Chapter 58: The reception of candidates for the community (paragraphs 1-3)
The first concern for novices should be to see whether it is God himself that they truly seek, whether they have a real love for the work of God combined with a willing acceptance of obedience and of any demands on their humility and patience that monastic life may make on them.
(From para. 2 of Ch. 58 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
It seems to me that a freely-chosen commitment to community or family is a school of love, precisely because, over time, it rubs the rough edges off my personality. Longing for union with my source, coupled with obedience, humility, and patience, allow me to be transformed.
(From para. 2 of Ch. 58 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
It seems to me that a freely-chosen commitment to community or family is a school of love, precisely because, over time, it rubs the rough edges off my personality. Longing for union with my source, coupled with obedience, humility, and patience, allow me to be transformed.
You choose a road that will take you somewhere. It gets you to your destination. You make the choice. Once on the road, the rough and the smooth must be accepted, along with the solitary and the community. Being on this road is just that- a way of being, a way of being in God.
ReplyDelete"Test the spirits to see if they are from God," requires a continuous listening heart, an open heart in daily meditation. The "ears" of the heart hopefully are sharpened to the numerous daily voices and are keen enough to hear the One Voice that matters. "This contact with the Life Source" (in meditation) "is vital for us, because without it we can hardly begin to suspect the potential that our life has for us." (John Main as quoted in today's Daily Wisdom email)
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