Reviewing & Renewing our Rule of Life
Resources to Encourage & Equip | 2010
Contents Pages 1 INTRODUCTION Living a rule of life for Christian discipleship
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2 DIMENSIONS OF DISCIPLESHIP In these sections we are invited to recognize that Anglo-Catholics do not have a monopoly on living a rule of life. Rather in the fullest sense, a rule of life equips us to live as disciples who are evangelical, charismatic and prophetic. •
Living a rule of life as evangelical discipleship
6
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Living a rule of life as charismatic discipleship
7
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Living a rule of life as prophetic discipleship
8
3 INTRODUCTORY EXERCISES FOR THE REVIEW AND RENEWAL OF A RULE OF LIFE A. Life-Map: mapping the mystery of our life in Christ
6, 10 & 11
B. Charism-Map: recognizing the fruits of the Holy Spirit
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C. Week-Map: identifying a rule of life
9, 12 & 13
D. Vocation-Map: discerning a baptismal vocation
9 & 14
4 REVIEW & RENEWAL
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REVIEWING & RENEWING OUR RULE OF LIFE: CONTENTS | 3
Introduction A rule of life is a gift from the living tradition of the Church which equips the baptized people of God for the daily renewal of life in the passion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. A rule of life is an intentional and explicit framework for discipleship. It is a paradigm for discipleship. Its purpose is to help Christians, as individuals who are on a personal journey of faith and yet are always members of a community of faith, to live our lives as a daily conversion of life by the Holy Spirit. Every disciple of Christ has a “rule of life”. However the extent to which we are cognizant of it and intentionally keep it under review can vary greatly from individual to individual. Whatever our personality and our circumstances in life we each have patterns of prayer, reading the scriptures and committing ourselves to “good works”, or social justice as we might more readily say today. There are “rules of life” which are well established and followed by many Christians, for example the Rule of St. Benedict, or the Rule of St. Francis. For some Christians, a rule of life is not based on one historic tradition, but is more “personalized” and worked out and reviewed with a parish priest, spiritual director or companion. At the Ash Wednesday liturgy, the presiding Priest encourages the people of God to keep Lent faithfully with these words: I invite you, in the name of the Lord, to observe a holy Lent by selfexamination, penitence, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and by reading and meditating on the word of God. (BAS p.282) No disciple of Christ can, or should, begin, or review, a rule of life in isolation. Each and every disciple whatever our experience, age or situation in life, needs to work on a rule of life with a fellow disciple. This may be one’s parish priest, confessor, spiritual director, mentor or companion in Christ. Once baptized we are no longer “individuals” but members of the body of Christ. Our discipleship of Christ cannot be a private pursuit: it is always a part of the community of faith. Living a rule of life is normative and healthy for each and every baptized disciple of Christ. As a Parish, we are encouraging and equipping all baptized Christians to establish and maintain a rule of life. For most disciples this will entail committing it to paper, which can be a revealing exercise in itself. 4 | REVIEWING & RENEWING OUR RULE OF LIFE: INTRODUCTION
Please approach members of the clergy team here at St. James’ as a resource. We will make ourselves available to assist you to review and renew your rule of life. It is by God’s grace that we are together on a journey of healing, transformation and renewal. May our lives and especially those whom we serve be renewed constantly in the paschal mystery. Fr. Mark Greenaway-Robbins, Rector
USING THIS BOOKLET OF RESOURCES The resources given in this booklet are compiled: • firstly, for those participating in the Parish Lenten Quiet Day; •
secondly, to encourage and equip all the baptized people of God to review and renew their own rule of life. Please note that these resources are designed for use as an aid to self-examination within a context of conversation with one’s parish priest, confessor, spiritual director, mentor or companion in Christ.
REVIEWING & RENEWING OUR RULE OF LIFE: INTRODUCTION | 5
Living a rule of life as evangelical discipleship Reviewing and renewing a rule of life empowers and compels a disciple of Christ to scrutinize and accept who one is now in the present circumstances of life. This is one of the toughest ongoing challenges and opportunities for a Christian: to love ourselves and accept ourselves as God does in the immediate here and now. This takes us to the root of true evangelism. We cannot share and be the Good News of God in Christ unless we receive and accept our belovedness in Christ. Whatever we may think and feel about our lives, God has always been with us during our earthly pilgrimage and in a mysterious way has drawn us to this very moment. Our vocation as a baptized child of God in the most radical sense is to know that we are a mystery to ourselves; we are constantly in need of healing, transformation and renewal. We are called to live the mystery of being in Christ with all our beauty and brokeness, wonder and woundedness. This is evangelical discipleship. The Good News is that our vocation is to become who we are in Christ and to accept one another as icons of Christ.
