Prayer for the Erring--A Greater Remedy

We are still in Benedict's disciplinary chapters. Today, Benedict suggests that once the leader has coaxed, encouraged, and sanctioned the erring member and all have failed; the last remedy to try is prayer. Since the Rule was written for a religious community, it seems odd that prayer is left as the last resort.

Maybe Benedict, in his wisdom, realized that the superior was probably going to try everything humanly possible first before resorting to calling in God on the matter. In my life, I often find myself turning to prayer after I have tried dealing with an issue myself first. I tend to hesitate admitting defeat--and in a sense, asking for God's assistance can be seen as a defeat (actually a defeat of my arrogance of thinking that I can handle things on my own).

For myself, when I invite others to pray with me over an issue or concern that I may have I am actually taking the issue more seriously. It's not just a minor annoyance anymore. Many times there is a shift in my perspective or my attitude about the situation. I recognize that this is a major concern not just a minor irritation.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Calling on God's Presence

Benedict directs that God's divine presence and intervention be called at all community prayer times. The verses he recommends are the following: O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me.

These two short verses help to keep me focused throughout the day and at our prayer times. It is important for me to remember to call on God regularly for assistance in my daily encounters. It is only with God's help and through his grace that any of my plans are able to be successful.

I also need to call on God with urgency. Many times I forget that my many successes and accomplishments are not achieved by virtue of my great power, intelligence or brilliance. It is only through God's graciousness that any of my projects are able to succeed at all. These are two good points for me to remember.

Am I remembering to call on God regularly for help? Do I remember to acknowledge God's providence in my life?

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Living the Truth

One of the root elements of humility as a virtue is the idea that humility is about our humanity and truth. Keeping things in right perspective is essential for humility. Living in the comfort of knowing that I do not have to be the "best" (the holiest, the most talented, the smartest, the funniest) or the "worst" (the greatest sinner, the least worthy, the most pitiable). It really is okay to be somewhere in the middle--much like everyone else.

All that humility asks of me is that I acknowledge my humanity, praise God for my strengths, and work on my weaknesses quietly and patiently. All I am asked to do is to be the best version of "Catherine" I can be and to learn from my past failures. I need to find the lessons which are held within my mistakes and try to do better today than yesterday.

Living in this way helps me to keep things in better perspective and to keep the focus on my and my growth not on others.

May I continue to grow in humility.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Obedience for Love of God

The third step of humility is that a man submits to his superior in all obedience for the love of God, imitating the Lord of whom the Apostle says: He became obedient even to death (Phil 2:8). RB80.7.34

Being obedient is okay...as long as it is not too terribly hard. I have problems considering being obedient even to death. That seems a little too painful and drastic to me.

Sister Louise, one of our beloved Sisters who died a few years back, used to say that her daily prayer was, "Dear Lord, I will do anything...just don't make it too hard." I can relate to this type of prayer. I am willing to offer God my obedience but I usually hesitate at making a full out total commitment.

The example of obedience that Benedict proposes for us today is the image of Christ being obedient the point of crucifixion. While I will probably never be asked to face crucifixion in the name of obedience, there are probably small sacrifices that I may be required to undergo.

What are these sacrifices? I am willing to undergo this pain in humble obedience?

• Will I be asked to forego having my own way in everything all of the time?
• Will I need to listen to the same story one more time from the older Sister who is struggling with memory issues?
• Can I graciously answer the same question one more time--even if I just answered it five minutes ago?

These are just a few examples of ways in which I might be called to be obedient even to death for love of God.

Sr. Catherine, OSB

Simplicity in Life

Things tend to multiply spontaneously for me. The more I try to run from bits of paper, books, notebooks, etc. the more the pile seems to grow. For every piece of paper or other thing that I either throw out, regift, or return to its rightful place, there is always something to replace it--or various somethings. I have heard that nature abhors a vacuum but this is ridiculous.

Unfortunately, this is not only an exterior phenomenon in my life--I tend to collect interior clutter also. Things like anger, resentment, envy, and bitterness can seem to overtake ever bit of space within my mind and heart at times. I find it much easier to remember the one cross word rather than the thousand kindness that are shown to me.

How can I remove the excess negativity within my soul so that I can better reflect God's love to others?

Sr. Catherine, OSB

All Eyes on ME

Now the ladder erected is our life on earth, and if we humble our hearts the Lord will raise it to heaven. We may call our body and soul the sides of this ladder, into which our divine vocation has fitted the various steps of humility and discipline as we ascend. (RB80.7.8-9)

We come again to the study of humility. One of those virtues that we are to desire; yet one can seem pretty elusive.

I grew up with the idea that everything in life was supposed to be about ME. It became apparent at an early age that I had a need to be verbal, very verbal. So, I was taught to express myself.

I did a great job at learning that lesson: I have thoughts, I have feelings, I had opinions...about almost everything. I have likes and dislikes; I have strengths; I have passions; I have desires; I have a need to be noticed. As you can tell, lots of my life can be about me sometimes.

Chapter 7, "On Humility", gives me a chance to pause, give my "me" focus a rest. Benedict reminds me that the end goal of life is eternal life with God in heaven. He believes that I cannot get there on my own, through focusing on how great I am and what I can accomplish. It is only through remembering who God is and who I am that the goal can be reached. The secret to reaching eternal life is remembering that all is gift from God. It is God who provides all the material and the strength necessary to live a good life.

How am I using God's gifts today?

Sr. Catherine, OSB