At our last two Explorations in Faith and Spirituality sessions, we decided that it may be helpful if we would consider being a bit like St. Benedict who, when society collapsed around the Fall of the Roman Empire, first spent a prolonged time (three years) in solitude and prayer. He did have one monk who found him living in a cave and helped him survive and possibly helped the young Benedict in allowing God to move him beyond his frustration with the then current Roman society, or lack thereof. After three years Benedict emerged from the cave and, with the guidance of God's Providence, encouraged people to join together in creating a more God-centered life for themselves and those around them. He pretty much saved and rejuvenated the European civilization.

Bishop Robert Barron remarked in the session-viewed Pivotal Players - St. Benedict of Nursia video that many people of today are saying that, what is needed today is another Benedict to help humanity recover from the current downward moral swing of society which appears to occur every five hundred years or so. The attendees at the last two Explorations session decided that, like Benedict, we would spend the summer, not in a cave, but at home, living and working, learning and praying. And maybe we will consider emerging from the summer a bit like the sixth-century St. Benedict, his monks and the local Christians, willing to engage in an endeavor that may salvage some of what recent past generations held dear (our Christian faith and our belief in God's closeness to us) that is de-valued now but is needed to rejuvenate the Church and the society of today.

OUR DAILY SCHEDULES

In the last two Exploration sessions, we talked about the wisdom of the monks' daily schedule and we agreed to develop our own horarium, a daily schedule, like the ones St. Benedict prepared for his monks. We talked about God being with us all through every day, but how we often forget that God is always present in our midst. A horarium is a tool we can use to develop a way of living that will lead us to a more consistent awareness of God's presence. Through following this daily schedule's prescribed times to recollect and acknowledge the presence of God, we are gradually led to a more uniform awareness of God's presence throughout the day. This helps one grow into a more intimate relationship with God.  The hope is that this habit of being "with God" will grow and extend to all the hours and activites of the day, even when we are sleeping or actively engaged in tasks. This should not be hard for us and it should bring greater joy onto our lives. For, as St. Augustine of Hippo (354 AD - 430 AD), who lived before St. Benedict (480 AD - 548 AD) said, it is for God that we were made and it is only with and in God that we will be truly happy.

We plan to take time weekly to assess our progress. We hope to find that by September we will be more joyful and God-centered than we are now.

Here are some materials that we shared at the last session. I will add more as the summer goes on.  May we all have a wonderful, joyful summer in the presence of our God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Sister Loretta

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