BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//philsandbox.firespring.org//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.3 0.10// CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH UID:626084d7-72e8-45ce-b0f9-4f3774a3ca73 X-WR-CALDESC:This is a totally different chapter When they are to be recei ved\, they come before the whole community in the oratory and promise stab ility\, fidelity to the monastic life\, and obedience. This is done in the presence of God and the saints to impress on the novices that if they eve r act otherwise\, they will surely be condemned by the one they mock.\n\nT hey state their promise in a document drawn up in the name of the saints w hose relics are there and of the prioress or abbot\, who is present. Novic es write out this document themselves\, or if they are illiterate\, then t hey ask someone else to write it for them\, but put their mark to it and w ith their own hand lay it on the altar. After they have put it there\, the novice begins the verse: 'Receive me\, O God\, as you have promised\, and I shall live\; do not disappoint me in my hope (Ps 119:116).' The whole c ommunity repeats the verse three times\, and adds the Doxology. Then the n ovices prostrate themselves at the feet of each member to ask prayers\, an d from that very day they are to be counted as one of the community.\n\nBe nedictine life is rooted in three dimensions: commitment to a community\, fidelity to a monastic way of life and obedience. It is a life that sees s anctification as a by-product of human society\, the development of a new way of thinking and living\, and a total openness to the constantly emergi ng challenges of the God-life within us. To pursue a Benedictine spiritual ity\, we must carry our part of the human race and allow it to mold and po lish and temper us. We are to be people who see the globe through eyes sof tened by the gospel. We are to see change and challenge in life as God's v oice in our ears. Benedictine spirituality goes into the heart in order to embrace the world. It forms us differently than the world forms us but it does not attempt to shape us independently of the real world around us. T he whole point of the profession ceremony itself is quite the opposite. We are\, in fact\, to make this commitment consciously and knowledgeably and publicly\, in the presence of the community\, the communion of saints tha t are represented by the relics of the church\, and the leader of the comm unity. This is a declaration that binds us to others and raises us beyond the changing feelings of the day to the obligations of a lifetime.\n\nIf t hey have any possessions\, they should either give them to the poor before hand\, or make a formal donation of them to the monastery\, without keepin g back a single thing for themselves\, well aware that from that day they will not have even their own body at their disposal. Then and there in the oratory\, they are to be stripped of everything of their own that they ar e wearing and clothed in what belongs to the monastery. The clothing taken from them is to be put away and kept safely in the wardrobe\, so that\, s hould they ever agree to the devil's suggestion and leave the monastery--w hich God forbid--they can be stripped of the clothing of the monastery bef ore they are cast out. But that document of theirs which the prioress or a bbot took from the altar should not be given back to them but kept in the monastery.\n\nThis passage of the Rule points out in a particularly graphi c way that Benedictine spirituality demands a total change of the way we r elate to life. In the first place\, monastics are to depend entirely on th e community for their support. They don't bring with them the family wealt h and they don't have any claim to personal property\, not even their clot hes. They give everything that they have gained up to the time of their en try into the community either to the poor or to the monastery itself. From then on\, it is the support of the community and the providence of God up on which they are to depend\, not on their savings\, not on their business acumen\, not on their relatives and connections. From then on they go thr ough life as a people whose trust is in God and who are responsible for on e another. The purpose\, of course\, is to free a person forcibly from the agenda of the world. 'Those who have cattle have care\,' an African prove rb teaches. We 'can't serve God and mammon\,' the scriptures say. The poin t of Benedictine spirituality is that we have to decide\, once and for all \, what we are about and then live in a way that makes that possible and m akes that real. X-WR-RELCALID:5d46f863544d050cacedb0c03d1d848e X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Chicago BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Chicago BEGIN:STANDARD TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20301103T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 RDATE:20311102T020000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20300310T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RDATE:20310309T020000 RDATE:20320314T020000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:afe1bece-72df-4cd3-894d-e0299cebf79a DTSTAMP:20260404T103757Z DESCRIPTION:This is a totally different chapter When they are to be receiv ed\, they come before the whole community in the oratory and promise stabi lity\, fidelity to the monastic life\, and obedience. This is done in the presence of God and the saints to impress on the novices that if they ever act otherwise\, they will surely be condemned by the one they mock.\n\nTh ey state their promise in a document drawn up in the name of the saints wh ose relics are there and of the prioress or abbot\, who is present. Novice s write out this document themselves\, or if they are illiterate\, then th ey ask someone else to write it for them\, but put their mark to it and wi th their own hand lay it on the altar. After they have put it there\, the novice begins the verse: 'Receive me\, O God\, as you have promised\, and I shall live\; do not disappoint me in my hope (Ps 119:116).' The whole co mmunity repeats the verse three times\, and adds the Doxology. Then the no vices prostrate themselves at the feet of each member to ask prayers\, and from that very day they are to be counted as one of the community.\n\nBen edictine life is rooted in three dimensions: commitment to a community\, f idelity to a monastic way of life and obedience. It is a life that sees sa nctification as a by-product of human society\, the development of a new w ay of thinking and living\, and a total openness to the constantly emergin g challenges of the God-life within us. To pursue a Benedictine spirituali ty\, we must carry our part of the human race and allow it to mold and pol ish and temper us. We are to be people who see the globe through eyes soft ened by the gospel. We are to see change and challenge in life as God's vo ice in our ears. Benedictine spirituality goes into the heart in order to embrace the world. It forms us differently than the world forms us but it does not attempt to shape us independently of the real world around us. Th e whole point of the profession ceremony itself is quite the opposite. We are\, in fact\, to make this commitment consciously and knowledgeably and publicly\, in the presence of the community\, the communion of saints that are represented by the relics of the church\, and the leader of the commu nity. This is a declaration that binds us to others and raises us beyond t he changing feelings of the day to the obligations of a lifetime.\n\nIf th ey have any possessions\, they should either give them to the poor beforeh and\, or make a formal donation of them to the monastery\, without keeping back a single thing for themselves\, well aware that from that day they w ill not have even their own body at their disposal. Then and there in the oratory\, they are to be stripped of everything of their own that they are wearing and clothed in what belongs to the monastery. The clothing taken from them is to be put away and kept safely in the wardrobe\, so that\, sh ould they ever agree to the devil's suggestion and leave the monastery--wh ich God forbid--they can be stripped of the clothing of the monastery befo re they are cast out. But that document of theirs which the prioress or ab bot took from the altar should not be given back to them but kept in the m onastery.\n\nThis passage of the Rule points out in a particularly graphic way that Benedictine spirituality demands a total change of the way we re late to life. In the first place\, monastics are to depend entirely on the community for their support. They don't bring with them the family wealth and they don't have any claim to personal property\, not even their cloth es. They give everything that they have gained up to the time of their ent ry into the community either to the poor or to the monastery itself. From then on\, it is the support of the community and the providence of God upo n which they are to depend\, not on their savings\, not on their business acumen\, not on their relatives and connections. From then on they go thro ugh life as a people whose trust is in God and who are responsible for one another. The purpose\, of course\, is to free a person forcibly from the agenda of the world. 'Those who have cattle have care\,' an African prover b teaches. We 'can't serve God and mammon\,' the scriptures say. The point of Benedictine spirituality is that we have to decide\, once and for all\ , what we are about and then live in a way that makes that possible and ma kes that real. DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20301213T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20301213T235900 LOCATION: SUMMARY:Chapter 59\, This is a different chapter END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR