001-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_John_the_Dwarf

It was said of Abba John the Dwarf that he withdrew and lived in the desert at Scetis with an old man of Thebes. His Abba, taking a piece of dry wood, planted it and said to him, 'Water it every day with a bottle of water, until it bears fruit.' Now the water was so far away that he had to leave in the evening and return the following morning. At the end of three years the wood came to life and bore fruit. Then the old man took some of the fruit and carried it to the church saying to the brethren, 'Take and eat the fruit of obedience.'

Some thoughts:

There are lots of Sayings of Abba John the Dwarf preserved in the collection. I have tried to find some biographical information but have not.

This is one of those extraordinary Sayings that is so hard to believe. From a practical standpoint, it seems impossible. Spend the entire night walking to and from the water source to water a piece of dry wood and to do this for 3 years? Where did the other monks get their water? If the monks were to pray in their cells all day, when would John have slept?

Such considerations lead me to believe this is a bit of hagiography. My feelings about hagiography is that it is metaphor and I have a suspicion it was understood to be metaphor back in the day. This Saying is a wonderful metaphor for obedience. The Desert Christians were big on obedience. Obedience is a great way to learn humility.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for September 21, 2009

2009-09-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

January 21, May 22, September 21

Chapter 4: What Are the Instruments of Good Works

To fulfill God's commandments daily in one's deeds.
To love chastity.
To hate no one.
Not to be jealous, not to harbor envy.
Not to love contention.
To beware of haughtiness.
And to respect the seniors.
To love the juniors.
To pray for one's enemies in the love of Christ.
To make peace with one's adversary before the sun sets.
And never to despair of God's mercy.
These, then, are the tools of the spiritual craft.
If we employ them unceasingly day and night,
and return them on the Day of Judgment,
our compensation from the Lord
will be that wage He has promised:
"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Cor. 2:9).

Now the workshop
in which we shall diligently execute all these tasks
is the enclosure of the monastery
and stability in the community.

Some thoughts:

There are those who criticize the Benedictine way as an ivory tower with no engagement with the world. I would maintain that a life of prayer engages one with the world in a way too deep for words. Ch 4 of the RB is about as practical as anything I've ever read. If we Christians could absorb ch 4 and make it part of our very marrow, the so-called ivory tower way would transform the world. Ok, not a very profound or original thought, but true nonetheless. The 1st 2 instruments of good works are to love God and to love one's neighbor as one's self. The remaining 70 instruments are commentary on the 1st 2. They tell us how to accomplish 1 & 2.

Evelyn Underhill wrote, and this is a bad paraphrase, that the love we share with God is genuine, it will overflow the bounds of our human flesh and pour out to all of humanity. The RB is a school for learning to love God and neighbor in this manner. I call that engaging with the world

Stand Firm in Faith: Theft of what does not belong to them

2009-09-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

I am kibitzer on the House of Bishops and Deputies email list. There are few rules on that list: Be Nice and ask permission before you use elsewhere that which has been posted to that list. Every once in a while one of the so –called Progressives writes that someone has lifted, without permission, something someone wrote and posted it to the blog, Stand Firm in Faith.

The people of Stand Firm in Faith represent themselves as being the real Episcopalians. They believe they hold to the truth of the Gospel and the rest of us are misguided or deluded. The question I raise is this: if they are such good Christians, why is that they steal the material they lift from HoB/D? They consider themselves more pure than those of us who would deny no baptized and confirmed Episcopalian from any office or rite we have. So why is it that the rules don’t apply to them?

What I also don’t understand is why those who run that blog, Stand Firm in Faith, tolerate the theft. I don’t understand why they don’t remove the posting privileges of those who disrespect the rules of HoB/D.

The other thing that gets to me about the Stand Firm in Faith people is their stinginess with the grace of God. It is God’s free gift, offered to all of humanity. They steal the email to HoB/D, quote out of context, twist and distort the text in order to continue to attempt to deny every baptized and confirmed Episcopalian from any office or rite we have.

Some wrote to me recently of a desire to keep listening to see if there is any way inside that Stand Firm mindset that can unravel the maze of the way they think. I too have often been amazed or appalled at the huge differences in the way we think about issues. It’s as if we have at least 2 different paradigms at work and they are so different that we can’t find the common ground.

Sometimes it seems to be the very bottom line is anthropological. How we view humanity. I think there are 2 basic ways to do this and they involve what we think happened to the Imagio Dei at the Fall. Now, I don’t know if there was a literal Fall or not, but it is a useful metaphor.

There are those that believe the Imagio Dei was shattered and will only be restored on Judgment Day. This is pretty much the Protestant or Reformed view.

There are also those who believe that the Imagio Dei was distorted, sort of like the mirrors in the so-called Fun Houses. This is the catholic view. The image of God is there and it is intact but it is bent outta shape. As we live our lives as Christians, the Image is always being put back into shape.

These two views of what happened to the Imagio Dei are fundamental presuppositions which determine everything else. Yes, I've over-simplified but it seems valid to me. Which view one adheres to will determine how one prays, preaches, and treats other people. They are so opposed to each other that I don’t know if any reconciliation of the two paradigms is possible.

The Stand Firm in Faith people are among those who believe the Imagio Dei to be shattered. Those with Reformed views believe it is possible to lose one's salvation or to discover that one was never among the elect in the first place. They have their propositional truths, true Truth, their Systematics, all to find a way to reassure them that they are among the elect and who is not. This is why they seem stingy to the rest of us. I am convinced of it.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Isidore the Priest

2009-09-16T11:16:00.001-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Isidore_the_priest

(Abba Isidore the priest) said, 'If you fast regularly, do not be inflated with pride, but if you think highly of yourself because of it, then you had better eat meat. It is better for a man to eat meat than to be inflated with pride and to glorify himself.'

Some thoughts:

Abba Isidore the priest and the Abba Isidore we just read think alike. The latter Isidore wrote "He also said, 'The heights of humility are great and so are the depths of boasting; I advise you to attend to the first and not to fall into the second.'"

How easy it is to fall into these traps. The last 20 or so years we have all been busy recovering our self-esteem and sometimes I think we've gone too far with that. How to find the balance is tricky. To really badly paraphrase C S Lewis, true humility is accepting what you are good at, not pretending to be bad at it and not pretending to better at it than you are.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for September 16, 2009

2009-09-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3: On Calling the Brethren for Counsel

Whenever any important business has to be done
in the monastery,
let the Abbot call together the whole community
and state the matter to be acted upon.
Then, having heard the brethren's advice,
let him turn the matter over in his own mind
and do what he shall judge to be most expedient.
The reason we have said that all should be called for counsel
is that the Lord often reveals to the younger what is best.

Let the brethren give their advice
with all the deference required by humility,
and not presume stubbornly to defend their opinions;
but let the decision rather depend on the Abbot's judgment,
and all submit to whatever he shall decide for their welfare.

However, just as it is proper
for the disciples to obey their master,
so also it is his function
to dispose all things with prudence and justice.

Some thoughts

Benedict's monastics do not live in a dictatorship or oligarchy. The monastic superior can make the final decision but it cannot be made without having first received the advice of the community. When the community is assembled for this purpose, a chapter meeting takes place.

Benet Tvedten writes in _A Share in the Kingdom: A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict for Oblates_ that there was a rime when chapter meetings were more formal than they are now. Each member, beginning with the most senior, took their turn expression their opinion briefly. He says today there is more opportunity for defending their views "obstinately." Anyone may speak repeatedly by simply raising a hand.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Isidore 5

2009-09-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Isidore

For now is the time to labour for the Lord, for salvation is found in the day of affliction: for it is written: 'In your patience gain ye your souls' (Luke 21:19).

Some thoughts:

I don't want my salvation to be found in the day of affliction because who wants affliction? Certainly not I. Affliction, however, is unavoidable. I believe this Saying speaks to how we are in the midst of affliction, how we comport ourselves. There is no point trying to avoid affliction as it will surely find us in some manner, shape or form. Who we are in the midst of it, how we behave as we endure, whether we turn to the Lord to help us... these all speak to our characters and whether we are willing to have the Lord shape them.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Isidore 4

2009-09-13T08:38:00.001-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Isidore

He also said, 'The heights of humility are great and so are the depths of boasting; I advise you to attend to the first and not to fall into the second.'

Some thoughts:

I recently read a novel set in the 14th century, A Vision of Light, about a young woman who had visions and sought to write a book of her experiences. For this she hires a monk to take down her dictation. Br. Gregory is constantly thinking about how far he has come in "his Humility". The thing is, of course, is that while he is a likable fellow, humble he is not.

It is funny how many subtle ways there are to boast. We can even boast without appearing to boast. We all probably want to make a good impression on others and so there are little things we can do to make sure we are noticed, that call attention to ourselves. Somehow we have to let all that go.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Isidore 3

2009-09-11T09:59:00.001-07:00

from:http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Isidore

Abba Isidore of Pelusia) said, 'Prize virtues and do not be the slave of glory; for the former are immortal, while the latter soon fades.'

Some thoughts

What the abba says here is self-evident. We already know this. But oh my, how many are the temptations to be a slave of glory, even in tiny ways like getting all the attention in a small group or standing in line at the Post Office.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for September 10, 2009

2009-09-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

January 10, May 11, September 10

Chapter 2: What Kind of Person the Abbess Ought to Be

Let the Abbess always bear in mind
that at the dread Judgment of God
there will be an examination of these two matters:
her teaching and the obedience of her disciples.
And let the Abbess be sure
that any lack of profit
the master of the house may find in the sheep
will be laid to the blame of the shepherd.
On the other hand,
if the shepherd has bestowed all her pastoral diligence
on a restless, unruly flock
and tried every remedy for their unhealthy behavior,
then she will be acquitted at the Lord's Judgment
and may say to the Lord with the Prophet:
"I have not concealed Your justice within my heart;
Your truth and Your salvation I have declared" (Ps. 39[40]:11).
"But they have despised and rejected me" (Is. 1:2; Ezech. 20:27).
And then finally let death itself, irresistible,
punish those disobedient sheep under her charge.

Some thoughts;

In dealing with the monks, Benedict suggests that the abbot adopt himself to circumstances and characters. A monastery will thrive if it is ruled by a reasonable abbot. Monastic history is full of examples of what did or did not happen under administration of abbots.

I confess, I don't care for the physical punishment of recalcitrant monks. I have to keep reminding myself that up until very very recently physical punishment did take place. And there are parts of the world where it is still being used.

The role of father is only 1 of several that Benedict expects the abbot to fill. The abbot is also judge, master, servant, shepherd, steward, teach and physician. In all these functions the abbot is encouraged to be Christ-like.

The abbot will be judged not only by what he has taught but by how well the monks respond to his teaching. He will have to give an accounting on judgement day. Fortunately for the abbot, Benedict assures him of an acquittal if it has been proved that the monks paid no attention to him. Sometimes parents blame themselves for the way their children turn out. Benedict says don't do that. If you have really tried, you can't be blamed.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Isidore 2

2009-09-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Isidore

Abba Isidore went one day to see Abba Theophilus in Alexandria and when he returned to Scetis the brethren asked him, 'What is going on in the city?' But he said to them, 'Truly, brothers, I did not see the face of anyone there, except that of the archbishop.' Hearing this they were very anxious and said to him, 'Has there been a disaster there, then, Abba?' He said 'Not at all, but the thought of looking at anyone did not get the better of me' At these words they were filled with admiration, and strengthened in their intention of guarding the eyes from all distraction.

Some thoughts

One doesn't have to go too far from the Nile to be in the desert. Scetis and the other communities of hermits were quite near the delta of the Nile so the journey was feasible. Upon his return, the monks are quite naturally quite humanly curious to hear the news. Isidore, though, had practiced the custody of the senses so well that he saw no one except Theophilus.

Now I am none too sure I want to go through life with my eyes cast down so I don't see the beauties of nature or the face of Jesus in a chance encounter. On the other hand, I do deeply admire Isidore's dedication to keep his eyes and minds off of that which was none of his business.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Isidore 1

2009-09-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

from:http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Isidore

(Abba Isidore) said, 'When I was younger and remained in my cell I set no limit to prayer; the night was for me as much the time of prayer as the day.'

Some thoughts:

This is interesting. When he was younger, Isidore says. He would pray at night and during the day. Did he advocate this? Or is he saying that now that he is older he can't pray like that? Or does he think that in his youth he was carried away?

I know in my youth I thought nothing of staying up all night and still be raring to go throughout the whole next day. I wouldn't do that now nor would I recommend it to anyone.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for September 9, 2009

2009-09-09T09:54:00.001-07:00

January 9, May 10, September 9
Chapter 2: What Kind of Person the Abbess Ought to Be
An Abbess who is worthy to be over a monastery
should always remember what she is called,
and live up to the name of Superior.
For she is believed to hold the place of Christ in the monastery,
being called by a name of His,
which is taken from the words of the Apostle:
"You have received a Spirit of adoption ...,
by virtue of which we cry, 'Abba -- Father'" (Rom. 8:15)!

Therefore the Abbess ought not to teach or ordain or command
anything which is against the Lord's precepts;
on the contrary,
her commands and her teaching
should be a leaven of divine justice
kneaded into the minds of her disciples.

Some thoughts:

Chapter 2 of the RB is clearly a guide to parenting. "Abbot" means "father; "abbess" means "mother." It is fair to call the Benedictine life in the monastery as familial. In his book, _A Share in the Kingdom: A Commentary on the Rule of St Benedict for Oblates_, Benet Tvedten talks of some passe customs such as kissing the abbot's ring or kneeling after entering the abbot's office. He says these were some medieval customs which have since been dropped. But even so, the abbot is not "one of the boys", so to speak. Tvedten says "he is the father of sons who are adults and who want to be treated as adults." Tvedten calls this fatherhood an absolute essential to monastic life.

Well, the qualities of the monastic superior are no different from those required in parenting. No Christian parent should ever "teach or ordain or command anything which is against the Lord's precepts." Both the monastic family and the nuclear family use a twofold manner of teaching: words and good examples.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Isaiah 3

2009-09-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

from:http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Isaiah

(Abba Isaiah) also said 'When God wishes to take pity on a soul and it rebels, not bearing anything and doing its own will, he then allows it to suffer that which it does not want, in order that it may seek him again.'

Some thoughts:

God allows us to suffer, which is something we don't want. It's quite true we dislike suffering. OTOH, there are logical consequences to our choices. Some things we suffer through no fault of our own but as a result of living in a fallen sinful world. And some suffering we do bring upon ourselves. It's the latter that we can usually do something about. I'm with Isaiah... the best thing we can ever do is seek God.

I say "seek God". God is of course, right there in front of us all the time holding out His arms to embrace us and welcome us home. But we don't see this and so we have to work through our muddles to get to that place where we can simply say "I believe, help me in my unbelief." I call that muddling through "seeking God."

Rule of St Benedict Reading for September 2, 2009

2009-09-06T08:57:00.001-07:00

January 6, May 7, September 6
Prologue
So we have asked the Lord
who is to dwell in His tent,
and we have heard His commands
to anyone who would dwell there;
it remains for us to fulfill those duties.

Therefore we must prepare our hearts and our bodies
to do battle under the holy obedience of His commands;
and let us ask God
that He be pleased to give us the help of His grace
for anything which our nature finds hardly possible.
And if we want to escape the pains of hell
and attain life everlasting,
then, while there is still time,
while we are still in the body
and are able to fulfill all these things
by the light of this life,
we must hasten to do now
what will profit us for eternity.

