Beginning Again

"Listen, carefully, my child, to the precepts of thy master, and incline the ear of thy heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of thy loving Father, that by the toil of obedience thou mayest return to Him from whom by the sloth of disobedience thou hast gone away." [St. Benedict (2011-04-30). The Rule of St. Benedict (Kindle Locations 149-151). PlanetMonk Books. Kindle Edition.]

Always we begin again to read the rule,  and each time we get a chance to start over . Last Wednesday, Tom took time to review our commitment to our community and our purpose in being part of prayer each Wednesday morning. 

We are committed to “a labor of obedience,” the discipline of seeking God.  We are committed to coming back to God when we drift away, and each of us in the group is a call to one another.  We are committed to daily prayer, in the form of reading the rule and praying – maybe the Daily Office.  We are committed to the study of the Psalms.  We strive to make our weekly meetings work for us and to be a place to share the spiritual work; in this place, we work for one another.  We have confessed both our failings and our struggles, seeking to be witnesses for each other and to aid one another as we come through these rocky places.  We listen to one another, and we provide a space in the world but not of the world to talk about our faith.  We inspire one another; the courage and strength of one of us becomes the courage and strength of each of us.