EXERCISE A - LIFE-MAP: MAPPING THE MYSTERY OF OUR LIFE IN CHRIST (PART 1) On pages 8-9 are two marked points: the one on the left marks the point in time and space when you were born; the second marks here and now. In this exercise you are invited to draw a line from the left to the right. The line represents your journey through life: it may be any shape or style you discern appropriate to your life-journey. • • • •
You are encouraged to mark the sacraments you have celebrated: eg. baptism, confirmation etc. On your life-map when and where have moments of revelation occurred for you? Draw another line which marks your awareness of God at the corresponding time in your life. Identify and write who has been important / significant to you along the line of your life-map.
6 | REVIEWING & RENEWING OUR RULE OF LIFE: EVANGELICAL DISCIPLESHIP
Living a rule of life as charismatic discipleship Living a rule of life is truly charismatic discipleship since the purpose of a rule is to open the whole of our life in all our complexity to the healing, transforming and renewing grace of the Holy Spirit. As the baptized people of God, our radical vocation is to co-operate with the Holy Spirit. A rule of life is a paradigm for the daily conversion of life by the Holy Spirit. Living a rule of life substantiates our expectations of the God the Holy Spirit. That is to say, a rule of life is premised on a belief in, and expectation, of the Holy Spirit to be at work among us and within us. Each disciple of Christ has a different configuration of resistance and openness to the grace of the Holy Spirit in one’s life. One method to explore this is by asking this question: what evidence is there in my life of the fruits of the Holy Spirit? This might be described as an “inventory of our fruitfulness”.
EXERCISE B - DISCERNING THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT If “1” equals no evidence and “5” equates with clear evidence of a fruit of the spirit, (Galatians 5.22-23) give a score (between 1-5) for evidence of each of the fruits of the spirit in your life: Love Joy Peace Patience Kindness Generosity Faithfulness Gentleness Self-control
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What may God be revealing to you through this exercise of scrutiny? When looking at our Life-Map (Exercise A) can you discern episodes and trends of your awareness of, resistance to, and co-operation with the Holy Spirit?
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Living a rule of life as prophetic discipleship We live in an age and culture in which there are many messages, pressures and expectations which condition us as individuals to believe that we have a right to happiness, that we should fulfil and gratify our desires, that we are fundamentally consumers whose primary meaning and value resides in what we possess and achieve. Our baptismal vocation is truly prophetic and counter-cultural. We are called to service and sacrifice. The way of Christ is hard and narrow. A rule of life helps us to live as committed disciples of Christ. It takes us beyond the whims of our desires and into the mystery of being. Through living a rule of life we discover that service which is perfect freedom. We find meaning and fulfilment not through the pursuit of pleasure but through sacrificial living rooted in Christ. We discover direction and purpose through abandonment to divine providence. A rule of life equips us to live the paradoxes of the gospel and the contradictions of grace. Strangely, indeed mysteriously, by living a rule of life we live more fully in the world, but as strangers and pilgrims. Simply being who we are becoming is prophetic. A rule, a discipline, a paradigm for discipleship enables us to live the freedom which is given in Christ.
8 | REVIEWING & RENEWING OUR RULE OF LIFE: PROPHETIC DISCIPLESHIP
EXERCISE C - WEEK-MAP: IDENTIFYING A RULE OF LIFE (PART 1) On pages 12-13 you will see a grid outlining the period of a week. You are asked to identify the shape and content of your present rule of life by marking on the grid when in the course of a week you 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)
pray fast read the scriptures undertake good-works, i.e. serve others in the name of Christ dedicate time to silent prayer examine your conscience.
As you scrutinize your present rule of life, where are the gaps? What shape might your renewed rule of life take? What is God revealing to you ?
EXERCISE D - VOCATION-MAP: DISCERNING A BAPTISMAL VOCATION (PART 1) Two methods are offered as a means of describing your baptismal vocation: EITHER Imagine that a biographer is writing a history of your life. The chapter headings of the biography about you each correspond to a different dimension of your baptismal vocation. Identify and describe what those headings would be. OR Imagine someone writing your obituary. (Journalists are usually much more generous to the departed than to the living.) As your discipleship of Christ is described, what would be the themes which identify and describe your baptismal vocation and run through the obituary?