Some thoughts:

People took the "pains of hell" more seriously than we do. It was quite the inducement to do good or to make up for the bad one had done. We might do well to re-think how we think about hell. Is it a fiery pit full of perpetually burning bodies? Does it have several layers and each reserved for a specific group of sinners with the torments getting consecutively worse?

I imagine hell to be the absence of God. Since we have immortal souls, something has to happen to all of ours. What would eternity be like separate from God? Fiery pit? The utter cold of outer space? Since the immortal soul is aware, it will have to experience something.

We humans are a resourceful bunch and we can manage to adjust to lots of things. I am diabetic for example, and if I forget to take my meds, I don't feel it right away which in turn does not help me to remember to take them. The changes in my body are slow and I just adapt. In fact, I might not notice for a goodly while. Eventually though I begin to have symptoms. I use my glucometer and then am staggered by what I see there and all the things I ought to have done come rushing back at me.

Our need for God is that basic. Unless we are with God, no matter how well things look on the surface there is a whole lot of other stuff going on that we may never even notice until the changes are so many that they slap us in the face. This is where the RB helps us. It is a regimen to develop the best possible spiritual health. We start it because we must and then as we absorb the RB within us, we do it out of love.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for September 5, 2009

2009-09-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

January 5, May 6, September 5

Prologue

Hence the Lord says in the Gospel,
"Whoever listens to these words of Mine and acts upon them,
I will liken to a wise person
who built a house on rock.
The floods came,
the winds blew and beat against that house,
and it did not fall,
because it had been founded on rock" (Matt. 7:24-25).

Having given us these assurances,
the Lord is waiting every day
for us to respond by our deeds to His holy admonitions.
And the days of this life are lengthened
and a truce granted us for this very reason,
that we may amend our evil ways.
As the Apostle says,
"Do you not know that God's patience is inviting you to repent" (Rom. 2:4)?
For the merciful Lord tells us,
"I desire not the death of the sinner,
but that the sinner should be converted and live" (Ezech. 33:11).

Some thoughts:

Doing what the Lord wants us to do, that's a on a firm foundation. It's not built on the vicisstudes of the latest fad, keeping our options open or the whims of others. One of the things that Benedict stresses is the habit of regular prayer. In the monastery, it's fairly easy to get that habit. The bell rings, the monks cease what they are doing, go to the oratory and pray. For us it is not that simple.

Jeremy Taylor, one of the Caroline Divines, wrote in his _Holy Living_ how we can make prayer habitual:

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/taylor/holy_living.toc.html

17. Set apart some portions of every day for more solemn devotion and religious employment, which be severe in observing: and if variety of employment, or prudent affairs, or civil society, press upon you, yet so order thy rule, that the necessary parts of it be not omitted; and though just occasions may make our prayers shorter, yet let nothing but a violent, sudden, and impatient necessity, make thee, upon any one day, wholly to omit thy morning and evening devotions; which if you be forced to make very short, you may supply and lengthen with ejaculations and short retirements in the day-time, in the midst of your employment or of your company.

Forty Years ago this week the 1st message was sent over the Internet

2009-09-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

Forty years ago this week, the first message was sent over the Internet. 40 years ago, fresh back from Woodstock (40 years ago last month) I didn't know a thing about the Internet and computers were things that took up whole floors at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA.

Well now, the Internet sure has come a long long long way in 40 years. And as I was clicking the buttons on the Hunger site, breast cancer site etc, I was thinking that my own clicks don't amount to a lot. After all, 1.1 cups of food is not enough to live on. Although I suppose it is better than nothing. Not much better, though.

I googled "how many people use the Internet daily worldwide?" Received the answer of: 1,668,870,408. That stat is from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
So I go to thinking... if every Internet user in the world clicked on www.thehungersite.com and all the related sites, collectively Internet users would do a very great deal. Of sure, some people will think "I clicked so I've done enough" and be satisfied with their involvement. They won't have done enough, of course. But maybe habitual clicking would turn out to be a starting place to rethink all of the parts of their lives that contribute to world hunger, abuse and violence of women and children. Once they've rethought, then they'll take action.

It takes maybe 60 seconds to push all the right buttons. It's doable. Everyone has 60 seconds to spare.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Isaiah 1

2009-09-04T08:01:00.001-07:00

from:http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Isaiah

(Abba Isaiah) said to those who were making a good beginning by putting themselves under the direction of the holy Fathers, 'As with purple dye, the first colouring is never lost.' And, 'Just as young shoots are easily trained back and bent, so it is with beginners who live in submission.'

Some thoughts:

The reference to the purple dye would have had a lot more meaning to Abba Isaiah's audience than it does to us. We all probably know that it was the most expensive dye ever made in its time, rare and reserved only for royalty. The dye was so expensive in fact that when the 4th Crusaders sacked Byzantium, no emperor after that could raise sufficient funds to restart the dye works and the process is lost to us. Although attempts are being made to re-discover how they did it.

The source for the dye was a particular sea snail and once the snails were gathered, they were left to rot in large vats causing a hideous stench. Considering that modern sanitation was unknown, the aroma was apparently the most impressively hideous smell.
worse than any other. But once the dye was extracted, and the cloth dipped, the color was gorgeous. The ancients believe too that as the dye aged on the fabric it only became more beautiful.

We can see that being compared to purple dye is one powerful metaphor

Rule of St Benedict Reading for September 3, 2009

2009-09-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

January 3, May 4, September 3

Prologue

And the Lord, seeking his laborer
in the multitude to whom He thus cries out,
says again,
"Who is the one who will have life,
and desires to see good days" (Ps. 33[34]:13)?
And if, hearing Him, you answer,
"I am the one,"
God says to you,
"If you will have true and everlasting life,
keep your tongue from evil
and your lips that they speak no guile.
Turn away from evil and do good;
seek after peace and pursue it" (Ps. 33[34]:14-15).
And when you have done these things,
My eyes shall be upon you
and My ears open to your prayers;
and before you call upon Me,
I will say to you,
'Behold, here I am'" (Ps. 33[34]:16; Is. 65:24; 58:9).

What can be sweeter to us, dear ones,
than this voice of the Lord inviting us?
Behold, in His loving kindness
the Lord shows us the way of life.

Some thoughts:

Through the RB, St Benedict establishes a school in which we will learn how to do all the things mentioned on 9/2. Knowing that we are just ordinary people, he promises nothing harsh or burdensome. Although he prompts us to a little strictness, he asks that we do not become discouraged. We will learn to appreciate the discipline imposed upon us by the Rule. In time what we first due out of obedience, we will do out of love because we will discover how living the Benedictine path increases the love we share with God on an individual basis and with each other human being.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for September 2, 2009

2009-09-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

January 2, May 3, September 2

Prologue

Let us arise, then, at last,
for the Scripture stirs us up, saying,
"Now is the hour for us to rise from sleep" (Rom. 13:11).
Let us open our eyes to the deifying light,
let us hear with attentive ears
the warning which the divine voice cries daily to us,
"Today if you hear His voice,
harden not your hearts" (Ps. 94[95]:8).
And again,
"Whoever has ears to hear,
hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Matt. 11-15; Apoc. 2:7).
And what does He say?
"Come, My children, listen to Me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord" (Ps. 33[34]:12).
"Run while you have the light of life,
lest the darkness of death overtake you" (John 12:35).

Some thoughts:

The Rule is centered on Christ and the Christian life. Any christian can accept this rule of life as an aid to living a virtuous life within the Church. The RB reminds us of the order we should have in our lives, the priorities and the disciplines. St, Benedict realizes that we have already been called to the Christian life by baptism, but if we have become lethargic in living out that commitment, this Rule is for us. St. Benedict tells us to begin this manner of following Christ right now, today. We can't live in the past or the future

Cincinnati nun given ultimatum over ordination views

2009-09-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

Sr Gloriamarie adds: Should you wish to contact the Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati and offer your support, you may do so here:
donata.glassmeyer@srcharitycinti.org

Cincinnati nun given ultimatum over ordination views

http://ncronline.org/news/cincinnati-nun-given-ultimatum-over-ordination-views

Cincinnati

After serving as a voice for justice for 40 years in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and beyond, Sister of Charity Louise Akers has been told by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk to publicly disassociate herself from the issue of women’s ordination if she wishes to continue making any presentations or teaching for credit in any archdiocesan-related institutions.

“We are losing the voice of justice,” said one member of her religious community. Other women religious, lay friends, supporters and former students have called for “responsible dialogue” on the subject of women’s ordination and have described the archbishop’s stance as unjust and mystifying. Many are writing Pilarczyk to officially register their distress.

Akers and Pilarczyk met for 30 minutes Aug. 10 in his archdiocesan office in Cincinnati. She had requested the meeting after being informed that persons upset with her teaching had registered official complaints with church officials. Central to those complaints were both the presence of her name and photo on the Women’s Ordination Conference web site and her membership on its advisory board.
Pilarczky, in answer to a question from NCR, said, "It is not my custom to offer public comment on personnel matters."

Akers frequently speaks and teaches at local parishes, often at the invitation of the Cincinnati Archdiocese’s Office of Religious Education. Some years ago, that office asked her to design official courses for religious education certification on the subjects of church and justice. Other issues on which she frequently speaks are peace, racism and interreligious relations. She is coordinator of the Office of Peace, Justice and the Integrity of Creation for her religious community, which has approximately 450 members.

According to the 66-year-old Akers, the archbishop outlined two requirements during their meeting. First, that she remove her name from the ordination web site, a step she has since taken in an effort to defuse the “destructive assaults” against her. Secondly, that she publicly rescind her long-held stance supporting the ordination of women.

The latter is a step she cannot take. “To do so would go against my conscience,” said Akers, who entered the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1960, and holds a doctorate in feminist theology from the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Mass. Her master’s thesis, from the University of Dayton, focused on the “Prophecy of Martin L. King, Jr.”

“For four decades I have devoted my ministry to advocating on behalf of the marginalized through religious congregations, justice organizations, ecumenical and interfaith groups” Akers told NCR. “Women’s ordination is a justice issue. Its basis is the value, dignity and equality of women. I believe this to my very core. To publicly state otherwise would be a lie and a violation of my conscience. I love, support and cherish the part of Church that upholds the gospel mission and vision of Jesus.”

She quoted the words of Martin Luther, uttered centuries ago: “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.”

Her stance leaves her unable to make presentations at archdiocesan-sponsored events, to conduct retreats or reflection days, and to teach courses on any subject at sites that are directly related to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. All have been part of her ministry and service to the church, whether full- or part-time.

In 1985 she established the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center in Cincinnati. In the 1990s she served as associate director of social concerns at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Around that same time she was a consultant to NETWORK and served as vice president of its board. From 1979 to 1984 she was a member of the Social Action Office staff in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, hired by then-Archbishop Joseph L. Bernardin.

A local supporter is Father Paul Donohue, a member of the Comboni Missionaries. In a personal statement, he said: “It is mystifying to me that the Archbishop of Cincinnati would ask Sister of Charity Louise Akers to refrain from teaching for credit in the archdiocese. Both the archbishop and Sister Louise love, support, and cherish the Church that upholds the gospel mission and vision of Jesus. Both present what the Church teaches. In conscience, Sister Louise must raise questions regarding doctrine. In effect, her questions bring to focus the fact that the Church is a living community of men and women whose understanding develops over time upon reflection. Perhaps, her questions are prophetic. I hope we are not witnesses to a push toward ‘group think.’”

Dr. Brennan Hill, former chair of the theology department at Xavier University (Cincinnati), where Akers taught as both adjunct and visiting professor off and on from 1986 to 2004, sees this as a moment that begs for dialogue. “Listening to ‘the signs of the time,’ a central value of Vatican II, we need a lively dialogue about the rights of women in society and in the church. The severe lack of clergy challenges the rights of the faithful to Eucharist and sacramental ministry. Our age calls for respectful and responsible dialogue on many difficult issues. The ordination of women is certainly one of them. Silencing and punishing those who want to engage in this dialogue only serves to weaken the church and push away thoughtful and well-informed believers.”

He continued: “Vatican II called for religious freedom, rejected coercion in religious matters and took a strong stand for the primacy of conscience.”
Sr. Rosie Burns of Dayton, Ohio, who works with the homeless and has known Akers for decades, described her friend as a gifted teacher who invites people to “use the gifts God gives each of us. Louise never only allows her side (to dominate) but challenges the learner to think. She has a vast knowledge of the church’s teachings on justice. She lives these teachings. We and our whole world will suffer with this loss. We are losing the ‘voice’ of justice.”

Another Sister of Charity, Carol Leveque, a pastoral associate, described Akers as “passionate and compassionate as well as committed and faith-filled. She speaks her truth, does her homework. She listens well and respectfully to others. She is always able to address both sides of an issue because she has done her homework. When she speaks her truth, she names it as her truth. I am saddened to lose the voice of someone who has always been such a great advocate for justice and who challenges us to do the same.”

Ironically, the same day Akers met with Pilarczyk, she was named to the new class of Leadership Cincinnati, a 10-month civic leadership program operated by the regional Chamber of Commerce.

Judy Ball is a freelance writer who occasionally writes for NCR.

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Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Helladius

2009-09-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

from:http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Helladius

It was said of Abba Helladius that he spent twenty years in the Cells, without ever raising his eyes to see the roof of the church.

Some thoughts:

What are we to make of this Saying? To be honest, it kinda creeps me out. LOL The Cells were discovered in 1964 and there has been excavations of churches with inscriptions and decorations. Of course, I dunno if the inscriptions and decorations were there when Abba Helladius worshipped there, but I think so, otherwise this Saying makes little sense. My impression is that the monk didn't look up lest he be distracted from his prayer.

Maybe that's a good thing, sometimes. After all, I'm the one who put together a 67 page collection of notes I researched about "custody of senses." At the same time, how often has my worshipped been enriched by the beautiful stained glass, statues, paintings, gardens, wild flowers, streams and on and on and on. Back when I still lived in the Boston area, I was known for pulling over to the side of the road, sit on a stone fence and thank God for the gorgeous clouds.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for September 1, 2009

2009-09-01T08:19:00.001-07:00

January 1, May 2, September 1

Prologue

I S T E N carefully, my child,
to your master's precepts,
and incline the ear of your heart (Prov. 4:20).
Receive willingly and carry out effectively
your loving father's advice,
that by the labor of obedience
you may return to Him
from whom you had departed by the sloth of disobedience.

To you, therefore, my words are now addressed,
whoever you may be,
who are renouncing your own will
to do battle under the Lord Christ, the true King,
and are taking up the strong, bright weapons of obedience.

And first of all,
whatever good work you begin to do,
beg of Him with most earnest prayer to perfect it,
that He who has now deigned to count us among His children
may not at any time be grieved by our evil deeds.
For we must always so serve Him
with the good things He has given us,
that He will never as an angry Father disinherit His children,
nor ever as a dread Lord, provoked by our evil actions,
deliver us to everlasting punishment
as wicked servants who would not follow Him to glory.

Some thoughts:

"Listen carefully," St. Benedict says. Although he wrote a rule for monks, monks are not the only ones who benefit from it., Nuns, lay folk, priests have all adapted the RB to their vocations. As I have myself.

St. Benedict had a lot of common sense, as has been noted by more than one person over the centuries. There is something about common sense that is simply timeless, would you agree. Benedict knew his audience: ordinary people. In one of the later chapters, Benedict has the RB read to novices 3 times and ion ch 66 he says that the Rule is to be read often. He realized that we need to be reminded over and over again. No matter how closely we pay attention, the message has to be repeated over and over again. We don't achieve perfection by reading the RB once. Nor, for that matter, will perfection be ours even by practicing the RB our whole lives. Benedict will be the first to admit that no one is perfect. He wrote a Rule for imperfect people such as you and I, Gentle Reader.

