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Monday Mewsings
From Brother Ricky, OSB-F
Novice Instruction from the Feline
Benedictine Cloister
No. 10 - July, 2023
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The Chapel at St. Benedict's Monastery
St. Joseph, Minnesota
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Hello, Novice . And Jane.
All of us in the Feline Cloister hope that you are having a wonderful summer.
Amma and I have been away on retreat. Amma rented a hermitage for a week at St. Benedict's Monastery, in St. Joseph, Minnesota, a Benedictine community of women. I stayed in the Feline Spirituality Center at St. Benedict's - Feline. We hope that what we share from our experiences will enrich you as well.
Br. Ricky, OSB-F
Novice Master
We are focusing on another of the four target areas - Presence of God. This issue will not contain a separate article link. Everything is right in this email.
Let's move on!
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Our Monday Mewsing Prayer | |
Please join me and mew our opening prayer together. | |
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Centering on God
Help me, Loving Companion Presence,
be unwilling to center my life on anything less than You.
When I waiver, help me trust that
You are with me,
even in the absence of feeling,
even in the midst of struggle.
Help me be present to You,
looking at what I see and hear
with eyes and ears of
my open heart.
Amen.
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Detail from "Joan of Arc"
by Jules Bastien-Lepage, 1879.
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Living in the Present Moment | |
Thoughts from Amma Jane
Novices, I would like to share something that really helped me during the blessed retreat time at the monastery. I hope that it will provide spiritual guidance for both you and your dear human.
A Call to the Present Moment
Words from a prayer for beginning a stay in the hermitage captured my attention.
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A Hermitage at St. Ben's.
The monastery has two.identical "homes" for
spiritual travelers.
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"Help me, Lord, to leave outside this hermitage
my plans for tomorrow, my memories of yesterday,
as I live fully and completely in the wonder of your
present moment.”
Being in the present moment, the here, the now, became the focus and challenge of retreat. And to trust that God was leading me away from those gremlins that perch on my shoulder, whispering doubts like, “Are you using this time right?” And, as the days passed, “You only have three days left. Then what?”
Do you ever have distracting thoughts like these? Trusting God and turning to the present moment can quiet this distracting noise.
Whether we are on a retreat or immersed in a busy day, being in the present moment helps us navigate the often turbulent waters of daily life. As Worldwide Novices and Benedictine-loving humans we can follow St. Benedict in this spiritual practice.
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Living in the Present Moment and the Rule of St. Benedict
Living in the present moment is an important part of The Rule of St. Benedict. Check out these three examples.
Listen
The very first word in the Rule is "Listen." In order to really listen we need to be in the present moment, attuned to the speaker or the situation around us.
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Br. Carwyn, OSB-C
(Order of St. Benedict - Canine)
Br.. Ricky’s Welsh friend and model for listening
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Be Fully Right Where We Are
In Chapter19, "The Discipline of Psalmody," Benedict emphasizes being present in the Divine Office.
"Let us consider, then, how we ought to behave in the presence of God and God’s angels,and let us stand to sing the psalms in such a way that our minds are in harmony with our voices."
RB 19.6-7
Singing morning and evening prayer with the sisters of the monastery I needed to be very present so that I could breathe with them and sing in unity with them. This takes concentration! No wandering of the mind!
Practice Stability
Finally, let's not forget Stability, the Benedictine vow or promise to remain faithful to people/felines and place. Stability asks us to be faithful in God and to seek "a heart that rests in God." (From St. Benedict's Toolbox, p. 60) The best way to this is to be fully right where we are in body, mind and spirit.
A Spiritual Practice for Present Moment Living
So how do we live in the present moment? Here's a wonderful image that I found while at St. Benedict's. I offer it as a way to return to God's present moment - Drop anchor!
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Drop Anchor!
"Too long have I sailed where'ere
the winds have blown!
Drop anchor!
O, Heart of all hearts, set a
clear course,
that I might follow."
Nan Merrill in
Psalms for Praying, Psalm 137
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Drop anchor in the present moment, right where you are.
Drop anchor in God. Drop anchor in Jesus. Drop anchor in the Holy Spirit. Drop anchor in what brings you closest to the Holy. Feel the solid tethering right down to your paws (or feet).
This is something that we can do anytime, not just on a retreat. In the midst of our doubts and struggles we can drop anchor. In the rush of a busy day or the tiredness we often experience, drop anchor.
We turn from whatever is pulling us from the here and now.
We turn back to God.
Everytime we recall dropping anchor in God we strengthen this spiritual practice of turning back to the present moment and to the presence of God.
To Nan Merrill's anchor image I offer a second step. Here it is!
Open your Heart!
Drop anchor and open your heart to God. You can also open your heart to whomever you are with or in whatever situation you find yourself.
When I open my heart I envision an expansiveness in my chest, growing from the heart. Whatever way works for you, open your heart. Let God in!
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A Closing Word
Try the Spiritual Practice found at St. Benedict's
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Hope these ideas are helpful to you. A few photos of the Hermitage follow.
If you would like to stay in this blessed place, please tap your paw on the link below for information.
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The main living space in the hermitage | |
The kitchen. Amma cooked most of her meals here. And, yes, there is an indoor bathroom! | |
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The view from the comfortable "prayer chair." The hermitage is on the border of
a corn field.
