{"id":4147,"date":"2024-07-11T06:17:31","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T06:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/turveyabbey.org.uk\/blog\/?p=4147"},"modified":"2024-11-21T10:03:06","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T10:03:06","slug":"feast-of-st-benedict-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/turveyabbey.org.uk\/blog\/?p=4147","title":{"rendered":"Feast of St Benedict"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Proverbs 2:1-9<\/strong>
Matthew 19:27-29<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My son, if you take my words to heart,  
if you set store by my commandments,
tuning your ear to wisdom,  
and applying your heart to truth:
yes, if your plea is for clear perception,  
if you cry out for discernment,
if you look for it as if it were silver,  
and search for it as for buried treasure,
you will then understand what the fear of the Lord is,  
and discover the knowledge of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This text from the Wisdom literature of Proverbs resonates immediately for followers of St Benedict. St Benedict begins his Rule is this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Listen carefully my son, to the master\u2019s instructions and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a groundedness and loving measure in each text. I can\u2019t hear one with out the other. This is one of the gifts of the monastic path that your ear, and ideally your heart too, become more finely tuned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s from this place of attentive listening and desire to seek God that I hear Peter\u2019s heartfelt question: \u2018What about us? We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?\u2019 Following Jesus, following St Benedict or following any leader is a risky enterprise. I am sure that there comes a point in every monastic\u2019s life when they could very easily voice Peter\u2019s question. Jesus\u2019 response to Peter tells us something of the dynamic at work here: we are to receive \u2018a hundred fold\u2019. Following Jesus involves a heart that is both open to giving up AND receiving. In many ways the giving up looks more straight forward. Learning to receive what God offers becomes the lifetime\u2019s work of the monastic and anyone who wants to follow Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is God calling you to give and receive today?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Proverbs 2:1-9Matthew 19:27-29 My son, if you take my words to heart,  if you set store by my commandments,tuning your ear to wisdom,  and applying your heart to truth:yes, if your plea is for clear perception,  if you cry out for discernment,if you look for it as if it were silver,  and search for it as for buried treasure,you … <\/p>\n

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