Fifteen centuries ago a young man abandoned his scholarly studies in Rome and ventured into the Italian countryside, where he founded a monastic community and wrote what he called “a little rule” to help his fellow monks live a spiritual life in community.
That man was Benedict, better known as the founder of the Benedictines, a Roman Catholic order that still thrives today.
“So how does this apply to me?” you might be thinking. “I’m not a monk, and I’m not Catholic. I don’t need The Rule.”
Not true. Although Benedict’s Rule was written for monks, his advice covers much of what encompasses our everyday, right here in the 21st century: worship, prayer, work, study, relationships, our use of time, community and hospitality. Benedict’s Rule is more useful to us now than ever.
Benedict begins the Prologue to The Rule with these opening words:
“Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart.”
Concrete person that I am, listening with the “ear of my heart” doesn’t make much sense. At first. But the more I read about Benedict, and the more I practice quiet, focused listening, the more I understand that looking for God in all things, in the ordinary circumstances of my life is possible.
As Jane Tomaine, author of St. Benedict’s Toolbox: The Nuts and Bolts of Everyday Benedictine Living, writes, “God is before us and within us, waiting to be found. The challenge is that every day we have so many things to do, and the crush of work can leave us hurrying through one task to move onto the next. But is it possible instead to do our work on one level, yet reflect with our mind and heart on where God is in the task? Can we allow the task before us to reveal itself as an opportunity to find God?”
Tomaine gives her readers a number of ways to practice this discipline, this listening with the ear of your heart.
1. Keep a gratitude journal. Take a few moments to reflect on your day, the small instances in which you felt the presence of God in your life. You can even join an online community, like Ann Voskamp’s 1,000 Gifts community every Monday, when she lists a continuing stream of 1,000 gifts and encourages others to do the same.
2. Notice the metaphorical breadcrumbs God leaves us to follow. Look back over your life, suggests Tomaine, to uncover the threads that led you to where you are today. Sometimes our God vision is 20/20 in hindsight. Such is the case for me and my move from Massachusetts to Nebraska. In retrospect, I see now that God threw the entire loaf of honey whole grain in my path, not merely the breadcrumbs. But it took several years for me to realize that this period of upheaval was actually the direct work of God in my life.
3. Take a thankfulness walk. This is perhaps better accomplished when the weather warms up, but the point is to walk slowly through nature, focusing on your senses – the chickadee chirping in the white pine…the scarlet berries dangling on delicate branches – and giving thanks for the hand of God in all things.
Like any spiritual discipline, listening and watching for God in the everyday takes practice. I’ll be honest, some days spin by so rapidly that I don’t notice him at all. But I continue to practice, and little by little the extraordinary shines through the ordinary.
“Incline your ear and come to me; listen, so that you may live.” (Isaiah 55:3)
How do you listen for God in your life? How do you “incline your ear” or listen with the “ear of your heart?” Add your ideas in the comments to suggest practices others might try.
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I’ve recently revisited a series I wrote three years ago called Blogging Benedict, and I’ve decided to run some of these posts on Fridays through Lent. They are based on the book by Jane Tomaine called St. Benedict’s Toolbox: The Nuts and Bolts of Everyday Living, which I am re-reading this Lent.
Next Friday: Blogging Benedict: Lectio Divina.
I’m excited you’re rerunning this series because I didn’t know you then!
By the way, have you ever read the Kathleen Norris/Tomie DePaola picture book on Benedict and his sister: “The Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica”? Wonderful!
I have not heard of that – thank you for the recommendation!!
I love this! I too am glad you are reposting! I’ve started writing about my “cluttered heart” and am looking to declutter and simplify it, so this is lovely! Thanks, Michelle!
Thank for this post…I am practicing lent for the first time in about 30 yrs. I was raised in a devote catholic home…but devote back then was not like what I see now being practiced in the catholic church. I had many issues to work through…(i was kicked out of my home when I left the catholic church)….with my dad and with the church…but thanks be to God…my dad and I have the best relationship we have ever had…we stand together with a love of Christ no longer divided…and I am going back in many ways to my roots…reading saints of old, like you shared here and letting them enrich my life now. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to reading more in the weeks to come. blessings to you~
I was raised Catholic, too, Ro, so I understand a bit what you are referring to. I walked away from church and God for more than 20 years. In the last couple of years I have come to love Lent as a time to quiet myself and look hard at where I have turned away from God. It’s a time of repentance, yes, but also a time of renewal.
The piece at the High Calling about learning work tips from the monks intrigued me and this has me really interested. There is much to be said for the discipline of the monks,and the first charge to simple listen and pay attention is a powerful one.
I’m so looking forward to reading your series during Lent, Michelle! Benedict’s rules and listening with the ears of our hearts are so very appealing to me!
Blessings to you!
Invariably the walking prompts awareness that yearns for a response. Following up a walk with pen in hand to record the impressions, connections, or guidance that came to the heart , often reads like a prayer; a continuation of that internal and sacred dialog.
Absolutely, walking does that for me, too, Lisa. Sometimes I walk right into the house and over to my desk to scribble down my thoughts before they disappear.
Hi Michelle…Really enjoyed this post. The older I get, the more I want to read and check out those esteemed saints- of-old that other denominations recognize. Your writing here reminds me of a book I read some time ago by Brother Lawrence, called, ‘Practising The Presence of God’. It really is a ‘discipline’, requiring concerted effort on our part. I know what you mean by saying that you can go through whole days missing the whole point…you have described me as well. Ann Voskamp has helped me tremendously in this area of ‘seeing’ God in the everyday. No doubt, she will also ‘go down in history’ as one of the saints-of-old who helped millions focus on The One. Thanks for this, Michelle!
I absolutely agree, Jillie – Ann has helped me immensely, too. Since I first read her book, I’ve been keeping my gratitude list going for almost two years now, and that practice has changed my way of seeing and my life.
How true that our God vision can be 20/20 HINDSIGHT! One thing I’ve done twice and it’s been an amazing experience both times is to practice an hour of quiet. No music, no reading, just still & quiet. I do take my journal, though, and journal as thoughts hit me. But not the whole hour. Being still & quiet isn’t one of my strengths! Thanks for the reminder.
Michelle
This sounds like a wonderful, (and anti-cultural), practice, Michelle E. To sit in the quiet! What a radical concept ! I shall try this, pen and journal in hand. Thank you.
I love this Michelle….I read Kathleen Norris, The Cloister Walk and absolutely loved it. I will have to check out that one by Jane Tomaine. And I will be back here. Always a pleasure coming to your place. Lori
I love Kathleen Norris – The Cloister Walk is one of my favorites…I may have to revisit that one again, too!
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