There is a kind of prayer that can be called Simple Prayer. Moses at the burning bush had to be told to remove his sandals. He did not realize that he was on holy ground because it was the ground he walked on day after day. In the most natural and simple way we can learn to pray by looking at our ordinary lives, everyday events and give them to God. Whether it is a sleepless night, a great celebration, a crushing failure or glad tidings, we can place all before God and converse with God about them. All frustrations, tears and joys can be made into simple prayers to God. Speaking frankly and honestly to God, offering ourselves with them, asking God for help are true ways of praying. God is able to handle what we present before God. C.S. Lewis said, “Lay before God what is in us, not what ought to be in us.” Therefore, to carry on a conversation about our daily stuff is a real way to pray. Share your hurts, sorrows and joys openly and freely. God listens with compassion and love, just as we listen carefully and sincerely to our dear ones, our children, our most loved ones. God delights in our presence and takes our prayers to heart.
SILENCE, SOLITUDE, SIMPLICITY: A Hermit’s Love Affair with a Noisy, Crowded, and Complicated World by Sister Jeremy Hall, OSB
How could anyone fail to be attracted to this book when looking at the title? A hermit? A love affair And, yes, one recognizes the description of our world as noisy, crowded and complicated. Then one opens the book to her first words: “We all need God,” and the author invites us into her world with that warm greeting. Sister Jeremy Hall is a member of Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, Minnesota. In her late 80’s she lived within the community as a hermit for 20 years. We read on the flap of the dust jacket that “Sister Jeremy is totally alert to the world around her and within us ... Her antennae are sensitive to anything phony.” Those of us who have lived with her in community can testify to the accuracy of that description.
Sister Jeremy gives the reader a body of Benedictine wisdom she has shared in retreats, teaching and spiritual direction. Her book is divided into three parts. In the first, A Benedictine Way of Life, Sister Jeremy describes the fundamental desire we have for God and outlines the paschal journey as our way to return home to God. The second section, Desert Spirituality, explores the need for, and the fruits of silence, solitude and simplicity. In the last section, God’s Questions, Sister Jeremy raises those radical questions of Jesus, found in the Gospels. She invites us to discover the treasures in those same questions that she herself has mined in the richness of her years as a hermit.
If you are looking for deepening your own desire for God, and to find a way to live with deep peace in this noisy, crowded, complicated world, here is the book for you.
Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN 2007 ISBN 978-0-8146-3185-0. $14.95
Justice
Inscribed in one of the pillars of the Sacred Heart Chapel are the initials UIOGD. These are the first letters of the Latin phrase, That in all things, God may be glorified. This phrase both describes and challenges us as monastics to practice the virtue of Justice. Justice is the virtue of right relationships–with God, self, other people and all of creation. Justice is more than a blind woman holding scales so that people get fair or equal treatment. Justice means working toward a just order in our immediate environment and in the larger society. It begins with realizing our primary relationship with God, acknowledging with love, gratitude and humility, that God is God, and we are creatures. Saint Benedict did not legislate that all monks be treated the same across the board. Rather, Benedict made exceptions whenever needed for the sick, the young, the traveler, the overburdened, the monastic less gifted in learning, etc. Benedict instructed that those who “need more” should be granted what they need, and then be grateful for the gift. Those who need less should be grateful for this gift, and not begrudge anyone who is given what they need. This makes for right relationships among community members. But Benedict’s concept of justice reaches beyond the monastic community. As Benedictines in the 21 century, we strive to make our own the principles of Catholic social teaching, knowing that justice is a constitutive element of gospel living. Gospel Justice impels us to value and live out these ten principles: the dignity of the human person; the blessing of community and the common good; the importance of rights and responsibilities; the value of participation; the dignity of work and the rights of workers; the grace of global solidarity; the stewardship of creation; the promotion of peace; a constructive role of government; a preferential option for the poor. Saint Benedict, pray for us!
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