Via Vitae Way of Life
Bened ict ine Ob lates of The World Community for Christian Meditation
Ÿ
To be stable when there is nothing to hinder us is easy;
to be stable when
everything hinders
us gives us a certitude that we have
found our centre of
gravity.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh (Anthony Bloom) 1914-2003 is being celebrated this year for the centenary of his birth. There is a conference at King's College London with speakers including Rowan Williams and various Orthodox and Ecumenical leaders on the weekend of the 15-16th November. For information E-mail: masf.foundation@gmail.com
The World Community for Christian Meditation
BENEDICTINE OBLATE NEWSLETTER NO. 19, SEPTEMBER 2014
Stability and Obedience:
Living the Monastic Life outside the Monastery
By Archbishop Anthony Bloom [Transcribed from a tape recording of a conference given at Notre Dame de la Paix, Chimay, 1972]
It may be strange to you that I speak as a monk. I live outside any monastery. I made my profession 33 years ago and I have never had the opportunity (except for some hopelessly short periods) to be in a community. And yet I feel deeply bound to the monastic tradition and mystery. In the Orthodox tradition of monasticism the key themes are stability and obedience. As a young man – as a young Russian in exile from my homeland after the war – there was no outward model of monasticism available to me in my Church tradition. I was forced to look for the interior meaning of monastic stability.
In its exterior form, the stability classic in Orthodox monasticism is a stability of the enclosure. There is a line, in space, beyond which one does not go. But is it the fact of being limited by a line drawn on the ground that makes one stable? What does stability consist in? At that time I began to intuit what now seems certain to me: that at the heart of stability there is the certitude that I can stand before God wherever I am; and that it is enough for me to stand before God wholly, immobile, so to speak – the place hardly matters. The place does matter, because it helps or hinders. It is easier to stand before God in the silence of a cell or the fellowship of an act of prayer in a convent chapel than in the circumstances of war or in the market place. Nevertheless, it is those circumstances that can serve as a criterion of our stability. To be stable when there is nothing to hinder us is easy; to be stable when everything hinders us gives us a certitude that we have found our centre of gravity. One of the Fathers of the ancient Church said that we must learn to live completely in our skins: not to let our desires and curiosity go outside; to be completely gathered together in the centre of ourselves. Geographical stability is only really a preparation for that, giving the optimal conditions for the real inner stability. As a young man I trained to be a doctor. My profession meant I had to spend a lot of my working day visiting people. I started to look for a form of prayer that would itself be a form of stability. And also by detachment from what would be distracting in the outside world. I discovered a traditional prayer of the Orthodox Church, commonly called the Jesus Prayer, because it is centred on the name of the Word made flesh: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have pity on me a sinner’. In a way, this is simple. Detachment from the outside world is something much more complex when one has to work in it. If one can withdraw to the desert or a cell in a monastery, the outside world is reduced, but even then it does not disappear. We have only to be two or three gathered together, and not only is the Lord in the midst of us, but the first problems of personal relations appear! Where two or three are gathered in my name there is already a Parish council! But when we have a job to carry out then often we can be the prisoner of our work, we find it hard to detach ourselves from it. We can easily become human doings rather than human beings. Anyway, as a young man, I sought for a way of being in the world, engaged in a job (and it was necessary, simply to live – to eat, to clothe myself, to feed and clothe other people – I was at that time living with my mother and my grandmother), while
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014 at the same time not belonging to the world. I began to discover what I am even more certain of now: that it is only obedience, an obedience as radical as that of the Desert Fathers, that could detach me from dependence on action, dependence on my work (as giving me not only livelihood but also identity). If you do your work as a work of obedience, only the obedience counts. The work no longer counts, in itself. It matters little whether it is a success or a failure, provided that you have carried it out as perfectly as you are able. This was something I discovered under the direction of my spiritual father. To speak only of my own spiritual father, he was a man of simplicity and inner freedom that I have never met elsewhere. But he was also absolutely exigent. At the time when I wanted to make monastic profession, after having been under his direction for about ten years, I asked him the question and he answered: “Yes, you can make profession the day you come and say to me, ‘Here I am’, without asking any questions about the future.”
And then he began asking me the flattest, most banal questions one could imagine: “Have you any sandals?” “No.” “Where can we find some sandals for you? Have you a belt?” “No.” “Oh, we can ask someone to give you an old belt.” - And all that in the most practical way but without bothering in the least about the real problem, which for me was: what will happen to my whole life, after this? At the end of the conversation I expected him to say to me: “Now, there is a place on the floor where you can sleep,” because that was certainly all that he had to offer me - “and there you are.” I was determined not to ask a single question about the future of my mother and my grandmother, the future of my work. I had really reached the point where I could say: “I have put my life into his hands, the rest does not exist.” When it was all finished, however, he said: “Right, that’s all.”
“Yes, but Father, you realize that my mother is sick and my grandmother very old…”
“Yes, - er - where am I to sleep?”
“As long as you worry about your mother and grandmother, don’t talk about monastic profession. You’re not trusting either in God or in obedience.”
“Er - and what am I to do?”
It took me several years to learn that God’s demands are absolute. Each time I asked God the question, God answered, ‘I am calling you and it is up to you to answer, without conditions.” I reached the point, in struggling alternately against the will of God and my own lack of good will, where I understood clearly that I had to make a choice. Either I had to say, “Yes”, or I had to cease to consider myself as a member of the Church, cease to go to Church, cease to communicate, because to go and receive communion and then say “No” to the Lord is meaningless. It is meaningless to be a member of the body of Christ and refuse to do the will of Christ. That struggle lasted about half a year. One day I reached the point where I could struggle no more. At the time I was teaching in an independent medical school, simply to survive. I remember I left home, without knowing what the day would bring, and in the middle of one of my lessons I suddenly understood that the choice had to be made that day, then. After the last lesson I went to see my spiritual father. I said, “Father, I’ve come.” “You are ready to abandon yourself completely, without condition?” “Yes.”
“At home.” “Continue your life.” I was rather stunned. He explained to me that now I could return to my former life because I had renounced it completely, it was in God’s hands. Unless God wanted me to change anything the best thing is always to practice stability and stay with what’s there. Then I asked how I was to live a life of obedience, not living with my spiritual father. He answered: “It’s very simple. Consider your mother as your Abbot and everyone who needs you and asks whatever of you as your superior, and obey them unconditionally.” So I lived the first ten years of my monastic life with my mother and grandmother (until she died) and teaching in a medical school. The only difference some people saw was the rather ridiculous sandals and the unnecessary belt. It may seem very simple. In a way it is very much less simple. People can ask a great deal. And with a monastic superior or a confessor, you know beforehand that even if he has not much reason, at least he has the right to give you orders. Whereas out in the world you are at the mercy of a complete abandonment into the hands of God (if you believe that God is really the master of everything everywhere) and of anyone at all – anyone who asks anything of you.
