Chapter 22: Sleeping arrangements for the community
In the morning, as they are getting up for the work of God, they should quietly give encouragement to those who are sleepy and given to making excuses for being late.
(From para. 2 of Ch. 22 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
The tiny oblation of quiet encouragement can quicken the spirit of another, and, in giving it, it can also quicken my own.
Never an early riser, always a sleepy one! My discipline of Morning Prayer and meditation is the encouragement that brightens the morning and brings a more centered, peaceful day.
ReplyDeleteI am a "separate" identity in a community. Unless I care for another's growth, respecting and reverencing their uniqueness, there will not be any growth in the community nor in myself.
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