Maybe more of us would give the religious life a try if they didn't believe that the had to be exceptionally holy people. Which they don't have to be. Nor will the religious life necessarily make one exceptionally holy. All that is requires, as if required of any Christian, that we keep trying to improve our lives.

This is what St Benedict teaches us. He teaches us to be practical, moderate, steadfast through sharing his common sense with us. He wants all of us to love the liturgy, to pray the psalms and meditate on Scripture, to see Christ in all to who we welcome into our churches and our homes, to take good care of the property we own, to take good care of our bodily as well as spiritual needs, to be kind and helpful to one another.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Gerontius of Petra

2009-08-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

from:http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers

Abba Gerontius of Petra said that many, tempted by the pleasures of the body, commit fornication, not in their body but in their spirit, and while preserving their bodily virginity, commit prostitution in their soul. 'Thus it is good, my well-beloved, to do that which is written and for each one to guard his own heart with all possible care.' (Prov. 4.23)

Some thoughts:

It doesn't seem right to me to fail to mention that Petra is one of the 7 Wonders of the World. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra Not very germane to the reading, of course, but I love history.

Something I was taught in seminary is that to the ancient mind there was little distinction between thinking a thought and doing the actual deed. So to be tempted was the same as committing whatever one was tempted to. Abba Gerontius tells us the way to avoid temptation in the 1st place is to guard one's heart.

How do we do that? I often comment that we are bombarded with ads, commercials, billboards, etc all telling us that we are less than because we don't own whatever the bombardment is trying to sell us. One of the repercussions of living in the Information Age. TMI or Too Much Information.

In lieu of actually plucking out our offending eyes or cutting of our hands, people living under religious vows developed what they called "custody of the senses". It's not a term I've seen discussed in many years now so I guess it is considered old-fashioned. Maybe it went the way of mandatory religious habits as in the Roman Catholic Church.

Custody of the senses was a way of living among people but minding one's own business. When walking down a corridor, for instance, and passing the open door to a room, one did not sneak a peek into the room to see what was going on there. Custody of the senses meant protecting the senses from that which would disturb one's thoughts and heart.

That is one way of guarding our hearts. What are some other ways we could do that?

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 31, 2009

2009-08-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

May 1, August 31, December 31

Chapter 73: On the Fact That the Full Observance of Justice Is Not Established in This Rule

Now we have written this Rule
in order that by its observance in monasteries
we may show that we have attained some degree of virtue
and the rudiments of the religious life.

But for those who would hasten to the perfection of that life
there are the teaching of the holy Fathers,
the observance of which leads to the height of perfection.
For what page or what utterance
of the divinely inspired books of the Old and New Testaments
is not a most unerring rule for human life?
Or what book of the holy Catholic Fathers
does not loudly proclaim
how we may come by a straight course to our Creator?
Then the Conferences and the Institutes
and the Lives of the Fathers,
as also the Rule of our holy Father Basil --
what else are they but tools of virtue
for right-living and obedient monks?
But for us who are lazy and ill-living and negligent
they are a source of shame and confusion.

Whoever you are, therefore,
who are hastening to the heavenly homeland,
fulfill with the help of Christ
this minimum Rule which we have written for beginners;
and then at length under God's protection
you will attain to the loftier heights of doctrine and virtue
which we have mentioned above.

Some thoughts:

With today's reading, we complete another cycle of the Rule of St.
Benedict. One might think that after the hard work of grappling with
the issues raised in the RB and our own responses revealing both our
short comings and our gifts, that the good Saint would give us a
breather. But nope. Benedict regards his Rule as the bare beginnings
of the religious life, by no means comprehensive. There is so much
more for us to read and incorporate into our hearts, minds, souls,
bodies, sinews, bone marrow, blood vessels.

What are these resources which he commends to us? The Fathers of the
Church: those Christian writes of the Patristic period; the Bible;
again the Fathers of the Church; Cassian's conferences and Institutes,
St. Basil's Rule. There is a lifetime of material to incarnate within
one's being were any of us to choose this path. Clearly it is Father
Benedict's hope that we will want to go beyond the Rule to study and
embrace, contemplate and meditate, to absorb all that the Lord offers
us that we might love Him beyond any other loves.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Evagrius

2009-08-30T09:04:00.001-07:00

from http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers

Abba Evagrius said, "Take away temptations and no one will be saved."

It strikes me as strange that in the alphabetical collection, only 1 Saying by Abba Evagrius is preserved. OTOH, he wrote and his work was preserved. http://orthodoxwiki.org/Evagrius_Ponticus

How often have I heard people long to "get away from it all" and everything would be right with them. I've daydreamed about it often enough myself. Abba Evagrius tells me that it is a worthless daydream. It's a bit of a paradox, isn't it? He sees temptations not only as the way to damnation but also to salvation.

Of course the Desert Christians valued works as a way to salvation and we emphasize grace. Maybe we go to far with that just as the Desert Christians went too far with earning salvation.

But I think we may need to recover the concept of temptation. We are bombarded with so much temptation that maybe it doesn't even seem like it any more. A friend of mine in Chicago was telling me that there are supermarkets which have TVs playing ads in the aisles.

Perhaps we belong to email lists which appeal to our own personal interests. How many times do these lists get carried away over the Next New Thing and one feels like one has to have it to belong.

What does withstanding temptation do for us? It creates discomfort, that's fershure. Anxiety, guilt. We make the mistake, perhaps, of thinking we have to be strong, self-sufficient, independent. When temptation comes as it inexorably will, we must remember to call on the Lord and the army of angels encamped around about us. We are not alone when temptations come. We have the whole host of heaven on our side.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 30, 2009

2009-08-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

April 30, August 30, December 30

Chapter 72: On the Good Zeal Which They Ought to Have

Just as there is an evil zeal of bitterness
which separates from God and leads to hell,
so there is a good zeal
which separates from vices and leads to God
and to life everlasting.
This zeal, therefore, the sisters should practice
with the most fervent love.
Thus they should anticipate one another in honor (Rom. 12:10);
most patiently endure one another's infirmities,
whether of body or of character;
vie in paying obedience one to another --
no one following what she considers useful for herself,
but rather what benefits another;
tender the charity of sisterhood chastely;
fear God in love;
love their Abbess with a sincere and humble charity;
prefer nothing whatever to Christ.
And may He bring us all together to life everlasting!

Some thoughts

This chapter is one of my favorites. I
mentioned yesterday that Two Ways was a genre of literature in the
ancient world and here we see it again reflected in today's passage.
The choices Benedict sets out are the zeal of bitterness and good
zeal. One can readily understand why Benedict would warn against the
evil zeal of bitterness. How many times have we seen the harm
bitterness leads to? Or the way people hold onto it?

In contrast, Benedict tells about good zeal which actively practiced
means we turn away from bad things. How hard this is to do in a world
which condones so much sin as normative and expected. How easy it is
to begin to think that as long as no one else finds out about it, it's
ok. How easy it is to slip into the sort of thinking that says as
long as I see no one coming it's ok to run the stop signs or the red
lights, for instance. Unfortunately for people who think this way, God
sees everything, not only our deeds, but our motivations and intents.

What I read today in Benedict's rule are the people I want to know and
whose lives I want to be a part of, people who have let go of ego and
sought to have love of God and love of neighbor be the central things
in their lives.

"Prefer nothing whatever to Christ." If I ever thought I'd have a
gravestone or any other marker that says I was here on earth for a
brief time, I would want it to say "She preferred nothing to Christ."
But I fear that it would be untrue because I see every day the many
things that I prefer to Christ. There are millions of examples, all
those mundane petty details of living in 21st century America. I have
to hope that it is true for me, as was with the cads and
scroundrels of the Hebrew Scriptures, that what is really important is that
I love God.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 29, 2009

2009-08-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

April 29, August 29, December 29

Chapter 71: That the Brethren Be Obedient to One Another

Not only is the boon of obedience
to be shown by all to the Abbot,
but the brethren are also to obey one another,
knowing that by this road of obedience they are going to God.
Giving priority, therefore, to the commands of the Abbot
and of the Superior appointed by him
(to which we allow no private orders to be preferred),
for the rest
let all the juniors obey their seniors
with all charity and solicitude.
But if anyone is found contentious,
let him be corrected.

And if any brother,
for however small a cause,
is corrected in any way by the Abbot or by any of his Superiors,
or if he faintly perceives
that the mind of any Superior is angered or moved against him,
however little,
let him at once, without delay,
prostrate himself on the ground at his feet
and lie there making satisfaction
until that emotion is quieted with a blessing.
But if anyone should disdain to do this,
let him undergo corporal punishment
or, if he is stubborn, let him be expelled from the monastery.

Some thoughts

In ch 5 which dealt with obedience we saw Benedict' intent to further
spiritual growth of the individual monastic by reducing ego, in Ch 71
the emphasis seems to be the purpose of mutual obedience is to bind
the community together in Christian love. It may seem startling as the
concept of mutual obedience has not been mentioned before. OTOH,
mutuality and equality have come up before.

"Road to obedience" reminds me of what are called Two Ways documents,
which was a literary genre wll-known in the ancient world. Psalm One
is a 2 ways document. So is the Didache for those familiar with it.
Seems to me Benedict always has the Two Ways in the back of his mind.
So often he starts out with the ideal and follows it with the
consequences of choosing otherwise.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Epiphanius 2

2009-08-29T09:50:00.001-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Epiphanius

"O monk, take thou the greatest possible care that thou sin not, lest thou disgrace God Who dwelleth in thee, and thou drive Him out of thy soul."

Some thoughts:

Here's something I've thought for a long time. Ideally, we Christians are in a relationship of love with God. When we examine relationships based on love it is very clear that some stuff diminishes or even destroys the love while other stuff enriches, nourishes and causes love to grow,

To me, that which diminishes the love God and I share is sin. I need to turn all such over to God, so that love we share can flourish and bloom and invite others into their relationships of love with God.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Epiphanius 1

2009-08-28T07:38:00.000-07:00

(Abba Epiphanius) added, 'A man who receives something from another because of his poverty or his need has therein his reward, and because he is ashamed, when he repays it he does so in secret. But it is the opposite for the Lord God; he receives in secret, but he repays in the presence of the angels, the archangels and the righteous.'

Some thoughts

I am really not at all sure what to make of this Saying. "Reward?" It is not the giver who is rewarded, but the receiver. Is it the reward of humility? The humility of knowing a dependendence on another? Ashamed of needing another? What does the Lord God receive in secret? Our prayers? Our worship? Our service to each other?

Have to say, "the presence of the angels, the archangels and the righteous" sounds wonderful. Very inviting.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 28, 2009

2009-08-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

April 28, August 28, December 28

Chapter 70: That No One Venture to Punish at Random

Every occasion of presumption
shall be avoided in the monastery,
and we decree that no one be allowed
to excommunicate or to strike any of her sisters
unless the Abbess has given her the authority.
Those who offend in this matter
shall be rebuked in the presence of all,
that the rest may have fear.

But children up to 15 years of age
shall be carefully controlled and watched by all,
yet this too with all moderation and discretion.
All, therefore, who presume
without the Abbess' instructions
to punish those above that age
or who lose their temper with them,
shall undergo the discipline of the Rule;
for it is written,
"Do not to another what you would not want done to yourself" (Tobias 4:16).

Some thoughts

"Every occasion of presumption shall be avoided in the monastery." I
am certain this is true, but presumption is to be avoided outside the
monastery also. How many times have we been guilty to presume to
know better than another? How many times have we been guilty of
correcting that person?

And what is the effect of our presumption? I can assure you it is not
what we wanted. We will not have set the record straight or corrected
the error. All we will have done is provided a cause for resentment
and rejection.

I can speak form personal experience. Maybe it is a result of my life
long struggle to control my depression, but I have deep desire to have
things right. I have this idea that if I do every thing right, if
everything goes right, if everyone else does right, then my depression
will not be triggered. Of course, if we did not live in a fallen,
sinful world, this would be true. But this consideration has not
stopped me from attempting to control my environment and often other
people in order to spare myself a depressive episode.

It never works. And I daresay that for all of us who are caught up in
any sort of self-righteousness, perfectionism, legalism, rigorism,
over-scrupulosity that it doesn't work for us either. And here's the
thing... Jesus doesn't call us to it and Benedict, following our
Lord's example, does not either. I am greatly comforted that Jesus
chose to hang out with the ordinary people, the morally compromised so
to speak. Who did God especially love in the Hebrew Scriptures but
the cads and scroundrels, adulterers and the like?

I have no idea how to develop the theology and I surely hope someone
has already done it, but I grow ever more convinced that what is
valuable to God is our weaknesses, not our strengths, where we fail,
not where we succeed.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 27, 2009

2009-08-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

April 27, August 27, December 27

Chapter 69: That the Monks Presume Not to Defend One Another

Care must be taken that no monk presume on any ground
to defend another monk in the monastery,
or as it were to take him under his protection,
even though they be united by some tie of blood-relationship.
Let not the monks dare to do this in any way whatsoever,
because it may give rise to most serious scandals.
But if anyone breaks this rule,
let him be severely punished.

Some thoughts:

I suppose my reaction to this section of the RB when I first read it
umpty years ago was "not fair!" And that was my reaction for quite a
long time. But since my basic presupposition is that Benedict wrote
what he did for good and important reasons, it was up to me to get out
of the trap of only reading with modern eyes. I say "only" because
certainly we do have to read with our modern eyes. But when we read
only with them, I think we miss out on the intention of the first
author. I have tried as best I could to introduce members of this
list to the historical situation when Benedict wrote the Rule.

Back in the 80s and early 90s I was doing a lot of what was called
recovery work. Along with so many others, I explored the results of
growing up in a family so dysfunctional, it was usually quite toxic.
Some thing I learned about in that recovery work was "triangulation"
and I think it was that dynamic that opened the way for me to get past
my "not fair"!" reaction to today's passage. Triangulation, to over
simplify, is when 2 people talk to each other about a 3rd person,
usually because one or both of them have a problem with the third
person and then have this expectation that the third person will then
live up to whatever it is the 2 people decided. None of whom have
spoken to the third person. Now, I am positive that Benedict is not
talking about triangulation as the concept would have been unknown in
his day and to impose it upon the RB would be an anachronism. We
can't read historical documents and hold them accountable to the
standards of our day.

But the concept opened my eyes to a dynamic that had been going on
around me. How many times in the workplace might we have seen that
person A has a problem with person B and person C takes B's side and
then the smooth functioning of the workplace is damaged by the
alliances that form. The community is broken. The right to do would
have been for A and B to discuss things with the person who has the
authority to do something and that's the boss. Or in Benedict's case,
the Abbot.

Another example is email lists and their flame wars. Person D says
something to which person E takes offense, person F leaps in to defend
person D while person G leaps in to defend person E and before you
know, insults, rants, tirades, judgmentalism rule the day and the list
owner has to take a heavy hand to restore courtesy. F and G wanted to
help instead of minding their own business and allow D and E to work
it out themselves.

Maybe these are lousy examples. But the point I am trying to make is
the point that I think Benedict made and that is the need to mind
one's own business. Now, I don't think Benedict means by this that we
are to be silent in the face of some huge injustice such as the
violation of children or the violence that is poverty. Many
Benedictines have taken stands against injustice. Let us remember
that the RB is the ideal for life in an enclosed community. He is
talking about relationships within the monastery. We can see that
cliques and factions would only disrupt that life and interfere with
listening to God.