“Good. You will make monastic profession next week.”
—2—
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014
Editorial
Companions along the Way
“Now this hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (St Paul’s Letter to the Romans 5:5)
Dear Oblates and Friends,
We have five new national Oblate
Co-ordianators: Marina Müller for Argentina, Maria & Albert Zakharova for the Ukraine and Maksym Kapalski for Poland. These are countries where Stefan Reynolds the Oblate community has grown and it is great to have the help of Marina, Maria, Albert and Maksym. We particularly keep the Ukrainian Oblate community in our prayers during this time and pray for peace, freedom and reconciliation in their country. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Rowena O’Sullivan for all her efforts and love as Oblate Co-ordinator for Ireland over the years. She has been a great support to many Oblates but is now retiring. She is a hard act to follow… All the more hard as that it is me who has to follow her! Please say a prayer for me!
As Oblates our prayer, meditation and Lectio Divina helps us to find our own stability. We are also helped by our fellow Oblates. That is what the Oblate cells – which many of the articles in this newsletter witness to – are all about. I hope this twice yearly Via Vitae newsletter is also a source of encouragement for individual mediators and for Oblate cells. John Main writes in Community of Love “I think that what a community is about is support. We really do help one another by our love for one another and we feel greatly supported that we have you as our friends, and as our brothers and sisters, because that is what it means to be part of the oblate community of a Benedictine monastery.” United with you in love and prayer, Stefan
I hope you enjoy this newsletter. I am grateful to all who have contributed and to Anne Dillon who puts it all together. Keep writing and sending me pictures, news, reviews, reflections. Today I was reading John Main, he writes that “We live in a world that makes great demands on most of us. In every society now, stress and strain take their toll on the nervous resources of so many people.
Dr Stefan Reynolds Glenville Park, Glenville, Co. Cork, Ireland stefandreynolds@gmail.com
Table of contents
One of the qualities that we as monks have tried to respond to is what St Benedict calls ‘stability’. In the Rule, St Benedict gives this stability as one of the principal objectives in the life of the person who would live their Christianity to the full. To be stable we need to be sure of ourselves. We need to be sure that we are standing on firm ground. We need to be sure, confident, that we would not be blown away by the first storm winds that come up.”
Stability and Obedience .............................1
(The hunger for Depth and Meaning: Learning to meditate with John Main. Edited by Peter Ng – p. 151)
Carlos Juarez ............................................8
There are so many troubles in the world at the moment (particularly in the Middle East). It is easy to feel overwhelmed. Communication technology has made life easier but also much more complicated. One can again feel overwhelmed. In a rapidly changing world relationships and work can feel unsteady. The great gift of meditation, as John Main says, is to come to stability by being rooted in the gift of our own life. The mantra leads us to the centre. Our own centre is our heart, and the heart of the world is God. Meditation leads us back to the heart. From there, despite all the difficulties of life, we can live in hope. We learn from our own experience what our faith teaches us.
—3—
Editorial .....................................................3 News from Argentina .................................4
Sharing our Journey ..................................7
Eileen Dutt on Psalms ................................8
Tour of UK Cells ........................................9 Canadian National Oblate Retreat ............12
Benedictines at the Friary ........................12
Book Review: Embracing Solitude ..........13 Book Review: Song of Songs ..................15 End Point .................................................16
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014
News from Argentina Sharing with the Oblates community our recent cell day in Argentina. August 3, 2014—11.15 am o 5.30 pm.
We had meditation with initial and final reading, and then Lectio from the Gospel of the day: Matthew 14: 13-21
Comments: Jesus wanted to retire for pray, but only upon request, tells his disciples, "You give them the food" so he invites us to share with each other to distribute to others what he gives us. He knew where he was going, and that others should continue to provide the bread of spiritual life in his name. All we can do, keep giving a word, a company, a prayer; provide food for the body and spirit. We did the comment on the oblate way and the votes involved: stability: how is my personal way of stability in my life and in the Community, in the Oblation way? And concerning the Rule and following Jesus? In my relationship with the oblation way and others? What does mean stability for me in this way? Comments: Norberto – Always seek harmony and inner balance that will exude out, this is achieved with a certain spiritual discipline. Ups and downs can come always, the issue is how one reacts to the imbalances that always come; that's our way of harmony. Stable when I'm making a discerned way, or crazy or falling asleep. As a result of this stability, things will flow; walking step by step, with a discipline that one does freely. I discern clarifying each act in my life with the Lord, especially when it has more impact on my life. Talking with him dark or unclear situations; and signs are emerging, a response appears. Deviation is very possible; we must recognize that one is off, and come back to the way; humbly accept this deviation and return. On the need for a spiritual accompaniment, it came a very interesting alternative suggested by the psychologist whom I attend. He suggested a priest, I know for a tour to the Holy Land, I have a very good bond with him; he is now in a parish. I wrote and he answered immediately, I went and talked with him. He will accompany me spiritually. Rocío – I share the Carmelite prayer; a Carmelite Sister is accompanying me. Sometimes we do not open our eyes to what is, what God is proposing to us; is good to put it out what you find from within. One commits to a monastic way in the world: I am a temple. The Holy Spirit is showing me how my life is embodied in the daily reflective reading of the rule; I maintain this life in all what I’m doing. Increasingly in my life, the center is Christ, to substantiate me entrenched in bedrock that gives me stability. That's my stability, I live it in very simple options each day: God is my
by Marina Müller
center, is what I'm working. I work my definition with my psychologist. I had a very strong session with her, then work with Sister Isabel and I will work with Marina this innermost core. Assume the most neuralgic definitions more strongly with all the things lived. On my birthday came Norberto and Jorge, my meditation group mates. Sitting beside me, sharing Mass at 8 am, in the Carmelite monastery. I received a homemade cake, I spent the night in the monastery "in the arms of the Lord" which is the love of my life. I prayed for being not self centered. Marina – I suggest a Benedictine monastery for a retreat or a day set. And continue to share the profound discernment of this spiritual path. Let's make a new year-end retreat, perhaps again in Mar del Plata as last year. A strong phrase to live is: "Prefer nothing to the love of Christ". The center is the Lord, but it is not easy to build the Community. The love of Christ sustains me; always the Lord is walking with us and in us, no matter what may happen. Juanita: Sharing will permit forming this stability, because if you do everything yourself ... Being able to talk with someone else allows that stability taking root in ourselves; other listens and one can listen yourself. There is a commitment that you have internally, from above, from God giving us life, and from baptism and also confirmation: awareness of God's presence. Delivery is now different in everyday life,
Left to right, sitting: Rocío Álvarez, Marina Müller, Juanita Paez. Standing: Norberto Ramírez
Presiding our meeting, an image of the Sacred Heart which was given to Marina spontaneously out of the mass of the Church of the Saviour the day before this cell. Rocío is holding it on the photo above..
