Back from Basics

Sometimes I want to search back through a blog, but don't know where to start.... especially since blogs read "backwards," with the latest entries showing up onscreen first.  With this in mind, today I used the Basics page (in the list at the top of this page) to provide some links to earlier posts that are, well.... basic... !

I included only a few topics, and entered individual links one by one.  Links show up in the order in which they were written (the earliest first). 

If you would like a basic idea of what we mean, for instance, by "the grillwork of God's will," hopefully you can get an overall sense of it by checking links in the basics page. 

It was a busy day up in the trees of our little cloistered oasis.  If you happened to check in while "pieces of cloister" were scattered randomly about, you'll be very glad I tidied up before I climbed back down....

The Cloistered Lightship

We who live for God in the world can find much to identify with by having a look at lightships.  These are vessels responsible for carrying light where a lighthouse cannot go. 

Lighthouses must be built on land. Their job is to keep a ship on course and to warn of treacherous obstacles.  Yet there are hidden dangers out IN the waters.  To mark these hazards is the lightship's job.

A lightship is, in effect, a floating lighthouse. It goes out into the waters and stands anchored in the midst of the waves, regardless of the relentless, unpredictable nature of storms and surging seas.

A monastery could be compared to a lighthouse standing on a hill; it is a beacon sending out its rays. But those whose call is to live in the midst of the world can be compared to lightships sent out on mission.  We do not have to look far to see darkness, rising tides of sin and secularism, waves of materialism, winds of confusion threatening the world in which we live.  We all have our roles to play in the midst of it, in just the spots where we've been placed.  We have much light to carry, for the storms surge all around and all we have to do is pick up a newspaper to see the truth of this.

We who feel drawn to live in the world while keeping cloister in our hearts have received much light from the warm glow of monastic life.  Ours is the call to live fully for God in the midst of a world that will often question why anyone would want to live this way.  Ours is the call to receive the warm glow of the "monastic fire" (the fire of life lived totally for God) and then to carry that fire into the very environments in which we have been placed - into our families, neighborhoods, work situations.  We have before us the call and the challenge to bring the light and love of Christ into the "sea" of the world, and to hold that light aloft amidst storms and surges.

We must hold the light aloft when the waves of circumstance grow so tall that they seem likely to overwhelm us, when we feel in panic at the swells all around.  We must hold the light aloft in polluted waters, waters filled with the grime of sin and unholy compromise. Ours is the task of standing firm, anchored deep in Christ in the midst of the world.

It is hard to remain firmly anchored in times of storm.  Imagine how it must feel to be on a small ship in powerfully surging seas, when thunder rolls and weighted black clouds seem to come down and envelop the earth.  We do not see land then, nor do we have much hope of it.  We can feel isolated.  We can feel as if we've become one with the clouds, the storms, the sea.

It is our challenge to remember that we are not the sea, nor are we of it.  We are merely in the midst of it.  We are not the fear, the illness, the confusion that surrounds us; we are not the evil that encircles.  We are vessels in which the Light of Christ dwells.

What do we do when storms surround us, leaving us tossed about and frantic?

What do we do when the seas around are calm, and we're tempted to forget all about the light, and we find ourselves drowning in a sea of complacency about things of God?

The answers are there; help is available.  God does not commission His lightships without thoroughly equipping us.  He has provided training manuals:  we've been given Scripture so we can stay on course and in good working order.  We have also been given a marvelous gift in this time in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  The One Who has placed us in the seas has given us a wealth of navigational aids.

Most of all, we are kept from floundering by staying in continual contact with the One Who equips and commissions us.  Prayer is our "ship to shore radio," so so speak. Through it, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

His is the Light we carry.  He is the reason we serve.

"Your light must shine before men, so that they may see goodness in your acts and give praise to your heavenly Father."  (Matthew 5:16)

© 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org     

The Language of Habits

Over the years, I've heard numerous discussions about habits.  Speaking as a layperson who has never had the opportunity to wear one, I offer my humble perspective.  Which is:  I personally find a habit to be a striking witness.  

It seems an external thing, and of course it is.  But a habit speaks volumes to the world around.  And I wonder: could it even speak to those who wear it day after day?  After all, we humans are affected by symbols, probably at levels beyond what can be discussed in words.

