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The Monastery Of The Heart - 15 Loving Care
The Monastery Of The Heart - 15 Loving Care
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Loving Care “Let those who are not strong have help….” Patience and care are two pillars of Benedictine community. They hold up before our eyes, in blinding light, in immovable form, what is to be the nature of our presence in the world… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by J…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 14 Co-Creation
The Monastery Of The Heart - 14 Co-Creation
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Co-Creation “Regard all utensils and goods of the monastery as sacred vessels of the altar.” Benedictine spirituality is a sacramental spirituality. It holds all things-the earth and all its goods-as sacred… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by Joan Chittister
The Monastery Of The Heart - 4 Prayer
The Monastery Of The Heart - 4 Prayer
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Prayer “[Let us] lay our petitions before the God of all with the utmost humility and sincere devotion.” Benedictine spirituality is rooted in the timelessness of scripture. It is the story of God’s way with the world… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by Joan Chittister
The Monastery Of The Heart - 5 Silence
The Monastery Of The Heart - 5 Silence
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Silence T “Monastics should diligently cultivate silence at all times.” Silence is the mother of the Spirit. It births in us the cloister of the heart. It brings us beyond the noise of chaos and clutter and confusion of a spinning world to the cool, calm centre of the spiritual s…
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 3 AT THE HEART OF LECTIO DIVINA
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 3 AT THE HEART OF LECTIO DIVINA
by Christine Valters Painter
AT THE HEART OF LECTIO DIVINA All that we know about the life of Benedict of Nursia and his twin sister Scholastica comes from a collection called the Dialogues, written by Pope Gregory I, which attribute several miracles to him. The son of a Roman nobleman, Benedict began his mo…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 11 Sufficiency and Sharing
The Monastery Of The Heart - 11 Sufficiency and Sharing
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Sufficiency and Sharing “Do everything with moderation.” The purpose of the monastic life is never to amass wealth for the sake of the self. Instead, Benedict’s definition of the relationship between persons and things is sufficiency, not frugality… Taken from The Monastery Of Th…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 16 Responsibility
The Monastery Of The Heart - 16 Responsibility
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Responsibility “Let everyone receive help as the size of the community or local conditions warrant.” Benedictine spirituality is communal. It never intends to create a world of isolates, even for the isolated… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by Joan Chittister
The Monastery Of The Heart - 20 Stability of Heart
The Monastery Of The Heart - 20 Stability of Heart
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Stability of Heart “Do not… run away from the road that leads to salvation.” The will of God in life does not come in straight lines, or clear signs, or certain choices… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by Joan Chittister
The Monastery Of The Heart - 3 A Single Vision
The Monastery Of The Heart - 3 A Single Vision
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
A Single Vision “Perform the Opus Dei where you are… Those on a journey are not to omit the prescribed hours but to observe them as best they can.” The Benedictine Rule is based on the notion that community life is the preeminent form of the spiritual journey, because it provides…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 10 Direction and Counsel
The Monastery Of The Heart - 10 Direction and Counsel
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Direction and Counsel “Do everything with counsel and you will not be sorry afterward.” Benedictine spirituality sets out to build communities that, together, seek the universal God, that hold the wounded of the world in one heart, and that serve the world by being for it oases o…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 6 Prayerful Reading
The Monastery Of The Heart - 6 Prayerful Reading
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Prayerful Reading “Listen readily to holy reading.” Benedictine spirituality is not an exercise in private devotion or personal pieties. Benedictine prayer is not simply ceaseless recitation of scripture passages and psalmic verse… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by Joan Ch…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 9 Equality
The Monastery Of The Heart - 9 Equality
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Equality “Monastics keep their rank in the monastery according to the date of their entry and the virtue of their lives.” We like to think that equality is the basic characteristic of this—our—period of history. Ironically, inequality is the great sign of our time. Today, everyon…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 21 Humility
The Monastery Of The Heart - 21 Humility
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Humility “After ascending all these steps of humility, we will quickly arrive at the ‘perfect love’ of God which ‘casts out fear.’” In Benedictine spirituality, there is a twelve-runged ladder that leads to God… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by Joan Chittister
The Monastery Of The Heart - 23 Sacred Art
The Monastery Of The Heart - 23 Sacred Art
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Sacred Art “They are to practice their craft with all humility.” The bond between Benedictine spirituality and art goes deep. Medieval monasteries were centres of the arts and patrons of the arts because art, as a reflection of beauty- which is itself an attribute of God- came to…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 24 Good Zeal
The Monastery Of The Heart - 24 Good Zeal
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Good Zeal “Just as there is a wicked zeal of bitterness which separates from God, so there is a good zeal which leads to God.” The Rule of Benedict was written in the sixth century, in an ascetical climate more given to personal self-denial than to the discipline of community bui…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 26 Epilogue
The Monastery Of The Heart - 26 Epilogue
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Epilogue As we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.” Benedictine spirituality is not a spiritual practice that waxes and wanes, comes and goes, as we grow and chan…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 13 Good Work