tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54969552012-01-26T17:12:32.181-08:00A blog of my experience at St. Gregory's abbey.Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.comBlogger721100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-84773831300351390112007-07-19T07:21:00.000-07:002007-07-19T07:22:35.441-07:00

NUNS fret not at their convent's narrow room;And hermits are contented with their cells;And students with their pensive citadels;Maids at the wheel, the weaver at his loom,Sit blithe and happy; bees that soar for bloom,High as the highest Peak of Furness-fells,Will murmur by the hour in foxglove bells:In truth the prison, unto which we doomOurselves, no prison is: and hence for me,In sundry moods

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-80951178795188002142007-06-28T08:10:00.000-07:002007-06-28T08:38:26.954-07:00

The first word of the Rule is, in Latin, "obsculta", a word that doesn't mean just 'listen', but also 'obey' (note, you'll likely find it in a Latin dictionary under 'ausculta' as I discovered after about 30 minutes of looking). Thus, the very beginning of the Rule puts into place a dynamic of listening and obedience. One, of course, cannot obey if one has not listened to the command given;

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-29393407573949526252007-06-27T19:11:00.000-07:002007-06-27T19:16:36.576-07:00

I mentioned in class today that our most common cultural reference to monastic life is that of the Jedi Knights of the Star Wars movies. While it is obviously not a Christian image, there is much in common with the monks of Benedictine life -- all the way down to the attire. In fact, think about how it is Anakin Skywalker's self-will that ultimately gets him into trouble and begins his descent

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-42974636451911028662007-06-27T19:07:00.000-07:002007-06-27T19:11:28.230-07:00

We've been reciting this prayer at Vespers every night:Lord our God,through your loving kindness,hear and answer our prayersas they rise to You in this offering.Through Your saints, Benedict and Scholastica,You have called many to the school of Your service.We ask that many other men and women,throughout the world,would hear and answer Your callin our monastic way of life,especially here at St.

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-62914606705274575412007-06-27T17:58:00.000-07:002007-06-27T19:07:21.436-07:00

In re-reading Benedict's Rule again over the last few weeks, one of the things that struck me is his diagnosis of what ails us spiritually. According to Benedict, the primary obstacle to our spiritual progress is our self-will. In the first chapter of the Rule, Benedict describes four different types of monks, two he likes and two he doesn't. The first two, cenobites and anchorites are those who

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-46330971923803724022007-06-26T15:05:00.000-07:002007-06-26T15:36:23.734-07:00

A common concern about monastic life is that it stifles creativity; we worry that the call for obedience, silence, and humility, the subjection of one's self to the authority of another, and the many rules of monastic life will end up turning monks into robots without any creativity. This concern, however, is wrong in two ways: first, it misunderstands how we become truly creative and, second, it

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-37549661353743696492007-06-26T14:55:00.000-07:002007-06-26T15:04:23.681-07:00

On August 3-5, the monastery will sponsor a weekend spiritual retreat for anyone who is interested. The full information is at the link, but if you are interested in spending a couple of days seeing what this is like, you'll get a chance to participate in the Daily Office with the monks and then spend time with Father Charles as he works through the book,The Spirituality of Imperfection. I

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-90767859928428154752007-06-26T14:08:00.000-07:002007-06-26T14:54:59.844-07:00

Yesterday we had a discussion in class about the spiritual practices of the monks as found in the Rule of Benedict. I proposed the idea that many of us come to a monastery for somewhat selfish reasons; we seek to be exposed to practices or ways of life that will bring us peace, help us live in the moment, or be centered. But the goal of the spiritual practices of Benedictines is different -- it

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-22275122248247103022007-06-25T20:06:00.000-07:002007-06-25T20:18:08.691-07:00

The first set of prayers each day is Vigils, which starts at 6:00 in the morning. The Psalms we read were Psalm 134, Psalm 37, Psalm 52, Psalm 11, and Psalm 105. As our class discussed this morning, the choices of the Psalms at specific times of the day represent a theological understanding of the needs of persons at different times of day. So, take a moment to read the Psalms and see if you

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-70055029576254658422007-06-25T19:53:00.000-07:002008-12-10T09:01:03.867-08:00

