Yesterday, September 29th, 2010, the Feast Day of St. Michael and All Angels, marks for me one year since my formal Oblation in the way of St. Benedict at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. While praying in the stalls amongst this group of Cisterican (Trappist) monks yesterday, I looked up into the ceiling of the Abbey church which was built with beautiful wood - the image I imagined was the ceiling being the bow of a ship - and the monks rowing us towards Christ with their lives of prayer.
I can share with those of you who peek into this blogsite, that this gift of formal affiliation has been life giving. Participating in the daily practice of Opus Dei and lectio Divina has provided, in fact created, space for me in which to cultivate the seeds of contemplation in and through the active participation of listening for God.
As Oblates our calling forth is to go into the spiritual well of the monastery, and then come out sharing with love the spiritual water with the world in our parishes and communities. Through daily prayer and lectio, woven together by the practice of scriptio divina, I learn to listen with the ear of my heart. My prayer is that I may share this Way of life; the spiritual life - life itself.
Jesus, understood as the Christ - the spiritual Essence of God, allows us into the mystery of the eternal. The before, the now, the time yet to come of my life connected to the spiritual saints of Christ. "Seeing" this revelation, just as "the disciple Jesus loved" experienced, allows us to build up, feast upon the love, knowledge, Sophia (Wisdom) - in and through our spiritual lives. We are spiritual beings; Christ amongst us.
Certainly noteworthy: Today marks the memory of St. Jerome, Presbyter and Doctor of the Church; as well as my calendar birthday, number 50 plus 1 today. However, interestingly my birthday seemed as though it was celebrated yesterday. My birth into the way, the way of St. Benedict, through my ora et labora into the Way of Christ - as an Oblate, with a prayerful and contemplative commitment to life in Christ. Thanks be to God.
pax
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The ear of one's heart turned to listening for God in the everyday is a lovely idea. It is especially good when we, as Christians, with the knowledge that God, creator of all, shows up in the everyday when we are tuned to it (Holy, "hidden", everyday mysteries.) Lovely, too, when, as you say, we realize Christ is among and being walked out in us. Surely, there can be no higher calling than to take one's fined tuned "ear" and sensitivity and become examples so that others may, too, begin to hear and see Him in us.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... it's been almost two weeks since your last post! The blog police might be knocking on your door any day now!
ReplyDelete(ducks and runs)
:-)
Your incorrigible brother,
Carl