Prologue to The Rule (paragraph 5)
And so to prepare ourselves for the journey before us let us renew our faith and set ourselves high standards by which to lead our lives. [...] Such a follower of Christ lives in reverence of him and does not take the credit for a good life but believing that all the good we do comes from the Lord, gives him the credit and thanksgiving for what his gift brings about in our hearts. (From para. 5 of The Prologue to The Rule of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
St. Benedict bids me to both set a high standard for my life, and to acknowledge that the good that comes about from my heart is the gift of God. For me, this is realized in the practice of meditation: Nothing to accomplish, only to be -- to be in the Presence. And to remember that it is not my meditation, but God's -- that in meditation I step into the energy of love that flows continually between Jesus and the Father.
St. Benedict bids me to both set a high standard for my life, and to acknowledge that the good that comes about from my heart is the gift of God. For me, this is realized in the practice of meditation: Nothing to accomplish, only to be -- to be in the Presence. And to remember that it is not my meditation, but God's -- that in meditation I step into the energy of love that flows continually between Jesus and the Father.
"let us renew our faith". I cannot renew what I do not have. But the Lord gives me even that--the gift of faith, the gift of believing. For what do I need "faith?" I need faith for the meditation practice, that it truly is, a renewable resource by which I enter into a relationship "with the now-risen and ever-loving Lord Jesus."(Word Into Silence, John Main) I need faith to "live to the fullness of (my) capability " and to have faith that that capability whatever that might be, "comes from the Lord."
ReplyDeleteAbba, Spirit of Love, may I never forget what I am really about, not for a single moment of this day.
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