Being Aware and Prepared

Advent 2011 

          

“Be Watchful, Be Alert! You do not know when the time will come.”  Mk 13:33-34

  

Many of you remember my friends and colleagues, Bishop Bill and Rev. Mary Christen, from days past.  For those of you who do not know them, Bill and Mary were instrumental in forming the Grey Robe Benedictines some ten years ago.  The three of us spent many hours discussing, sometimes passionately, the value of small faith communities where the divine experience becomes unique and personal.  We fully embraced the tenet that faith is communal long before it becomes personal.  We agreed that Benedict realized this very early and it was the core belief in his development of the Rule which establishes an environment in which the divine experience is consistently present in community.

Living the Rule provides the opportunity for us to live in a constant state of preparedness.  However, this does not mean preparing for things to come, but to experience the divine in the present.   After all, what good does it do to prepare for the next life if we are not living the life given to us in the present-day?  The Rule provides us the tools to work on our awareness of the present.

Through the acceptance of our vows of stability in community, conversion in the way of life, and poverty of attachments we begin the trek to total awareness.   In this journey we are challenged to carry out the elements of radical hospitality, prayer, and work.   Sounds fulfilling, but where do we start?

Living out the Rule begins right where we are in life.  We need look no further than our home, workplace and local community.  In all three places we can encounter the divine when we are present to those who feel ostracized, need a helping hand, a word of encouragement or the opportunity to share a moment of joy.  As a monastery without walls, this makes our community gatherings very special as we share our experiences with one another.  The community helps us glean presence of God in our experiences far beyond our imagination.  What a tremendous gift Benedict gave us to become aware and alert!

As we celebrate this season of Advent, let us avail ourselves of every opportunity to build our awareness, “for we know not the day or the hour when the master will return.”

May each of you experience the peaceful presence of God during this season of reflection.

Terry M. Boyer, OSB

Abbot Visitor