We all order our daily lives based on a variety of imposed expectations and demands from family members and work schedules, as well as personal preferences and civil calendars. We set our alarms, follow well established routines for grooming, eating, commuting, exercising, working, and resting. We are more than creatures of habit. We respond to the necessary rhythms of life imposed by external demands and internal desires because we are created to be relational. Relationships depend on regular nurturing and are most healthy when we are dependable and intentional about maintaining them.
A Rule is like a trellis, giving support and shape to a growing spiritual life.
Relationships are fragile. We guard those that are most precious to us and neglect those that don’t seem important enough to invest our time and energy in. We are in relationship with ourselves, with those we share our life with and most importantly, we are in relationship with God and God’s creation.
Throughout the centuries, religious communities have lived under a Rule in order to foster a Christ-like rhythm of living simply and sacramentally, in community and in the world. Have you ever considered creating a personal Rule of Life? How would you begin? What sort of things should you take into account?
This is an invitation to YOU to intentionally shape and grow your relationship with God and self, in order to strengthen and honor your relationships with Mother Earth and others. The idea of writing a Rule of Life may seem daunting. I will guide us through a simple but serious process of discernment and sythesis using a workbook created by the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE). Sermon reflections derived from their Rule of Life can be read on their website: www.SSJE.org/monasticwisdom.
Developing a Rule of Life can be found on its own page by clicking the link here or in the header. I look forward to revising my own Rule and helping you write your own. Let me know how you are doing with it.
One Deacon's Journey 