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Two Verses to Guide Every Day
Presence of God - Part 2
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Br. Ricky Reflects on His Retreat at St. Benedict’s - Feline
Hello, Novices! Being at the Feline Spirituality Center at St. Benedict’s – Feline was a blessing. I realized how important it is to take time away from a busy life, to simplify, and to focus on my relationship with God.
Retreats, or even a day away to a local monastery, church or quiet place, all provide opportunities for rest, quiet, and a retooling of our spiritual life.
We can intentionally adopt an open ear to listen for the quiet promptings of the Holy Spirit to heal and inspire us.
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I especially loved attending morning and evening prayers with the Benedictine felines. We sung the beautiful Psalm chants, breathing in together and mewing each phrase as one. How beautiful!
I also enjoyed walking on the Lake Wobegon Trail. This is a railroad right of way that runs through St. Joseph and totals 65 miles. It’s all paved and so easy to trot on.
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Br. Ricky met new friends on the Lake Wobegon Trail | |
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It was tough, though, not having those evening crunchy treats we get in the Cloister dispensed by Amma and Prior John. But Benedict does say not to eat in between meals. RB 43.18 To get around the requirement of this verse, Amma calls treats a “second kind of cooked food” (RB 39.1) linked to our earlier meal. Note in the Rule....
"For the daily meals, whether at noon or in midafternoon, it is enough, we believe, to provide all the tables with two kinds of cooked food because of individual weaknesses. In this way, the person (or feline) who may not be able to eat one kind of food may partake of the other. " RB 39.1-2.
Well, I will confess that all of us have a weakness for that second type of food!
FYI, I learned that Amma didn't follow the "no-eating-between-meals"
requirement of RB 43.18 during her stay at St. Ben's. I have it from a trustworthy source (Amma herself) who confessed on the drive back to Minneapolis that she continually “nickel and dimed” the granola made by the sisters that was stocked in the hermitage!
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The Retreat Take-Away for Br. Ricky
I put my paws around two important verses from the Rule and carried them back to the Cloister.
The superior of the monastery is not to fret about lack of resources, but to seek first the kingdom of God. RB 2.35 and Matthew 6:33.
Prefer nothing whatever to Christ. RB 72.11
I will do my best to let these phrases guide me as I do my work as Novice Master and Mewsletter Editor. And of course, as a confrere to the other Benedictines.
Won’t you join me and let these two verses guide you, too?
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Br. Ricky mews: "More new friends at St. Ben's!
Benedictine geese!"
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A Novice Activity -
Practice Br. Ricky's Take-Away Verses
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As a Worldwide Novice you have promised to share your growing feline
Benedictine wisdom with your human.
As Novice Master I ask you to share this with your human and practice together.
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Make a special intention to practice one of the verses I brought back to the Cloister. Here they are once more.
Seek first the kingdom of God. RB 2.35 and Matthew 6:33.
Prefer nothing whatever to Christ. RB 72.11
Be in the present moment looking for ways to bring the verse to life in your day-to-day world.
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The statue of St. Benedict at Malling Abbey in
Kent, England.
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There are lots of ways to do this. For example, you could mew to yourself, “How can I prefer Christ in this situation or conversation or in the way I use my time right now?” And “How can I make the goal of this day seeking God’s kingdom?”
Practicing living the verse for half a day or even an hour is a way to get started. Be gentle, yet intentional.
I will be mewing prayers for you!
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More Resources for Your Human | |
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Here are the four target areas discovered when I (Br. Ricky) and Sr. Maggie reviewed your responses to "What my human needs to learn."
To help your human with these challenges, each area has an associated "Mewsing" article found on the website.
Please find the area where your human needs help and suggest that she or he read the article. You might want to read the article together. The articles cover a specific situation in each area. Titles are clickable.
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NOVICES, Your Help is Needed!!
Is there a verse of the Rule that puzzles you?
Or a verse that begs a mewed explanation, either for you or your human?
Please send the chapter and verse to Amma who will pass it along to the Resident Novices for "Felines Upack the Rule of Benedict," which appears in the quarterly Mewsletter.
To email Amma Jane, click here.
Or copy this addess and email Amma: jane@stbenedictstoolbox.org.
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Sending You Forth to Be a Blessing | |
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Amma and I hope that sharing a bit of our experiences on retreat has given you some direction for your own spiritual practices.
Please review the Novice Promise on your own and continue with your Benedictine studies. I will be offering more ideas on our four target areas to help your humans.
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See you next month!
Your friend and Novice Master,
Br. Ricky, OSB-F
From Amma Jane:
The day I left St. Ben's, Sister Laureen Virnig, OSB, shared this with me. I offer her words as my prayer to you.
"Take gentle care."
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Sr. Espy and Br. Ricky taking gentle care
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© July 2023 Jane Tomaine and Br. Ricky, OSB-F | |
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Do you know a feline or a human who would benefit by
reading this Monday Mewsing?
Amma and Br. Ricky invite you to forward this email to them.
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Interested in becoming a Worldwide Novice?
To reach the application form, tap your paw here.
To learn about Worldwide Novices, jump here.
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An Administrative Apology for
an Incorrect Email Address
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I (Amma) discovered that the from email address on Br. Ricky's Monday Mewsings was incorrect (janetomaine@stbenedictstoolbox.org). If you had responded to his email you would have received an undeliverable message. Yikes! I am very sorry and have apologized to Br. Ricky, too.
The corrected email address is jane@stbenedictstoolbox.org.
Thank you for your understanding.
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