The Monastic Way

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…is a book put together by Hannah Ward and Jennifer Wild. The sub-title is “Ancient Wisdom For Contemporary Living: A book of daily readings.”

I main purpose of this book is how to use monestic wisdom in our everyday lives. Each month has a selected topic. For January it is “Starting Out”

Of course, being an impatient sort, I could not bother with one entry per day. So this last Saturday and Sunday I read all of January.

Lots of wisdom here. For example, here is what Joan Chittister, OSB has to say for 9 January.

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"Modern Society has the idea that if you want to live a truly spiritual life, you have to leave life as we know it and go away by yourself and “contemplate,” and that if you do so, you will get holy. It is a fascinating although misleading thought.

"The Rule of Benedict says that if you want to be holy, stay where you are in the human community and learn from it. Learn patience. Learn wisdom. Learn unselfishness. Learn love. Then, if you want to get away from it all, then and only then will you be ready to do it alone.

"There is, of course, an anchorite lurking in each of us who wants to get away from it all, who finds the task of dailiness devastating, who looks for God in clouds and candelight.

"Benedict himself set out to live the spiritual life as a hermit and then discovered, apparently, that living life alone is nowhere near as searing of our souls as living it with others.

“It is one thing to plan my own day well with all its balance and its quiet and its contemplative exercises. It is entirely another rank of holiness to let my children and my superiors and my elderly parents and the needs of the poor to do it for me.”

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Or in my case, my fellow human beings at the USPS and in AA.
 
"The Rule of Benedict says that if you want to be holy, stay where you are in the human community and learn from it.

**If the authors are saying this, they are missing the point.

St. Benedict called his rule a “little rule for beginners.” His idea was that the cenobium (community) was preparation for the solitary life.**
 
bpbasilphx said:
"The Rule of Benedict says that if you want to be holy, stay where you are in the human community and learn from it.

If the authors are saying this, they are missing the point.

St. Benedict called his rule a “little rule for beginners.” His idea was that the cenobium (community) was preparation for the solitary life.
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“preparation for the solitary life”
Hi there…This is new to me and you may very well be correct. Its simply that I have never heard of this in connection with the BR…are you able to give some quote with a link?
I know Benedictines do make a vow of stability or insofar as I am aware. By solitary, do you mean to live solitary and alone and away from a monastery…or preparation for the contemplative life per se as a member of the monastic community?

Blessings - Barb:)
 
Whether its from the rule of St. Benedict or not, it is true and the Dessert Father’s taught it.

Don’t go out into the desert to get away from men, but rather, to learn how to live with them better.

Many people despise their fellow man. This isn’t the purpose of living a life of solitude. Solitude is to bring us closer to God and to learn the wisdom of God, which is love. To say I desire solitude, because by brothers and sisters are an irritation and I want to be away from them, is the recipe for failure in spiritual development.

Jim
 
or you could just read the rule of St. Benedict, one chapter a day, which will take about half the year, rather than taking one prominent dissident’s word for what it means.

if this motivates you to investigate more fully living the Holy Rule in daily life in the world, become a Benedictine Oblate (check out that topic on a search of the spirituality forum).

a Life-Giving Way by Esther DeWaal is a good first book for this
 
puzzleannie said:
or you could just read the rule of St. Benedict, one chapter a day, which will take about half the year, rather than taking one prominent dissident’s word for what it means.
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How did you come to the conclusion that this is from a dissident?

I didn’t get that from what I’ve read in the OP’s post.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
How did you come to the conclusion that this is from a dissident?

I didn’t get that from what I’ve read in the OP’s post.

Jim
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he quoted Joan Chittister, one of the most flamboyant dissidents in the Church today
 
I always find it interesting when it comes to subjects such as Sr Joan Chittister in this forum. Contrary to what seems to be the popular opinion of this forum Sr Joan is well thought of, not only in the Benedictian Community but in the general Catholic Community as well.

But being label a dissident perhaps is not such a bad thing; in that regard Sr Joan can be added to a long list of loyal catholic saints, ie. St Catherine of Siena

I find Sr Joan Chittister writing not only insightful but prophetic and mystical at times.

There are many who talk the talk, but way fewer that actually walk the walk.

Br Mark, OSB
 
Br_Mark said:
I always find it interesting when it comes to subjects such as Sr Joan Chittister in this forum. Contrary to what seems to be the popular opinion of this forum Sr Joan is well thought of, not only in the Benedictian Community but in the general Catholic Community as well.

But being label a dissident perhaps is not such a bad thing; in that regard Sr Joan can be added to a long list of loyal catholic saints, ie. St Catherine of Siena

I find Sr Joan Chittister writing not only insightful but prophetic and mystical at times.

