I have a feeling that I'm going to enjoy it. I'm only a chapter in and I've found much to identify with. This is mostly because part of the first chapter has a comparison of the Benedictines (the rule I follow) to the Jesuits. The book notes that, to help us to see how God breaks through the mundane and into their lives, the Benedictines follow a rule of work, prayer, and hospitality while the Jesuits heed their own experiences in the course of their ministry in the world. I was glad to see the Benedictines get a shout-out, especially since the authors remembered the hospitality part of the rule. Benedictine spirituality is normally summarized to "work and prayer," to the overlooking of how important hospitality is. Without hospitality, Bendictines in cenobitic living can become irrelevant to the outside world. In Benedict's culture, which was the splintering of the Roman Empire, monasteries could provide shelter for travelers. The Benedictine commitment to hospitality ensured that this vital service was provided. In fact, chapter 53 of the Rule is devoted to the very charitable reception of guests, whose presence nullified the observance of fast days for whoever ate with the guest (unless it's a really important fast day). A guest would never suffer for the spirituality of the brothers and sisters.
It just occurred to me how I've been affected by that Chapter, I now habitually bow as a greeting to everyone. This is especially true with GIl since I consider him to be my Prior. That probably looks very strange. Oh well. I've been told that hospitality may be one of my gifts, even if I'm fairly introverted when meeting new people.
Yesterday was our church's day to feed the homeless (dinner and a packed breakfast). I take particular pride in the fact that we may be the only church in our network that cooks a hot complete meal instead of just making sandwiches. There were a lot of new faces in the group of 37.
Laura and I are going to Chapel Rock (the Episcopal retreat center in Arizona) this weekend. It's our first time going and the occasion is a young family retreat. The days are modeled after the hours of prayer in the BCP, which means 3-4 short prayer services a day as opposed the the 6-7 monastic hours a day. A few participants are leading discussions that are relevant to families, myself included. I think the subject I'm going to kick-start is living the ideal of nonviolence and gentleness in today's world.
"If we are committed to personal nonviolence, how do we see our responsibility to protect our family..." something along those lines. I've spent the last two weeks reading about Christian nonviolence in one of my classes, so the subject is forefront in my mind.
There will be a recap once I'm back from the retreat, though probably after I finish the work load for school (Thursday?). __________________
I have been asked to join a discernment committee for a parishioner feeling called to the deaconate. I accepted the invitation. __________________
Lent starts next week and I'm not sure what to do yet. I don't want to give something up, although denial is part of the traditional understanding of the season. It just seems that it is treated as little more than a new year's resolution. I'm thinking that I will add something to my disciplines. My schedule is such that I find it difficult to get up for morning prayer and when Laura announces bedtime, well, she can't really get to sleep without me being in bed too. I'm always awake at noon though. So I think I'll add daily Noonday prayer (Sext for the Benedictines) to my discipline. Maybe I'll keep it after Lent. __________________
I found something interesting: an E-book of common prayers from a Catholic forum. The tagline "'Cause you want to talk to God, but sometimes you're at a loss for words," describes me perfectly. I'm not good at unorganized prayer, but I find that I'm getting better because I'm letting the common prayers in the BCP guide my own thoughts and words. __________________
Speaking of Catholicness, A friend (thanks Alyson!) is sending me a box of books on Catholic theology. Considering that I'm swinging from hard Protestantism to the Via Media of the Episcopal faith, Catholic theology serves as the counterbalance. Even though I disagree with some doctrines, there is something to be said for 1,900 years worth of work. And with the little I have seen, I'd put anyone with an M.Div in Catholic theology against Rick Warren. __________________
A friend from church recently asked if there are any progressive Christian musicians. I honestly do not know. If there are, I don't think that they make it onto mainstream Christian radio...maybe they do. But that got me to thinking about music. I consider myself a traditionalist in that I am not a fan of the vast majority of contemporary Christian music. I like the old hymns of both the English (and Celtic) church and the Baptist hymnal with which I grew up. Furthermore, I love the tradition of chant, both elaborate and plain, in the Catholic tradition. If a become a priest I will intone the Eucharistic prayers.
(Tangent: As Gil (my priest) and I were ending our procession out of the sanctuary last Sunday (I was crucifer), he said to me that the hymns sounded very Baptist. I agreed. I don't think that was intentional, but both of us and the choir director are refugees from the Baptists.)
Am I bothered that there are few "liberal" songs? Not really; we have a rich enough tradition to pull from (see the St. Francis song below). There is so much theological complexity that cannot be articulated in songs, and if someone were to try, well, the song would be boring to me. My personal rule is to sing loud and proud and theorize it all later. Sometimes I'm uncomfortable with what we sing but it must be confronted instead of ignored and buried.
I also think that the realm of wonderful spiritual music is not limited to religious artists. Some of my favorite spiritual pieces come not from "praise bands," but from secular artists who share their faith with us. I don't know why, but they seem more real to me. I think it is because I don't buy into the overly sentimental nature of modern "praise" music. That's not to say that I doubt their sincerity, but it seems shallow.
Consider Sarah Maclachlan's rendition of the prayer of Saint Francis.
The old is made new in an exciting way.
How about Elliot Morris's "Faultline"?
Powerfully prophetic. Is he a modern day Elijah? Well, I wouldn't go that far but I believe he is in line with the Spirit in a day where the chaos of war is considered comforting and necessary.
Or "Starlight" by the Wailin' Jennys (not to mention the rest of their work). This particular song so multi-layered that it's accessible to many. It exemplifies brokenness, a universal feeling from which Christians are not immune, and it echoes the Psalms in which the Psalmists are yelling to God "Where are you!?!?" The song also ends with that ambiguity, which is also a fact of life that I think the sentimentality of much of today's Christianity (and its music) ignores.
Yesterday I applied for my passport; I'll have it with time to spare before my trip to Mexico. Assuming that there will be a few others joining us, the Episcopal Campus Ministry will be going to cross the border March 10-12th. We will be almost recreating the trip my priest took a few weeks ago, detailed here. A few facts about the border:
1. A more and more common injury seen at the border are broken ankles and legs, particularly those of pregnant women trying to scale the 20+ foot fence (see picture below). 2. Drug cartel violence is on the rise. 3. If a Mexican is caught crossing, the border patrol takes everything from them except the clothes they are wearing. They then separate families and take people to different border towns for release. The hope is that the family will try to reunite instead of making another run on the border. 4. There are mercy centers that run solely on donations and try to track down separated family members through the network of drop-off points. St. Brigid's community has decided to help support a mercy center in Naco.
In addition to recreating the trip that Rev. Gil took, we may also visit a Catholic monastery on the way back to Phoenix.
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the people of this land], that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP)
I'm about two weeks late (by the Revised Common Lectionary) in posting this video. Father Matthew does a wonderful job with the Jonah story, a story that people think is simply about disobedience and the inability to run from God. But there is also mercy, compassion, and love.