—4—
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014 with family, with friends and at work; I am mindful of the Lord; I am more aware. All the time you are giving love to the other person, through work. God is the center and without him I can´t step. If I depart from him, my path is empty. I'm doing the way, his presence has filled me; that is continuously circulating. As I sit and pray, that presence is stronger. That holds me, that is stability. I did not speak of crises, because I want to focus on the best. We face difficult crisis, but having that pillar, sit, meditate, do small readings, is the total pillar of my life. Lectio Divina 2 Cor. 3, 4-5; 12 to 18 The ministry of the new covenant Comments: Norberto – Repent, believe in Jesus. The Lord has transformed us, from the center of our lives. It is thanks to him; this leads to a freedom to do the actions he wants from us. What is revealed in us, it is because he is present. Marina – Our ability comes from God. It is grace that changes us. We are divine image and likeness. There is an emphasis of the Eastern Church in the transfiguration and resurrection. The Lord lives in us, we are a sacred space where he lives and goes on transforming us. Juanita – Catechesis was different here in Latin America: Christianity came to dominate the new world, emphasizing the cross, the suffering. It was unusual the direct access to the Bible. Trust in God, we thank Christ, it enabled us to administer this new covenant; that ability comes from God, the Spirit of the Lord frees us. This is transforming us into the image of God; we're drinking from the wisdom that comes from it. Carry this message to all; many failed to understand Jesus, but he was very clear: all his´ was from the Father. Rocío – Drawing back the veil: so we clearly see God, and we transmit that light around us. We are God's light. When we meditate we ignore our stuff and we are silent before God. We continued discernment: What the Lord is showing me in this way? What is calling me in relation to my own life in terms of conversion, stability and obedience, vows involving oblation, and as for the Community of which I am a part? Rocío – I go within to define my life, that´s what I'm working on. This also has a shaft that has to do with the trunk. In the Community I see that I took seriously what we share
here and in my daily journey; every day I take it seriously what I share here, what we're meditating about Benedict, simple things, I make them real in my life, where I am: how to integrate it into my life, in my work. I looked for help, how to cut links that did not help me, I took trunks decisions: go to therapy, move, pass uncertainties, costs were high in my life ... To add 3 work takes me long time for the short wages; how to hold me wearing 3 jobs ... there are moments that are more bitter. My attempts are incarnating, to deify God in my flesh. Practice took me much effort and I see many details of God, many graces coming to confirm the path ... A community level was translated into my work: in my classes there are moments of silence, I implemented in my environment, also in workshops for young people, yesterday I had the opportunity in a parish. I'll integrate it into my life as an everyday thing. I wish I had some work to take me less energy, to devote more to the spiritual. Trying to come every 15 days to Buenos Aires, the priest friend gives me location: offers me to coordinate a retreat house nearby. Seek to change my job to the Ministry of Education and come here more often (Rocío lives 450 kms from Buenos Aires where we have the cell days). Life is quiet in Mar del Plata, there are lots of nature, helps me living near the Carmelites monastery. My idea is to have a salary that can support me. I pay a lot for renting plus the car payment ... I want to visit each group and share activities with each one. The Marist School wants to have meditation with teachers and students, I have to submit a project, I want to do it now ... I do not want to live devoted to temporal matters, my priority is eternal. To assemble a group of CM, a project to Marist School, I do not arrive to do it on time with everything I'm working; it is a hard, exhausting labor (patronage for men released from prison). All this time was much internal confrontation of what I wanted to do. So here was my time as a postulant ... the pace of life does not speed but I can not deny maturation. There are certainties that oblate features combine with my personal mission. There are signs to go on with the novitiate. Norberto – the possibility of having spiritual assistance is effective to take decisions regarding this way: my pace is slow but sure. There has been a whole transformation: clearly my current axis is the Community. Also with my biological family: the most communicative of my sons tells me how I am listening and accompanying him, how I can express more affection now. The birth of my 5th granddaughter, is a very favorable climate in my family. With
—5—
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014 my friends, I´m now more consistent in clarifying this way with relationships. The next steps are making decisions, now I see very near those steps. Even though I'm retired, I'm just busy all day, others need me, but I can not be everywhere. I do not have to take everything that is offered for me.
Putting God in a central location. Also places itself help us, and to devote ourselves to pray at daily fixed times.
Juanita – every day you will think what you are looking for. The commitment to align in a group sometimes is difficult, sometimes you feel disappointment with some things, I want to live in love but in the end it is so difficult for human beings to live in love ... there is always a shock coping reality ... one is very idealistic, the ideal of my heart is one thing and reality is another thing. There are things that can become, one believes it will be achieved and that everything is going to accommodating. Switch to another stage I see closer, these difficulties make you grow in spirit. What happens in this small community makes you grow, give you that consistency in faith, every time you go to another growing certainty of the presence of God. There is a more established stability in the world in which we live, more typical of human beings.
No more pretending that being in the presence of God in all other areas they may be aware of that Presence. We speak of personal altar that everyone has at home.
The union exists and will exist in the future. We must grow, must be mature; show what hurts us. See what you want to do, what is actually doing, and what one does not do. It was a project to do meetings for beginners, done with another meditator, and it was cut. I will ask help from a member of my group to do it. Marina – We all need each other. Comments on the Rule of St. Benedict: the oratory of the monastery, from Chittister´s book (corresponding to the date: August 3). Oratory and monastery taken as aspects of the vocation to oblation: our heart, our Community. What about this reading for my way of oblation and my relationship with the community of which I am a part? What place in my life have these realities? What is so far my discernment? With whom I could share to deepen: escort or spiritual companion, mentor, therapist? The behavior follows some rules: there is a sacred place, it must be respected, be quiet, and keep it intimate. The depths of our being is consecrated to the Lord. All can have a divine reading; bring it to our daily lives. "Sit to be with the Lord": finding the sacred in the secular. Our whole life, living in the Lord. The unit we are taught by the spiritual masters is how the sacred touches the secular, for the sake of staying there, focused on the Lord.
Norberto says that in Rocío's birthday, she invited to a meeting at her house and asked each to tell how they had met her. It was a way to communicate and know each other, as not everyone had met before.