GUITARS AND ADOBES

2009-08-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

Review By Mark Pattison

GUITARS AND ADOBES

By Fray Angelico Chavez

Museum of New Mexico Press, $24.95

Seventy-seven years after Fray Angelico Chavez’s serialized novel, Guitars and Adobes, appeared in the pages of St. Anthony Messenger magazine, it is now out in book form.

It has been described as a kind of Hispanic answer to Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop, her classic novel based on the real French archbishop charged by the pope with leading the church’s fledgling vicariate in the Southwest.
Fray Angelico, a Franciscan priest, was still in the seminary when he wrote his novel -- in five distinct parts. St. Anthony Messenger couldn’t devote that much space in five issues to the novel, so it serialized it in monthly installments in 1931 and ‘32.

The only Hispanic among a group of Midwestern lads studying for the priesthood in Cincinnati, young Manuel Chavez strove to reinforce his Hispanic identity both before and after his ordination to the priesthood in 1937. He ultimately served as the archivist for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, and gained a reputation for being one of New Mexico’s foremost writers and intellectuals -- a reputation that has endured in the 13 years since his passing.

As archdiocesan archivist, he undertook the cataloging and translating of Spanish archives that allowed for a re-evaluation of the history of New Mexico and the region. Fray Angelico was also a member of the Santa Fe Writers Group that included such figures as D.H. Lawrence, Thornton Wilder, Alice Corbin, Witter Bynner and the aforementioned Cather.

Guitars and Adobes also contains 20 unpublished short stories by Fray Angelico. The book, published by the Museum of New Mexico Press, retails for $24.95 and can be ordered through online booksellers.

Section: I. Book Reviews
Copyright © The National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Elias 1

2009-08-25T10:20:00.001-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Elias

Abba Elias, the minister, said, 'What can sin do where there is penitence? And of what use is love where there is pride?'

Some thoughts:

What on earth could I possibly write to unpack this Saying? Other than that, these are questions I think we all need to ask ourselves.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 25, 2009

2009-08-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

Chapter 67: On Brethren Who Are Sent on a Journey

Let the brethren who are sent on a journey
commend themselves
to the prayers of all the brethren and of the Abbot;
and always at the last prayer of the Work of God
let a commemoration be made of all absent brethren.

When brethren return from a journey,
at the end of each canonical Hour of the Work of God
on the day they return,
let them lie prostrate on the floor of the oratory
and beg the prayers of all
on account of any faults
that may have surprised them on the road,
through the seeing or hearing of something evil,
or through idle talk.
And let no one presume to tell another
whatever he may have seen or heard outside of the monastery,
because this causes very great harm.
But if anyone presumes to do so,
let him undergo the punishment of the Rule.
And let him be punished likewise who would presume
to leave the enclosure of the monastery
and go anywhere or do anything, however small,
without an order from the Abbot.

Some thoughts:

Have any of us tried confessing "any faults that may have surprised
them on the road, through the seeing or hearing of something evil, or
through idle talk."??????

Do we confess the thoughts or words that come out of our mouths when
some other drive cuts us off, turns without using a directional
signal, rolls through the stop sign seconds before we are in the
intersection? Or when the young woman bends over us with the
communion chalice and we can see down to her navel? Or any of the idle
talk we are bound to hear as people shout into their cell phones?

Do we confess those as sins or do we justify our reaction because
it's the fault of the other person? Do we fail to take responsibility
for our own reactions or responses?

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Dioscorus 2

2009-08-24T10:41:00.001-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Dioscorus

If we wear our heavenly robe, we shall not be found naked, but if we are found not wearing this garment, what shall we do, brethren? We, even we also, shall hear the voice that says, "Cast them into outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." (Matt. 22:13) And, brethren, there will be great shame in store for us, if, after having worn this habit for so long, we are found in the hour of need not having put on the wedding garment. Oh what compunction will seize us! What darkness will fall upon us, in the presence of our fathers and our brethren, who will see us being tortured by the angels of punishment!

Some thoughts:

Vigilance. The Desert Christians were big on vigilance. There is this sense that salvation is something that they could lose no matter how hard they worked to earn it. I am reminded of the icon "The Ladder of Divine Ascent" which I was privileged to see in the Getty Museum when the icons from the monastery of St Catherine of the Sinai were on exhibit. http://orthodoxwiki.org/The_Ladder_of_Divine_Ascent

In our day, we stress the free gift of God's grace and that at any given moment, we are acceptable to God just as we are and He will love us. Episcopalians with a more catholic theology do not worry about losing their salvation although I suppose the more Reformed among us might.

Although as you, Gentle Reader, may have guessed, this particular Episcopalian does think we could recover the concept of vigilance and it would do us good. I don't believe we can lose our salvation. At the same time, though, I don't want to take mine for granted.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 24, 2009

2009-08-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

April 24, August 24, December 24

Chapter 66: On the Porters of the Monastery

At the gate of the monastery
let there be placed a wise old woman,
who knows how to receive and to give a message,
and whose maturity will prevent her from straying about.
This porter should have a room near the gate,
so that those who come may always find someone at hand
to attend to their business.
And as soon as anyone knocks or a poor person hails her,
let her answer "Thanks be to God" or "A blessing!"
Then let her attend to them promptly,
with all the meekness inspired by the fear of God
and with the warmth of charity.

Should the porter need help,
let her have one of the younger sisters.

If it can be done,
the monastery should be so established
that all the necessary things,
such as water, mill, garden and various workshops,
may be within the enclosure,
so that there is no necessity
for the sisters to go about outside of it,
since that is not at all profitable for their souls.

We desire that this Rule be read often in the community,
so that none of the sisters may excuse herself
on the ground of ignorance

Some thoughts

This is hospitality taken seriously. Something we all too often
forget is that hospitality is a sacred obligation. Here in San Diego,
most people I know regard hospitality as a nuisance. I cannot tell you
how many people I have invited to my home for a meal who have claimed
they are too busy to share a meal. I find it very strange and wonder
how I could reintroduce it as I really miss spending quiet times with guests.

Benedict obviously viewed the monastery as self-sufficient, an entity
unto itself with no need to go outside the community to meet any need.
I wish I could say this was the case today but it is not.

Is it coincidental, I wonder, that somewhere along the line this portion of the
Rule was assigned to be read on Christmas Eve?

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Dioscorus 1

2009-08-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

from:http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Dioscorus

A brother questioned Abba Poemen in this way, 'My thoughts trouble me, making me put my sins aside, and concern myself with my brother's faults'. The old man told him the following story about Abba Dioscorus (the monk), 'In his cell he wept over himself, while his disciple was sitting in another cell. When the latter came to see the old man he asked him, "Father, why are you weeping?" "I am weeping over my sins," the old man answered him. Then his disciple said, "You do not have any sins, Father." The old man replied, "Truly, my child, if I were allowed to see my sins, three or four men would not be enough to weep for them."

Some thoughts:

There is an emphasis upon personal sin in the Sayings that is perhaps unpleasant to us Episcopalians. It is very easy, I think, to read this Saying and think "extremism." And maybe it is too extreme for good mental health. OTOH, I can't remember the last time I heard a sermon that contrasted, for example, the hard sayings of Jesus with personal behavior. The sermons I've heard have been pretty general. I've heard a great deal of teaching about what Jesus says but not a lot upon our own personal failures to do as He said.

Seems to me there has to be balance point between Abba Dioscorus and our post-modern choice to ignore the idea of personal sin. These are 2 ends of continuum and the healthy middle is the place to be. It's that place where we confront ourselves, repent and turn around and choose to do and be different. Oh, it certainly doesn't happen overnight, nor, I think, in a lifetime. But we are all in this together and we can weep together and we can rejoice together.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 23, 2009

2009-08-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

April 23, August 23, December 23

Chapter 65: On the Prior of the Monastery

To us, therefore, it seems expedient
for the preservation of peace and charity
that the Abbot have in his hands
the full administration of his monastery.
And if possible let all the affairs of the monastery,
as we have already arranged,
be administered by deans according to the Abbot's directions.
Thus, with the duties being shared by several,
no one person will become proud.

But if the circumstances of the place require it,
or if the community asks for it with reason and with humility,
and the Abbot judges it to be expedient,
let the Abbot himself constitute as his Prior
whomsoever he shall choose
with the counsel of God-fearing brethren.

That Prior, however, shall perform respectfully
the duties enjoined on him by his Abbot
and do nothing against the Abbot's will or direction;
for the more he is raised above the rest,
the more carefully should he observe the precepts of the Rule.

If it should be found that the Prior has serious faults,
or that he is deceived by his exaltation and yields to pride,
or if he should be proved to be a despiser of the Holy Rule,
let him be admonished verbally up to four times.
If he fails to amend,
let the correction of regular discipline be applied to him.
But if even then he does not reform,
let him be deposed from the office of Prior
and another be appointed in his place who is worthy of it.
And if afterwards he is not quiet and obedient in the community,
let him even be expelled from the monastery.
But the Abbot, for his part, should bear in mind
that he will have to render an account to God
for all his judgments,
lest the flame of envy or jealousy be kindled in his soul.

Some thoughts:

Again I find myself thinking of place. Where is it that God calls one
to be? Who is it that God calls one to be? How does call call us to
live? Seems to me if we can concentrate on these things without
comparing ourselves to others, we not fall into the traps Benedict
identifies. Whatever gifts, talents, skills, abilities, intellect,
strength we have, we have only because God gave it to us so it is no
great shakes we can claim for ourselves. It also seems to me we would
be much happier pursuing our vocations rather than those of another.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Cyrus of Alexandria

2009-08-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Cyrus_of_Alexandria

Abba Cyrus of Alexandria was asked about the temptation of fornication, and he replied, 'If you do not think about it, you have no hope, for if you are not thinking about it, you are doing it. I mean, he who does not fight against the sin and resist it in his spirit will commit the sin physically. It is very true that he who is fornicating in fact is not worried about thinking about it.

Some thoughts:

I read this and I guffaw because it sounds so very modern. Abba Cyrus is described as 3rd century Copt and his words of the 200s CE ring so true today in 2009. The Abba sees 2 choices: struggle against sexual desire or give in to it. The so-called Sexual Revolution took place when I was in high school. For those counting on their fingers (LOL) I am 59 and I was in high school from 1964-68. Most of us gave into our sexual desires. I did to my very great regret. I did not at that time understand how very big a deal sex really is. I don't know that I could have understood it then. I had no concept back then that a very big, deep, relationship was needed to support a sexual relationship with another person.

I get it now, to a certain extent. I see now how much worth it is to struggle against doing what comes naturally to look deeper into a another person, to attempt to see past any sexual allure I might feel and to fix my gaze instead on that person's heart and mind, charism and grace.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 22, 2009

2009-08-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

April 22, August 22, December 22

Chapter 65: On the Prior of the Monastery

It happens all too often that the constituting of a Prior
gives rise to grave scandals in monasteries.
For there are some who become inflated with the evil spirit of pride
and consider themselves second Abbots.
By usurping power
they foster scandals and cause dissensions in the community.
Especially does this happen
in those places where the Prior is constituted
by the same Bishop or the same Abbots
who constitute the Abbot himself.
What an absurd procedure this is
can easily be seen;
for it gives the Prior an occasion for becoming proud
from the very time of his constitution,
by putting the thought into his mind
that he is freed from the authority of his Abbot:
"For," he will say to himself, "you were constituted
by the same persons who constitute the Abbot."
From this source are stirred up envy, quarrels, detraction,
rivalry, dissensions and disorders.
For while the Abbot and the Prior are at variance,
their souls cannot but be endangered by this dissension;
and those who are under them,
currying favor with one side or the other,
go to ruin.
The guilt for this dangerous state of affairs
rests on the heads of those
whose action brought about such disorder.

Some thoughts

"Prior" is a word that has a complicated history with different
meanings at different points in the history of Benedictines. At the
time Benedict wrote the RB, the term meant the Abbot's assistant.
Later on in the Middle Ages, the role of the prior was that of a
temporal assistant. Perhaps a modern analogy would be the roles of
priest and rector in TEC. The priest or abbot deals with spiritual
matters while the rector or prior deals with the day to day life
maintenance stuff such as handling the money, seeing to repairs etc.

Evidently even in Benedict's lifetime, priors abused their authority.
Maybe the Bishop used a prior against an abbot. Maybe Benedict was
the abbot and it was his own prior that was involved. Who knows? But
it is clear that for Benedict, authority of and for the monastery
rests in the and no one else and chaos results when another usurps the
authority.

The first several times I read this chapter I was puzzled about how I
could apply it to my own life when I am not in a monastery. And then
I began to apply it to the workplace where I saw that without ever
experiencing corporate America, Benedict had summed up the company I
worked for where there was in fact a similar situation. I realized
that in a hierarchical structure such as corporate America or the
monastery, chaos results when we try to step outside of our place
within that structure.

Thinking that led me to consider just what is my place in my parish,
community etc. Who was God callign me to be? To what role did God
call me? It's as Aslan says to Lucy "I tell no one's story to
another" or words to that effect.

While all are welcome to comment here on this blog, should you desire to dialog about the reading I invite you to join the email list: Mere Benedictines
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MereBenedictines/

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 21, 2009

2009-08-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

April 21, August 21, December 21

Chapter 64: On Constituting an Abbess

Once she has been constituted,
let the Abbess always bear in mind
what a burden she has undertaken
and to whom she will have to give an account of her stewardship,
and let her know that her duty is rather to profit her sisters
than to preside over them.
She must therefore be learned in the divine law,
that she may have a treasure of knowledge
from which to bring forth new things and old.
She must be chaste, sober and merciful.
Let her exalt mercy above judgment,
that she herself may obtain mercy.
She should hate vices;
she should love the sisterhood.

In administering correction
she should act prudently and not go to excess,
lest in seeking too eagerly to scrape off the rust
she break the vessel.
Let her keep her own frailty ever before her eyes
and remember that the bruised reed must not be broken.
By this we do not mean that she should allow vices to grow;
on the contrary, as we have already said,
she should eradicate them prudently and with charity,
in the way which may seem best in each case.
Let her study rather to be loved than to be feared.

Let her not be excitable and worried,
nor exacting and headstrong,
nor jealous and over-suspicious;
for then she is never at rest.

In her commands let her be prudent and considerate;
and whether the work which she enjoins
concerns God or the world,
let her be discreet and moderate,
bearing in mind the discretion of holy Jacob, who said,
"If I cause my flocks to be overdriven,
they will all die in one day."
Taking this, then, and other examples of discretion,
the mother of virtues,
let her so temper all things
that the strong may have something to strive after,
and the weak may not fall back in dismay.

And especially let her keep this Rule in all its details,
so that after a good ministry
she may hear from the Lord what the good servant heard
who gave the fellow-servants wheat in due season:
"Indeed, I tell you, he will set that one over all his goods" (Matt. 24:27).

Some thoughts

So we read here that a good leader must be accountable, flexible,
loving, and willing to correct others. And would you look at the
emphasis Benedict places to avoid favoritism. He also zeros in against
rigorism. As an antidote to fanaticism, he insists on charity and
moderation in all things for the abbot. This theme runs from
beginning to end in this section of the RB. Discretion, the "mother of
virtues", is to guide the abbot. Though there is no abandonment of
the need for discipline, the emphasis is upon mercy.

Sayings of the Desert Christians: Abba Cronius

2009-08-21T07:27:00.001-07:00

from:http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Cronius

If the soul is vigilant and withdraws from all distraction and abandons its own will, then the spirit of God invades it and it can conceive because it is free to do so.

