Today is the feast day of Saint Romuald. Today in the Catholic Church we commemorate the life of this saint who lived in the tenth and the eleventh centuries and who reformed Benedictine monasteries. In time, his reforms were seen to have formed a new religious congregation of monks who came to be known as Camaldolese, named after their head monastery called Camaldoli, which is in Italy.
After spending a year and a half living at New Camaldoli Hermitage on the Big Sur coast of California, I grew quite fond of the monks there, as well as the folks who work there too. While I lived there, I came to realize better how and why we can be nourished deeply in the recesses of our souls by the spiritual disciplines of solitude, silence, prayer and meditation. There in a dwelling space called a monastic cell, a monk lives as a solitary, assisted by these monastic spiritual practices as he strives to respond to God's call. These spiritual disciplines position us so that, in opening our hearts to God, we consent to God loving our neighbor through us.
I was significantly guided in my pursuit of these spiritual practices by the Rule of Saint Romuald. He wrote it as a brief directive for men who came to monasteries to commune with God. In his little rule, Saint Romuald counsels
Sit in your cell as in Paradise. Put the whole world behind you and forget it. Watch your thoughts like a good fisherman watching for fish. The path you must follow is in the Psalms--never leave it.
If you have just come to the monastery, and in spite of your good will you cannot accomplish what you want, take every opportunity you can to sing the Psalms in your heart and to understand them with your mind.
And if your mind wanders as you read, do not give up; hurry back and apply your mind to the words once more.
Realize above all that you are in God's presence, and stand there with the attitude of one who stands before the emperor.
Empty yourself completely and sit waiting, content with the grace of God, like the chick who tastes nothing and eats nothing but what his mother brings him.
The Rule of Saint Romuald resonates with how I have sought to orient my life over the last half dozen years. I do my best to take time to retreat and forget about the world for a time so as to be recollected in my soul. I have also aimed to forget the false notions the world gives me. I have been aspiring to forget the false self that the world has tried to convince me I am, as the Trappist monk Thomas Merton describes. We can choose to reject the empty promises the world makes, vainly suggesting that we always need to be buying and possessing certain items in order to remain relevant in today's ever-changing material world. Rather than consume our energies on fruitless pursuits, we can direct our focus elsewhere. In still silent solitude, we are better positioned to listen to God so we can ever more discover our true selves.
This rule directs us to take every opportunity we can to sing the Psalms in our hearts. Insofar as we are to pray always,* again the Rule confirms my inclinations. So often I find myself mindlessly wasting precious time on trivial concerns which ultimately do not matter. Rather than burn up our energy on matters which are truly unimportant, instead we can strive to orient our hearts toward God in every instant.
In his rule, Saint Romuald advises us not to feel discouraged when our minds wander from words of wisdom, which they certainly will. Rather, we are once again to apply ourselves to The Word in front of us. So often I find my mind straying off course. Thus I so appreciate Saint Romuald's gentle encouragement, as a reminder to remain on course. We should not feel downtrodden when we fall, since most certainly we shall fall; we must remain resolute and we must once again rise once we have fallen.
Saint Romuald reminds us that we are in God's presence. Jesus is with us always.** We are to stand before God like a person standing before an emperor. Seeing ourselves for what we truly are, nothing without the help of God, we are humbled. Having been humbled, we are well-situated for God to work through the Holy Spirit in us.
Realizing that we are nothing without the aid of God, we can empty ourselves. Knowing that we can do nothing without God, we can wait for God to transform us. Upon being humbled, we can receive the grace and strength from God we need, for God gives grace to the humble.***
Seeing our true place, and humbled by the reality that we can do nothing without God, we can then open our hearts to God. If we are silent and wait patiently upon God, we can be nourished by the presence of Jesus. Our Lord Jesus empowers us to do the will of our Heavenly Father. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.****
By the grace of God, we can come to do what by human standards seems impossible. For humans, to love like God loves is impossible. For God, nothing is impossible.*****
Through the grace of God, we become able to give to everyone who asks,****** as Jesus instructs us to do in today's Gospel reading. Having sought the tender, warm, loving touch of Jesus in silence, stillness and solitude, we become empowered through the gentle strength of His presence to convey His love to others. By opening our hearts to God, we welcome God into our hearts, so that Jesus abides in us,******* and loves others through us. Opening our hearts to God, we allow God to love others through us.******** We can thus let the love of God be shown through us. Let us let God love others through us. Amen.