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EXERCISE A - LIFE-MAP: MAPPING THE MYSTERY OF OUR LIFE IN CHRIST (PART 2)
X (Your birth)
10 | REVIEWING & RENEWING OUR RULE OF LIFE: EXERCISE A
X (Here & Now)
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EXERCISE C - WEEK-MAP: IDENTIFYING A RULE OF LIFE (PART 2)
Sunday
Monday
0600 hrs
1200 hrs
1800 hrs
0000 hrs 12 | REVIEWING & RENEWING OUR RULE OF LIFE: EXERCISE C
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
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EXERCISE D - VOCATION-MAP: DISCERNING A BAPTISMAL VOCATION (PART 2) In the space below you are asked to describe your baptismal vocation as you presently discern it according to one of the two methods outlined on page 7:
14 | REVIEWING & RENEWING OUR RULE OF LIFE: EXERCISE D
Review & Renewal This booklet has been made available as a tool for the discernment and scrutiny of our discipleship. It is intended for use as part of a wider conversation with one’s parish priest, confessor, spiritual director, mentor or companion in Christ. The purpose of this booklet is to assist with the process of identifying, describing, reviewing and writing a rule of life. It is the Holy Spirit who has the means to renew us. And we are encouraging and equipping the baptized people of God to live a rule of life for the daily conversion of life by the Holy Spirit. We hope and pray that these few pages have served this purpose. There is always a risk that in a Parish with glorious liturgy faithfully offered to God, we have a propensity to become “concert Christians”: that is, passive spectators in a sacred drama. Living a rule of life is the gift and treasure of the Church which equips us for active discipleship where orthodoxy (right-belief) and orthopraxis (right-action) are held with integrity, passion and joy. If you have ventured to read these pages and have undertaken the exercises contained herein this is but a first step towards a radical and mature discipleship of review and renewal. We encourage you to keep journeying by writing your own rule of life through conversation and discernment with a priest, confessor, spiritual director, mentor or companion in Christ. The season of Lent is an opportune time for each and every disciple to rededicate oneself to this task. But the review and renewal of one’s rule of life is a life-long task. Indeed, all of our life is a season of grace. In your journey of discipleship may God’s grace grant to you healing, transformation and renewal.
REVIEWING & RENEWING OUR RULE OF LIFE: REVIEW & RENEWAL | 15
THE CLERGY
PARISH STAFF
Rector Fr. Mark Greenaway-Robbins rector@stjames.bc.ca Curate Mother Jessica Schaap curate@stjames.bc.ca Street Outreach Fr. Matthew Johnson
Office Managers Linda Adams Mon – Wed Sharon Taylor Thu – Sat
Honorary Assistants
Building Manager & Assistant Art Cuthbertson Fri – Tue Darren Campbell Wed – Thu
Br. John Blyth Fr. Michael Forshaw – Sacristan Any of the clergy may be contacted through the Parish Office: 604-685-2532
Business Manager John Van Luven
Organist & Choirmaster Gerald Harder PARISH OFFICERS
CLERGY AVAILABILITY In the event of a pastoral emergency we aim to be available, at any time. Fridays, a priest is on-call – contact the office to be connected. Otherwise you are asked to respect clergy days off: Fr. Mark Mother Jessica
Fri – Sat Thurs – Fri
For immediate contact or within a few hours our cell numbers are: Fr. Mark Mo. Jessica
778-316-7941 778-866-8979
You may need to leave a message if we are engaged in a pastoral matter and we will promptly return urgent calls. We seek to be available to all in any circumstances and encourage you to contact us and request an opportunity for a pastoral appointment.
Rector’s Warden Tanya Northcott People’s Warden Paul Stanwood Associate Warden Betty Carlson Trustee Harry Biden Trustee Eleanor Beckett Trustee Jane Turner Treasurer Angela Van Luven Envelope Secretary Philip Green Parish Privacy Officer Linda Adams PARISH COUNCIL Chair Brian Rocksborough-Smith Secretary Allan Duncan
303 East Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC, v6a 1l4 telephone: 604 685 2532 | fax: 604 685 7605 email: office@stjames.bc.ca web: www.stjames.bc.ca parish office hours: Mon – Sat | 9am–4pm