Father Charles has put a question to our class that I would like to ask any readers to answer. He's responsible for identifying and helping recruit men to join the monastery and as he's putting together the materials he'll use, he wants to know what questions people might want answered about monastic life if they were interested. So let me ask you to answer in the comments two questions: 1)

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-75704821125154062122007-06-25T19:17:00.000-07:002008-12-10T09:01:03.999-08:00

I've written about Brother Kevin before, (read the whole post) but at the time Youtube didn't exist and you couldn't embed pictures in blogger. So for the first time I give you photographs of his homemade motorcycle, Recycled Grace, which is made up of half an old Suburu engine, an Oldsmobile glove compartment, and various springs and pulleys that don't belong on a motorcyle. In case you are

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-70673314670608367162007-06-25T19:14:00.000-07:002008-12-10T09:01:04.378-08:00

Tonight we went on a tour of campus with Brother Kevin, who came to the monastery 50 years ago as a high school student and never left. At the time he arrived, the monastery was located on what we would think of as a typical Oklahoma plain, bereft of anything much taller than grass. At the top is a picture of the monastery grounds around 1950, and the bottom picture is from tonight. The

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-36740238239669430752007-06-24T19:26:00.000-07:002007-06-25T13:15:54.552-07:00

In Plato’s Dialogue, Cratylus, Socrates quotes the Greek philosopher Heroclitus, who said that you can’t step in the same river twice; between the first time you step into the river and the second time you step in the river, both the river changes and you change. If Heroclitus thought his world was always in flux, one wonders what he would make of a world where change is almost considered a

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-18907198270088960962007-06-22T21:25:00.000-07:002008-12-10T09:01:04.556-08:00

On Sunday evening I will return to St. Gregory's Abbey for the first time since 2004. As was the case in my two previous trips, I'll be blogging my reflections on monastic life while I'm at the Abbey. My first post will be up on Sunday evening. Until then, feel free to nose around and check out my posts from my last two trips...it may provide some useful background.One of the nice benefits of

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1137099021473079722006-01-12T12:50:00.000-08:002007-06-20T12:31:43.213-07:00

This blog is a journal of the two different weeks I spent at St. Gregory's Abbey in Oklahoma in 2003 and 2004. I do not post to it any more, as it was meant to capture my experiences in a very specific period of time. The best way to begin is to start in the oldest 2003 archives and work your way forward chronologically into the 2004 archives.

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086964348125069322004-06-11T07:30:00.000-07:002004-06-11T07:32:28.126-07:00

We just ended up our final class session, which ended with a blessing from Father Charles, like he gave to Brother Boniface before he left the monastery. I have a few more essays and observations to write, which I will take up starting on Sunday afternoon. In the meantime, I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Check back later. Blessings, David.

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086964187995375362004-06-10T19:35:00.000-07:002004-06-11T07:29:47.996-07:00

As I write this essay I am sitting in a swing donated in memory of Oklahoma City bombing victim, Diane Althouse. The swing faces the monastery cemetery, which is just south of the chapel. The sun is to my back as the day is ending and the wind is humming through the many trees planted by Brother Kevin. A few minutes ago the Abbot and one of the other monks walked by on a post dinner walk and

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086964126313368982004-06-10T19:28:00.000-07:002004-06-11T07:28:46.313-07:00

In my first journal entry I talked about what I see as the problems with churches today around the issues of commitment, accountability, and authority. In my second one I compared the Baptist church with the Benedictine monasteries and found some surprising similarities. Yesterday I talked about how I deal with commitment, accountability and authority in my life in the church. Today I’d like

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086964025799888092004-06-09T20:25:00.000-07:002004-06-11T07:27:41.476-07:00

When I did my journal last year, Dr. Schmidt gave us some specific questions to answer that required some serious introspection. So far this year I don’t feel like I’ve challenged myself to think that hard about my own role in community. I’ve talked a lot about structures and ideas, but not about my own role and experience. That’s probably fear talking (or not talking as the case may be). So

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086814579145453612004-06-09T13:39:00.000-07:002004-06-09T17:53:02.893-07:00