No default of our eyes from the Lord, all creation is in it. Community of Love, by John Main, Chapter The innocence of Christ. What about this text? How do I apply it in my life? What brings me to my path of oblation? Comments: "contemplate" = we are the temple, we are in the temple. As for the community, we are connected to each other. How can we build concrete signs of connection? For example, sending a mail to ask how are the other team members. Visit those who live nearby. It is best not to put the emphasis on one's own life, nor claim anything for ourselves; rather, we have to do to others what we want them to do with us. This also includes how to speak and see how to connect between us. John Main's beautiful when he speaks of purity of heart, how to "lift the veil" and show the beauty of the Lord. As a transparency, where Jesus can transfigure himself and transfigure us. Be ready to open up to his innocence. The Kingdom of God, purity of heart, innocence... to become like children. We devote our whole life to God. Encourage one another. It's what these meetings allow: be able to get together. Sharing is a way of encouraging each other, and there is the presence of God that sustains us. It starts as a small mustard seed. Most tiny, a drop in the ocean, a grain of sand; a woman taking a little leaven that leavens the whole lump. We pray Vespers. Final Thoughts: Lighting, confirmation, community coincidence that confirms us in the way. The sense of purpose in our community: everything is united in the Lord, the sacred and the profane. The integration of Martha and Mary.
—6—
Marina Müller, Oblate Co-Ordinator for Argentina, meditacion.cristiana.grupos@gmail.com
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014
SHARING OUR JOURNEY
A day of companionship, prayer and conversation on the theme of: ‘SERVICE’
This is a day of reflection led by Oblates from the Northern “Cell”. A warm invitation is extended to WCCM ”Meditators”, (all Oblates are of course also invited).
Saturday 25th October 2014 from 10.30 – 4pm @ The Monastery of Christ our Saviour, (Turvey Abbey). Bedford.
Places are limited so please contact Angela Gregson to book: 01706 226 574 Email fapghillview@yahoo.co.uk “I WAS LIKE YOU” AN INVITATION TO “COME AND SEE” WHAT IS THE OBLATE COMMUNITY? WHAT IS “ A MONASTERY WITHOUT WALLS”?
I was like you, been exploring meditation with my local WCCM group and kept hearing of the WCCM Oblate Community. Initially, because the majority of the meditators I met at my local group, retreats and one day events were not of the Oblate Community, and the infrequency upon which I came across an individual who had “become an Oblate”, it gave me the impression of it being “for the elite, the select”.
Then, you, like me, amongst the “snippets” of second hand information I had come across, concerning the Oblate Community, i.e. it’s adherence to The Rule of Benedict, commitment to a “Monastery without Walls”, their regular attendance to a “Cell”, the introduction, alongside daily meditation, of the reading of the Divine Office and Lectiio Divina, something amongst these “snippets”” spoke” to me from somewhere deep within, made my heart race with the “Spirit’s fire”, beckoning me not to be afraid but to take a closer look at this community, this path into the deeper life in Christ, as my teacher within.
Then, you, like me, looked online at our WCCM website to explore further, apprehensively, Oblation and its requirements etc. There I came across a contact. From this first contact, I received a compassionate invitation to “COME AND SEE”.
This article is such a first contact, is such a first invitation, for you to “COME AND SEE”, answer that beckoning of the Spirit that makes your heart race with his fire of love. The invitation is to all, all who have trod along the path of meditation and have felt such inner stirrings, curiosity. So “COME AND SEE” on Saturday 25th October 2014, details opposite. Then you, like me, may experience for a second time, since being involved with the WCCM, a strong empowering, loving sense of “coming home”, and may begin to realise that this unique spiritual community is the embodiment, not only of John Main’s vision, St.Benedict’s Monastic Tradtion, but also of the living presence of Christ, who dwells within.
O ur journey is a way of solitude. True, it is the end to loneliness and isolation.
Solitude becomes the crucible of integrity, personal wholeness, which the love of God transforms into communion, into belonging and inter-relatedness at every level of our lives. But still it is an ascesis. The solitude of the path is a continual purification, a continual refining in the fire of love. Monastery without Walls: The Spiritual Letters of John Main osb —7—
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014
Psalms
by Eileen Dutt, UK Oblate Coordinator
During a recent retreat to Our Lady of Walsingham I came
across a book 'The Psalms in Haiku Form' written by Richard Gwyn a Cistercian monk of Caldey Abbey. In his brief introduction Richard has this to say, "This does not purport to be a learned work. It is, rather, something which could prove to be of interest and help to those who find the Psalms, as they are normally presented, beyond their intellectual and meditative scope. To them the simplicity - at times the starkness - of what I am offering might well appeal..." If you are not familiar with Haiku it is an ancient form of Japanese poetry consisting of seventeen syllables, usually divided across three lines. Take the first three verses of Ps. 23 for instance. Many will be familiar with them written thus:
To quiet waters He leads me; and as I rest He revives my drooping spirit. I like the fresh, crisp and sometimes evocative treatment Richard offers us. To quote the publishers Gracewing, 'They will challenge those familiar with the Psalms to new insight, while introducing these ancient prayers to a whole new audience'. In his book 'Psalms', James Limburg reminds us the psalms function as a 'Hymn Book, Prayer Book, Instruction Book' and I would also include 'Poetry Book' particularly since using this book. I highly recommend this book to all lovers of the psalms. Ps. 119 v 171-173
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me, To revive my drooping spirit.
Let my lips gladly make known my indebtedness for Your sound teaching. May my tongue make known how just are your promises as it sings your praise.
Richard offers us the following:
May your hand be prompt to come to my assistance as I do your will.
The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want, grazing in his fields.
Carlos
by Carlos Juarez, Argentina
Hello
everyone, my name is Carlos Juarez, I'm from Buenos Aires in Argentina. When almost 4 years ago I met The World Community for Christian Meditation there were many things to learn, for example using a "mantra", and others, like being “still and silent"”which seemed to me arduous and difficult.
simple and profound organization given by Benedict. The teaching of John Main and The World Community for Christian Meditation has relayed ancestral teachings to me in a new and contemporary way. I will hopefully, eventually, be part of a true community of Oblates and have “companions” with whom to share experiences, joys and sorrows of every day... always in the light of St Benedict’s rule which, from 1500 years, has been teaching men and women the simple things involved in true devotion. God only asks us to trust in Him.
But there was one aspect, terminology and language which I had not only known for many years, but also lived intensely, and dramatically at times: the rule of St. Benedict and lay consecration to this worldview... I mean the oblate life. The particular contribution of The World Community of Christian Meditation has been to make me order my time through a study of the rule in its personal and social message. It strongly contributed the concept of “monastery without walls” which opened in me a universal knowledge of Benedictine teachings which I did not know until then. As I never imagined before, I can now see the unity between the message of the early Desert Fathers and the
As John Main says, “Those who follow the Rule of St. Benedict and his spirit are humbly seeking to realize the potential they have in God.”