* 1 Thessalonians 5:17
** Matthew 28:20
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** Philippians 4:13
***** Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:37
****** Matthew 5:42
******* John 15:9
******** Romans 5:5
After spending a year and a half living at New Camaldoli Hermitage on the Big Sur coast of California, I grew quite fond of the monks there, as well as the folks who work there too. While I lived there, I came to realize better how and why we can be nourished deeply in the recesses of our souls by the spiritual disciplines of solitude, silence, prayer and meditation. There in a dwelling space called a monastic cell, a monk lives as a solitary, assisted by these monastic spiritual practices as he strives to respond to God's call. These spiritual disciplines position us so that, in opening our hearts to God, we consent to God loving our neighbor through us.
I was significantly guided in my pursuit of these spiritual practices by the Rule of Saint Romuald. He wrote it as a brief directive for men who came to monasteries to commune with God. In his little rule, Saint Romuald counsels
Sit in your cell as in Paradise. Put the whole world behind you and forget it. Watch your thoughts like a good fisherman watching for fish. The path you must follow is in the Psalms--never leave it.
If you have just come to the monastery, and in spite of your good will you cannot accomplish what you want, take every opportunity you can to sing the Psalms in your heart and to understand them with your mind.
And if your mind wanders as you read, do not give up; hurry back and apply your mind to the words once more.
Realize above all that you are in God's presence, and stand there with the attitude of one who stands before the emperor.
Empty yourself completely and sit waiting, content with the grace of God, like the chick who tastes nothing and eats nothing but what his mother brings him.
The Rule of Saint Romuald resonates with how I have sought to orient my life over the last half dozen years. I do my best to take time to retreat and forget about the world for a time so as to be recollected in my soul. I have also aimed to forget the false notions the world gives me. I have been aspiring to forget the false self that the world has tried to convince me I am, as the Trappist monk Thomas Merton describes. We can choose to reject the empty promises the world makes, vainly suggesting that we always need to be buying and possessing certain items in order to remain relevant in today's ever-changing material world. Rather than consume our energies on fruitless pursuits, we can direct our focus elsewhere. In still silent solitude, we are better positioned to listen to God so we can ever more discover our true selves.
This rule directs us to take every opportunity we can to sing the Psalms in our hearts. Insofar as we are to pray always,* again the Rule confirms my inclinations. So often I find myself mindlessly wasting precious time on trivial concerns which ultimately do not matter. Rather than burn up our energy on matters which are truly unimportant, instead we can strive to orient our hearts toward God in every instant.
In his rule, Saint Romuald advises us not to feel discouraged when our minds wander from words of wisdom, which they certainly will. Rather, we are once again to apply ourselves to The Word in front of us. So often I find my mind straying off course. Thus I so appreciate Saint Romuald's gentle encouragement, as a reminder to remain on course. We should not feel downtrodden when we fall, since most certainly we shall fall; we must remain resolute and we must once again rise once we have fallen.
Saint Romuald reminds us that we are in God's presence. Jesus is with us always.** We are to stand before God like a person standing before an emperor. Seeing ourselves for what we truly are, nothing without the help of God, we are humbled. Having been humbled, we are well-situated for God to work through the Holy Spirit in us.
Realizing that we are nothing without the aid of God, we can empty ourselves. Knowing that we can do nothing without God, we can wait for God to transform us. Upon being humbled, we can receive the grace and strength from God we need, for God gives grace to the humble.***
Seeing our true place, and humbled by the reality that we can do nothing without God, we can then open our hearts to God. If we are silent and wait patiently upon God, we can be nourished by the presence of Jesus. Our Lord Jesus empowers us to do the will of our Heavenly Father. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.****
By the grace of God, we can come to do what by human standards seems impossible. For humans, to love like God loves is impossible. For God, nothing is impossible.*****
Through the grace of God, we become able to give to everyone who asks,****** as Jesus instructs us to do in today's Gospel reading. Having sought the tender, warm, loving touch of Jesus in silence, stillness and solitude, we become empowered through the gentle strength of His presence to convey His love to others. By opening our hearts to God, we welcome God into our hearts, so that Jesus abides in us,******* and loves others through us. Opening our hearts to God, we allow God to love others through us.******** We can thus let the love of God be shown through us. Let us let God love others through us. Amen.
* 1 Thessalonians 5:17
** Matthew 28:20
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** Philippians 4:13
***** Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:37
****** Matthew 5:42
******* John 15:9
******** Romans 5:5
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