Category Archives: Monastic

Advent focusses our attention of the prophecies of Hope in the Old and New Testament. Each day we are invited to turn to the Lord and wait for him to come to us. Whenever the Liturgy of the Word invites us to hope, it is always a call to deeper love and faith. ‘Péguy, in …

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I have started every Advent for the past 30 years by reading these two paragraphs for Maria Boulding’s book, The Coming of God. ‘If you want God, and long for union with him, yet sometimes wonder what that means or whether it can mean anything at all, you are already walking with the God who comes.  …

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2 Samuel 5:1-3Colossians 1:12-20Luke 23:35-43 In the lead up to the Coronation of King Charles there was a good deal of commentary around what the ceremony itself might mean for our world today. There was also discussion of the role of the monarch. Is it an outmoded concept? Is it something which becomes redefined with …

Continue reading “Christ the King (C)”

Just as there is an evil and bitter zeal that separates one from God and leads to hell, so too there is a good zeal that separates one from evil and leads to God and eternal life. Thus monks should practice this zeal with the warmest love: ‘Let then strive to be the first to …

Continue reading “Jubilee of Consecrated Life: St Benedict, Pilgrim of Hope (10)”

‘A brother may be assigned a burdensome task or something he cannot do. If so, he should with complete gentleness and obedience, accept the order given him. Should he see, however, that the weight of the burden is altogether too much for his strength, then he should choose the appropriate moment and explain patiently to …

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‘(The abbot) most so arrange everything that the strong have something to yearn for and the weak have nothing to run from.’Ch 64, The Election of an Abbot If I had to choose just one sentence from the Rule, I think this would be it. Benedict treads a careful, clear-sighted and loving path in his …

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‘Receive me, Lord, according to your promise and I shall live; do not disappoint me in my hope.’ Ps 118.116 In Ch 58, The Procedure for Receiving Brothers, this Psalm verse is chosen by St Benedict as the central text for the ceremony of monastic Profession. It is traditionally sung solo three times in English …

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‘If there are artisans in the monastery, they are to practise their craft with all humility, but only with the abbot’s permission.’ Ch 57, The Artisans of the Monastery This chapter of the Rule assumes that creative activities are taking place in the monastery. I think it might be one of the best kept secrets …

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For the daily meals, whether at noon or in midafternoon, it is enough we believe, to provide all tables with two kinds of cooked food because of individual weaknesses. In this way, the person who may not be able to eat of one kind of food may partake of the other.Ch. 39, The Proper Amount …

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In Chapter Four of his Rule St Benedict offers the monastic a set of ‘tools’ for monastic living. These tools are seventy-three spiritual practices which cover every aspect of monastic life:Yearn for everlasting life with holy desire. (Tool 46)Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die. (Tool 47)Do not aspire to be …

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