Monastic Mumblings, a Friar's Journey

Andrew the Apostle, 30 November

Today is the feast day of St. Andrew, the first Apostle.

Just as Andrew was the first of the Apostles, so his feast is taken to be the beginning of the Church Year. The First Sunday of Advent is defined to be the Sunday on or nearest his feast (although it could equivalently be defined as the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day).

Most references to Andrew in the New Testament simply include him on a list of the Twelve Apostles,Saint_andrew or group him with his brother, Simon Peter. But he appears acting as an individual three times in the Gospel of John. When a number of Greeks (perhaps simply Greek-speaking Jews) wish to speak with Jesus, they approach Philip, who tells Andrew, and the two of them tell Jesus (Jn 12:20-22). (It may be relevant here that both "Philip" and "Andrew" are Greek names.) Before Jesus feeds the Five Thousand, it is Andrew who says, "Here is a lad with five barley loaves and two fish." (Jn 6:8f)

The first two disciples whom John reports as attaching themselves to Jesus (Jn 1:35-42) are Andrew and another disciple (whom John does not name, but who is commonly supposed to be John himself -- John never mentions himself by name, a widespread literary convention). Having met Jesus, Andrew then finds his brother Simon and brings him to Jesus. Thus, on each occasion when he is mentioned as an individual, it is because he is instrumental in bringing others to meet the Savior. In the Episcopal Church, the Fellowship of Saint Andrew is devoted to encouraging personal evangelism, and the bringing of one's friends and colleagues to a knowledge of the Gospel of Christ.

Several centuries after the death of Andrew, some of his relics were brought by a missionary named Rule to Scotland, to a place then known as Fife, but now known as St. Andrew's, and best known as the site of a world-famous golf course and club. For this reason, Andrew is the patron of Scotland.

It is said that Andrew was crucified on a an 'X' -shaped cross. His symbol is a Cross Saltier, white on a blue background.

(taken from a biography by James Kiefer)

Almighty God, who gave such grace to Your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of Your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by Your holy Word, grace to follow Him without delay, and to bring those near to us into His gracious presence; Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Enter our Hearts

Soon we will be coming upon the season of Advent, a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ.  Is anyone taking special time to prepare your heart/mind/body to focus on the coming of Christ, first as a baby, then in our hearts?   I am trying to take some time to prepare to enter into God's Presence so that I don't rush along with no thought of the Sacred in my day.  I have been thinking of favorite hymns and wondering what people out there like.  This is probably my favorite, it certainly helps me to forget the bustle and focus on the Promise of Heaven's own Son. Tell me your hymns, and how they change you.

Christ the King Sunday

Once again, the seasons are changing.  The leaves on the trees are growing colorful and the flowers that once where so lovely have become brown.  The longest Season of the Church’s Year is drawing towards its end, and we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday in Ordinary time before Advent.

Jesus modeled Kingship over His community in a way so unlike the Kings humanity has produced.  Servant leadership isn't something that we humans take to without a clear and compelling Example. Jesus' earthly ministry was not one of military power, invasions, or any sort of cohersion.  This is how He showed us to lead others:

Mark 10:42-45
So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.  But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.  For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."

This Sunday,  we again think of how the Kingdom hasn't come in it's fullness, lets look begin to anticipate it once again, by looking only to the Wounded, Servant King. 

As we contemplate this, we will enter Advent, the Season during which we consider the Lord’s First Coming in the flesh and look for a deeper understanding of His Second Coming in our daily lives as well as at the end of time.

Time marches on, and as a tired world complains of Christmas shopping, let us remember, how and why we travel this road with Christ at all.

Almighty and everlasting God, Whose will it is to restore all things in Your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under His most gracious rule; Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

What is it with Conservatives?

There are times when I tease my Conservative friends about being obsessed by sex, especially gay sex.  I suppose I shouldn't but wow, they do seem to bring it up a lot,  and know more about it than one would think, and of course the recent spat of closeted Republican lawmakers doesn't' hurt in the tragic humor department.     So, Conservatives, fearing that Wikipedia is too Godless and Liberal created some time back their own Conservative, Christian version.  Conservapedia.   So what is it that Christian Conservatives are so deeply concerned about and have to study on their own website?  Here is the answer from THEIR OWN statistics page.

User statistics

There are 15,539 registered users, of which 27 (or 0.17%) are Administrators.

Most viewed pages

   1. Main Page‎ [1,929,967]
   2. Homosexuality‎ [1,623,016]
   3. Homosexuality and Hepatitis‎ [517,960]
   4. Homosexuality and Promiscuity‎ [422,012]
   5. Homosexuality and Parasites‎ [414,667]
   6. Gay Bowel Syndrome‎ [400,441]
   7. Homosexual Couples and Domestic Violence‎ [373,858]
   8. Homosexuality and Gonorrhea‎ [332,050]
   9. Homosexuality and Anal Cancer‎ [294,256]
  10. Homosexuality and Mental Health‎ [293,394]

I ask again, What is it with Conservatives?  Good grief, talk about obsessed!