This morning we took time to try the ancient prayer practice of lectio divinia. It's made a bit of a revival in recent times, but is still relatively unknown in Protestant circles as a regular spiritual practice. Last year we did a passage that I had a very difficult time with. I had some serious issues with it and ended up spending a couple of hours talking to my friend about it. The passage

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086813044561116352004-06-09T13:18:00.000-07:002004-06-09T13:30:44.560-07:00

One of the nice things about eating breakfast here is that they often serve bacon. I happen to be slightly obsessed with good bacon (not that there is such a thing as bad bacon, just some that is better than others). Anyway, if you too are not afraid to stand up tall and strike fear into the hearts of swine all over the world, you might want to visit this site, where you can find the Bacon of

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086811963914640662004-06-09T13:10:00.000-07:002004-06-09T13:12:43.916-07:00

I got an email from Mike, in Wisconsin, who recommended the book The Cloister Walk, by Kathleen Norris. My friend, Trish, read this last year before the monastery class and also highly recommends it.

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086809448439740362004-06-09T12:12:00.000-07:002004-06-09T12:30:48.440-07:00

Before last semester I can’t say that I ever really put any thought into the idea of the church or of community. Church was the place where I went to practice my faith and interact with other Christians – my interactions were more driven by political considerations than theological considerations. There was nothing really thoughtful or intentional about my approach to church and my community.

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086744269537785022004-06-08T18:24:00.000-07:002004-06-09T12:58:18.676-07:00

I pulled weeds along with Father Theodorein his garden today. Last year Father Theodore, who teaches theology and religion here, was our instructor for part of our class, since the abbey's spiritual formation director, Father Charles, was occupied with the junior monks. Father Theodore came to St. Gregory's as a boarding school student and joined soon after. He took some theology courses here

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086744245630830072004-06-08T18:23:00.000-07:002004-06-09T12:33:00.153-07:00

I’m listening to a wonderful album that was released after Johnny Cash died, called My Mother's Hymn Book. He quite literally took his mother’s old hymnbook and sat with his guitar and sang his favorites. I would highly recommend this nice, intimate set of songs, including In the Garden, which my sister played at my grandmother’s funeral. Gotta love the Man in Black.

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086744210353101932004-06-08T18:20:00.000-07:002004-06-08T18:23:30.353-07:00

As you might recall, Benedictine liturgy involves the reading of all of the Psalms during a certain period of time (the monks here do it over two weeks), which means that we are exposed to all of the human emotions, both positive and negative, expressed in the Psalms. Last night, during Vespers, we read the following passage from Psalm 21. “Psalm 21 7 For the king trusts in the LORD, and through

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-108674399578903892004-06-08T18:09:00.000-07:002004-06-08T18:19:55.790-07:00

Last night we took a tour with one of the most amazing people you’ll ever meet anywhere, Brother Kevin. Brother Kevin has been here since he was a high school student when St. Gregory’s had a school for boys here. He joined the monastery after graduation and has been here ever since. He is not a priest and I don’t know what his level of education is (Father Charles said he didn’t like school)

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086662295587730092004-06-07T19:05:00.000-07:002004-06-07T19:38:15.586-07:00

My friend Phillip emailed me to ask how one "gets to be a card carrying Benedictine?" The process, while uncomplicated, takes a period of at least four years. First, men express an interest in learning more about the Benedictine way of life. As Father Charles said today, they have several men "nibbling around the edges" right now. As part of the learning experience, the man might come and

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086644055205259612004-06-07T14:32:00.000-07:002004-06-07T14:34:15.206-07:00

As I mentioned previously, my journal focus for this week will be on the nature of Christian community. Theologically the study of this topic is known as ecclesiology and the task becomes to answer questions like, “what is the church,” “why did God create the church,” “what is the role of the church,” “what is the individual’s role in the life of the church,” and “what is the church’s role in

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086643928970393992004-06-07T14:09:00.000-07:002004-06-07T14:32:08.970-07:00

When I was here last year, everything was new to me. Everything was fresh and I could constantly be surprised by the newness. Being here a second time gives me a chance to see how things have changed, yet how they have also remained the same. One of the great strengths of Benedictine life is its timelessness. It has been around for fifteen hundred years, with the form of life remaining

