Today, Saint Benedict and Sister Joan leave us with a wonderfully paradoxical thought: the spiritual life is made up of opportunities to begin again.
At first, this seems almost contrary to Benedictine stability. We think of stability as remaining—staying in one place, with one community, faithful to one way of life. Yet Benedict reminds us that stability is not stubbornness. We are not called simply to remain where we are comfortable. We are called to remain faithful to the search for God.
And God is always drawing us forward.
Sometimes that movement may even require leaving behind something good. A monastery may have nourished us, a community may have loved us, a familiar way of living may have served us well—and still God may call us onward. As Sister Joan reminds us, our deepest vocation is not simply to a particular place, but to the will of God.
Perhaps, then, true stability is not rootedness in place so much as rootedness in God.
To live Benedictine stability is to plant ourselves deeply enough in God that we are not afraid of change. We can begin again because the One we seek remains constant.
Every ending may contain an invitation. Every change may conceal grace. And every new beginning may be God whispering once again: Come, follow me.
No comments:
Post a Comment