Some thoughts

This is uncompromising language, I feel. "Withdraws from all distraction" implies that we have a choice about whether or not we are distracted. Hmm... Back in the day, there was no distinction between thought and action. An example is where Jesus says that to look at a woman lustfully is the same thing as having committed the deed. More than one modern day person has said to me that we can't help what we think, only what we choose to do about our thoughts. Being as much a product of modernity as the next guy, I tend to go with the latter notion. But at the same time, I remember that our own Lord taught something different. So I compromise. When I have thoughts that trouble me or are of a sinful nature, I pray about them asking God to show me where those thoughts come from so I can do something about their origins. It's the best I can do at this time

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 20, 2009

2009-08-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

April 20, August 20, December 20

Chapter 64: On Constituting an Abbess

In the constituting of an Abbess
let this plan always be followed,
that the office be conferred on the one who is chosen
either by the whole community unanimously in the fear of God
or else by a part of the community, however small,
if its counsel is more wholesome.

Merit of life and wisdom of doctrine
should determine the choice of the one to be constituted,
even if she be the last of the order of the community.

But if (which God forbid)
the whole community should agree to choose a person
who will acquiesce in their vices,
and if those vices somehow become known to the Bishop
to whose diocese the place belongs,
or to the Abbots, Abbesses or the faithful of the vicinity,
let them prevent the success of this conspiracy of the wicked,
and set a worthy steward over the house of God.
They may be sure
that they will receive a good reward for this action
if they do it with a pure intention and out of zeal for God;
as, on the contrary, they will sin if they fail to do it.

Some thoughts

In Ch 2 we read about the duties of the monastic superior. Here at
the end of the Rule, we read about how one is selected. This passage
starts out ordinarily enough and then there is this surprising bit
about how a small part of the community could prevail over the
majority. How is that possible? What does that mean? Kardong
suggests that Benedict deliberately left it a little vague to avoid
any legalistic straightjacketing. He also says some modern Benedictine
communities have chosen a discernment process that avoids the choice
of monastic superior by majority vote in order to provide sufficient
room for the Holy Spirit to act freely.

The next set of verses remind me of Paul's letters to Timothy and
Titus on the subject of electing a bishop. Was Benedict modeling his
monastic superior on the leaders of the wider Church? Seems so to me.

Then we have the business of what happens if a bad choice is made. I
wonder if Benedict had in mind his first experience as an abbot. He
had been living in a cave as a hermit when the abbot of a nearby
community died. The monks decided to have Benedict as their new
abbot. They changed their minds because he would discipline them for
their rowdy, unmonklike behavior. The monks decided to poison
Benedict's wine. As he lifted the cup to drink, he detected the
poison, prayed and the liquid was changed into wholesome wine.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Copres

2009-08-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Copres

Abba Copres said, 'blessed is he who bears affliction with thankfulness.'

Some thoughts:;

I don't believe I have ever, at the the time I experienced it, bore any affliction with thankfulness. As I watch my mother struggle with issues of the elderly, I wonder how I in my turn will manage. I've made no secret of the fact that I have Major Depressive Disorder and there have been moments when depression was the worst curse of my life, keeping me from being who I really wanted to be. And yet, there was also the glorious day when I realized that my struggles with depression had shaped me into what I most wanted: a contemplative. It has been easier to accept my illness, realizing God can use even mental illness to bring about His will in me.

Sayings of the Desert Christians; Abba Bessarion

2009-08-19T09:21:00.001-07:00

Abba Doulas, the disciple of Abba Bessarion said, 'One day when we were walking beside the sea I was thirsty and I said to Abba Bessarion, "Father, I am very thirsty." He said a prayer and said to me, "Drink some of the sea water." The water proved sweet when I drank some. I even poured some into a leather bottle for fear of being thirsty later on. Seeing this, the old man asked me why I was taking some. I said to him, "Forgive me, it is for fear of being thirsty later on." Then the old man said, "God is here, God is everywhere."

Some thoughts

Trust in God to provide for us. That's what I am thinking this Saying is about. Did Bessarion really turn salt water sweet? Who knows. Does it really matter? I don't think so.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 19, 2009

2009-08-19T09:19:00.001-07:00

Chapter 63: On the Order of the Community

The juniors, therefore, should honor their seniors,
and the seniors love their juniors.

In the very manner of address,
let no one call another by the mere name;
but let the seniors call their juniors Brothers,
and the juniors call their seniors Fathers,
by which is conveyed the reverence due to a father.
But the Abbot,
since he is believed to represent Christ,
shall be called Lord and Abbot,
not for any pretensions of his own
but out of honor and love for Christ.
Let the Abbot himself reflect on this,
and show himself worthy of such an honor.

And wherever the brethren meet one another
the junior shall ask the senior for his blessing.
When a senior passes by,
a junior shall rise and give him a place to sit,
nor shall the junior presume to sit with him
unless his senior bid him,
that it may be as was written,
"In honor anticipating one another."

Boys, both small and adolescent,
shall keep strictly to their rank in oratory and at table.
But outside of that, wherever they may be,
let them be under supervision and discipline,
until they come to the age of discretion.

Some thoughts

Wouldn't you love to live in a world where the juniors honor their
seniors who in turn love the juniors? Well, maybe the latter happens
but it seems to me more and more that the USA, at least, forgets there
is a 4th commandment. I could go on and on about this due to the
difficulties and challenges of getting my elderly mother what she
needs. But I suppose that would be a digression.

Benedict makes it clear that love and respect go hand in hand, does he
not? How can we show love and respect to those both our seniors and
our elders?

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 17, 2009

2009-08-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

April 17, August 17, December 17

Chapter 62: On the Priests of the Monastery

If an Abbot desire
to have a priest or a deacon ordained for his monastery,
let him choose one
who is worthy to exercise the priestly office.

But let the one who is ordained
beware of self-exaltation or pride;
and let him not presume to do anything
except what is commanded him by the Abbot,
knowing that he is so much the more subject
to the discipline of the Rule.
Nor should he by reason of his priesthood forget
the obedience and the discipline required by the Rule,
but make ever more and more progress towards God.

Let him always keep the place which he received
on entering the monastery,
except in his duties at the altar
or in case the choice of the community and the will of the Abbess
should promote him for the worthiness of his life.
Yet he must understand
that he is to observe the rules laid down by deans and Priors.

Should he presume to act otherwise,
let him be judged not as a priest but as a rebel.
And if he does not reform after repeated admonitions,
let even the Bishop be brought in as a witness.
If then he still fails to amend,
and his offenses are notorious,
let him be put out of the monastery,
but only if his contumacy is such
that he refuses to submit or to obey the Rule

Some thoughts:
Here we are back to priests in the monastery. Previously we read how
those who already are priests were to be greeted. Today the reading
is about the Abbot deciding that a priest is desirable. It's an
interesting bit... I recall reading in St Gregory's Dialogues, the
section on the life of St Benedict (which is in our files) that when
living in his cave Benedict did not even know when it was Easter
Sunday! Which indicates to me that by the time he wrote this chapter,
regular celebration of the sacraments may have been becoming more
important to the monks.

We also see here that Benedict continues in the tradition of the
distrust of the priest which started in with the Desert Christians and
continues in John Cassian and the Rule of the Master. As I have
mentioned in the past, these are the primary sources recognized to
have influenced Benedict. There may also be something else at work
here... a priest would also be under the authority of the local Bishop
and Benedict wishes to make it clear that the Abbot and the monastic
community have priority over the Bishop.

We also see here that the priest doesn't go up in rank but keeps the
one he had already. Rank in the Benedictine community was determined
by length of time in the monastery. We saw in the chapter about
visiting monks who choose to the enter the monastery or her again,
that the monastic superior is given in the Rule the authority to
re-assign rank, but that is predicated upon living the monastic life
and no other considerations. And, of course, as is familiar to us,
the priest-monk is subject to the same penalties as anyone else who
disrupts the communal life.

But what does all this mean to us today? I think it can speak to our
understanding of vocation, or, at least to mine, I should say. I look
at vocation this way: we all have one or more. Sometimes vocations
overlap. I am a daughter, nun, friend, list owner, have been a
student, a writer. All of these are things I believe God has called
me to and that makes them vocations. No person's vocation is more
important than another. No vocation makes anyone holier than another.
Vocations are merely our role in the Body of Christ which needs all
of us to be faithful to God's call to us. So just as the monk is
called to become a priest to meet a need in the community, so God
calls us into His service, an offering for the Body of Christ.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Arsenius 2

2009-08-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Arsenius

It was also said of him (Abba Arsenius) that on Saturday evenings, preparing for the glory of Sunday, he would turn his back on the sun and stretch out his hands in prayer towards the heavens, till once again the sun shone on his face. Then he would sit down.

Some thoughts:

As it happens, I write this on a Sunday morning. Do we feel we have to prepare for Sunday? When I was younger and raised as a Roman Catholic, preparing for Sunday meant confession on Saturday and nothing to eat or drink on Sunday until after Eucharist. Then came Vatican 2 and we could go to Mass on Sat and that was deemed just as good as going to church on Sunday.

Up until sometime in the 70s, stores in the USA were not open on Sunday. Oh, yes, the convenience store was, but that was about it. Then store owners successfully talked various governmental bodies to allow stores to be open on Sundays during Advent. (I always thought that a very strange Advent observance). After that, I guess the public wanted the stores open. At least so we were told.

What's the result? Here in the USA, generally speaking, Sunday is pretty much indistinguishable from any other day of the week. Some of us may go to church. Studies on church attendance tell us fewer and fewer Americans go to church.

Here in San Diego, church attendance has dropped due to Little League. Thanks to the climate, Little League is a 12 month a year thing. I am told that there are so many leagues that in order to accommodate them all, games have to be played on Sunday as well as Saturday. Sunday in San Diego is also the day chosen for the various charity events that tie up many of our city streets and the freeway.

The Desert Christians observed Sunday quite differently. Helen Waddell in her book, _The Desert Christians_, describes Sunday in the desert of Egypt as the day they came together. The other 6 days they were separate. The Sabbath in the desert began at sunset on Saturday when the monks would pray together through the night and the next day have the agape meal. This would be when the questions were asked and what now know as the Sayings were uttered. They spent the day together, praising God, teaching one another, learning from one another, singing hymns. At sunset on Sunday they went back to their cells.

Their Sabbath sure is different from ours. What could we do to reclaim some idea of "Sabbath rest" for ourselves and families?

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 16, 2009

2009-08-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

April 16, August 16, December 16

Chapter 61: How Pilgrim Monks Are To Be Received

But if as a guest she was found exacting or prone to vice,
not only should she be denied membership in the community,
but she should even be politely requested to leave,
lest others be corrupted by her evil life.

If, however, she has not proved to be the kind
who deserves to be put out,
she should not only on her own application be received
as a member of the community,
but she should even be persuaded to stay,
that the others may be instructed by her example,
and because in every place it is the same Lord who is served,
the same King for whom the battle is fought.

Moreover, if the Abbess perceives that she is worthy,
she may put her in a somewhat higher rank.
[And not only with regard to a nun
but also with regard to those in priestly or clerical orders
previously mentioned,]*
the Abbess may establish them in a higher rank
than would be theirs by date of entrance
if she perceives that their life is deserving.

Let the Abbess take care, however,
never to receive a nun from another known monastery
as a member of her community
without the consent of her Abbess or a letter of recommendation;
for it is written,
"Do not to another what you would not want done to yourself" (Tob. 4:16).

*[Applicable only to women of some contemporary monastic communities in the Anglican Communion.]

Right away we notice the parenthetical remark that indicates a way in
which the RB is modified as circumstances require. I would not want
anyone to think there is a slavish adherence to the Rule. Benedict
himself in several places makes provision for the Rule to be modified
in some ways to better serve the community.

It's important that we choose our companions wisely. No less so for a
monastic community. And I sure wish Christendom had, does now and
will in the future demonstrate "because in every place it is the same
Lord who is served, the same King for whom the battle is fought."
Wouldn't that be nice? Maybe there would be less of those endless
squabbles where the same people make the same points over and over
again as if repitition or talking louder and with more and more less
temperately chosen vocabulary will force an agreement.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 15, 2009

2009-08-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

Reading from the Rule of St Benedict
from http://www.osb.org/rb/

April 15, August 15, December 15
Chapter 61: How Pilgrim Monks Are To Be Received

If a pilgrim monastic coming from a distant region
wants to live as a guest of the monastery,
let her be received for as long a time as she desires,
provided she is content
with the customs of the place as she finds them
and does not disturb the monastery by superfluous demands,
but is simply content with what she finds.
If, however, she censures or points out anything reasonably
and with the humility of charity,
let the Abbess consider prudently
whether perhaps it was for that very purpose
that the Lord sent her.

If afterwards she should want to bind herself to stability,
her wish should not be denied her,
especially since there has been opportunity
during her stay as a guest
to discover her character.

Some thoughts by Sr Gloriamarie

Obviously we are in a section where Benedictine deals with
professional courtesies. Couple of different issues in this chapter,
it seems to me. On the one had we have chapter one which is none too
complimentary to wandering monks and OTOH, we have recently read in ch
53 how all guests are to be received as Christ. So I see an open but
wary stance toward the visiting monk here. Benedict is willing to
give them a chance to show that they can be good guests and conform to
the life of the monastery they visit. It is clear that they are not
teated as guests as in ch 53 but as fellow participants in the
monastic life.

The monastic visitor is supposed to conform to the monastery it is
true, but I am struck by the humility with which Benedict writes of
the way their reasonable criticism is to be received. Would that all
of us had such a humble response to constructive criticism. Benedict
charges the Abbot to actually consider the criticism because the
visitor monk may be an unlikely agent of God. I am reminded of a
section much earlier, ch 3 mayhap?, where Benedict writes that even
the youngest of monks may be one through whom the Lord chooses to
speak. And please remember that the only seniority Benedict
recognizes is that of length of time in the community.

The reference to binding to stability means that there is the option
for the guest monastic to become a permanent part of the community
being visited. If the monastic will give up wandering and vow
stability, they will be admitted, especially since they have have
gotten to know the guest already.

This chapter has so many applications to our lives, I am not sure I
can mention them all. How many times have we seen people come to any
sort of community... church, email list etc.. and want to change it to
suit themselves long before they ever take the time to get to know the
group they have joined? Or how about the reception of the criticism?
How many times do we reject criticism of ourselves out of hand without
considering if it has validity for no other reason but that it is
criticism? How many of us refuse to take the risk to put ourselves
forward because we are afraid that we will be ourselves critcized?

I am sure readers of this list can find other ways to apply this
chapter to our lives outside the monastery and i look forward to
reading them.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Apollo

2009-08-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Apollo

There was in the Cells an old man called Apollo. If someone came to find him about doing a piece of work, he would set out joyfully, saying, 'I am going to work with Christ today, for the salvation of my soul, for that is the reward he gives.'

Some thoughts;

Occasionally when I read this Saying, I sometimes think of the 7 Dwarves, happily singing as they go off to work every day in that mine of theirs. Joy at going to work was not how I would describe my feelings when the alarm would go off at 5:30 AM so that I could catch the 6:35 AM to Boston. No, joy was not at all the word.

Abba Apollo (which strikes me as an odd name for a Christian) doesn't seem to care what the nature of the work might have been. He sees himself as working with Jesus, as if Jesus was right there alongside of Apollo.

Do we think of ourselves as working with Jesus? Certainly we may think of ourselves as working for God or to serve our fellow humans. But what about working with Jesus as if He were right next to us doing the same work?

