Resurrecting Chicago

I am still thinking of St. Benedict these days and his rule of life for religious. The basis of religious life is humility. Without humility you cannot seek His face. Life will be all about you. I remember one woman near the end of her life as she looked up from the stove where she was routinely frying two eggs, saying to me: “I wish I could stop thinking of myself.” And, I thought, “She is totally open to someone else, maybe even God himself.” A first step in religious awareness.

When I can be empty of myself, there will be room enough in my heart for Our Lord, and maybe even room for you. So, Benedict makes humility

The founders of the Resurrectionists learned humility from the Benedictines.

the founding virtue of the spiritual life in common.  In my community we put it this way: “You must die to self and rise with Christ.” Or, “We die to self and rise with Christ because we have loved the brethren.”

I’m still trying to remind myself of humility every day. In my seeking of Our Lord I pray for the grace of forgetting myself and experiencing life in the presence of Our Lord. It’s a matter of focus. If I am going to live up to my vows, I am going to have to keep Our Lord at the center of my life. I think that this is what love means.

Benedict leads his monks through twelve steps to this virtue. I am not sure which rung of the ladder it is –maybe it’s the first– but Benedict says that God’s will must be my will. It is complete surrender to the Father’s will.  This is not a secret known only to monks. When we pray the only prayer Jesus taught us to pray, the first thing we pray after hallowing his presence is “Thy will be done.”

Many of these twelve steps are simple and practical. For example: Don’t talk unless necessary. I think you and I would have to agree that when we talk it is usually in some way about ourselves. Instead, we should communicate by listening.  The psychologist Carl Rogers called it “active listening,” the kind of listening where we confirm what we thought we heard a person say: “I think I hear you saying….” Another step in the ladder is avoiding levity. That simply means giddiness and continually goofing around trivializes your life and those around you. However, Benedict wasn’t so serious that he didn’t see the humor in life. Remember this story?  His twin sister and he visited outside the monastery. When Benedict felt it was time to go, St. Scholastica wanted him to stay a bit longer. He insisted that he was ready to leave when his sister inclined her head in prayer and suddenly a great storm with angry winds and pelting rain made it impossible for him to leave. His sister said something like, “Listen to me next time.” Benedict with good cheer understood the sign and stayed the night.

“Keep your head down” is another, I think, the last step. There are a dozen sermons here including themes like “Don’t look for trouble,” “Avoid demeaning people by your haughtiness,” “Looking around, distracts you from looking inward.”

Religious community living can make you crazy or foolish.  It can also toughen you up for humble service  as you seek to live what God wills for you.

One of my priest friends has a pit-bull named Elijah.   What has this pooch got to do with the prophet who will return before the day of the Lord in his fiery chariot with flaming steeds whirling like the fire he is? Maybe my friend likes the idea of calling out the name “Elijah” several times each day. That way, the priest can recall Elijah, the fierce hound of God, leaping out of the pages of biblical prophesy, all-the-while- baying and growling the word of the Lord.

The bible recalls the scene of Elijah, the astonishing prophet of Israel who is walking with his protege Elisha when Elisha asks the Lord for a double portion of the spirit of his mentor.  Suddenly Elijah is on fire and his chariot and horses are blazing as a strong whirlwind snatches him — chariot, horses and all– and Elijah is taken up into heaven. Elisha puts on Elijah’s mantle and assumes the prophetic vocation.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke relates the first Pentecost when the Lord’s spirit comes upon the assembly and each of them receives a portion of the fiery spirit which comes rushing into the room and into their hearts. The fire is like Jeremiah’s fire, a sizzling spirit settles in their bones. Christ’s followers are compelled to express this experience as they rush out of the house and into the streets of Jerusalem singing the praises of God in all tongues.

Jesus had commanded them to pray for what John had clearly promised: “I baptize with water for repentance but the one who comes after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” On Pentecost,  the Holy Spirit pours Himself into each follower and inflames them with the spirit of Jesus. This Spirit moves the believer to announce the Gospel.

When the breath of the Holy Spirit starts like a whirlwind in your soul you find out what God is. John the evangelist says “God is love.” These words surely are the source for the ancient Christian prayer which begins: “Come, Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful people and enkindle within them the fire of your divine love.”