—8—
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014
A Tour of the UK Cells
by Angela Gregson 01706 226 574
There is (also) a tradition of ‘Oblate Cells’ which are small groups of Oblates (two is enough) who meet regularly to share some reflection on the Rule and its influence in their life. The ‘Cell’ helps to build the bond of a local Oblate community. (www.wccm.org/content/becoming an oblate)
There has been, during the course of this year, a natural
growth in the number of oblate cells serving the UK community; possibility exists for two more. This is great news for the community particularly as, alongside our new cells there is still an active cell, meeting regularly, at Cockfosters (see Rita’s account below). Whilst each cell meeting includes a time for Meditation, reflection on the Rule, Lectio Divina and Community Prayer, and each cell leader keeps me informed, by email, on the passages they will be using, all are still autonomous; very much in keeping with our Benedictine family roots. With this in mind I approached each cell leader with the idea that each of them write something about the nature of their particular cell meetings. . . Attending a cell meeting, when it is possible for us to do so, is important. To quote Fr John, “It is not always easy to find a person to share with. What is a great grace to us is that we have found one another. And what we share is Christ, his love for us, his love for the Father, In that sharing we become, not just fully Benedictine, not just fully Christian, but fully human, fully the persons we were created to be.” (Community of Love: Fellow-Pilgrims with Christ p.81) The Part is the All – on coming together in a new cell.
THE CAMBRIDGE OBLATE CELL I call it a fractal moment! I am no mathematician but I can appreciate the natural wonders of the images that give presence to a mathematical reality and for me, the mysterious beauty of fractal images carries some sense of what it was like for the four of us to meet in my little home for the day for a cell meeting for the first time. The idea had evolved out of the difficulties of travelling to London every month, which many of us had experienced and it was decided that we should try meeting in smaller cells instead. The logistics of ‘relative’ proximity, made Cambridge a possible meeting point for our new cell. I say ‘relative’ because Norwich and Hitchin still mean a real commitment in terms of time and travelling involved for some of us but we made it! And so we spent the special day sharing in meditation, in prayer, in study and reflection; sharing in community. We are all looking forward to sharing such a day again as we found we had more time together and our day took on a natural rhythm of its own. Our hope is to meet together every two months and we all feel that after the summer break this will be possible. We will still be coming together for special shared days at 32 Hamilton Road with the other parts of the old cell but remembering the fractal patterning feels like a wonderful way to embrace that wider sense of belonging as an oblate in the gently unfolding Monastery Without Walls – a spirit reflected in the fractals and perhaps even deeper patterns of our lives that we catch glimpses of when we are in communion. Jane Serrurier 07557 476227 jemserrurier@gmail.com OBLATE WITHOUT MONASTERY WALLS The valuing of both a meditation practice and the proven and wise guidance of the Rule of St Benedict drew me towards oblation within the WCCM 7 years ago, but unfortunately in that time there has not been a cell near enough to me in the East of England to provide the opportunity regularly to meet with others who have also chosen this path. That is one of the potential drawbacks of being a monastery without walls, a lack of a focal point or group within reasonable reach. However when I think of other larger countries, continents even that may have fewer oblates than the UK, I realise that the distances are not so great here! Nevertheless, during this time of being a lone oblate I have involved myself in the life of the UK community, which I have found fulfilling, and this has provided a sense of belonging and also the chance to live out the oblate commitment.
—9—
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014 I would echo Jane’s comments that it was lovely to experience the hospitality and fellowship of our first cell meeting in her Cambridge home in May and look forward to this continuing. Margaret Comerford: Cambridge Cell THE COCKFOSTERS OBLATE CELL I arrived in Cockfosters in 2001, the year after I had made my final vows as an Oblate. A few days after my arrival I was told that a meditation group had been set up in a house called Minsmere. People started to be interested in this form of prayer and soon I found myself becoming more involved, leading groups with David Reece and Jo Chambers SND. But there was something more! As an Oblate I wanted other Oblates who were seeking a deeper spirituality following the Rule of St Benedict to join me. So the cell group in Cockfosters was born and it happened that people came to the cell from quite a distance. Some as far away as Hitchin and Kent. We met on the last Wednesday of each month in the afternoon at 2 o’clock. Then came further steps on the journey, the meditation group moved to a larger building we named The Meditation Retreat Centre. As Oblates we continued to meet at the same time once a month, following the same format as at Minsmere. Resident Oblates joined us and on occasions visiting Oblates were happy to be with us. A true sense of community evolved. It grew spiritually and it was a safe place to share and encourage. Then came the time to embrace change. The Resident Oblate Community moved to Kensington [it is now in Ealing]. There was a sense of loss and bereavement among those who were left. The cell group was much reduced in numbers but with a strong resolve to continue. There are four of us – 3 Oblates and 1 novice. We were very fortunate to be given access to the Quiet room above the church at Cockfosters. We meet on average once a month on a Thursday evening between 7-9pm. We start with evening prayer and move into 30 minutes of meditation. This is followed by a time of Lectio Divina taking the forthcoming Sunday gospel. There is a sharing of what we heard, what we are invited to do and how to respond to that. As St Gregory the Great said “Through Lectio Divina we learn to know the heart of God.” This can evoke a lively discussion and is a great source of reflection for the week. The evening continues with reading and reflecting on the Rule of St Benedict. Once again this can be a time of spiritual inspiration. We conclude with intercessory prayer and blessing. Sharing is continued over simple refreshments and a joyful farewell. From the very beginning I have found the wisdom of welcoming enquirers who “come and see”. It doesn't matter how long this will take, the joy is that many blessings arise and
final vows take place. Rita McKenna Heams ro@twentyfour.org
Contact: Rosemary
THE CROWTHORNE OBLATE CELL In April 2014 we started the Crowthorne cell for oblates from the Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Surrey and Kent area, as we were having difficulty making the monthly oblate cell meetings at Meditatio House in Ealing. We were missing each other. We felt, too, that a local cell would be encouraging for new enquirers from those areas. We continue to meet on the last Wednesday of the month, as at Ealing, with an average attendance of 4 to 5 oblates, friends and enquirers. Times are 2-4pm followed by refreshments. We start with 30 minutes meditation, followed by Lectio Divina, discussion on a section of the Rule of Benedict, and finishing with Evening Prayer. In the small group we find we can try out ideas, which can be used for the quarterly Saturday meetings. Communication is straight forward, generally just an email as a reminder of the date of the meeting and a note of the reading for the Lectio, usually from the Gospel for the following Sunday, and the Rule. Eileen always receives this -email so that the information can be shared, particularly with lone and housebound oblates. The Spirit pulls everything together. Angela Greenwood 01344 774254 angelagreenwood@hotmail.com SATURDAY OBLATE CELL MEETING An oblate cell meeting used to take place regularly on the last Wednesday of every month at Hamilton Road in London. As regional cells developed it was decided that these monthly meeting be replaced by a quarterly meeting. This quarterly meeting at Hamilton Road starts at 11.30 am with a social tea or coffee followed by the regular 12 o'clock meditation. We then enjoy a shared lunch together. This is usually a bring-and-share meal but there is always more than enough food to go around. In the afternoon we look at the Rule and practise Lectio Divina. We end our time together with Evening Prayer at 4.30 pm. We have only met once so far and all of the feedback has been positive. Meeting on a Saturday enables people who work during the week to join us. It gives us a longer time together building up our sense of community. More time should also enable us to go deeper into the scriptures and to listen more closely to what the Rule is saying to each of us as individuals and to the cell as a community. A quarterly meeting means that those of us who live further afield are more likely to make the effort to attend. It offers an opportunity for regional cells and lone oblates to come together to celebrate being a part of a larger body.