There are many who talk the talk, but way fewer that actually walk the walk.

Br Mark, OSB
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Br Mark,
I could be wrong, but did the two saints work against the Church? They didn’t teach things that were contrary to Church doctrine? I don’t think they did.

Does Sr Joan Chittister do the same when she calls for the ordination of women, or the acceptance of homosexual marriage, which is against Church teaching ?

I don’t know a lot about St Chittister, but this is a little of what I read about her in Wikipedia.

Are these things that I read about Sr Joan, true or false?

In His Peace
Jim
 
Dear JimR- OCDS,

I would recomment that you go to the library, and check out for yourself what Sr Joan has to say instead of relying on what others say she says. As to the subject of women priest, this is not something that is new. There are numerious saints that advocated this position; St Catherine of Siena, St Hildrgard, St Julian of Norwich to name a few.

Sr Joan continues to be in good standing not only in her own community that she resides but in the wider Benedictian community as well.

Puzzlennie ------

Interesting that you should recommend Esther Dewaal regarding Benedictian spirituality, being that she is an Anglican.

In the peace of Christ,

Br Mark, OSB
 
Some of what I have read of Sr. Joan is great food for thought for me…other things bring a fown and I cannot at this point anyway agree with and perhaps never will. I certainly think she gets out there “and talks her talk and walks her walk atune with her own drum”…Blessings - Barb:)
 
Br Mark,
with all due respect, I have read about St Joan of Arc and St. Catherine of Sienna. Neither opposed Church doctrine. Also, I have never read that either advocated for woman priest, in fact, Catherine of Sienna would’ve been opposed to such a thing. Both were humble servants to the Church, and St. Catherine in particular, fought to have the Church’s teachings upheld.

Perhaps you can put up a quote from them, which shows that they did advocate for women’s ordination?

In Christ
Jim
 
Dear JimR-OCDS,

I don’t believe that I mentioned St Joan of Arc, but to answer your question I refer you to Rasemund of Capua’s biography of St Catherine of Siena; Part 1 Chapter 5 pp. 34-35 and Part 2 Chapter 1 pp 108-109.

St Catherine of Siena was no meek little lamb, she called to task those who were in political authority, as well as the Pope.

In Christ’s Name,

Br Mark, OSB
 
Br Mark
St Catherine of Siena was no meek little lamb, she called to task those who were in political authority, as well as the Pope.
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This was not a challenge against Church teaching, but rather, a call for the authorities of the Church to live up to their ministry, as they should. The Church hierarchy of her time, were in bed with the wealthy and powerful. They were shucking their responsibilities to the gospel, in serving the poor. This is what she was addressing.

As you know, St. Catherine’s big argument, was to get the Pope to move the Papacy back to Rome, which she managed to accomplish. But even there, it was God working through her, that accomplished it.

This is not the same thing as defying the teachings against homosexual marriage, or womens ordination.

St Catherine was not in rebellion against the Church, but like St. Francis of Assisi, are reformer. Both move the Church back to living the gospel.

From what I’ve been reading about Sr. Joan, it looks as though she is rebellion against the teachings of the Church. If the media reports on this are inaccurate, please correct me.

God Bless
Jim
 
Dear JimR - OCDS,

Read the referrences that I gave you, where St Catherine of Siena spoke of her call to the priesthood.

/And again I ask you to read what Sr Joan has written before you
condemn her, and not rely on what someone else has to say about her. For not even Rome has named her a heretic.

Br Mark, OSB
 
I think probably Sr. Joan falls into the same category as some other Church thinkers - not all she writes are to be dismissed/suspect but parts of her writings are not in accord with current Church teaching similar to Thomas Merton, Anthony de Mello and also Teillhard de Chardin. I think Rome did not condemn all three outright, but stated some statements are suspect. And certainly I have learned much from the previous three writers and indeed Sr. Joan and value them and all three writers amongst my favourites, while some statements I ignore. I may not take on board every word stated by an author or speaker no matter who they may be, but I can still fully appreciate perhaps much of what they have to say. I think this is our right no matter the author almost. Over and above that, in our history, Rome has been wrong at times…Blessings - Barb:)
 
Br Mark
Read the referrences that I gave you, where St Catherine of Siena spoke of her call to the priesthood.
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This is when she was yet a child, but later understood that it was her own ambition driving her, not the call from God.

Also, she didn’t attempt the change the Church’s teaching on why only men can be ordained to the priesthood, she accepted it.

I’m not condemning Sr. Joan. I really don’t know much about her. However, what I’m learning, from what I’m reading on the web, she does seem to have rebellious attitude toward the Church, which is surprising coming from a Benedictine nun. Doesn’t the Rule of St. Benedict, call for humble obedience to the Church?

Jim
 
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