Ora et Labora

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of contradiction and complementary notions of life and death, law and Spirit and prayer and work.

Prayer at work

The passage from the Book of Revelation presents the sweet and sour reactions we have to receiving the Word of God.

* [10:9–10] The small scroll was sweet because it predicted the final victory of God’s people; it was sour because it also announced their sufferings. Cf. Ez 3:1–3.

In the Gospel from Luke, Jesus restricts the unnecessary commercialism that has interfered with prayer at the Temple.

* [19:45–46] Immediately upon entering the holy city, Jesus in a display of his authority enters the temple (see Mal 3:1–3) and lays claim to it after cleansing it that it might become a proper place for his teaching ministry in Jerusalem (Lk 19:47; 20:1; 21:37; 22:53). See Mt 21:12–17; Mk 11:15–19; Jn 2:13–17 and the notes there.

Angela Maynard cites Ignatius of Loyola as she asks us to consider the state of our heart and our home with the question: What does a ‘den of thieves’ look like?

What can be done to keep a ‘den of thieves’ away?  What can be done to protect our house of prayer? Would my actions and words be pleasing to Jesus, or would he become angry?
Consider the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola:
"Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you."

The memorial for St. Columban, one of the Irish monks, connects to the Benedictine monastic rule that includes, Ora et Labora, prayer and work.

Don Schwager quotes “The home of sanctity,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"God does not want his temple to be a trader's lodge but the home of sanctity. He does not preserve the practice of the priestly ministry by the dishonest duty of religion but by voluntary obedience. Consider what the Lord’s actions impose on you as an example of living... He taught in general that worldly transactions must be absent from the temple, but he drove out the money changers in particular. Who are the money changers, if not those who seek profit from the Lord's money and cannot distinguish between good and evil? Holy Scripture is the Lord's money." (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 9.17–18)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131 observes that the psalmist has a lot of different words for the Law: decrees, promises, precepts, word. It’s not just a matter of commandments that we have to follow. It’s a way of life that brings fulfillment and peace.

This makes sense if we consider the books known as “the Law” in the Jewish Scriptures. These first five books of the Bible include not just rules, but also history, drama, spiritual lessons, and a host of colorful characters. Taken together, these books tell the story of God’s redemptive work among his chosen people. This story, this sweep of salvation history, is what the psalmist is so enthusiastic about!

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the sweet and sour aspects of Christian ministry. We feel good to proclaim the sweetness of the Word and the consequence of addressing judgement might be sour. The authority of Jesus exercised over the Temple cult brought a needed balance to necessary purchases and commercialization of the sacred space.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, asserts that resurrection is about all of us, including all of creation—not just Jesus—coming forth as individuals and then going back to God, into the Ground of All Being. That cyclical wholeness should make us unafraid of death and thus able to fully appreciate life.

The Risen Christ represents the final and full state of every True Self: God-in-you who is able to see and honor God-everywhere-beyond-you too! In other words, Christ is more than anything else a “holon”—a scientific term for something that is simultaneously a whole by itself and yet a part of a larger whole, too. Jesus is telling us that we are all holons! We all participate in the one single life of God.

As we work through prayer and living day to day, we are reassured that “To God, all people are in fact alive,” as Jesus put it (Luke 20:38). We are just in different stages of that aliveness.

References

(n.d.). Revelation chapter 10 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 23, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/revelation/10
(n.d.). Luke chapter 19 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 23, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/19
(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved November 23, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 23, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved November 23, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 23, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/

Breaking up a new field

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Memorial of St Benedict, founder of Western monasticism, connect to themes of the necessity to reinforce in our society Christian principles based on the Word, Jesus.



The Prophet Hosea calls to the people of Samaria, where the kings do the opposite of what they are supposed to do, to plow a new field.

* [10:3] No king: the instability of the monarchy (7:3–7) and its vassalage to foreign kings (7:8–16) render the monarchy ineffective. The kings do the opposite of what they are supposed to do (10:4).

In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus assigns twelve of His disciples to bring the message of His actions to the people of Israel.

* [10:5–6] Like Jesus (Mt 15:24), the Twelve are sent only to Israel. This saying may reflect an original Jewish Christian refusal of the mission to the Gentiles, but for Matthew it expresses rather the limitation that Jesus himself observed during his ministry.

Angela Maynard reflects on the vocation of a young friend and the Rule of St Benedict that he has chosen to follow. She asks if the apostles had a handbook. The apostles had the best kind of guide — they lived with Jesus. There are four gospels written about him. Her young monk has an instruction book at his disposal, it’s called St. Benedict’s rule. It, too, is rooted in the gospels.

For today, take some time to think about what OUR rule might look like. Life according to me …
Consider:
What is important to me?
How do I spend my time?
Do my actions impact anybody, and if so, how?
What does God want from me—what is my purpose?

Rod Dreher, author of The Benedict Option, quotes Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, on the collapse of our society.