Put Christians back in Christmas

People have been concerned for a while about putting "Christ back into "Christmas" There have been lots of suggestions offered such as writing government officials, going on a boycott of some company, Cable news crusade, or buying a "Christmas defense kit" from some ministry apparently consisting of vinyl bumper stickers made in China and costing more than they could possibly be worth.

There is another way to celebrate the Incarnation! We could try doing what He said, and be about His reason for coming here! We could put being a Christian back into our Christmas celebrations!

It was DL Hawker who said: People get more upset about the word “Christmas” being taken out of things than the fact that there are people in the world who spend the holidays alone each year and no one even seems to notice.

Maybe every time we see the word “Christmas” being left out of something, we should take the opportunity to find a person being left out, and take them in. Leave the world to their political correctness, and let’s just worry about being spiritually correct.

If that isn’t the Gospel I don’t know what is!  So this Advent and Christmas season, lets look to the positive, rather than complain. What could we do to bring Jesus a bit closer to someone? Be Jesus to those who need to see Him, put being a Christian back into Christmas! Please, post your ideas!

Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Some of my readers may be interested in how my progress is going with the Spiritual Exercises.  Well here is my update.

For the last 6 weeks I have been learning the process, and "disposing" myself in this direction. This week we have actually began our First Exercise.  Part of that is to do meditations on Scripture and the writings of St. Ignatius, and produce our own version of his Principle and Foundation.

Here is mine:

God is continuing to create us, love us, desire us.  His desire is eternal and personal.  We reflect that love back to Him in our worship, service and love.   My own life is continually created, and unfolds over time.  As I turn my attention back to Him, it is re-created once again.

To "be created" is to be fashioned or made from that which is not. My life was not, now is, and in Him, is to come. 

There is a world full of gifts and things.  All wonderfully created by God for us to use for His Glory.  My goal is to hold very lightly the things and people He has given to me to love and care for, this side of Eternity.

So, I choose to turn my face to God, to hold lightly that which holds me to this earth, and more tightly to that which glorifies God.

Poverty, Chasity, Obedience

The following is an excerpt from a talk by Brother Kevin Hackett of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist. I really like some of the things he has to say about vowed life, and I think his reflections have direct implications on any Christian's desire to live out their spirituality.

Vowed life is hard. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t need the vows. Think about your own vows, whether they are vows of marriage or partnership or baptism or ordination. Vowed life by its very nature paradoxically limits us for freedom. We brothers talk about those vows a great deal, though we are far more likely to engage in conversations about money, sex, and power—topics which hit much closer to home for us, and, I think, for any Christian endeavoring to live faithfully.

The first vow calls us to confront the question of the difference between what we want and what we need. This is not a question unique to monastics. Nor is it unique to Christianity. It is a human issue, and frankly, central to the unfolding history of our overpopulated and very damaged planet.

The second vow requires that we examine the terms of engagement in human relationships and intimacy—how much of myself is appropriate to give in a particular relationship? How much is appropriate to receive from another? As monks, we answer that question in a way that is only ever-so-slightly more challenging than those who have answered it with vows of marriage or committed partnership. As all of you will know, both from personal experience in your pastoral ministries, this is not a question that is peculiar to monastics.

And the third vow, which is in fact the most difficult of all, forces us to come to grips with who holds the power in our lives. Who, at the end of the day, makes the decision—and how? It is this third vow (not the second), that is most intriguing to many young adults are attracted to worship at the monastery, I am told, and I am convinced it has to do with the etymological root of the word itself. Obedience comes to us in English from two Latin stems: ob, which is simply the preposition to, and audire, which is literally, to listen. It’s the same stem from which we get the word audible. Monks spend a significant amount of their day in silence, and it is not because there is not a lot to be said—sometimes there is—but rather, because there is so much to be heard—heard from the secret conversation of our hearts, heard from one another, and heard from God, in prayer. Silence is the matrix for listening.

Does this mean I am smart?

Or is this just another silly quiz? 

Hat Tip to Bruce Alderman

iRosary

iRosary - Designed to make it more attractive to younger believers.   Well, I suppose time marches on, and as I say, if it brings you closer to Jesus, well then why not? 
I already use a podcast for midmorning prayers (not my Morning Office), and if i could truely figure out my iPod nano my children gave me, I might become cool!  eh, probably not! :)

Asleep in the Light

A friend's experience recently between growth of the Kingdom and his Church's resistance to change brought this to my mind.  May we all wake to bath in the Uncreated Light of His Kingdom.