Chapter 49: How Lent should be observed in the monastery
Therefore we urge that all in the monastery during these holy days of Lent should look carefully at the integrity of their lives and get rid in this holy season of any thoughtless compromises which may have crept in at other times.
(From para. 1 of Ch. 49 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
"Thoughtless compromises which may have crept in", describes only too well my experience of how easy it is for me to tend toward dullness or distraction. And yet, the potential for me to choose selfless attention is always present.
"Thoughtless compromises which may have crept in", describes only too well my experience of how easy it is for me to tend toward dullness or distraction. And yet, the potential for me to choose selfless attention is always present.
" The life of a monastic ought to be a continuous Lent." This passage is an important one for me, unmonastic as I am. During Lent I observed some disciplines of prayer and body more than other times. Why? I had my attention on preparation for Easter and for a deeper understanding of the Resurrection. I want to keep that focus so that I am ready to meet Him, the Risen Lord, in prayer, in life, in other people. Like Paul suggested we are like athletes keeping ourselves fit for a race and the prize is Christ.
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