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Chapter 8: Acceptance--pt. 2 (adaptations)

10/29/2016

Accept what you have been given.

As with all things in this life, we may begin with the material and physical things, but then move onward to the immaterial and spiritual things. If you have been given a job to do, or a particular schedule of shifts to work--accept them. If you have been given certain people as friends and family members--accept them. If you are out of work and been given time to help others or possibly work on a personal project; certain responsibilities that have been asked of you; inspirations to write, or create, to visit someone or call a long time friend--accept them. Whatever your situation in life may be--accept what you have been given. Even to the point if you are given insults and injustice--accept them.
We remember always that the first thing which St. Albert asked of us and that we have done in setting out upon this life is to elect a prior, that we have Christ, or the one he has chosen, as our prior and the One who has given us all that we have been given. It is from God that all that exists in our life has come and it is He who wishes and longs for the best things for us; that we would not be given anything that is not for our good and the good of others; that even in our sufferings and times of trial and difficulty, it is then that God is seeking to accomplish His best work in us and give us the most sacred, holy and valuable things; that we do not forget the Christ who hangs on the cross and the cup that he was given, the cup that he freely and fully accepted which raised him to Glory and gained salvation for the world.

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Chapter 8: Acceptance (adaptations) pt. 1

10/21/2016

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Accept what you have been given.

The Rule tells us that none of the brothers are to accept a cell other than that which has been given to him. If we take this strictly, then we would consider simply that we are to accept and live happily in whatever room we have been given in our house: children should not argue with their parents over which room they have been assigned; if we share a house with roommates, we should gladly accept even the smallest bedroom in the house; and if we are away at college and living in the dorms, we should carry on without complaint, even if we have a snoring roommate who uses the floor as a laundry basket. These things may be a part of what the Rule is attempting to teach us--a humble acceptance of whatever living conditions we have been provided, and confidence that God always has us in His care--however, if this were all that it is trying to offer, then that would have little meaning for most of us.

If we recall, however, it can be said that the cell is the one thing and space that that the brothers and sisters have been given as their own. They do not even claim to own anything inside the cell, but it is the space, the silence, the intimacy and the retreat in the cell that belongs to them. If they own nothing else, the time they have within their cell is theirs such that when St. Albert tells them to occupy what they have been given, he is saying, Accept what has been given to you and do not exchange it with anyone else, except when given permission by the prior. Whether it is the meal that is set before you--which the Rule will specifically address later--a car that you have to drive, an apartment which is available to rent, a Christmas gift, a book someone has recommended that you read, or something that you may have been given as an inheritance, accept what has been given to you.

To accept what we have been given means that we are allowing ourselves to enter into the work of God’s Kingdom and to fully participate in the work that is taking place. This is acceptance: not to surrender our will or hope for the future, but to participate and become a part of the invitation we have received; not to separate ourselves, but to engage with others and the time we have been given; it us not our approval of things, but our acknowledgment of their reality. It is a movement to find God and bear confidence that in this present moment He has come to me and is asking something of me that I can give.

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Chapter 8: What the Lord has Given (desert reflections)

10/14/2016

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“None of the brothers is to occupy a cell other than that allotted to him
or to exchange cells with another, without leave of whoever is
Prior at the time.”--the Rule, Chapter 8

Is there anything more to this chapter behind what it says straightforward? “None of the brothers is to occupy a cell. . .” Sometimes there may really be nothing hidden between the lines, behind the lenses of history, or cloaked in theological mysteries. We might be able to squeeze out some profundity with regard to the relationship of the individual and the community, but I think this is a chapter that is best taken for what it says on the surface; Sometimes simplicity is truly simple, and practical matters are solved quite practically.

In the correspondence that Albert received from the brothers, there likely were some problems of brothers moving cells, or of taking cells from one another. In a place like the Wadi of Carith, it is not hard to imagine that there were some cells and caves that were much nicer, roomier, more comfortable, and choicer than others. Is it hard then to imagine some conflict or maneuvering of the cells? Is it hard to imagine that this is Albert’s way of saying, “Stop it. Accept what you are given and do not use it to abuse your brothers, or to play political games with your brothers, or to set yourself up higher than any one of your brothers. But accept the gifts that God has given to you and live in Peace with one another; and stop bickering over the cell that the Prior has given you.”

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Chapter 7: Dinner Conversation and Reading (adaptations)

10/7/2016

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Be attentive to the topics of conversation during meals, and throughout the entire day, and listen to readings during meal times, regularly.

The brothers and sisters of the vowed life are told that they are to maintain silence during their meals and to listen to a reading from scripture or some other holy writing. This practice is fitting as they have chosen a life of silent conversation with God; that in their silence, they do not eat in ignorant emptiness, like a husband and wife who sit across from one another refusing to say a single word, but in listening to God’s word, they enter into a meaningful and substantial conversation with their Beloved; in the silence, the brothers and sisters are sharing in the important events of their day, they ponder over questions that may be spinning in their minds and share what they have learned. Meal times for the brothers and sisters are silent, but active: they are learning together, savoring together, recalling together and join the daily sustenance of life on earth, the regular nutrition of the body, with the sustenance of our soul and life in heaven.

It may be possible that if we look at the meals of the brothers and sisters in this way, not as the empty silence of people who have vowed not to speak to one another, but the dynamic conversation of another and very intentional way, then it is easier to see how we may share in this fruit and what it may offer to us as we sit down to share meals with our friends and families, with co-workers and fellow students, and even when we may be sitting by ourself and outwardly alone.

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Chapter 8: Acceptance--pt. 2 (adaptations)

Chapter 8: Acceptance (adaptations) pt. 1

Chapter 8: What the Lord has Given (desert reflections)

Chapter 7: Dinner Conversation and Reading (adaptations)

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