Listen carefully…
Rule
of Saint Benedict
It is hard to write a blog
today that will be made public without thinking about what is publicly taking
place in our country. Yet two statements come to mind that I share with you. The
first two words at the beginning of the Prologue to the Rule of Saint Benedict
are “Listen carefully.” Benedict goes on to instruct us to “listen with the ear
of your heart.” That is usually easier said than done, especially if one is
expected to withhold making a final judgment until all the talking and
discernment are concluded and it is time to vote.
I am also reminded of a
statement made some years ago by Sr. Augusta M. Raabe, OSB, who wrote that
“…discernment is the process by which a person distinguishes his (her) own
inner promptings, and therefore, the source of his (her) motivation." We each
know how difficult it can be to listen and name the source of what motivates us
to act or not; to speak or not. For sure, it motivates me to pray for all
involved.
Sr. Mary Catherine Wenstrup, OSB
Thank you for your thoughtfulness...may it spread..
ReplyDeleteThank you for your words.
ReplyDeleteThis for sure is a difficult time. Families are divided. Listening with the heart and discernment are of the upmost importance. May it be so for you and for me.
Dear Sister good advice, though I must say most of your piece is a mystery to me, since I don't know what's going on -- let me listen carefully when the angels are speaking and do my best not to listen to their opponents. I've been listening to cathedral school choir boys posted on the web. The Queen Mother listened with delight to a young boy singing an Arthur Sullivan song "When a Merry Maiden Marries." He sang it so beautifully it became a hymn. They are called the St Paul's Children and are a choir going back to early days -- dare I tell you a secret? That in some places and by some wonderful means, the family never suffered that terrible divorce and that we remain still one family, though this knowledge is not well known. In fact, it is denied. But it is true in some certain cases. Perhaps it is only possible when a perfect prayer or song is offered. How well the choir boys sing! I was a choir boy once, though nothing more than an inferior voice in the background of the angelic ones. We are singing English now in the holy liturgy of Rome and Greece -- English is become a new Latin or Greek. Benedict is mighty, he has children in the East and West and in between. I like that. Isn't it good? Let me listen to him singing then and be happy for a while. God Bless OSB, Happy Easter soon.
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