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086642540159062332004-06-07T13:54:00.000-07:002004-06-07T14:09:00.160-07:00

As I write this, I’m listening to the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church, performed by St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary Choir. So we have a Baptist student at a Methodist seminary visiting a Benedictine monastery listening to Orthodox liturgy. I’m a one person ecumenical movement. I’ve looked for a cd of Benedictine liturgy in English, because I thought some of my friends might be

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1086641628786326442004-06-07T13:45:00.000-07:002004-06-07T14:36:14.723-07:00

For the second year I am spending a week at a Benedictine Monastery as part of my work toward a master’s degree in theology at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology. As was the case last year, I am keeping a journal on-line, through this weblog (“blog”). If you are interested in my experiences from last year, click on this link from June 2003, and you can read all about it. Part of the class

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056823430575172872003-06-28T11:03:00.000-07:002003-06-28T11:03:50.516-07:00

The highlight of the week for me was making new friendships and deepening others. As we debriefed on Friday morning, I expressed my appreciation to my classmates. As always, I learned as much from their keen observations (and frequent objections to my assertions) as I did from the texts and the instructor. They all participated with enthusiasm and helped me think about things in new ways. I

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056822628279646322003-06-28T10:50:00.000-07:002003-06-28T11:06:52.450-07:00

I realized that I may have unintentionally misled you on a few things. 1) I slept in the student dorms, not the monastery. So the bed I was complaining about was not a bed that a monk would sleep in. From what I understand, they have regular, comfortable beds. The junior monks, however, are required to sleep on beds of nails. Not really. I don't know if I mentioned that the living space of

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056822082257033932003-06-28T10:41:00.000-07:002003-06-28T10:41:22.170-07:00

St. Gregory's has a program for oblates (people who live the Benedictine life outside of the monastery), and a worship handbook they can use to conduct the Benedictine rhythm of prayer on their own. I bought a few copies, one for home, one for the office, and one to loan out to anyone who might be interested. It doesn't have the musical notation that the worship guide at the monastery does,

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056821745166805012003-06-28T10:35:00.000-07:002003-06-28T10:35:45.100-07:00

I made the 480 mile journey back in about 7.5 hours. Got home in time to unload all my stuff and drive back north for my game, which we won 2-1. Didn't reinjure my ribs either, though they continue to be sore. Right now I have two dogs passed out on the floor next to me. My friends who kept Viktor all week, Shane and Alison, left their boxer, Bailey, with me for the day. Viktor, I think, was

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056681446514819312003-06-26T19:37:00.000-07:002003-06-26T19:37:26.476-07:00

It was a stunning day here. It rained last night and a cold front came through behind it. I actually wore a sweatshirt all day today. After Vespers the sky was splendidly clear and the temperature was cool and the wind was blowing through the trees. It was just about heaven on earth. So this is probably my last entry until Saturday. I'll get up, pack, go to Vigils and Lauds, and leave

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056680943751146442003-06-26T19:29:00.000-07:002003-06-26T19:29:03.740-07:00

Well below this paragraph I wrote something on the importance of how things are done, versus how much is done. In our discussion today, Dr. Schmidt said that another way of looking at it from the monastic perspective is the difference between what we do and who we are. Many of us are defined by what we do. The monastic approach is to be who you are, and what you do will flow from that. So the

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056680640751902382003-06-26T19:24:00.000-07:002003-06-26T19:24:00.756-07:00

As I think you all know, the monks wear black robes. They wear them to the prayer services and to the meals and other times as they wish (I'm sure there are a few other rules about the when and were of robes, but that's a basic overview). I found out today that monks in the tropics wear white robes because of the heat. Anyway, I was thinking about how the robes both serve as a way of not

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056679827896790362003-06-26T19:10:00.000-07:002003-06-26T19:10:27.960-07:00

If you look at rule 20 in the Rule of Benedict, you'll run into this gem: "Our prayer, therefore, ought to be short and pure, unless it happens to be prolonged by an inspiration of divine grace. In community, however, let prayer be very short..." I think that one speaks for itself.

