Chapter 61: Monastic pilgrims from far away (paragraphs 2-3)
But if no such negative signs are apparent it may be right to go further and not wait for a request to be accepted in the community. It may even be right to persuade such a one to stay so that others may benefit and learn from such example. (From para. 2 of Ch. 61 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
Sometimes, I might think that God "made something happen" in my life. The experience itself may spur me to gratitude and offer me purpose and meaning. But, at the same time, I need to remember that labelling events as, "the will of God" is perhaps only an effort of my thinking mind to be in control.
Fr. Thomas Keating’s 1984 “experiment” of inviting contemplatives from eight different spiritual traditions to his Colorado monastery to meditate and dialogue together flowed naturally from the Rule’s open-armed welcoming of pilgrims. Open my heart, Abba, to see and to listen for you in everyone I encounter today.
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