"I have loved you with an everlasting love...And I know the plans I have for you says the Lord"
Jeremiah:29-31
I don’t know about you but waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep is something that happens to me more often than I would like. Fr Mauritius Wilde OSB Has some interesting thoughts on what may be happening when we wake up and can’t fall back asleep...
Genuine Humility is difficult to develop and St Benedict addresses how we grow in this virtue through our relationships; How we relate to God, ourselves, others, and to our superiors. His Prescription for purging us of pride or other faults is through the "ladder of humility" which goes against much of what we are taught in Western culture.
Gratefully, we have the example of our savior Jesus Christ who through his kenosis or self emptying gives us a model of authentic humility. St Paul talks about this in Phil 2:1-10 "do nothing from selfish ambition but in humility count others more significant than yourselves . Let each of you look not only to his interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus... who emptied himself and took the form of a slave..." St Augustine calls humility the foundation of all the virtues and the most important one to cultivate in our heart. Pope Francis also has some tough words of advice on how to develop this virtue. "Humility can only take root in the heart through humiliations. Without them, there is no humility or holiness. If you are unable to suffer and offer up a few humiliations, you are not humble and you are not on the path to holiness. The holiness that God bestows on his Church comes through the humiliation of his Son. He is the way. Humiliation makes you resemble Jesus; it is an unavoidable aspect of the imitation of Christ. " Ouch, that hurts doesn’t it! But it can give us some peace to know that in difficult situations and humiliation we resemble God’s Beloved son. It doesn’t mean we seek out these situations, but to know that when It does happen we can be at peace. Our Humiliation is not in vain because it brings us closer to Christ. I think silence was one of the original attractions I had to the Benedictine way of life and The desire to cultivate inner silence. I can't say that I'm great at it but the desire to be is.. Our culture has become even more violent with noise. The churning of perpetual news reports, political machines and poisonous social media. I do at times wish that Christians would exercise some temperance in regards to these Outlets.
The book of James speaks of the tongue as a raging fire. And in Saint Benedict's rule he quotes proverbs "in much speaking you will not avoid sin" and "death and life are in the power of the tongue". I see the Benedictine virtue of "listening" with the ear of the heart" as connected to our speech and silence. What are we listening to? What are we taking in with our eyes and ears that eventually rests in our heart and effects our speech? Does this effect how we see and hear our brothers and sisters? These are questions I ask myself often.. |
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I'm not really a writer, but it's on my long list of aspirations to become one. The first on the list is to become a great Saint! My hope is to share knowledge and inspiration as we walk together during our pilgrim journey on earth and guide each other, hand in hand to the gates of Heaven... If you for find this website helpful please consider making a donation today! Archives
March 2024
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