— 10 —
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014 Saturday cell meetings have been arranged for 13th September 2014, 13th December 2014, 24th January 2015, 25th April 2015 and 25th of July 2015. These meetings will evolve and develop. Come along and be part of the process. Non-oblates are always welcome. Gilly Withers 01344-761980 gilly@withers.org AN OBLATE CELL OF TWO IN DEEPEST WILTSHIRE Geoffrey was for a number of years, the only oblate of the world community in Wiltshire. I had the pleasure of being able to share each stage of Geoffrey's journey, from postulant to novice to full oblation. I attended the annual profession and renewal of the rule. Each time, I was so moved by the individuals taking their final step, their journey and account of their deepening commitment. So, 4 years after Geoffrey became an oblate, I made my own profession. And so we became a cell of two! We have met with others from Dorset, who have begun their journey of oblation and shared our love and support. It is enough to know that we are there, turning up to share time together, both as part of local group and offering our service to the community. We welcome the contact with Eileen, who keeps us up to date with the events taking place, offering an open invitation. Whilst we may not be able to attend these events, it is important for us to know we are part of a wider oblate community. We are hoping that in the near future we can establish a cell on the border of Wiltshire and Dorset. It is early days, but another step along the way. Janet Robbins janet@jrobbins.co.uk FORMATION & GROWTH OF THE NORTHERN OBLATE CELL The “cell” came into being as a response to the hunger of some of the Northern Oblates for opportunities to grow spiritually through our sharing with each other “Lectio Divina” and our understanding of the Rule of St. Benedict along with Meditation and the Divine Office. As a “Monastery without Walls” it can be more difficult to be aware of a community and we hoped that by meeting together on a regular basis we would have a better sense of that. I was given a list of the Oblates in the north by Eileen and I contact them all by email. Three were unable to join for various reasons, but a group of between 3 and 5 started to meet in Sept. 2010. We chose to meet in Leeds as one member lives in Cleveland and that side of the Pennines would be possible for him to get to. The others live in Leeds, Manchester and Lancashire and the member in Leeds generously offered her home as a place to meet. Initially we met twice a year roughly 4 months either side of the UK Oblate Day with Fr. Laurence. Then as we got to know each other and gelled as a “Cell” we sensed the call to meet more often and moved to coming together every 3 months.
At the beginning of this year the possible number of members for a “cell” meeting grew to 8 with 3 new ‘friends’, exploring the path. They come from Lancashire & Nottinghamshire. That together with health issues for the member whose house we were meeting at, and the possibility that the “cell” might grow even more after a ‘retreat day’ we were organising for May, we agreed that we should look for somewhere else to meet so that the meeting didn’t have to be cancelled if she was ill (which had happened once, although it only affected 1 other member as she was the only one able subsequently to attend on the set date). So we now meet at the Church Institute in the centre of Leeds and as our hosts asked us if we could give them the dates for a few of our meetings in advance, we discussed at our January ’14 day how frequently we wanted to meet. All agreed that it would be good to meet about every 6 weeks. That is what we now do. Sadly the reflection day in May had to be cancelled due to the fact that no meditators expressed interest in attending. But we will be holding that proposed day @ The Monastery of Christ our Saviour (Turvey Abbey) on Saturday 25th October ’14. Before our last “cell” meeting in July I had an idea which I thought would be fruitful for all the members whether they were able to be there in person or not. When I emailed them the passage from Sacred Scripture for “Lectio Divina” and the section of the “Rule” with the commentaries on it by both Joan Chittister osb and James Bishop, I asked them, if they were unable to attend in person, to reflect on them and email me their thoughts so that I could share them with those @ the meeting, and the others unable to be there in person. The thoughts of those present in person would be emailed to those who weren’t able to be. I thought that this might deepen our awareness of community within the “cell”. As you can see the “cell” members come from a wide geographical area and I think it is because we all experience spiritual growth through coming together that we are happy to make the necessary journeys to do so. It is not a sacrifice but a joy.
— 11 —
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014
Canadian National Oblate Retreat The Canadian National Oblate Retreat took place from May 16 to 18, 2014.
by Shirley Desborough, Cobourg Ontario
The Canadian annual oblate retreat was held at the Abbaye
Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth in Rougemont Quebec. At the abbey the monks follow the Cistercian rule, an austere form of Benedictine life that supports silence and the experience of deepening prayer and praise to God. The abbey is nestled in the gentle and beautiful apple growing region of Quebec. The warmth and sincere hospitality of the monks welcomed us and provided support for our needs as visiting brothers and sisters in Christ. We quickly became integrated into the rhythm of monastery life joining the monks in daily prayers and the celebration of the Eucharist. Poly Schofield, National Oblate Coordinator for Canada and John Main’s archivist, provided the teachings that guided us to enter into the spirit, wisdom and life of Fr John making this retreat a special and valued time of reflection. On May 18th Jake Lapierre took his vows as novice, and I took my final oblate vows. The service was conducted by Polly Schofield outside on the monastery grounds under a beautiful flowering magnolia tree in the early morning sun. A final blessing and warm affection was given to Jake and to me by the retreatants embellishing what was already a memorable event for both of us in our spiritual journey.
Benedictines at the Friary
by Ross Miller rossmill@orcon.net.nz
The New Zealand Oblate Community is still relatively few
in numbers but slowly growing. Just 16 of us were able to be together at the Auckland Franciscan Friary for two and a half days in late January, and we look back on this brief time now with love and delight. We were reminded of our basic Benedictine commitments, of cordial appreciation of differences, of fortitude in considerable adversity, of the sounds of silence, the strengths of fragility. It was a very important time indeed.
The rambling Friary building belongs to another age, and no one would claim it is congenial or convenient for anyone with special needs or aesthetic taste – but we all managed there, and watched out for each other, and no one was late for Office or Mass.
