I am a stickler for references. No reference (which I can check), no quote. But I am breaking my own rules and sharing this quote from Augustine:
This quote summarises “anchorite spirituality”. Affective piety that reflects on the Passion of Jesus.
(So if someone could please give me the reference, I will be eternally thankful.)
Let me preface this by saying I am no philosopher, theologian, or sociologist.
I think “modern society” lives with the belief that “if I can measure it, I can create it”. The problem is that it is somewhat true. Yes, physical things can certainly be measured and then created. But what about things like beauty, community, fellowship, or love? Can I measure these and then create them?
The church is not immune. Sometimes people preach a gospel of “let’s do it”. All of that is fine without any thought to sin. God creates community and fellowship by His presence, as He does beauty, not by our agreeing with each other or being “nice”.
So what would I change: the certainty that it is within human reach to create everything.
Anyway …
Lord Jesus Christ,
A Prayer for Vocations to the Religious Life
in your great love you draw all people to yourself:
and in your wisdom you call us to your service.
We pray at this time,
you will kindle in the hearts of men and women
the desire to follow you in the Religious life.
Give to those whom you call,
grace to accept their vocation readily and thankfully,
to make the whole-hearted surrender which you ask of them,
and for love of you, to persevere to the end.
This we ask in your name. Amen.
I have not answered one of these for some time.
I normally wake at 5ish. Yes, I am a morning person. I have not used an alarm clock in a long time, and I do not use my phone. I simply wake naturally at about the same time. At the moment it is still dark and very cold. Heater on and make a cup of tea.
I either listen to the news or just pray. Sometimes I try to plan my day but it never works out. I try to be ready for my day by 6. I stay in my “bedroom”, which is also my main room, to pray and enjoy a cup of tea. I love watching the sun rise over the water. There is a “no rush” attitude for my mornings.
When do I go to bed? When the sun goes down it is time for bed, as my grandmother used to say. I try to stay in a natural rhythm with the sun. I try to pray a little and then sleep.
Ordericus Vitalis on the Cistercian life.
All go without trousers and lambskins. They abstain from the eating of fat and meat… They have a care for silence all the time and wear no dyed clothing. They work with their own hands to provide food and clothing for themselves. They fast from 13 September until Easter, except on Sundays. They bar their entrances and allow no access to the interior [of the monastery]… By their own work they have founded monasteries in deserts and wooded places.
“Go without trousers”? So glad there was a habit for them to wear.
It follows, therefore, since the Office flows from the Eucharist, that there will be great variability as to how the Office is recited or offered. I know of one solitary who recites out loud, verse by verse, the whole Office by day and by night with all the appropriate bodily actions as in Choir. For another the Office may gradually become more interiorised so that the words of Scripture and psalmody are embodied by the Jesus Prayer or some other form of rhythmic prayer.
Allchin, A.M; Louf OCSO, Dom André; Ware, Metropolitan Kallistos; Walls, Fr Roland; Ward SLG, Sr Benedicta; Clare SLG, Mother Mary. Solitude and Communion: Papers on the Hermit Life (Fairacres Publications) . SLG Press.
Affective piety is most commonly described as a style of highly emotional devotion to the humanity of Jesus, particularly in his infancy and his death, and to the joys and sorrows of the Virgin Mary. It was a major influence on many varieties of devotional literature in late-medieval Europe, both in Latin and in the vernacular. … Affective piety can be described as a type of highly emotional devotion, focused on the humanity of Jesus, which developed during the High Middle Ages. Anselm of Canterbury, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Francis of Assisi each played a key role in the development of this approach to spirituality. Traces of an affective sensitivity can be found in Late Antiquity, when clergymen preached sermons with vivid descriptions of the Passion.
Affective Piety
The spirituality of Ancrene Wisse is affective … Incarnational spirituality, expressed in devotion to the Passion of Christ and in eucharistic piety centring on the presence of Christ in the consecrated Host, is at the heart of Ancrene Wisse. The spirituality of Ancrene Wisse is essentially incarnational: within the anchorhold the anchoresses could share the suffering of their lover, Christ.
Ancrene Wisse: From Pastoral Literature to Vernacular Spirituality, Cate Gunn
I like being alone! Not that people are bad or evil. I like being with people but being alone feels much more natural.
Yet the desire to be liked, the desire to be heard, the desire to be an authority, remains. Or, in other words, to seek love in return for love.
Purity of heart is the desire for Jesus alone. That is the aim of the solitary life. Not to escape or be a “spiritual master”. But to turn to Christ wholeheartedly. And allow my actions to follow!
Anyway …
The Amish fascinate me. They are counter-cultural, “separatist”, and really nice dressers. The above video has meaningful insights, especially the language of sin (starting at about 12 minutes).
So what is sin? I am not going to offer a definition. But I will offer an alternative view: accountability. Rather than seeing it in terms of action, maybe we could see it in terms of being accountable for my actions. “Alone before God”. Sin is the state of being “outside of relationship”, expresses itself in actions, and makes me accountable to God for the good of my neighbour.
I am free to act but always accountable (to God) for those actions. Any particular action may not break the Ten Commandments (with “hate in the heart”) but still not be for the good of another.
Mondays are often difficult for me. Sunday is the one day a week I go outside of the Anchorage. On Monday mornings, I cook (often for the week) and prepare for the rest of the week. But it is the day I struggle most to find some peace.
Why? The conversations of “yesterday” are at the front of my mind. It makes time to move them to my heart where they become my prayer. I try to pray for all people I encounter, especially those who are part of my community of faith. But my human side often takes over at the start of the week and I replay conversations (and my depression tries to find hidden motives and intents).
So today I celebrate the Nativity of St John the Baptist. Witness to Jesus and messenger. Not always popular, not always sociable. The first “Jesus” solitary. I wonder if he ever struggled with Mondays?
theologoumenon 