Luke 16:1-13 When we listen to the parables of Jesus it can be easy to forget the urgency in his preaching. A new age is dawning and Jesus himself is the embodiment of the Kingdom he preaches. This Kingdom offers both promise and challenge. These past weeks we have listened to Luke outlining his theology …
Category Archives: Monastic
Preferring Nothing to Christ (12)
Therefore we intend to establish a school of the Lord’s service. In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. Rule of St Benedict, Prologue All aspects of monastery life are focused on seeking and serving God. I often speak of monastic life as an ‘intentional life’. Monastic life is …
Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 14:1,7-14 ‘When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour. A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and say, “Give up your place to this man.” And then, to your embarrassment, you would …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (11)
TOGETHER ‘Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.’ (Ch. 72, On Good Zeal) St Benedict began his life of faith in the small town of Norcia, just outside of Rome. As a young boy he was sent to Rome to study; he found himself unhappy …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (10)
LOVEThe seventy three chapters of the Rule of St Benedict are a framework for living in community. Every aspect of monastery life is covered, sometimes in detail that is a little surprising. Some parts of the text are very demanding and others are tender and considerate. This strictness is seen by St Benedict as means …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (9)
LOVE It has often been said that the one of the reasons why the Rule of St Benedict has continued to inspire people is because of the simple humanity that we find in its pages. St Benedict lays out a way of life that he wants to be within the reach of anyone who deeply …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (8)
CHRIST Much of the Rule of St Benedict is concerned with the practicalities of living in community. St Benedict values good order and urges that things be so arranged that ‘the strong have something to yearn for and the weak have nothing to run from’ (Ch 64). Christ is implicitly honoured in every aspect of …
The Assumption
Revelation 11:19,12:1-6,10 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 Luke 1:39-56 The older I get the more time I seem to need to spend on paying attention to my body and making sensible choices. This is anything but self indulgent. When you live in community your own well-being is linked to the whole. There’s something of an implicit understanding that what …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (7)
CHRIST Let them prefer absolutely nothing to Christ,and may he lead us all together to everlasting life. (Ch 72, On Good Zeal) That the Rule of St Benedict is Christological is evident on just about every page of the text. Whether St Benedict is speaking of ‘running in the way of God’s commands’ (Prologue), or …
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
Luke 12:32-48 This lengthy Gospel text from St Luke could almost be a manifesto for monastic life. I hear in every paragraph strong resonances with the Rule of St Benedict. ‘Sell your possessions and give alms.’ As I prepared to enter the monastery I went through several phases of divesting myself of my ‘worldly goods’. …