Something that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians where he said,
"We are the temple of the living God; as God said, I will live in them, and
I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from
them, and be separate from them, says the Lord.” [Excerpt from 2
Corinthians 6:14-7:1]
Belial, and unbelievers, will always present both natural
and spiritual opposition to God’s higher ideals for created human beings. We
are called to leave the world and its lesser carnal ideals behind when we
embrace Christ and his Cross.
Yet, how easy it is to compromise; how easy it is
to accommodate.
“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the
hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want, like an
armed warrior.” [Proverbs 24:33-34]
True as this proverb is in the natural,
much more so is how directly it speaks to the effects in our spiritual lives
when sloth[1]
and neglect become its foundation. Constant vigilance to safeguard our continual
conversion is not an option. It is essential. Especially if we expect to persevere through the
unbridled diabolical darkness of these modern times.
I think one of the greatest
affirmations or validations of a calling to the lay-monastic life, especially
to one that is largely hermit-like, is the element of thriving in quiet and
solitude within a framework of devotional routine; a lifestyle where we learn how to leave the distractions and noise of the world behind in order to experience more fully and deeply the immeasurable height, depth, and breadth of the peace that surpasses all understanding. [Philippians 4:7]
The devotional routine aspect no longer
appears to us as something laborious or difficult. It is no longer an interruption of the affairs of life. It is no longer something viewed as a "supposed to do" crammed into the other "important" things of life. It becomes as natural as breathing.
It is, in fact, our spiritual breath.
We are no longer snatching and grabbing
at the bits and morsels that fall from the table onto the floor of life. We are
better able to focus. We are better able to set the parameters that determine
how much of the world we let in. We are better able to thrive in this
simplicity, solitude, and silence. It is here where we are better able to listen with the ear of the heart. [Holy Rule, Prologue 1]
It is in the quiet and solitude of this
devotional framework, both within the monastery and within our personally created environments, where we best discover and realize what it means to grope
and find the one in whom we live and move and have our being. [Acts
17:27-28]
This quiet … this silence or restraint of speech and the surrounding physical environment that fosters and protects it… is an integral part of the monastic model given to us by Saint Benedict.
[Holy Rule Chapter 6].
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