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056679504127042382003-06-26T19:05:00.000-07:002003-06-26T19:05:04.130-07:00

So today a couple of the junior monks from Korea (they are part of a monastery in New Jersey) organized a soccer game. I got out there about an hour late (that whole class thing, you know), but was able to play for about 45 minutes or so and then I ran some windsprints. My friend Trish was really hoping that they'd play in their robes, but they were in shorts and t-shirts like anyone else would

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056678870164079702003-06-26T18:54:00.000-07:002003-06-26T18:54:30.126-07:00

My final assignment is to compare what I’ve learned in the last few days against my original assumptions. Then I’m to talk about one thing that I’ve learned and discuss how I will use it to modify my spiritual life. I hope that my many other posts have addressed the reality of monastic life in useful ways, at least as much reality as I can observe in just a few short days. I think I can sum up

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056591933089600322003-06-25T18:45:00.000-07:002003-06-25T18:45:33.133-07:00

We don't like rules. Rules restrict us. Rules limit us. Rules take away our freedom. Rules hamper our creativity. Rules keep us from living up to our potential. At least, that's what our society teaches and it's what we'd like to believe. But the Benedictine life, driven by a list of 73 rules, gives evidence that rules, rightly applied, can give life, can develop potential, can make room

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056590666208433752003-06-25T18:24:00.000-07:002003-06-25T18:24:26.236-07:00

So most of our meals have been spent with those of us here from SMU sitting away from most of the monks. Tonight we mixed in with more of them. I sat and talked with three of them and would you like to know what the topic of conversation was? Theology? Worship? Monasticism? No way! Actually we talked about our favorite bands and since most of us are around the same age, we talked about

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056590307150647782003-06-25T18:18:00.000-07:002003-06-25T18:18:27.180-07:00

One of the earliest church heretics was a guy named Marcion. In a nutshell, his heresy was that he believed that the God of the Old Testament – Yahweh – was not the same God as the one in the New Testament. He believed that the Old Testament God was too barbaric to be associated with the life of Christ. Of course, the danger of this is that since Jesus claimed to be the son of that divine Old

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056590175380811352003-06-25T18:16:00.000-07:002003-06-25T18:16:15.410-07:00

Related to the work discussion is the idea about how we do our work. One of my classmates talked about how important it was for others to perceive her as hard working. I think that we often get caught up in trying to impress people with how much we work and how much we get accomplished. It seems that the monks would take the “much” out of the equation. That is, what is really important is how

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056589983568237962003-06-25T18:13:00.000-07:002003-06-25T18:15:04.683-07:00

There are four sections for tonight’s journal assignment: 1) Do you listen for God where you work? 2) In what concrete ways do you assume that responsibility? 3) If your answer to the first question is “no,” explain why? and 4) Drawing on your answers, how would you evaluate your experience? How could you improve it? What is especially funny about this assignment is that I sent a link to this

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056510886028551302003-06-24T20:14:00.000-07:002003-06-24T20:16:19.670-07:00

Hey, I got a few emails from friends and family, thanks for your encouragement. I feel kind of vulnerable putting this up for everyone to read. Having said that, you are welcome to share the link to this website with anyone you think who would be interested in it. Just remind them to start from the bottom and work their way up. If you have any questions about monastic life or anything I've

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056510793937828382003-06-24T20:13:00.000-07:002003-06-24T20:13:13.986-07:00

There is so little waste in Benedictine life. When I go to the cafeteria at UTMB, I often grab a stack of napkins for my tray. Invariably I grab more than I need and end up throwing away what I don't use. Somehow, without any words, I picked up the idea that wasting napkins isn't a part of the culture here. I find myself grabbing one napkin and putting it on my tray. It's a little thing, I

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056510412759218982003-06-24T20:06:00.000-07:002003-06-24T20:06:52.786-07:00

I think that one common misconception many of us (including some potential monks) have about monastic life is that it is some kind of escape from the real world. There is this romantic notion that monks spend a carefree life in just worship and contemplation, not at all bothered by the trials of life that we mere mortals must face. In fact, I think many of us would long for that kind of escape

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056509191911072972003-06-24T19:46:00.000-07:002003-06-25T08:24:31.570-07:00