We were joined by three Oblates of the Camaldolese branch of Benedictines, and one of them, Father Michael Mifsud, was our retreat leader. He led us through our three commitments of Conversatione, Obedience and Stability, with rich imagery and examples and reference to the many contemplative classics. It was an inspired decision to share our meeting with these three men, on the same journey as us, making the same commitments and following the same call.
Here are two of our three new Novices, Coral Foster (left) and June Aslett (right), flanked by their mentors, Jane Lys and Hugh McLaughlin.
— 12 —
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014 During the retreat we received two new Novices, Coral Foster and June Aslett. Immediately following the retreat, Stan Martin, Elizabeth Isichei, Jane Lys and Barbara Welch, travelled to Paeroa, south of Auckland in the Waikato district, to receive the Novice commitment of Merv Daley. Merv has very much reduced sight and hearing, and was unable to get to the Friary. But he is a lively and eager Novice. Stan is doing much in the Bay of Plenty area to encourage the Oblates on their journey. Here are two of our three new Novices, Coral Foster (left) and June Aslett (right), flanked by their mentors, Jane Lys and Hugh McLaughlin.
is that our small community does include some formidable health challenges. We are learning the available ways of being in touch with each other in the real world of every day and the present. Email is obviously an important tool -- and how to use computers and printers as Tools of the Monastery with care and understanding, is now of serious importance to our oblate life. We have had for some time now a fortnightly “Oblate Epistle” written by each of us in turn and emailed to all. This has proved inspiring, as Oblates have chosen to share real parts of their lives and to trust the understanding of the Oblate community.
Jo Ward is our new Infirmarian. No one, including Jo, is quite sure what this means in practice. What is apparent
Book Review. . . ‘Embracing Solitude: Women and the New Monasticism’, by Bernadette Flanagan
(Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2014), ISBN 13:978-1-60608-337-6
Bernadette Flanagan is Director of Research at All Hallows College in Dublin City University where, with others, she has pioneered the study of Christian spirituality particularly from the perspective of contemporary situations. In Embracing Solitude she presents women who through the centuries, from the Desert Mothers to today, have pioneered and lived out new models of female spirituality. Flanagan draws out the relevance of these spiritual entrepreneurs for two contemporary trends in the search for a dedicated life: the revival of the solitary vocation and new models of monasticism. In a relatively condensed book Flanagan manages to combine an overview – admittedly selective in examples – of how women through Christian history have grappled with the sense of being called to something new and creative, along with an excellent analyses of how, at a time when vocations to traditional
religious life are declining, there is a burgeoning of such creative new forms today. The historical studies start with two women’s lives from the fourth to sixth century, which show the transition from intentional solitude to spiritual leadership and have become available recently in modern English translation: the ninth century Syriac Pseudo-Athanasius’ Life and Regimen of the Blessed and Holy Teacher Syncletica, translated by Elizabeth Bryson Bongie (Toronto: Peregrina, 1996) and The Life of St Monenna from the medieval Codex Salmanticensis, translated by Ingrid Sperber, in Armagh History and Society: Essays on the History of an Irish County, edited by Art Hughes and William Nolan, (Dublin: Geography Publications, 2001). Flanagan then goes on to look at the life of the Beguine Mary of Oignies from the perspective of recent scholarship on that remarkable movement in women’s religious life in the Middle Ages. From there to Angela Merici in Renaissance Italy, founder of the Ursulines and the first women to write a rule of life for women religious outside the cloister. Flanagan introduces us to the original text of Angela’s Rule of Life, which has recently been recovered from its later emendations, showing her innovative vision of a monastery without walls open both to the city and to the possibility of women’s pilgrimage. From there to Nana Nagle (1718-1784) pioneer of women’s religious life in dedication to the poor in the city slums again without the protection/curtailment of enclosure. Flanagan throws new light on the solitude that women like Nana Nagle had to face in assuming an unconventional path at a time when women’s choices were restricted. The impasses Nagel faced became her way of the desert in the middle of the city.
— 13 —
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014 All this is put in dialogue with contemporary turns in women’s religious life; both to solitude as a way of discovering the true self in God and to new forms of committed communal living that focus on contemplation but with an openness to the world – be it cities, Christian traditions outside Catholicism and Orthodoxy which have not in the past had monastic models of life, to the witness of women’s expressiveness as authors and teachers, to married forms of monasticism, the revival of Celtic spiritualities and the new localisation of inter-religious relations and co-habitation. Flanagan has her ear to the ground of what is happening in the Church and in new forms of contemplative Christian living. Her awareness of what is happening outside the Catholic Church, how models – usually associated with the Catholic and Orthodox religious life – are being taken up is fascinating but asks for further analysis than she gives of how the new forms are related to the old, if at all. She doesn’t look into the contemporary revival of Oblation among lay people associated with monastic houses as a way of living monastic life outside the cloister but still supporting and learning from traditional structures. She also does not look at two very important lay movements of Christian contemplation which have emerged from lay association with monasteries in England and America in the last century: The World Community for Christian Meditation and Contemplative Outreach. Both of these communities make accessible the wisdom of monastic teaching in a way that is open and practicable to women and men in all walks of life and religious affiliation and self-understanding today. Flanagan’s approach is to put people’s religious experience through the ages into dialogue. Embracing Solitude does not impose a thesis but allows the various sources of inspiration she looks at to talk for themselves and, across the eras, listen to each other. There is a very useful bibliography at the end, which at times one has to refer to while reading the book, as the referencing is not always regular in format or complete. The research certainly is though, and the presentation very readable. The choice of Flanagan to conclude the book with a testimony by Beverly Lanzetta of her journey simultaneously into self-discovery in solitude and ‘global contemplative consciousness’ in new inter-faith ministry is maybe, as a final chapter, a little uncritically placed. Flanagan provides no commentary but leaves this as the final word. Some analysis by Flanagan in relation to earlier themes would be helpful not least in that Lanzetta, as the founder of an Interfaith Theology Seminary for the training of Inter-faith ministers, intro-