“it is obligatory to compare today’s situation with the decline of the Roman Empire. In its final days, Rome still functioned as a great historical framework, but in practice its vital energy had been depleted.”

Dreher discusses what the Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith and his colleagues call the “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism” (MTD). MTD uses the language and conceptual vocabulary of historical, biblical Christianity, but in fact it teaches a malleable, feel-good, Jesus-light philosophy perfectly suited to a consumerist, individualistic, post-Christian society that ­worships the self.

Don Schwager asks if we believe in the life-changing power of the Gospel and experience its transforming effect in our lives?

The core of the Gospel message is quite simple: the kingdom (or reign) of God is very near! What is the kingdom of God? It is that society of men and women who know God's love and mercy, and who willingly obey and honor God as their Lord and King. In the prayer which Jesus gave to his disciples (the Lord's Prayer or Our Father), he taught them to pray for God to reign in their daily lives and in the world around them: May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 10 comments that Jesus has given us a share in his authority. He has called us by name and empowered us with his Spirit. Like the young person first sitting behind the steering wheel, we have much to learn. But don’t let that keep us from trying!

Friar Jude Winkler finds some comments on social justice in the words of the Hosea. We live like people of God in the way we treat each other. The very Jewish Gospel of Matthew also reaches out to pagans who are recognized by Jesus as having faith, sometimes greater than the people of Israel.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, sees in the status quo that most religion is highly “legitimating religion.” It is used for social control and public order by the powers that be and individuals. This oppressive use of religion has allowed much of Christian history to fully cooperate in toxic and unjust societies—just as long as each person had “a personal relationship with Jesus.” This will not work anymore; in fact, it never did.

Most of us need to have the status quo shaken now and then, leaving us off balance and askew, feeling alienated for a while from our usual unquestioned loyalties. In this uncomfortable space, we can finally recognize the much larger kingdom of God. Many churches don’t seem to understand this, even flying the national flag in sanctuaries while daring to talk about “one God before us” in the same space. After authentic conversion, our old “country” no longer holds any ultimate position. We can’t worship it any longer as we were once trained to do. Our national identity is okay, probably necessary, but very limited in its capacity for truth, much less universal truth.

The message of the Scripture today as lived by St Benedict is one of strengthening ourselves through our relationship with Jesus to be in service to others.

References


(n.d.). Hosea, chapter 10 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved July 11, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/hosea/10

(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 10 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved July 11, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10

(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved July 11, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

(2017, July 14). Signs of the Times: Rod Dreher discusses the Benedict Option by Rod .... Retrieved July 11, 2018, from https://www.plough.com/en/topics/community/church-community/benedict-option-signs-of-the-times

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 11, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

(n.d.). Saint Benedict, Abbot (Memorial) - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved July 11, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/

(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved July 11, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/

Support in the ancient forms

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate how our life in a world of specialized labour, isolated from awareness of the cosmos and attuned to living with spontaneity has separated us from simple cycles of awareness of the Presence of God.

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— The Park Forum (@TheParkForum) February 10, 2018

In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah the water cycle is used to establish the efficacy of the word of God.

* [55:10–11] The efficacy of the word of God recalls 40:5, 8.

In the Gospel from Matthew, the liturgical form of the Lord’s Prayer is presented.

* [6:14–15] These verses reflect a set pattern called “Principles of Holy Law.” Human action now will be met by a corresponding action of God at the final judgment.

Edward Morse derives the important truth that God our Father sustains us even as he invites us to ask him for sustenance.  He notes that both food and forgiveness are part of that sustaining power.

Sometimes we need time to heal.  But eventually we need to stop waiting and stewing, and get moving!  Fears can keep us from moving, including the reality that more hurt and angst likely awaits us.  Lord, as you promised, please deliver us from those fears that keep us from trusting in your goodness and going on in the journey you are preparing for us.

Don Schwager exhorts us to pardon our brother and sister by quoting Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Pardon, that you may be pardoned. In doing this, nothing is required of the body. It is the will that acts. You will experience no physical pain - you will have nothing less in your home. Now in truth, my brothers and sisters, you see what an evil it is that those who have been commanded to love even their enemy do not pardon a penitent brother or sister." (quote from Sermon 210,10)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the reassuring verses in Deutero-Isaiah that are set at the end of the Babylonian exile. The Lord’s Prayer is a familiar recalling of our relationship with “Our Father” that includes words of praise, nourishment, forgiveness and strength in trial.

Rod Dreher, author of the Benedict Option, comments on his experience of Catholic Liturgical Prayer.

It is such a blessing to be able to do this. To just let go, and trust that the prayers worked out by Christians in community ages and ages ago will carry you through. That you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. I do pray “free-form,” but there are times when I can’t find the words, or can’t discipline my thoughts. What a gift to realize that I don’t have to be original. There really is freedom in that. At least I have found it there. This is also true of the liturgy. To be free from the burden of spontaneity and originality.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that many of us who grew up in the church don’t realize that we’ve inherited a pretty blurry cosmology. He quotes Beatrice Bruteau (1930-2014), who offers an update of our cosmology to a lens that is more compatible with science and the world around us.