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 14, 2009

2009-08-14T07:56:00.001-07:00

April 14, August 14, December 14

Chapter 60: On Priests Who May Wish to Live in the Monastery

If any ordained priest
should ask to be received into the monastery,
permission shall not be granted too readily.
But if he is quite persistent in his request,
let him know
that he will have to observe the whole discipline of the Rule
and that nothing will be relaxed in his favor,
that it may be as it is written:
"Friend, for what have you come (Matt. 26:50)?"

It shall be granted him, however, to stand next after the Abbot
and to give blessings and to celebrate Mass,
but only by order of the Abbot.
Without such order let him not make any exceptions for himself,
knowing that he is subject to the discipline of the Rule;
but rather let him give an example of humility to all.

If there happens to be question of an appointment
or of some business in the monastery,
let him expect the rank due him
according to the date of his entrance into the monastery,
and not the place granted him
out of reverence for the priesthood.

If any clerics, moved by the same desire,
should wish to join the monastery,
let them be placed in a middle rank.
But they too are to be admitted only if they promise
observance of the Rule and stability.

Some thoughts

The beginning of this section reminds me of some of the Sayings of the
Desert Christians and their distrust of priests. The Desert
Christians became the Desert Christian when Constantine proclaimed
Christianity to be the state religion of Rome. Hitherto, Christianity
and the world were at odds, the world was the realm of the devil and
Christians lived in it but did not participate in the things of the
world. A huge number of Christians were outraged that all of a sudden,
Christianity was identified with the world and in order to continue to
live holy lives, they fled civilization to live in the wild and
desolate places of Syria and Egypt. Priests, because of their
identification with the world, were suspect. By the time Benedict
wrote, priests were no longer considered identified as agents of the
sinful world. But I do see a reflection of the another concern of the
Desert Christians. So many priests were thought by the DC to be
prideful and ordination a sure road to one of the 7 deadly sins. If
you were wondering how they managed without priests to celebrate
Eucharist, the usual practice of the DC was the agape meal which did
not require a priest. And of course, those priests who lived the
discipline of the desert were allowed to celebrate.

Benedict's concern here is that the priest will submit to monastic
humility and discipline as evidenced by B's use of Mt 26:50. This is
the same question Jesus asked of Judas so the implication may be that
the priest who will not conform to the community will suffer Judas'
fate.Judas, after all, started with good intentions and ended
tragically. If this seems over the top, please not that in chap 62,
when we get there, Benedict calls a contentious pries a rebel.

So we see once again how egalitarian Benedict was. Whatever rank or
office one might hold outside the monastery, within the close one was
a monk, on equal footing with all the other monks.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Ammonas

2009-08-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Ammonas

Abba Ammonas was asked, 'What is the "narrow and hard way?" (Mt. 7.14) He replied, 'The "narrow and hard way" is this, to control your thoughts, and to strip yourself of your own will, for the sake of God. This is also the meaning of the sentence, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you." (Mt. 19.27)

Some Thoughts:

The concepts of ego and self-esteem were unknown in the ancient world. For that matter they were unknown until comparatively recently. The concept of self-will, however, has been with us since the get go. After all, God did create us with free will and so humanity has always struggled between one's own will and the will of another. Especially between one's own will and the will of God.

I dunno why the ancients and the Great Saints of Yore, write so gloomily of stripping down, leaving everything behind or, later on in Christian history, the purgative way. It's all rather dark, gloomy language or so I find it. I guess it worked for them. As for me, I am as much a part of my culture as the next person and I like it all a bit brighter.

Our society has set up what I believe to be a false dichotomy between self-fulfillment and giving it all up for God. It is presented to us as an either/or when it is really, as so often is the case with the things of God, a both/and. The reason I say this is based in my understanding of Christian vocation. Here goes.

There is only one Christian vocation. All Christians are called to the exact same thing: to know, love and enjoy God and to be known, loved an enjoyed by God. Each of us may be called to different expressions of that one vocation, Each and every vocation is as equally important and valid as the next and none of them rank higher than another, no matter what fancy titles. The fancy titles are only used because we humans like to slap labels.

The odd thing about responding to God's unique call to each of us is that we may think we have to give up, lose out, be deprived of this, that or the other. Mostly especially we may fear the loss of ourselves. But the thing is, as it so often is, God's wisdom seems like idiocy to us. The fact is we lose nothing. The fact is, we gain. What we discover, as we do the work of stripping off everything that is inconsistent with God's will for us, that we discover who we really are. We discover that person God created us to be. can we take the risk of giving up who we thought we were for the sake of the person God knows?

Here's what surprised me: the brighter bit has been there all along. It is one of the great paradoxes of the New Testament: "Those who lose their lives, gain it."

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 13, 2009

2009-08-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

April 13, August 13, December 13

Chapter 59: On the Sons of Nobles and of the Poor Who Are Offered

If anyone of the nobility
offers his son to God in the monastery
and the boy is very young,
let his parents draw up the document which we mentioned above;
and at the oblation
let them wrap the document itself and the boy's hand in the altar cloth.
That is how they offer him.

As regards their property,
they shall promise in the same petition under oath
that they will never of themselves, or through an intermediary,
or in any way whatever,
give him anything
or provide him with the opportunity of owning anything.
Or else,
if they are unwilling to do this,
and if they want to offer something as an alms to the monastery
for their advantage,
let them make a donation
of the property they wish to give to the monastery,
reserving the income to themselves if they wish.
And in this way let everything be barred,
so that the boy may have no expectations
whereby (which God forbid) he might be deceived and ruined,
as we have learned by experience.

Let those who are less well-to-do make a similar offering.
But those who have nothing at all
shall simply draw up the document
and offer their son before witnesses at the oblation.

Some thoughts:

Some thoughts:

It's hard to think of anything to say about this passage. It seems so
archaic, so out of it's place in time. How can this possibly apply to us
living in the 21st century?

What it does remind of, though, is baptism. Those of us who were baptized
as infants had certain promises made for us. How often do we baptize a
baby? The godparents and parents pledge a whole bunch stuff on
Little Whosis behalf. It is up not only to the 4 of them but to everyone
who witnessed the vows, to help Little Whosis to grow up into the Baptismal Covenant.

So perhaps the modern day application of this passage is Christian formation
of our children and our neighbors' children. Which of course is only
possible if we ourselves have attended to our own Christian formation. What
are your thoughts, please?

Health Insurance Reality Check

2009-08-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Friend,

This is probably one of the longest emails I’ve ever sent, but it could be the most important.

Across the country we are seeing vigorous debate about health insurance reform. Unfortunately, some of the old tactics we know so well are back — even the viral emails that fly unchecked and under the radar, spreading all sorts of lies and distortions.

As President Obama said at the town hall in New Hampshire, “where we do disagree, let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that's actually been proposed.”

So let’s start a chain email of our own. At the end of my email, you’ll find a lot of information about health insurance reform, distilled into 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage, 8 common myths about reform and 8 reasons we need health insurance reform now.

Right now, someone you know probably has a question about reform that could be answered by what’s below. So what are you waiting for? Forward this email.

Thanks,
David

David Axelrod
Senior Adviser to the President

P.S. We launched www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck this week to knock down the rumors and lies that are floating around the internet. You can find the information below, and much more, there. For example, we've just added a video of Nancy-Ann DeParle from our Health Reform Office tackling a viral email head on. Check it out:

8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage

Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.

Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.

Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.

Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.

Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.

Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.
Learn more and get details: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/

8 common myths about health insurance reform

Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.

We can’t afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.

Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions.

Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.

Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.

Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.
You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.

No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make.

Learn more and get details:
http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck
http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck/faq

8 Reasons We Need Health Insurance Reform Now

Coverage Denied to Millions: A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years or dropped from coverage when they became seriously ill. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/denied_coverage/index.html

Less Care for More Costs: With each passing year, Americans are paying more for health care coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hiddencosts/index.html

Roadblocks to Care for Women: Women’s reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care. Women are also more likely to report fair or poor health than men (9.5% versus 9.0%). While rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and are more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These chronic conditions often require regular and frequent treatment and follow-up care. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/women/index.html

Hard Times in the Heartland: Throughout rural America, there are nearly 50 million people who face challenges in accessing health care. The past several decades have consistently shown higher rates of poverty, mortality, uninsurance, and limited access to a primary health care provider in rural areas. With the recent economic downturn, there is potential for an increase in many of the health disparities and access concerns that are already elevated in rural communities. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes

Small Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Coverage: Nearly one-third of the uninsured – 13 million people – are employees of firms with less than 100 workers. From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. Much of this decline stems from small business. The percentage of small businesses offering coverage dropped from 68% to 59%, while large firms held stable at 99%. About a third of such workers in firms with fewer than 50 employees obtain insurance through a spouse. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/helpbottomline

The Tragedies are Personal: Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction

Diminishing Access to Care: From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. An estimated 87 million people - one in every three Americans under the age of 65 - were uninsured at some point in 2007 and 2008. More than 80% of the uninsured are in working families. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction/diminishing/index.html

The Trends are Troubling: Without reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket unabated, putting unbearable strain on families, businesses, and state and federal government budgets. Perhaps the most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance - projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040 in the absence of reform. Learn more: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/assets/documents/CEA_Health_Care_Report.pdf

Top Five Health Care Reform Lies—and How to Fight Back

2009-08-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

Top Five Health Care Reform Lies—and How to Fight Back

Lie #1: President Obama wants to euthanize your grandma!!!

The truth: These accusations—of "death panels" and forced euthanasia—are, of course, flatly untrue. As an article from the Associated Press puts it: "No 'death panel' in health care bill."4 What's the real deal? Reform legislation includes a provision, supported by the AARP, to offer senior citizens access to a professional medical counselor who will provide them with information on preparing a living will and other issues facing older Americans.5

Lie #2: Democrats are going to outlaw private insurance and force you into a government plan!!!

The truth: With reform, choices will increase, not decrease. Obama's reform plans will create a health insurance exchange, a one-stop shopping marketplace for affordable, high-quality insurance options.6 Included in the exchange is the public health insurance option—a nationwide plan with a broad network of providers—that will operate alongside private insurance companies, injecting competition into the market to drive quality up and costs down.7

If you're happy with your coverage and doctors, you can keep them.8 But the new public plan will expand choices to millions of businesses or individuals who choose to opt into it, including many who simply can't afford health care now.

Lie #3: President Obama wants to implement Soviet-style rationing!!!

The truth: Health care reform will expand access to high-quality health insurance, and give individuals, families, and businesses more choices for coverage. Right now, big corporations decide whether to give you coverage, what doctors you get to see, and whether a particular procedure or medicine is covered—that is rationed care. And a big part of reform is to stop that.

Health care reform will do away with some of the most nefarious aspects of this rationing: discrimination for pre-existing conditions, insurers that cancel coverage when you get sick, gender discrimination, and lifetime and yearly limits on coverage.9 And outside of that, as noted above, reform will increase insurance options, not force anyone into a rationed situation.

Lie #4: Obama is secretly plotting to cut senior citizens' Medicare benefits!!!

The truth: Health care reform plans will not reduce Medicare benefits.10 Reform includes savings from Medicare that are unrelated to patient care—in fact, the savings comes from cutting billions of dollars in overpayments to insurance companies and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.11

Lie #5: Obama's health care plan will bankrupt America!!!

The truth: We need health care reform now in order to prevent bankruptcy—to control spiraling costs that affect individuals, families, small businesses, and the American economy.

Right now, we spend more than $2 trillion dollars a year on health care.12 The average family premium is projected to rise to over $22,000 in the next decade13—and each year, nearly a million people face bankruptcy because of medical expenses.14 Reform, with an affordable, high-quality public option that can spur competition, is necessary to bring down skyrocketing costs. Also, President Obama's reform plans would be fully paid for over 10 years and not add a penny to the deficit.15
We're closer to real health care reform than we've ever been—and the next few weeks will decide whether it happens. We need to make sure the truth about health care reform is spread far and wide to combat right wing lies.

P.S. Want more? Check out this great new White House "Reality Check" website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/ or this excellent piece from Health Care for America Now on some of the most outrageous lies: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51729&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=1

Sources:
1. "More 'Town Halls Gone Wild': Angry Far Right Protesters Disrupt Events With 'Incomprehensible' Yelling," Think Progress, August 4, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51733&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=2

2. "Fight the smears," Health Care for America NOW, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51729&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=3

3. "Palin Paints Picture of 'Obama Death Panel' Giving Thumbs Down to Trig," ABC News, August 7, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51728&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=4

4. "No 'death panel' in health care bill," The Associated Press, August 10, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51747&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=5

5. "Stop Distorting the Truth about End of Life Care," The Huffington Post, July 24, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51730&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=6

6. "Reality Check FAQs," WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 11, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#i1

7. "Why We Need a Public Health-Care Plan," The Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51737&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=7

8. "Obama: 'If You Like Your Doctor, You Can Keep Your Doctor,'" The Wall Street Journal, 15, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51736&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=8

9. "Reality Check FAQs," WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#r1

10. "Obama: No reduced Medicare benefits in health care reform," CNN, July 28, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51748&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=9

11. "Reality Check FAQs," WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#s1

12. "Reality Check FAQs," WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#c1

13. "Premiums Run Amok," Center for American Progress, July 24, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51667&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=10

14. "Medical bills prompt more than 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies," CNN, June 5, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51735&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=11

15. "Reality Check FAQs," WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#c1

Sources for the Five Lies:

#1: "A euthanasia mandate," The Washington Times, July 29, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51732&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=12

#2: "It's Not An Option," Investor's Business Daily, July 15, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51743&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=13

#3: "Rationing Health Care," The Washington Times, April 21, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51742&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=14

#4: "60 Plus Ad Is Chock Full Of Misinformation," Media Matters for America, August 8, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51734&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=15

#5: "Obama's 'Public' Health Plan Will Bankrupt the Nation," The National Review, May 13, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51744&id=16778-6570102-KyBKYRx&t=16

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 11, 2009

2009-08-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

April 11, August 11, December 11

Chapter 58: On the Manner of Receiving Sisters

When anyone is newly come for the reformation of her life,
let her not be granted an easy entrance;
but, as the Apostle says,
"Test the spirits to see whether they are from God."
If the newcomer, therefore, perseveres in her knocking,
and if it is seen after four or five days
that she bears patiently the harsh treatment offered her
and the difficulty of admission,
and that she persists in her petition,
then let entrance be granted her,
and let her stay in the guest house for a few days.

After that let her live in the novitiate,
where the novices study, eat and sleep.
A senior shall be assigned to them who is skilled in winning souls,
to watch over them with the utmost care.
Let her examine whether the novice is truly seeking God,
and whether she is zealous
for the Work of God, for obedience and for trials.
Let the novice be told all the hard and rugged ways
by which the journey to God is made.

If she promises stability and perseverance,
then at the end of two months
let this rule be read through to her,
and let her be addressed thus:
"Here is the law under which you wish to fight.
If you can observe it, enter;
if you cannot, you are free to depart."
If she still stands firm,
let her be taken to the above-mentioned novitiate
and again tested in all patience.
And after the lapse of six months let the Rule be read to her,
that she may know on what she is entering.
And if she still remains firm,
after four months let the same Rule be read to her again.

Then, having deliberated with herself,
if she promises to keep it in its entirety
and to observe everything that is commanded,
let her be received into the community.
But let her understand that,
according to the law of the Rule,
from that day forward she may not leave the monastery
nor withdraw her neck from under the yoke of the Rule
which she was free to refuse or to accept
during that prolonged deliberation.

Some thoughts:

Benedict certainly did not want people jumping in with both feet who did not know what they are getting into. That's pretty clear. He gives a full 12 months for people to absorb the Rule. During this year, they can leave whenever they want.

What happens during these 12 months? Discernment for one. Learning to give up one's own will for God's. Developing a desire for the Daily Offices. All while being guided by those more senior, more experienced.