Those of you who have grown up in the Southern Baptist tradition are familiar with the idea of the priesthood of the believer. This is a Reformation era idea that continues today. The basic idea is that each Christian is capable of interpreting the Bible for himself/herself. Baptists don't believe that a church authority -- a priest, a Pope, a preacher -- has the sole authority to interpret

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056508573982281682003-06-24T19:36:00.000-07:002003-06-24T19:36:13.926-07:00

I had a chance to kick the ball around with a couple of my classmates this afternoon. A couple of the young Korean monks are putting together a soccer game on Thurday and I'm already trying to talk my way out of class -- I want to get the whole monastic experience! Really! Anyway, as I was walking off the field tonight and saw the sun setting across the Oklahoma fields, it occurred to me that

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056508184793900032003-06-24T19:29:00.001-07:002003-06-24T19:29:44.773-07:00

I thought you would be interested to know that each monk, when he takes his vows, is given a new name. Father Theodore was formerly known as Terry. In case you are confused, this does not mean that the Artist Formerly Known as Prince is a monk.

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-10565081539260652003-06-24T19:29:00.000-07:002003-06-24T19:29:13.910-07:00

Speaking of death, one of the monks, Brother Kevin, took us on a tour of the Abbey last night. He said that he wanted to begin where it all ends, and so started with the cemetery, which I’ve already discussed. I bring this up because the Benedictines pay attention to death. Benedict tells the monks to keep death ever before them and says, “day by day remind yourself that you are going to die.”

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056508051359334092003-06-24T19:27:00.000-07:002003-06-24T19:27:31.346-07:00

Tonight’s assignment is look at the items I identified in yesterday’s assignment, and look at where I have strengths and weaknesses in the following categories: Foundations (Putting God at the center), prayer, work, study, spiritual companionship, care of my body, reaching out, and hospitality. Where do I need to round out my spiritual formation? The difficult part of this assignment may be to

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056420137933057782003-06-23T19:02:00.000-07:002003-06-23T19:02:17.830-07:00

by the way, in case any of you think I'm missing something by being on-line, I got my password from the visiting monks and there are two of them in here with me right now. The rule doesn't restrict their ability to go on-line!!

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056420020831623542003-06-23T19:00:00.000-07:002003-06-23T19:00:20.686-07:00

Those of us who are Southern Baptists are used to doing the Lord's Supper (aka, Communion or Eucharist) about once a month or so. We're a non-sacramental people and so the Lord's Supper is not the focus of what we do. The Abbey has Mass every day, which means that Eucharist is conducted ever single day. For Catholics, there is no Mass without Eucharist. So these monks experience Eucharist

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056418957582262782003-06-23T18:42:00.000-07:002003-06-23T18:42:37.490-07:00

If any of you want to email me, I've put my address over on the right. You'll have to put in the ampersand on your own. I know at least two people have read this!

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056404366705412242003-06-23T14:39:00.000-07:002003-06-23T14:39:26.720-07:00

For those of you who may not know, I love bacon. So much so that I belong to the Bacon of the Month Club. Thus, "Baconboy's blog," it is alliterative and descriptive! Just in case you were wondering.

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056404149688488742003-06-23T14:35:00.001-07:002003-06-23T18:46:28.713-07:00

My task for this evening is to make a list of all the things that I currently do that nurture my relationship with God. Then I’m to reflect on what that list says about the shape of my spiritual life. Fortunately, the assignment asks me to look beyond those things commonly associated with the spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, scripture study, etc.. Another way of asking the question is, “

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056404112514737322003-06-23T14:35:00.000-07:002003-06-23T18:37:22.303-07:00

I mentioned that the morning is normally spent in silent reflection over breakfast, which falls between Vigils and Lauds. As I was sitting outside waiting for Lauds, I thought about silence. It seems there are different kinds of silence: recalcitrant silence, unspeakable silence, and present silence. There are other kinds of silence, but these are the ones I’ve been thinking of. Recalcitrant

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056404064629184622003-06-23T14:34:00.000-07:002003-06-23T14:34:24.626-07:00

Last night I observed a certain irony in the fact that I was here to study a way of life about letting go of things to allow room for God, as I was toting a backpack, a bag of clothes, an extra pillow, some food, and some clothes on a hanger. I did leave my soccer clothes in the car – that’s progress, right??

