A reminder

Because I haven't posted an excerpt here from Sr Joan Chittister for a while, here is her commentary on the Rule of St Benedict for March 27 - July 27 - November 26:

The message under the message is that unless the group [e.g., monastery, church] becomes more and more immersed in prayer and the scriptures, giving them priority no matter what the other pressures of the day, the group will cease to have any authenticity at all. It will cease to develop. It will dry up and cave in on itself and become more museum than monastery. This stress on our responsibility to call ourselves to prayer is an insight as fresh for the twenty-first century as it was for the sixth. For all of us, prayer must be regular, not haphazard, not erratic, not chance. At the same time, it cannot be routine or meaningless or without substance. Prayer has to bring beauty, substance and structure to our otherwise chaotic and superficial lives or it is not long before life itself becomes chaotic and superficial. A life of spiritual substance is a life of quality. The Tao puts it this way:

She who is centered in the Tao
can go where she wishes, without danger.
She perceives the universal harmony,
even amid great pain,
because she has found peace in her heart.

[Updated 11/28/03]: Sr Joan Chittister's books, tapes, videos, and cards, along with excerpts of her writing, are availabe at Benetvision.