This year during Lent I returned to the practice of reading a daily entry from Sister Joan Chittister's book, The Rule of Benedict, and I have continued the practice. I am grateful for her ability to interpret Benedict's sixth century Rule for us today. Like much of the book, part of this morning's passage seems worth pondering before the busyness of the day takes over.
"Benedict makes two points clearly: First we are capable of choosing for God in life. We are not trapped by an essential weakness that makes God knowable but not possible. Second, we are more than the body. Choosing God means having to concentrate on nourishing the soul rather than on sating the flesh, not because the flesh is bad but because the flesh is not enough to make the human fully human. To give ourselves entirely to the pleasures of the body may close us to beauties known only to the soul.
Humility lies in knowing who we are and what our lives are meant to garner. The irony of humility is that, if we have it, we know we are made for greatness, we are made for God (Chapter 7, Humility).
Yesterday afternoon Tyler and I went to the South Bay to have an early dinner with friends. When we left their home, it was not quite dark, but we could see the moon. As I drove up 880, I was struck by the clouds, the moon, and the golden light that seemed to linger. It was as if the inevitable movement into darkness had been paused just a little longer to give us mortals a chance to look up and savor the light. I admit that finding peace and awe on 880 is a rare thing for me. Yet, this morning when I think of those minutes, I believe I was given a gift. I cannot recreate those moments because I did not create them to begin with. However, I can learn to pay attention to the nudge to look up and around, knowing that there are times when the heavens are revealed in flowers, moon, clouds, and stars. They, and we, are more.
image: San Leandro, May 2023
No comments:
Post a Comment