Being

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

Our lives get lopsided when we stuff them with too much activity; we get so packed down  with things to DO that we have no time to BE.

Restoring the Divine Image

Feast of St Scholastica, virgin  - sister of St Benedict

The invitation to enter into a life of prayer, work, study and leisure is a gift to restore the fullness of the divine image in which God has made us.

Living in Moderation

According to Benedict, all things—eating, drinking, sleeping, reading, working and praying—should be done in moderation; there should be something of everything and not too much of anything.

 

All-day, Everyday Living

This simple lifestyle requires an all-day, everyday living of all of life—work, study, prayer and leisure—in moderation and in balance.

Balanced Rhythm

The life of PRAYER—personal and communal—is holy;  STUDY—improving and enriching one’s knowledge is holy; WORK—on a job or at home—is holy; LEISURE—renewing of mind and body--is holy.  This whole balanced rhythm is holy.

 

Living in Enough

Benedictine spirituality calls us to strive to live in that “state of enough”—not too little, not too

much—a lifestyle with a rhythm of the four aspects of living:  prayer, study, work and leisure.

 

Simplicity and Balance of Life

February – SIMPLICITY & BALANCE OF LIFE

We commit ourselves to be faithful in finding God in the ordinary circumstances of our life.

Text:  “Benedict prescribed ‘nothing harsh, nothing burdensome’ for his followers.” Prologue, RB

 

Monday, February 3  Feasts of St Blaise, bishop & martyr; St Ansgar, bishop

The simplicity of the Benedictine lifestyle has a lot to do with living in a state of “enough.”  Benedict didn’t advocate living in a state of lacking, nor espouse living in excess, but rather living in a state of “enough,” a state of moderation.