Chapter 33: Personal possessions in the monastery
Following the practice of the early church described in Acts, everything in the monastery should be held in common and no one should think of claiming personal ownership of anything. (From Ch. 33 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
In meditation I know that I own nothing, and that the meditation isn't even "mine". I'm simply opening myself to the grace of entering into the prayer of Jesus. In the same way, I can begin to understand how important it is that I respond to my possessions with detachment. The less I try to possess, the more I realize what is being given.
In meditation I know that I own nothing, and that the meditation isn't even "mine". I'm simply opening myself to the grace of entering into the prayer of Jesus. In the same way, I can begin to understand how important it is that I respond to my possessions with detachment. The less I try to possess, the more I realize what is being given.
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