Benedict of Nursia (480 – 543 or 547 AD) founded twelve monasteries and penned what is now known as  'The Rule of St Benedict'. Benedict wrote this as a way of life for the twelve communities he founded and  is predicated on the principles of balance and moderation in all things. He appears to have been a gentle and kind abbot and his rule rapidly became a basis for the majority of religious communities in Western Christendom and, in particular, all Benedictine communities.

Below is a prayer that St Benedict wrote. May we make this our prayer today.

A Prayer of St. Benedict

O gracious and Holy Father,
give us wisdom to perceive you,
intellect to understand you,
diligence to seek you,
patience to wait for you,
eyes to behold you,
a heart to meditate upon you,
and a life to proclaim you;
through the power of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Image from Wikipedia

• 0 comments »

... but it is still Advent and sometimes that fact gets lost in the preparatory rush for the 'big day'.

Here is a suggestion for some final Advent reflections for you.

The 'O Antiphons' (an antiphon is a spoken response in a church service) have traditionally been used - in the Church of England - as antiphons to the Magnificat at Evening Prayer during the period from 17th December to 23rd December. Their precise provenance is not known but they were being used as far back as the sixth century.

Here is a list of them - you can see that they comprise different ways of addressing Jesus.

O Sapientia – O Wisdom – 17th December
O Adonai – O Lord – 18th December (Adonai is actually plural - O Lords)
O Radix Jesse – O Root of Jesse – 19th December
O Clavis David – O Key of David – 20th December
O Oriens – O Sunrise – 21st December
O Rex Gentium – O Sovereign of the nations – 22nd December
O Emmanuel – O Emmanuel - 23rd December (where Emmanuel means 'God with us')

One way that you might consider using them at this time is as a 'prayer-word' during silent meditation. Simply choose one of the O Antiphons - either Latin or English - then close your eyes and repeat slowly your chosen prayer-word. If your mind gets distracted, don't worry, just come back to saying your prayer-word. You will probably find that the rhythm of saying your prayer-word with your breathing seems the most natural way to do this.

The aim in this type of meditiation is to simply rest in God's presence, to be more aware and to be open to the transforming power of God's Spirit. Aim for ten minutes initially, but the duration of this meditative form can be lengthened if and when you become more accustomed to it.

A more detailed description of praying in this way is described here.

The Benedictine monk, John Main, was a great advocate of this style of meditating.

• 2 comments »

Ah, back once more in the 'green season' - or 'ordinary time' to others. Some reading this may have no idea what I'm talking about so here's a quick deffo.

Our natural year starts in January and has four seasons, but the church year starts on Advent Sunday at the beginning of December and has a number of seasons starting with Advent then progressing to Christmas, Epiphany, a little pre-Lent interlude, then Lent itself, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost - which starts on the old 'Whit Sunday' and ends one week later on Trinity Sunday. Through these seasons we remember and celebrate different aspects of the life-story of Jesus.

Trinity Sunday marks the start of 'ordinary time' - or as I like to call it the 'green season'. It lasts till Advent (or till the Kingdom Season in November if your church does that) and encompasses most of June - October/November each year. The church colours are green, so the altar cloth, the vicar's stole (the scarf thing round his/her neck) etc. are all green.

Some Christians are sad when the green season comes because most of the significant fasts and feasts have ended for a few months. But, for myself, I love the green season. I like the sense of ordinariness about it - I do tend to feel a bit 'festivalled out' by the time the leaves on the trees match the season with their rich green (that's here in the UK - sorry to those who live elsewhere!).

For me, there is a sense of stability and gentleness about this season. Benedictine monks and nuns take a vow of 'stability'. They promise to be steadily faithful and committed to their community - Benedictines are not usually wandering monks! The steadiness and continuity of the green season reminds me of this stability of life and draws me towards a willingness to be faithful and committed to my own community and congregation.

There is also a peace and gentleness in our worship during this season - the dramas of Christmas and Easter are not in direct focus - and there is time to think about some ordinary things that get pushed out in the constantly changing pattern through the rest of the church year.

I wonder, does anyone else feel this way? Are there any other green season fans out there?

• 6 comments »

The meditations I have put on this site so far have been heavily influenced by a type of Christian spritiuality referred to as Ignatian - after Ignatius of Loyola, who wrote about the method of contemplating/meditating on the scriptures by using our imagination.

Ignatian spirituality is the spirituality of the Jesuits - it was Ignatius and nine of his companions who founded the Jesuit order (The Society of Jesus) in 1540. Today, many people - not all in the Roman Catholic church and not all belonging to the Society of Jesus (well, you can't if you're a woman!) - use Ignatian spirituality to enhance their own walk with God.


If you're interesed and want to read more, try these:

The Way of St Ignatius - Margaret Hebblethwaite - Fount - ISBN 0 00 628101 X
The Ignatian Workout - Tim Muldoon - Loyola Press - ISBN 0 8294 1979 9

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ But now I want to explore other areas of Christian spirituality. The Society of Jesus grew from an older monastic tradition that was Benedictine - after St. Benedict.

One of the classic methods of prayer that Benedictines use is called Lectio Divina - pronounced - lekt-see-o di-vee-na. It means Holy or Spiritual reading and is a way of 'praying the scriptures'.

Sometimes, I think that in our busy 21st century world we have a tendency to live in our heads – thinking. We're busy. There's lots going on and we have lots to think about. So sometimes it's good to try and move away from living in our heads - and to deepen our awareness and our sensing of the world around us and of God’s presence in that world.

The blocked passage below comes from the Bible. This is how you might approach it using the method of Lectio Divina:
Read it through once slowly. Then read it again – slowly. And perhaps, even a third time. S...l...o...w...l...y!
Maybe part of the passage - a word or a phrase - seems to be more significant to you than another. Choose the word or phrase that speaks to you the most. Or, perhaps, it's the whole passage!
Whatever it is, now repeat this word/phrase - s-l-o-w-l-y - several times.
As you repeat it, try not to analyse it – don't do a mental Bible study on it. This is a time for savouring, not studying. Think of a piece of rich chocolate that you have popped into your mouth (I hope you like chocolate!). It is slowly melting and filling your senses with that delightful - m-m-m-m... well, chocolatey sensation.



So, just continue to repeat the word or phrase over and over - slowly savouring it in your spirit. Just let the sense of it fill you, feed you, delight you.
Here's the passage - from Isaiah chapter 56.

Thus says the Lord:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants —
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.

Now, how was that for you? Tell God in a short conversation.

• 1 comments »

So far on this site I have concentrated mainly on Ignatian and Benedictine spirituality. I will still be putting on posts about both of these types but I also intend to extend this and consider other aspects of the subject so, hopefully, this will eventually be a useful resource for all aspects of Christians spirituality.

I have in my mind a categorisation that I shall use for this, which I have listed below. If you would like to suggest changes or additions to this, please do.

By historical type of spirituality:
Ignatian
Benedictine
Franciscan
Celtic

By denomination:
Roman
Orthodox
Anglican
Methodist
Baptist

By style:
Catholic/sacramental
Evangelical
Silent
Non-church

Over the next months/year, I intend to write about each of these or else ask someone (particularly for the denominational ones) to write a guest blog for me.

• 2 comments »