Ideas in Passing from Joan Chittester

This morning we shared and discussed these words of wisdom from Sr. Joan.  They so fit today's readings from Jonah and 2 Cor!  Thanks Larry for sending these to us and Tom for bring this to us in prayer.

The glories of weakness

“In my weakness is my strength,” Paul writes (2 Cor. 12:10). I never understood that passage nor did I like it until, struck with polio as a young woman, I began little by little to realize that if I ever walked again, it would not be thanks to me, it would be thanks to everyone around me who formed the human chain that kept me human. When I could not move, they carried me. When I could not work, they found functions for me that justified my existence. When I could not find a reason for going on, they liked me enough to give me back a sense of human connectedness. When I could not cure myself, they cured me of the clay of my limits and turned them into life again. They taught me the glories of weakness.

When I most wanted to be strong and like no other time in life found myself defined by my weaknesses, I began to understand the great questions of life. If I do not need other people, what is their own purpose in life, what is their claim on my own gifts when they need me as I have needed them? The moment I come to realize that it is precisely the gifts which I do not myself embody that make me claimant to the gifts of others—and they of mine—marks the moment of my spiritual beginning. Suddenly, creature-hood becomes gift and power and the beginning of unlimited personal growth.

Community

Our readings have been about opening the monastery to new members and welcoming people into the community.  We have been blessed in the past two weeks with two new guests at our worship who are becoming part of our community on Wednesday mornings.  Tom has had queries from folks about our prayer group, the study of the Rule of Benedict, and meeting Wednesday mornings for prayer and support.

We ask ourselves how we become Christ for one another in our community.  We ask ourselves how we open ourselves to sharing our faith in the world around us and inviting folks into community. 


"Benedictine life is rooted in three dimensions: commitment to community, fidelity to a monastic way of life and obedience.  It is a life that sees sanctification as a by-product of human society, the development of a new way of thinking and living, and total openness to the constantly emerging challenges of the God-life within us.  To pursue Benedictine spirituality, we must carry our part of the human race and allow it to mold and polish an tember us.  We are to be people who see the globe through eyes softened by the Gospel." [Chittester, Joan.  The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages. New York: Crossroad. 1992. Page 153.]

Begin Again

"Elie Wiesel writes: 'What God gave Adam was not forgiveness from sin; what God gave Adam was the chance to begin again.' Life is made up of a series of opportunities to begin again." [Chittester, Joan.  The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages.  Crossroads: New York. 1992. page 159]

We all stray from the rules.  We eat too much; we skip church; we miss a deadline; we have that extra glass of wine.  Today, this meal, this task, this moment: we begin again.  Don't wait to start tomorrow morning, or the the beginning of next week or in the new month or the new year.  In the middle, now, begin.  Let us begin to be what God intends us to be.

Hospitality

Jane Toumaine in St. Benedict's Toolbox paraphrases Henri Nouwen's description of Hospitality from his book Reaching Out: "He [Nouwen] describes hospitality as a space around us that we create for others in which they can come, be themselves, and discover who they are.  My prayer for us this day is that as we are out in the world we create a welcoming space around us.