Takes a certain amount of humility to be willing to be taught.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Agathon 3

2009-08-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

from:http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Agathon

Abba Agathon said, “I consider no other labor as difficult as prayer. When we are ready to pray, our spiritual enemies interfere. They understand it is only by making it difficult for us to pray that they can harm us. Other things will meet with success if we keep at it, but laboring at prayer is a war that will continue until we die.”

Some thoughts:

Cannot begin to tell you how important this Saying is to me. Or how true I find it. Cannot begin to tell you all the really good ideas that pop into my head just at the time I pick up my Prayerbook or breviary to pray an office. Or the scads of things that come to mind that I Simply Must Do This Very Instant during an office. For years now, I have gone to Prayerbook and Breviary accompanied by a piece of paper and a pencil to jot down the thought so I know it will be handled at a more appropriate moment.

As is an Episcopalian, I am no more comfortable with the ideas of demons etc. than is any other Episcopalian. But there surely is something that wants to keep me from prayer. Day in and day out. No wonder prayer is sometimes referred to as "spiritual combat."

Is your experience anything like mine?

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 9, 2009

2009-08-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

April 10, August 10, December 10

Chapter 57: On the Artisans of the Monastery

If there are artisans in the monastery,
let them practice their crafts with all humility,
provided the Abbot has given permission.
But if any one of them becomes conceited
over his skill in his craft,
because he seems to be conferring a benefit on the monastery,
let him be taken from his craft
and no longer exercise it unless,
after he has humbled himself,
the Abbot again gives him permission.

If any of the work of the craftsmen is to be sold,
those responsible for the sale
must not dare to practice any fraud.
Let them always remember Ananias and Saphira,
who incurred bodily death (Acts 5:1-11),
lest they and all who perpetrate fraud
in monastery affairs
suffer spiritual death.
And in the prices let not the sin of avarice creep in,
but let the goods always be sold a little cheaper
than they can be sold by people in the world,
"that in all things God may be glorified" (1 Peter 4:11).

Some thoughts:

This passage often makes me wonder what were the circumstances behind it. He says "let them practice their crafts with all humility" and goes on to talk about the ones who might think too highly of themselves as a result of their work. Certainly I have known artisans and artists like that. Would that they were in a Benedictine community where their egos would be given short shift and the would be taught that work does not proceed from themselves but from God.

But more often I have known those whose humility suffers in the other direction. They have shared with me that their struggles are to allow themselves the time to create, to believe that they deserve to take the time to practice their art.
Benedict doesn't speak of these people. Possibly because an astute Abbot would identify the skills within the community and would then assign them to work which uses those skills.

To badly paraphrases C S Lewis, true humility is not pretending to be less claiming to be better than one is, but accepting of exactly who one is.

Maybe the term 'artisan" needs clarification. In our day, we tend to use "artisan" for those who create works of art that are not among what we call "fine arts." So we use "artisan" to mean weavers, potters, those whom make very artistic black work etc. In Benedict's day, an artisan was anyone who was a skilled worker whether in the fine arts or not. So carpenter, painter, blacksmith, weaver, potter, mason, etc. were all lumped together. All of these skills would be important in a self-sufficient monastery.

This is getting a bit long so I will skip over some of it to this bit: "but let the goods always be sold a little cheaper
than they can be sold by people in the world." This might seem a bit strange to modern eyes. Especially if we are used to a capitalist form of economy where supply and demand determine the price. Not to mention selling cheaply undercuts the competition with often disastrous results, such as driving the competition out of business and the subsequent hardship they endure.

Although Benedict no where specifies a vow of poverty, such as we know it today, it is obvious from our studies of the RB that the principle of having enough but not too much obtained. That would be the motivation in pricing the goods a tad more cheaply.

The phrase "people in the world" seems to me to deserve some attention. Benedict is the spiritual descendant of the Desert Christians who fled the cities and towns when Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. Jesus had said His followers were to be in the world but not of it. The Desert Christians wanted to be obedient to Jesus. Eventually their way of life moved beyond Egypt, Syria, Palestine etc and monasteries were established rather nearer to cities etc. But for Benedict's predecessors in cenobitic monasticism, the monasteries may have been in the world, but they were not of it. Benedict inherited this concept and wrote it into his Rule.

I've oversimplified, of course, but this post is already too long.

Sayings of the Desert Christians: Abba Agathon 2

2009-08-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Agathon

The old men said to Abba Agathon of Abba Elias, in Egypt, 'He is a good Abba.' The old man answered them, 'In comparison with his own generation, he is good.' They said to him, 'And what is he in comparison with the ancients?' He gave them this answer, 'I have said to you that in comparison with his generation he is good but as to that of the ancients, in Scetis I have seen a man who, like Joshua the son of Nun could make the sun stand still in the heavens.' At these words they were astounded and gave glory to God.

Some thoughts:

I have always wondered whom Abba Agathon means by the "ancients." Or if "ancients" is a word that has suffered in the translation. In the Sayings 'abba" is frequently translated as "old man" which might lead us to think of them to be in their nineties!!

As for this business of making the sun stand still in the heavens... Clearly they were impressed with this. Signs and wonders are impressive. I am reminded though of what Jesus said about people seeing signs and wonders and they still do not believe. Fortunately the mere report of a sign and wonder caused these monks to give glory. But sometimes I wonder if Abba Agathon meant this sarcastically. In a "Oh sure he is good, but I know this guy who..." Maybe the point is that we should not be busy comparing ourselves to others.

Medieval lives of the saints are full of staggering details such as levitation, flying about the Cathedral while so caught up in prayer. Before he wrote The Mountain of Silence about Mt Athos, Kyriacos C. Markides wrote an earlier book and I've forgotten the name of it. Kyriacos C. Markides was deeply into New Age stuff before he embraced Greek Orthodoxy. On his 1st visit to Mt Athos, all he could absorb were the signs and wonders. He saw them as evidence of mature spirituality. I am reminded of my own life when I first experienced the ecstasy of contemplative union and focused in on that and wanted that over and over again until my spiritual director pointed out to me that the Bridegroom had given me gifts as His bride but it was time to cease to seek the gifts and instead seek the Giver.

No doubt I am reading this Saying all wrong. But such is how it speaks to me.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Agathon 1

2009-08-08T08:52:00.001-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers

It was said concerning Abba Agathon that some monks came to find him having heard tell of his great discernment. Wanting to see if he would lose his temper they said to him 'Aren't you that Agathon who is said to be a fornicator and a proud man?' 'Yes, it is very true,' he answered. They resumed, 'Aren't you that Agathon who is always talking nonsense?' 'I am." Again they said 'Aren't you Agathon the heretic?' But at that he replied 'I am not a heretic.' So they asked him, 'Tell us why you accepted everything we cast you, but repudiated this last insult.' He replied 'The first accusations I take to myself for that is good for my soul. But heresy is separation from God. Now I have no wish to be separated from God.' At this saying they were astonished at his discernment and returned, edified.

Some thoughts:

Interesting, isn't it, that there is some link between discernment and losing one's temper? The reason Agathon gives for not losing his temper over most of the accusations is that was good for his soul. How contrary this is to our own choices. I know my first impulse when someone says something like this to me to defend myself. I don't like the way I feel when someone says such things to me and so I want to change their minds about me. Agathon's example, though, is to allow the things to be said. Not only that, my guess is that he also stopped to consider if the accusations were true. So rather than get hung up on his feelings, he took it as an occasion to discern his own sinfulness.

Not so with the accusation of heresy. It is hard for us in the western world, perhaps, to understand that at one time heresy was a matter of life and death. We tend to think that is an over-reaction. We are all entitled to our own opinion, we believe. We live in an age of tremendous religious syncretism. Agathon reminds us, however, that there is a consideration more important than a right to a personal opinion. Which is: what is the result of one's personal opinion? Where might that personal opinion lead?

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 8, 2009

2009-08-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

April 8, August 8, December 8

Chapter 55: On the Clothes and Shoes of the Brethren

For bedding let this suffice:
a mattress, a blanket, a coverlet and a pillow.

The beds, moreover, are to be examined frequently by the Abbot,
to see if any private property be found in them.
If anyone should be found to have something
that he did not receive from the Abbot,
let him undergo the most severe discipline.

And in order that this vice of private ownership
may be cut out by the roots,
the Abbot should provide all the necessary articles:
cowl, tunic, stockings, shoes, belt,
knife, stylus, needle, handkerchief, writing tablets;
that all pretext of need may be taken away.
Yet the Abbot should always keep in mind
the sentence from the Acts of the Apostles
that "distribution was made to each according as anyone had need" (Acts 4:35).
In this manner, therefore,
let the Abbot consider weaknesses of the needy
and not the ill-will of the envious.
But in all his decisions
let him think about the retribution of God.

Some thoughts:

Benedict continues to instruct his monks about private ownership. Which is that there should be no private ownership in the monastery. At the same time, the monks are to have every thing they need without stinting, taking into consideration personal issues. Compared to previous forms of Christian monasticism, Benedict is generous in a revolutionary manner. He does not see any benefit to deprivation, be it food, sleep, insufficient clothing or protection from the climate. His concern is that his monks have exactly what they need. No more, no less.

There is such a contrast here with the western world's view of possessions. So many of us believe that more is better. We have been fed such lies by all forms of media and even Presidential administrations to encourage us to buy buy buy. There is some TV commercial that moves without a pause from "I want it" to "I need it." As if the 2 were synonymous.

We of the west have somehow become so insulated that we no longer see the impact our choices have upon the rest of the world. Feeding our consumerism has led to global warming. Not the only contribution factor, but still a part. We fail to see how our choices take food from the hungry. Perhaps when we are tempted to buy things we want but do not need, we could instead consider giving that money to the poor.

And it is a temptation. There is possibly no more issue fraught with all sorts of baggage than our money. The Enemy has been quite successful with that.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Abraham

2009-08-07T09:34:00.001-07:00

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers

Abba Abraham told of a man of Scetis who was a scribe and did not eat bread. A brother came to beg him to copy a book. The old man whose spirit was engaged in contemplation, wrote, omitting some phrases and with no punctuation. The brother, taking the book and wishing to punctuate it, noticed that words were missing. So he said to the old man, 'Abba, there are some phrases missing.' The old man said to him, 'Go, and practise first that which is written, then come back and I will write the rest.'

Some thoughts:

First off, your initial reaction might be "Hey, we already read this one!" What we read, was a version. This one has details the other lacked and who is to say which one is the more accurate. I certainly don't know.

One might wonder why the detail that the scribe did not eat bread was considered important. Many of the Desert Christians fasted in such a manner that we today would consider anorexic. Such rigorism was considered holy and those who ate the least were sometimes considered the holiest. Maybe that is what is going on here. Maybe. I dunno. I find this Saying a bit troubling.

Here we have the scribe so lost in prayer that he is not making an accurate copy. Another monk comes to borrow the book and discovers the text is incomplete. Look at the scribe's response. There are several ways to take it, I daresay. One might be not to stress over details and to look at the bigger picture. That is usually how I read this Saying.

But today, with these extra details, I find myself wondering what important stuff might be missing? Phrases might be missing that might change meaning of the bigger picture. So perhaps rather than a blind obedience, we might seek and informed obedience through prayer and discernment.

What are your thoughts?

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 7, 2009

2009-08-07T08:58:00.001-07:00

April 7, August 7, December 7

Chapter 55: On the Clothes and Shoes of the Brethren

Let clothing be given to the brethren
according to the nature of the place in which they dwell
and its climate;
for in cold regions more will be needed,
and in warm regions less.
This is to be taken into consideration, therefore, by the Abbot.

We believe, however, that in ordinary places
the following dress is sufficient for each monk:
a tunic,
a cowl (thick and woolly for winter, thin or worn for summer),
a scapular for work,
stockings and shoes to cover the feet.

The monks should not complain
about the color or the coarseness of any of these things,
but be content with what can be found
in the district where they live and
can be purchased cheaply.

The Abbot shall see to the size of the garments,
that they be not too short for those who wear them,
but of the proper fit.

Let those who receive new clothes
always give back the old ones at once,
to be put away in the wardrobe for the poor.
For it is sufficient if a monk has two tunics and two cowls,
to allow for night wear and for the washing of these garments;
more than that is superfluity and should be taken away.
Let them return their stockings also and anything else that is old
when they receive new ones.

Those who are sent on a journey
shall receive drawers from the wardrobe,
which they shall wash and restore on their return.
And let their cowls and tunics be somewhat better
than what they usually wear.
These they shall receive from the wardrobe
when they set out on a journey,
and restore when they return.

Some thoughts:

Ah, the wardrobe. How many clothes are enough? Too much? What is or is not appropriate to wear? All issues in Benedict's day just as they are in ours. I am also reminded of a Yankee aphorism: Use it up or wear it out; make it do or do without. Benedict would have approved, I believe. We see here that Benedict is concerned to have his monks adequately dressed for the climate in which they live. They are to have sufficient clothing but not too much.

I've always been a little tickled that the monks who are sent on a journey get underpants, but this garment is not considered necessary for wear within the monastery it self. And now that I can pick up Kardong's Commentary and check it out, I see that "drawers" is a bad translation. Kardong uses "pants" and he clarifies in his Notes on the translation that he means "leggings" which would be suitable for riding a horse.

We, of course, live in a different time with different expectations of that which is appropriate. If we live in the USA, our society expects us to bathe daily, wear clean clothes daily and when we fail in such grooming, it's considered a warning sign about our mental health. We have different aspects to our lives which seem to demand different wardrobes.

There is much that could be said, but I prefer to keep this as mercifully brief as I can. This passage raises questions, I believe, that we must each answer for ourselves and families. Are our wardrobes adequate or are they abundant? Do we give what we no longer wear to the poor?

These questions are not as simple to answer as one might think. For my own life, I find much prayer is needed to discern what is right.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Intercession 2

2009-08-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

from: http://www.thenazareneway.com/paradise_of_the_desert_fathers.htm

Palladius said, "One day when I was suffering from boredom I went to Abba Macarius and said, "What shall I do? My thoughts afflict me, saying, you are not making any progress, go away from here." He said to me, "Tell them, for Christ's sake, I am guarding the walls."
Some thoughts

My first reaction is always "Is this the Palladius who founded cenobitic monasticism and mixed communities?" My guess is that it is, but I also think my first reaction is a distraction from the meat of this Saying.

I can relate to Palladius. Can you? I often think that if this or that, such or so were different, better, newer etc, my prayer would be better. New breviary or prayerbook just published? Certainly that would have to help.

Macarius knows better, though. He knows about stability of the heart. He knows about building a hermitage in his heart. He knows that even when Palladius is bored or feeling like he is not making any progress, that there is much more to it than Palladius' feelings. That Palladius' feelings may not be his best guide.

Macarius compares stability of heart with guarding the walls. What are walls guarded from? Enemies? Wild animals? Plague bearers? If Palladius did go away, then there would be a breach in the walls so that enemies, wild aninmals and plague bearers would enter. OTOH, remaining at one's post, guarding the walls, may seem static and yet it serves a vital purpose. That purpose would nto be served by moving from place to place, from prayerbook to prayerbook, from breviary to breviary, from this to that form such to so.