What we now call complexity, and recognize as doing its creative work on the very edge of chaos, is at the heart of this miraculous picture. There may not be an external Designer and a micro-managing Providence from the outside, but neither is the world devoid of divinity. The divinity is so intimately present in the world that the world can be regarded as an incarnate expression of the Trinity, as creative, as expansive, as conscious, as self-realizing and self-sharing.

Pondering the pace of the water cycle and the expanse of the universe open our being to gratitude and we find support in the ancient forms of praising God.

References


(n.d.). Isaiah 55. Retrieved February 20, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/isaiah55.htm

(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 6 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved February 20, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/6

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 20, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

(n.d.). The Blessing Of Routine | The American Conservative. Retrieved February 20, 2018, from http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/the-blessing-of-routine/

(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 20, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/

The Benedict Effect and spiritual food

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today provide seeds for us to consider how in diverse ways our relationship with God feeds our need for faith, trust and moral direction.

Source :http://www.theamericanconservative.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/4646083730_543d2cc6b8_o.jpg

The motivations of Jeroboam’s cultic innovations described in the First Book of Kings were displeasing to God.

* [12:32–13:10] This unit of the Jeroboam story corresponds to 12:21–25. Before Jeroboam’s cultic innovations, a man of God from Judah proclaimed the Lord’s approval of the political separation of the kingdoms. After Jeroboam’s cultic innovations, a man of God from Judah proclaims the Lord’s disapproval of Israel’s religious separatism. The unit begins with a long, detailed introduction about the dedication festival Jeroboam holds at Bethel (12:32–33); then follows the scene of the ceremony disrupted by the oracle of the man of God (13:1–10).

In the Gospel from Mark, the account today of feeding the multitude is specifically directed at Gentiles.

* [8:1–10] The two accounts of the multiplication of loaves and fishes (Mk 8:1–10; 6:31–44) have eucharistic significance. Their similarity of structure and themes but dissimilarity of detail are considered by many to refer to a single event that, however, developed in two distinct traditions, one Jewish Christian and the other Gentile Christian, since Jesus in Mark’s presentation (Mk 7:24–37) has extended his saving mission to the Gentiles.

On the Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin and twin sister of St Benedict, a comment by Rod Dreher on a web article by Vladimir Basenkov, who takes the measure of The Benedict Option from a Russian point of view is relevant.

Focusing on your inner state, on your way of life and that of your community, on asceticism and your spiritual education is useful for any Christian even in a period of “the empire”, when “the weather is fine” and “the sun is shining”, figuratively speaking. The unforgettable words of St. Seraphim of Sarov, “Acquire the spirit of peace and a thousand souls around you will be saved”, remind us (who are sometimes carried away by “external activities” in the Church, though nobody denies their role) that nurturing and caring for the soul is of paramount importance to Orthodox Christians. For, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you (Lk. 17:21).

Don Schwager quotes the Breaking the bread of God's Word, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"In expounding to you the Holy Scriptures, I as it were break bread for you. If you hunger to receive it, your heart will sing out with the fullness of praise (Psalm 138:1). If you are thus made rich in your banquet, be not meager in good works and deeds. What I am distributing to you is not my own. What you eat, I eat; what you live upon, I live upon. We have in heaven a common store-house - from it comes the Word of God." (excerpt from SERMONS ON NEW TESTAMENT LESSONS 45.1)

Angela Maynard urges us to take some time to reflect on our ability to completely trust that God will provide for us.

I’ve found that once I could identify one small example of this, it became easier for me to recognize numerous times that my God provided for me, and gave me strength.  This has helped me increase my ability to trust in Him…to ‘Let Go and Let God,’ as the saying goes.  I pray we all have the same results.  It’s a refreshing feeling to feel cared for, strong, and nourished.

Friar Jude Winkler explores the challenges for the people of the northern Kingdom of Israel in the many parallels between Jewish worship tradition and that of their pagan neighbours. The symbolism of the feeding of the multitude indicates a perfect feast that is able to satisfy all the people of the world.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, identifies the paradox in which all of creation and each of us have received an original blessing, yet we have been conditioned to focus on the negative in ourselves and others.

Repeat the positive statement aloud, slowly, with intention and trust, several times. Then rest silently in the awareness that you are already and forever, without any effort or achievement on your part, a beloved and blessed child of God.

A positive approach and an openness to diverse expressions of the internal passion of all humanity to be in relationship with God brings us closer to the fullness of life forecast by faith and trust in Providence.

References


(n.d.). 1 Kings, chapter 12 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1kings/12

(n.d.). Mark, chapter 8 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/8

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

(2018, February 5). Benedict Option In Russia | The American Conservative. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/benedict-option-in-russia/

(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved February 10, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/

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