duces a vocabulary for mysticism, which moves beyond that of any particular religious tradition. This in some sense panreligious approach is different from most – if not all – of the examples Flanagan gives in the main part of her book. Flanagan gives this testimony as another example of creative religious innovation coming out of a woman’s experience of solitude, calling and connectedness, however by concluding with Lanzetta’s articulate but rather different experience Flanagan could give the impression that this ‘post-Christian’ viewpoint – in the sense of no longer working within the perspective of one religion – is the natural culmination of the trends she has been looking at in her book. This is not evident. It is also one assumes not what Flanagan intends; however willingness to let her sources speak for themselves (which is one of Flanagan’s strong points) needs here to be balanced with some critical commentary. Embracing Solitude has a lot of wisdom in it. It deserves a wide readership. The addition of ‘Questions for Reflection/Journaling’ at the end of the orientation chapters insures that the reader is led into a personal encounter with the issues raised. The accounts Flanagan gathers of renowned spiritual innovators will give depth to the contemporary search for new expressions of religious life. Monasticism at its best has always been an attempt at renewal (one of the vows of Benedictines is to continuous conversion). The building blocks of solitude, deep companionship and the opportunity to serve others, has always been the healthy edifice of a life dedicated to God. How much religious calling or vocation corresponds with, or sometimes seems to contradict what one feels to be one’s deepest desires is, as Flanagan points out, the crucible in which religious maturity is achieved. Flanagan speaks of “a creative tension that initiators face between settling for the good already being done [in religious life] and taking an imaginative leap into an intuitively perceived but undefined future.” There is a danger that ‘New Monasticism’ may be trying to reinvent the wheel, Flanagan shows however that the radicalness of the pioneers in religious life comes not from idealism but from their response to God. Maturity comes from recognising the wisdom deposited in our religious heritage as well as the unexpected ways of God’s calling. As Wisdom himself said, “Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” (Mathew 13: 52)
— 14 —
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014
Book Review. . . The Song of Songs: A Contemplative Guide, By Graeme Watson, (SPCK, 2014)
Graeme
Watson’s new book following his Strike the Cloud: Understanding and Practicing the Teaching of the Cloud of Unknowing, (SPCK, 2011) shows him moving from the practice of meditation per se to that of Lectio Divina. The text he chooses for contemplation, the biblical Song of Songs is, as he says, a most mysterious book. As a mystical text it has invited much commentary both in Rabbinic Judaism and in Christianity. Starting with Origen the Song reached its peak of popularity as a mystical text in the Middle Ages. Graeme Watson shows how both Rabbinic and Christian interpretation was based on taking allegorical and symbolic readings of what at a literal level is a love poem between a woman and a man. Biblical scholarship since the nineteenth century questioned this way of reading hidden meanings into Biblical texts however as the literal meaning is far from clear such critical scholarship has not known quite what to make of the text and has generally left it alone. Thus what was considered to be the height of the Hebrew scriptural corpus has for the last few hundred years been somewhat neglected and little read. This new book should do much to bring it back on stage. The first half of Graeme Watson’s study looks at the different methods and perspectives of interpretation that have, and can still be, applied to the poem. The second half of the book shows those hermeneutics at work as Graeme Watson unpacks key passages through the lens of literal, allegorical and mystical perspectives. His own approach is to set the lines of the poem in dialogue with other passages of scripture, with previous commentary (ancient and modern) and poetry in the same idiom over the ages. Graeme Watson’s book is, as the title says, a contemplative guide. As such he focuses on enough of the literal, allegorical and mystical meaning as is relevant to our lives in relationship with others, in the Church and in contemplation of God. The inspiration
of the Song, as Graeme points out, is to show how passionate love can infuse human relations, the union of Christ and the Church and ultimately that of the soul and God. The Song is part of the biblical books of Wisdom and Graeme Watson believes that the mystical purpose of the text is in the awakening and training of desire: to love intensely and wisely. As an introductory book to this very complex text there are aspects which Graeme Watson has not looked at. He does much to reinstate the possibility of hidden meanings in the text, not least by uncovering the connection between many of the poem’s images and that of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. It is no co-incidence that the Song has been known as the Song of Solomon, even if as scholarship has shown its date to be around the second century BC some six hundred years later than Solomon, the inspiration does go back to him and the spirituality of the Temple which he built. One problem is that Graeme Watson continues to use the BrideBridegroom motif that has shaped allegorical and mystical readings through the ages: the Church and Christ, the soul and God, married couples. The problem is that there is much evidence within the poem that this is not the relational context of the poem. The evident relational context (rather scandalously for a wisdom text) is that of a ruler (King Solomon) with one member of his Harem. Herein lies the remarkableness of the woman – she stands out not just in her physical beauty but in her whole personality as someone desiring and deserving personal reciprocal love. Herein lies the romance of the poem and its underlying tragedy – it is a love unrealisable between two people of vastly different social positions. As Graeme Watson’s book shows so well there are so many layers of meaning in this biblical poem. He uncovers and hints at many. As a contemplative guide however its main role is to encourage a personal engagement with the text in the practice of Lectio Divina he describes so well in his Appendix to the book. The Song has been neglected as a mystical text because the art of reading contemplatively, reading with the heart, the body and the mind together needs to be recovered. The first step in spiritual reading is to bring the mind back into the heart. From there we can see further, deeper and more colourfully. The Song of Songs needs that kind of reading, not only for its kaleidoscope of imagery but also for the many stratas of meaning which can be uncovered. As the human person is body, mind and spirit all centred in the heart (the place of the affections) so the Song of Songs has literal, allegorical and mystical meanings but all centred in the experience of love. Graeme Watson has opened up this book as a resource for Christian Meditators who practice the prayer of the heart reaching out, as the Cloud author says “with the sharp dart of longing love”.
— 15 —
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 19, September 2014
END POINT e taught now, among the trees and rocks, how the discarded is woven into shelter, learn the way things hidden and unspoken slowly proclaim their voice in the world. Find that far inward symmetry to all outward appearances, apprentice yourself to yourself, begin to welcome back all you sent away, be a new annunciation, make yourself a door through which to be hospitable, even to the stranger in you.
B
David Whyte from “River Flow: New & Selected Poems” Many Rivers Press Langley, Washington www.davidwhyte.com
Rule of St Benedict Chapter 5:
On Obedience
T he
first step of humility is unhesitating obedience, which comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all.
N AT I O N A L O B L AT E C O - O R D I N AT O R S USA: Mary Robison, maryrobison@mac.com
UK: Eileen Dutt, eileendutt@yahoo.co.uk
NEW ZEALAND: Hugh McLaughlin, hugh.mclaughlinnz@gmail.com
ITALY: Giovanni Foffano, foffano@libero.it
IRELAND: Stefan Reynolds, stefandreynolds@gmail.com
CANADA: Polly Schofield, wccm.oblates@bell.net
BRAZIL: Marcelo Melgares, marcelomelgares@yahoo.com.br
AUSTRALIA and INTERNATIONAL: Trish Panton, pantonamdg@ozemail.com.au
ARGENTINA: Marina Müller, marina.r.muller@gmail.com
UKRAINE: Maria, Albert Zakharova, info@wccm.org.ua
POLAND: Maksym Kapalski, maks.benedyktyni@gmail.com
VIA VITAE No. 19, September 2014 Editor: Dr Stefan Reynolds Glenville Park, Glenville, Co. Cork, Ireland + 353 214 880103 stefandreynolds@gmail.com
Graphic Design: Anne Dillon, USA