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056404037919448782003-06-23T14:33:00.000-07:002003-06-23T14:33:57.920-07:00

If you’ll recall from one of my earlier posts, Benedict lived in the 5th and 6th centuries. Well, I’m pretty sure that to make the experience more realistic, they let me sleep on Benedict’s original bed last night. At 5:30 I learned why so many monks have short hair – it allows them to sleep that much later and make the first prayer service (Vigils) at 6:00. It is probably also easier for them

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056337965575357892003-06-22T20:12:00.000-07:002003-06-22T20:12:45.616-07:00

After I arrived, I walked around the campus with my friend Trish. I visited the monks’ cemetery, which is essentially a family cemetery for people whose family is the monastery. We went to Vespers at 5:00, had dinner with the monks at 5:30, then a final prayer service (Compline) at 7:00. Those of us who are here for the program then met from about 7:30 to 8:45 with the instructors to talk

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056337882100739912003-06-22T20:11:00.000-07:002003-06-22T20:11:22.150-07:00

I found out that the conference of monks here is for young monks who have completed their novitiate, which lasts a year, but have not yet taken their final vows. Many of them are in my age range. One guy, Brother Greg, from Virginia, came over and introduced himself to me as I was writing my journal. I see all of these young monks walking around and I wonder if they are jealous of me and my

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056337790124525132003-06-22T20:09:00.000-07:002003-06-22T20:10:28.063-07:00

My first journal assignment is to discuss my preconceptions of the monastic life and of monks/nuns. As a person who grew up in the Southern Baptist church, I have had no contact with monks or nuns in my life. Virtually any preconceptions I have about monastic life have come from television and movies. Now, I never read or saw The Name of the Rose, so I don’t have that cultural reference. I

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-105631761954007372003-06-22T14:33:00.000-07:002003-06-22T14:33:39.540-07:00

By the way, for those of you new to blogs, the first posts are at the bottom, so you have to read your way up....

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056317521992550092003-06-22T14:32:00.000-07:002003-06-22T14:32:01.990-07:00

492 miles and 7.5 hours later, I've arrived safely. As I parked, I ran into my friend, Trish, who will be here this week. She dropped her daughter off in Dallas on the way -- she's really psyched about this. There is a group of about 38 monks here from all around the country for two weeks. So I'm hoping we'll get to interact with them some. One of the, Brother Michael, from South Dakota,

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056252421920908242003-06-21T20:27:00.000-07:002003-06-21T20:27:01.916-07:00

One of my friends said she wasn’t sure what she should wish for someone going to a monastery for a week. Should she tell me to have fun?? Others have wished for me that I have a great experience that exceeds my expectations. I’m not really sure how to answer the fun question or what my expectations are. I have no expectation for what kind of person I’ll be when I’m driving back on Friday. I

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056252127012531912003-06-21T20:22:00.000-07:002003-06-21T20:22:07.043-07:00

I wonder this myself. The Rule of Benedict outlines what the day should include. Here’s a link to the basic schedule of the Abbey. Thank goodness I’ve had two years of my alarm clock ringing at 5:45 to walk my dog, Viktor, so the 5:30 wake up shouldn’t be too bad. Of course, I’m taking vacation time from work for this experience and a lot of people probably think I’m nuts to get up that early

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056251840467022132003-06-21T20:17:00.000-07:002003-06-21T20:19:36.550-07:00

Prior to my arrival I was required to read four books that we will use as the basis of our discussions this week. I purchased all of them on Amazon, so if they intrigue you, you can find them there (assuming you aren’t reading the latest Harry Potter book): • The Rule of St. Benedict, written in the sixth century by Benedict of Nursia. It is this rule that drives the pattern of living that I

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5496955.post-1056122390122622582003-06-20T08:19:00.000-07:002003-06-21T20:12:59.816-07:00

I am going to be spending the next five days at St. Gregory's Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The week is part of an optional two credit hour class being offered as part of my masters in theology degree program at the Perkins School of Theology at SMU. The class was announced in March and piqued my interest. I mentioned it to my mom off-hand and she really

Lux Intellectusnoreply@blogger.com0