Benedictines for Peace and Social Justice

Prayer

The fingering of beads, repetitive prayers, the realization of unity in the midst of diversity becomes an awareness of oneness that invites us to walk through each day as peaceful people. Our religious faith traditions vary; from generation to generation, our families, our communities invite us to pray with and for one another.

The earliest use of prayer beads can be traced to Hinduism, where they are called Japa Mala. Japa is the repeating of the name of a deity or a mantra. Mantras are often repeated hundreds or even thousands of times. A Japa Mala or Mala (Sanskrit: mālā) meaning garland is a set of beads commonly used by Hindus and Buddhists, usually made from 108 beads, though any number divisible by 9 is acceptable. It is used for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or name(s) of a particular deity, a practice known in Sanskrit as Japa. Japa Mala are used for repetition of a mantra, for other forms of sadhana (spiritual exercise) and as meditation.

In Islamic cultures, the word “Tesbih” means prayer beads or rosary and originates from the word “Supha” which means to recite the glories of God (Allah). Tesbih with 99 beads symbolize the 99 names of God in Islam. Sometimes only 33 beads are used; in this case, Tesbih would be cycled 3 times to reach 99. The main phrase repeated through the first 33 beads is “Subhanallah” which means “Praise be to God.” For the next 30 three beads, “Glory be to God,” or “Elhümdülillah” and for the final 33 beads, “Allahu Akber” which means “God is most great” is repeated. After these repetitions, a final prayer is said, bringing the total number of prayers, as dictated by the Koran, to 100. Besides 99 beads, tesbih also consists of: the “nisane,” a disc which separates each 33 beads, the “pul,” a small bead that marks the seventh position, the “imame,” which is a long piece marking the beginning of the string, and the “tepelik” at the top of the imame.

Eastern Christians use loops of knotted wool (or occasionally of beads), called chotki or komboschinia to pray the Jesus Prayer. Although among the Orthodox, their use is mainly restricted to monks and bishops, being less common among laity or secular clergy. Among Russian Old Believers, a prayer rope made of leather, called lestovka, is more common, although this type is no longer commonly used now by the Russian Orthodox Church. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “The rosary is conferred upon the Greek Orthodox monk as a part of his investiture with the mandyas or full monastic habit, as the second step in the monastic life, and is called his ‘spiritual sword.’”

Roman Catholics and some Anglicans use the Rosary as prayer beads. The Rosary (its name comes from the Latin “rosarium,” meaning “rose garden”) is an important and traditional devotion of the Roman Catholic Church. The Rosary is a Scripture-based prayer. It begins with the Apostles’ Creed, which summarizes the great mysteries of the Catholic faith. The Our Father, which introduces each mystery, is from the Gospels. The first part of the Hail Mary is the angel’s words announcing Christ’s birth and Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary. The Mysteries of the Rosary center on the events of Christ’s life. There are four sets of Mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and—added by Pope John Paul II in 2002—the Luminous. The repetition in the Rosary is meant to lead one into restful and contemplative prayer related to each Mystery. The gentle repetition of the words helps us to enter into the silence of our hearts, where Christ’s spirit dwells.

Stewardship

“I am very pleased that the theme chosen by the ecumenical family for the celebration of the 2020 Season of Creation is Jubilee for the Earth, precisely in this year that marks the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day. In the Holy Scriptures, a Jubilee is a sacred time to remember, return, rest, restore, and rejoice,” begins Pope Francis in his annual letter commemorating “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.” So began the Season of Creation, which concludes on the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi on the fourth of October each year.

“In ways never before faced in history, we realize that the planet is unitary, the population interdependent, and the possibility of human destruction is real. Someone must steward the world,” stated the Sisters of Saint Benedict’s Monastery in their 1980 document, “Of All Good Gifts.” The sisters’ timeless response is the invitation, the realization of our call as stewards, “that we use what we are and what we have for the transformation of culture because creation is the Lord’s and we are its keepers; we hold it in trust. We must remember always that the earth is not so much inherited from our parents as borrowed from our children. We owe a debt to the next generation.”

