Prologue to The Rule (paragraphs 1-2)
Listen, child of God, to the guidance of your teacher. Attend to the message you hear and make sure that it pierces to your heart, so that you may accept with willing freedom and fulfil by the way you live the directions that come from your loving Father. (From para. 1 of Prologue to The Rule of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1973.)
I stand waiting to be delivered -- into a new day or a new experience or a new phase of my life -- and the words "child of God" don't strike me with the sentimentality that they sometimes do. They remind me that I am already loved, and I welcome all the vulnerability and strength this freedom gives me. I welcome the loving guidance of my Inner Teacher.
Benedict here reminds me of Picasso’s confession: “It took me four years to learn to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to learn tp paint like a child.” It’s taking me a lifetime but happily I am learning to meditate like a child, your little one, Abba.
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