And who knows, maybe it is because Macarius said this to Palladius that we are today blessed with cenobitic monasticism. Certainly St Benedict absorbed the lesson as we can see from Ch 1 of the Rule of St Benedict, Types of Monks. His words about gyrovagues seem apt to me.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 2, 2009

2009-08-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

April 6, August 6, December 6

Chapter 54: Whether a Monastic Should Receive Letters or Anything Else

On no account shall a monastic be allowed
to receive letters, blessed tokens or any little gift whatsoever
from parents or anyone else,
or from her sisters,
or to give the same,
without the Abbess's permission.
But if anything is sent her even by her parents,
let her not presume to take it
before it has been shown to the Abbess.
And it shall be in the Abbess's power to decide
to whom it shall be given,
if she allows it to be received;
and the sister to whom it was sent should not be grieved,
lest occasion be given to the devil.

Should anyone presume to act otherwise,
let her undergo the discipline of the Rule.

Some thoughts:

This section always seems to offend us moderns. This is, of course, because we read it with modern eyes and we bring modern expectations to the text. When we do that, though, we lose out. Benedict's milieu was the late ancient world/early medieval.

The impetus for the 1st monastics, the Desert Christians, was the desire to be in the world but not of it, in strict obedience to those same words spoken by our Lord. When Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire a huge number of Christians believed that Christian faith would be contaminated since it was now part of the world. Christians in their thousands left the cities for remote places where they could escape the contamination they feared and singleheartedly pursue the love of God.

They were in turn visited by other Christians who wished to learn from them who in turn took what they learned home and monastic communities began appearing all over. But these new generations shared with the Desert Christians the fear of contamination by the world and the desire to be obedient to the Lord's spoken words to be in the world but not of it. In essence, this is a purpose of the Rule of St Benedict: to create an environment, where uncontaminated by the world, monks could singleheartedly pursue the love of God.

Which brings us to today's reading. When a person entered the monastery, all ties with the family were broken. The monk had a new family. I read once that at some point, when a person was going to join a religious community, a funeral was held for that person. I don't remember where I read that or when that was the custom, but it does give us a sense of how thorough the break was between monk and family. The families knew it as much as the monks did.

OTOH, this doesn't mean that families accepted it. Possibly Benedict suspected the letters and gifts to attempts to get the monk back. Possibly he thought of them as sources of temptation or distraction from prayer. Possibly the gifts were a source of envy. The point, I believe, is that nothing is to separate the monk from the pursuit of God.

There is something to be said for this. The dividing line between being in and the world but not of it is blurred. I know Christians who think it is an outmoded concept. IMO, since Jesus said it, it still obtains. We Christians are still to be in the world but not of it, as hard as that is to practice. So when I read this passage, that is what it says to me: that I am in but not of this world and I need to look hard at the inevitably compromises I make.

Having said all that, let me also add that in the books I've read about modern day monastic communities, letters from families are allowed, gifts are allowed and the religious get to take vacations to go and visit their families. So this part of the RB has more or less been amended. We also know from European history that family ties ran deep and even though one was in a monastery, one could still wield some heavy duty political clout.

When I read the RB, though, I try to put all of what I know of history and present day practices out of my mind in the attempt to understand what it meant in the 6th century when Benedict wrote it. Because it seems to me that is the only way I can then apply it to my life.

Saying of the Desert Christians:Intercession 1

2009-08-05T13:17:00.001-07:00

from: http://www.thenazareneway.com/paradise_of_the_desert_fathers.htm

It is clear to all who dwell in Egypt that it is through the monks that the world is kept in being and that through them also human life is preserved and honoured by God. There is no town or village in Egypt that is not surrounded by hermitages as if by walls, and all the people depend on the prayers of the monks as if on God himself.

Some thoughts

Intercessory prayer is seen here to have power. The very existence of the world and humanity depends upon it. Have any of us considered prayer in this way? Or that we pray on behalf of those who don't know how?

Saying of the Desert Christians: Prayer 4

2009-08-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

from: http://www.thenazareneway.com/paradise_of_the_desert_fathers.htm

Some monks came to see Abba Lucius and they said to him, "We do not work with our hands; we obey Paul's command and pray without ceasing." The old man said, "Do you not eat or sleep?" They said, "Yes, we do." He said, "Who prays for you while you are asleep?... Excuse me, brothers, but you do not practice what you claim. I will show you how I pray without ceasing, though I work with my hands."

"With God's help, I collect a few palm-leaves and sit down and weave them, saying, "Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; according to the multitude of thy mercies do away with mine offences." He said to them, "Is this prayer or not?" They said, "Yes, it is."

And he continued, "When I have worked and prayed in my heart all day, I make about sixteen pence. Two of these I put outside my door and with the rest I buy food. And he who finds the two coins outside the door prays for me while I eat and sleep. And so by the help of God I pray without ceasing."

Some thoughts:

Dunno that I have anything intelligible to offer about this Saying because it has always puzzled me. Yet it has had enough meaning to make it into the collection. be glad of some help unraveling it.

First off, I appreciate that Abba Lucius demolished the idea that work and prayer are two separate things. I am of the opinion that anything we offer to God, even the act of breathing, is a form of prayer. He also made a practical point about sleep.

Hmm.. the light bulb may have lit. So often the experience of trying to say something to another crystallizes my thoughts. Thank you for being here today to help me. I am positive what I have just thought of has been patently obvious to many already. LOL Be that as it may, you have done me a service today.

I see I have been all hung up on the money issue as if Lucius were buying prayers. I've missed something. I am too commercialized capitalistic American.Lucius was giving alms. And the recipient of the alms expressed gratitude.

So the point of this Saying, is that "to pray without ceasing" is not something an individual can accomplish on their own. It must be a corporate endeavor. We see in the Book of the Revelation that those in Heaven, all the believers that ever were, are still praying. We here on earth pray. All the believers that ever shall be will pray. The entire Body of Christ is what prays without ceasing

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 4, 2009

2009-08-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

April 4, August 4, December 4

Chapter 53: On the Reception of Guests

Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ,
for He is going to say,
"I came as a guest, and you received Me" (Matt. 25:35).
And to all let due honor be shown,
especially to the domestics of the faith and to pilgrims.

As soon as a guest is announced, therefore,
let the Superior or the brethren meet him
with all charitable service.
And first of all let them pray together,
and then exchange the kiss of peace.
For the kiss of peace should not be offered
until after the prayers have been said,
on account of the devil's deceptions.

In the salutation of all guests, whether arriving or departing,
let all humility be shown.
Let the head be bowed
or the whole body prostrated on the ground
in adoration of Christ, who indeed is received in their persons.

After the guests have been received and taken to prayer,
let the Superior or someone appointed by him sit with them.
Let the divine law be read before the guest for his edification,
and then let all kindness be shown him.
The Superior shall break his fast for the sake of a guest,
unless it happens to be a principal fast day
which may not be violated.
The brethren, however, shall observe the customary fasts.
Let the Abbot give the guests water for their hands;
and let both Abbot and community wash the feet of all guests.
After the washing of the feet let them say this verse:
"We have received Your mercy, O God,
in the midst of Your temple" (Ps. 47[48]:10).

In the reception of the poor and of pilgrims
the greatest care and solicitude should be shown,
because it is especially in them that Christ is received;
for as far as the rich are concerned,
the very fear which they inspire
wins respect for them.

Some thoughts:

Please forgive me in advance. What I write below has been pressing on my heart for some time. I feel very much as if the Rule of St Benedict has formed the ideas I present below.

Ever since General Convention 2006 (of the Episcopal Church) I've been thinking about Holy Hospitality. I can't help but think that if there was a whole lot more emphasis upon Holy Hospitality with no strings attached as Benedict taught,

The model the world wide Anglican Communion should be using is that of Holy Hospitality. We must remember that when we entertain guests, we entertain Christ. We in the USA claim that Holy Hospitality is our charism what with all those signs saying "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You." Except that not every Episcopalian welcomes every other Episcopalian or every other person. Welcoming another does not require that we agree with them, only that we look for Christ in them. That is our sacred obligation.

The practice of Holy Hospitality requires Christians to demonstrate to the world our gut wrenching conviction that all persons are created in the image and likeness of God. That every single Christian is called to only one vocation: to love God with all that we are and have and to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is only the details of living that vocation that differ. Sadly what we Christians all too often demonstrate is that we fail to love ourselves. We can see this in our failure to love our neighbors. Scripture teaches us that every single human being, even those yet to be born, are our neighbors.

The crisis of the Anglican Communion is a failure to love. Oh, I am sure there is a chorus of "hey wait a minute, what about". And yes, we do many good and wonderful things. But we do not do enough. Somehow we have failed to communicate to our parishes that it is not solely what we do that is important, it is how we love others that is important.

To badly paraphrase Evelyn Underhill, if we truly love God and truly experience God's love for us, that love cannot be contained within the bounds of a human body but must fling out our arms to embrace the world and the love of God must overflow our bodies, streaming form our very pores, to love and serve God's creation, every human being, every bit of creation.

It is a joyous but also frightening thing to love like this. It requires us to face up to the lack of love we give to ourselves, to admit how much we may be ruled by fear of what might happen if we let go of control. We are so busy discussing (or arguing!!) over this or that and the best way to accomplish such and such. What about if we just dispense with all that and ask ourselves instead "What is the most radical way to love my fellow bits of creation? What will benefit others, first and foremost?"

Can we find the courage to step beyond the tried and true and go further in and higher up in God's call to each of us to fully embrace and welcome all as though they were Jesus?

Saying of the Desert Christians: Prayer 3

2009-08-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

from: http://www.thenazareneway.com/paradise_of_the_desert_fathers.htm

Abba Paul said, "Keep close to Jesus."

Some thoughts:

On the one hand, why could be more simpler? On the other, what could be more difficult? How many concerns, worries, things do we allow to distract us from Jesus?

I am reminded of a discussion in which I participated at Princeton Theological Seminary early 70s. It was offered by the folk who brought us the Sojourners but before it was called Sojourners. The discussion was lead by Art Gish ( http://www.cpt.org/speakers/art_gish ) and it was on the concept of simplicity. He said, to paraphrase badly, that when we desire Jesus, we want nothing else. That we would not want things etc.

Well, this caused quite a lot of controversy. For the first time, I saw people leaping to the defense of their possessions, justifying their spending habits. I had been taught by my parents that the only thing that prevented us from having every thing we wanted was money and here Art Gish said we could choose to do without, to choose Jesus over everything else.

Gentle readers could wish that I could think of less materialistic ways to discuss this Saying. So do I, actually. But I suppose it reveals my own personal area of struggle. Perhaps you have your own.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 3, 2009

2009-08-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

Chapter 52: On the Oratory of the Monastery

Let the oratory be what it is called, a place of prayer;
and let nothing else be done there or kept there.
When the Work of God is ended,
let all go out in perfect silence,
and let reverence for God be observed,
so that any sister who may wish to pray privately
will not be hindered by another's misconduct.
And at other times also,
if anyone should want to pray by herself,
let her go in simply and pray,
not in a loud voice but with tears and fervor of heart.
She who does not say her prayers in this way, therefore,
shall not be permitted to remain in the oratory
when the Work of God is ended,
lest another be hindered, as we have said.

Some thoughts:

I wonder when we lost the concept of the church as a sacred, holy place where we are to shut up ourselves and listen to God. When did we begin to think of the time between sitting down and our pews and the beginning of the service as a time to socialize? When did that cease to be a time for prayer? Do you want the silence before the service back as much as I?

Saying of the Desert Christians: Prayer 2

2009-08-02T09:23:00.001-07:00

from: http://www.thenazareneway.com/paradise_of_the_desert_fathers.htm

Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and he 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 toward heaven; his fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, "If you will, you can become all flame."

Some thoughts:

This is it. This is my number one favorite saying of them all. This describes what I long to be: consumed by the love of God. This Saying teaches me that if "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" I too might become all flame.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 2, 2009

2009-08-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

April 2, August 2, December 2

Chapter 51: On Brethren Who Go Not Very Far Away

A Brother who is sent out on some business
and is expected to return to the monastery that same day
shall not presume to eat while he is out,
even if he is urgently requested to do so
by any person whomsoever,
unless he has permission from his Abbot.
And if he acts otherwise, let him be excommunicated.

Some thoughts

Well, here we are again at this mysterious passage which seems to make no sense. Benedictines can give hospitality, but not accept it? Whazzup with that? Double standard?

1st off, we have to consider that the title of this chapter gives us a clue: "not very far away." The inference is that the monk would be close enough to hear any signals from the monastery so there would be no reason to do anything except return to the monastery.

2ndly, Benedict gives no reason for this prohibition. It's possible we have a negative reaction to that. We who live in post-modern times like our reasons, don't we? We are less inclined to take anyone's word for it, are we not? The thing is, as I have said before, to properly understand the RB, we have to let go of many of our 21st century preferences otherwise we will miss what is there.

In ch 67 which we have read in the past and will be reading again in the near future, Benedict tells us that contact with folk outside the monastery could harm the monk and/or the monastery. It's possible we could have a negative reaction to that. Paranoid much? nasty much? Sounds that way to us. I might agree except that available evidence must force us to conclude that interaction with certain people can indeed be harmful.

Another point that we must consider is this. Back in that day, taking a meal with another was charged with much more meaning than it is today. It wasn't like going through the drive through, or heating it up in the microwave and scarfing it down while watching TV. It was sacred, it formed a bond. Indeed the importance of sharing a meal contributed to Eucharistic theology as we know it today. Benedict would not have bothered to remind his monks of this as it was basic to their world-view. Patently obvious to them. It is we who have lost the sacred nature of the meal.

3rdly, let's remember too that it would be no hardship for the monk to miss out on the suggested meal. he wasn't very far from the monastery and his return was expected within a specific time frame.

The "urgently requested to do so" is interesting. Kardong suspects that it may be family members who were so insistent. Family ties were something that once again were far more powerful than they are here in the west. Although there are, of course, exceptions to this. Family ties were difficult to break and Benedict may have known they could so easily have been reestablished.

Which puts the whole idea of excommunication, with which this bit ends, in perspective, does it not? If a monk has in fact reestablished himself with his family, then he has terminated his relationship with the monastery.

Well, that's how I make sense of it. What do you think?

Saying of the Desert Christians: Prayer 1

2009-08-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

from: http://www.thenazareneway.com/paradise_of_the_desert_fathers.htm

They asked abba Macarius, "How should we pray?" And the old man replied, "There is no need to speak much in prayer; often stretch out your hands and say, "Lord, as you will and as you know, have mercy on me." But if there is war in your soul, add, "Help me!" and because he knows what we need, he shows mercy on us."

Some thoughts:

So much for our breviaries, prayer books, collections of prayers or even the Knitternun Meditation (see sig)!! They seem so elaborate in comparison to what Macarius teaches. I confess on many an occasion, my prayer is limited to the Jesus Prayer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Prayer ) or even when I have been bombarded by stress over mom's health crises
simply "Jesus".

I take great comfort in this Saying. It reminds me that God knows my deepest heart and thought. At the same time, I do not mean to knock our breviaries, prayer books etc. I love to sink into the Daily Offices, joining the millions who have gone before me, the millions today and the billions to come to pray the Psalms.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 1, 2009

2009-08-01T10:45:00.001-07:00

April 1, August 1, December 1
Chapter 50: On Sisters Who are Working Far From the Oratory or Are on a Journey
Those sisters who are working at a great distance
and cannot get to the oratory at the proper time --
the Abbess judging that such is the case --
shall perform the Work of God
in the place where they are working,
bending their knees in reverence before God.

Likewise those who have been sent on a journey
shall not let the appointed Hours pass by,
but shall say the Office by themselves as well as they can
and not neglect to render the task of their service.

Some thoughts:

This passage underscores that the primary focus of the monastic life is prayer in the form of the Daily Office. No matter how pressing the business, prayer was the priority.

In what ways do you choose to allow the press of business keep you from prayer?