Awareness, education and action, living into the individual and family-influenced decisions impact the present, into the future of a healthy planet. Scientific studies continually track how human activities are threatening the atmosphere, oceans, watercourses, land, ice cover and biosphere, forming the natural environment.

Prayerful reflection and conversation offer conscientious choices as we live into future generations. The Spirituality Center•Studium at Saint Benedict’s Monastery has hosted “virtual presentations” that have invited participants into the ongoing reflections of Pope Francis’ encyclicals “Laudato Sí’, focusing on its biblical and theological background with emphasis on why concern for the environment necessarily goes along with advocacy for the most vulnerable people and nations of the earth” and “Fratelli Tutti, exploring the creation of a culture of peace and justice through dialogue.” Both documents are relevant for continuing reflection into discussions of affirming challenge as stewards of all of creation.

Responsible Living

The Spirit of God rests upon me. A profoundly simple, humbling thought that we share in common with the prophet Isaiah, with each other. St. Benedict directs us, “Listen carefully, my son [daughter], to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart,” as we embrace the Spirit’s rooted presence in our lives.

In our own ways, we profoundly welcome, or choose to resist, the Holy Spirit’s direction throughout each day. The diversity of a mother’s embrace in the midst of a frustrated teenager’s grappling with changing relationships; a couple’s struggle to pay bills as they look towards their present and future needs; protests for justice’s sake on streets throughout the world; and the invitation of a mentor’s challenge to follow a dream all nurture the invitation to grapple with the presence of the Holy Spirit on our journeys as a community of faithful people.

Frustration, passion, an endless stream of emotions can and often are the determining direction to be part of positive change, the energizing challenge to consciously respond. It calls us beyond a self-centered direction, leading us into harmonious action. Be it within a family structure, faith community, or civil society, our beliefs and involvement reflect the essence of ourselves; an inner stillness discovered and nurtured.

Dorothy Day (1897–1980), a complex woman that often referenced scriptures and the Eucharist as her source of strength and direction throughout life, gave witness to a communal sense of responsibility as she lived her understanding of social change born out of struggle and despair. Day’s life can be noted as reflecting our present realities: a global pandemic; social injustice across the nation; governmental and political turmoil; deplorable prison conditions; and through the efforts of many, the empowering presence of grassroot people, offering practical relief for families finding themselves homeless and unemployed.

Be it a parent listening to their children’s search for security and understanding or Dorothy Day, OblSB, acknowledged as a “Servant of God” by the Catholic Church, we can each be assured, the Spirit of God rests upon us, inviting us to listen prayerfully as Isaiah and Saint Benedict have so humbly witnessed through lives intentionally lived.

Reflection

The need for air, water, nourishment, unifying systems of ecological rhythms and structures within nurturing spaces that impact each other are commonalities of all of creation, including the 7.8 billion people inhabiting the earth today. All We Can Save (edited by Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson and Dr. Auyana Elizabeth Johnson, published in 2020 by One World) addresses our shared climate crisis in a thought-provoking anthology of eclectic blends of topics and fields of expertise expressed in essays, poems and art. The work, authored by 50+ professional women that create a tapestry of awareness, thought, discussion and challenge embraces our common future. As Indigenous youth activist Xiye Bastida puts it in her “Calling In” essay, “A vibrant, fair, and regenerative future is possible–not when thousands of people do climate justice activism perfectly but when millions of people do the best they can.” The inclusiveness of the book is growing into conversation/action through All We Can Save Project website’s invitation welcoming humanity to virtually gather for discussion, rebirthing into nature’s responsible cycles of life.

Resources

“Listen carefully and attend with the ear of your heart.” Loosely quoted, Saint Benedict invites, challenges, maybe even demands the faithful to become listeners. To realize we are called to listen, and to hear, there is a difference—first from within. One of the many ways to enter into the journey is to read and reflect. Then the conversation begins.