What does a habit say to me when I see it?  "I have found God to be worth the gift of my whole life," it tells me. "Nothing on earth is as important as He."

I think back to once when I'd been visiting a convent.  I was escorted to the street by a Sister wearing the same graceful habit her foundress wore in the 1600s.  As I got into my car, a gentleman passed by on the sidewalk and saw Sister across the fence.  He spoke to her, then stopped to talk.  Sister graciously stood to chat with this man (someone she had apparently never met), and as I left I heard the man say he was a former Catholic.  This gentleman seemed to be launching into a particularly important discussion - perhaps one which would affect him long after he walked on. Yet the meeting would have not taken place had this woman not been clearly identifiable as “Sister.” 

As a cloistered heart, I wear - and speak - the language of habits.  We've talked of this before in these pages.  To look at our original post on this, click on this line.

In the meantime, today I'm checking on the condition of my habits.  Am I in the habit of responding to persons and situations with love, kindness, generosity of spirit?  Am I in the habit of spending time with God in prayer?  May God clothe me ... and allow me to be seen.... in the habits of a cloistered heart.

“Do you see how little it takes to become a saint?  All that is necessary is acquiring the habit of wanting to do the will of God at all times.” (St. Vincent de Paul)

“Clothe me, O eternal Truth, clothe me with yourself, that I may run my mortal course with true obedience and the light of holy faith…” (St. Catherine of Siena)

“I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice.” (Isaiah 61:10)

(Herbert James Draper painting US public domain)

© 2012 Nancy Shuman thecloisteredheart.org

Witness from a Lamb

As we are reminded, today, that we have a Good Shepherd willing to lay down His life for each one of us, I again pass along words from our friend Joy:

“This morning in my quiet time, I was given this image in my mind of The Good Shepherd and myself....

“I was one of many of His lambs following Him, but, oh, so often I would wander off the path.  I was a stubborn, dumb, curious little lamb and Our Lord was constantly having to come and find me and rescue me from some trouble of my own making that I was getting into; to the point where He finally put a bell around my neck so He could come to my aid. 

“As I’ve matured in my spiritual life and have grown on my journey, I am now a full grown, mature sheep.   He has been able to remove the bell from my neck because I no longer wander off on my own, but stay very close to Him, never leaving His side.  As He would sit and rest on a big rock at the side of a lake with all of His lambs safely around Him, I would come and lie by His side as close as I could, touching Him, comforting Him, and longing for His touch.  He would lovingly reach down and stroke me, reassuring me and comforting me in return.  I have no desire to ever leave Him.   I will try not to wander away again, but always stay at His side and on His path of obedience. 

“But still and all, knowing and trusting that should I, in a weak moment, veer off of the path again, I know He will never give up on me, or tire of coming to me and bringing me back to His side.”

In the cloister of God's will, we are not left to fend for ourselves.  We have Someone tending to us, constantly loving us; Someone rescuing us from harm and setting us on the right path over and over. 

He never tires of caring for us.  He never, ever tires.  

"I am the good shepherd.  I know My sheep, and My sheep know Me, in the same way that the Father knows Me and I know the Father; for these sheep I will give My life.... I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.  No one shall snatch them out of My hand."  (John 10:14-15, 28)

The Lighted Path

Our friend Joy went on retreat recently, and brought back the following rays of light...

"In the monastery, there were lit pathways and grounds with the safety and security of the tall brick wall surrounding us.  I can just see in my mind these lit pathways all around the enclosure within God's will, and how we are called to walk these paths that would otherwise be too dark, uneven and dangerous in places. 

"But by depending on the glow that comes from the ever so gentle light that washes over our way and guides us safely though the obstacles that lie on our path to the finish, we are thankful and even happy that this obedience is there for us.  It is easy to see when we have the light guiding us along, but if we veer off on our own and without this light, we are on our own to face whatever difficulties lie in the unseen.  

"Because of our free will and self love, we think we know best and we become a little adventurous - breaking free of the loving way that God has prepared for us.  Hopefully we soon realize our mistake and see our fault and run back to the loving safety of the light that has never gone out.  It has ever remained where it was, calling us back to the easier path, the way that is lit with God's love."  

"A lamp to my feet is Your word, a light to my path."  (Psalm 119:105)

"If we walk in light, as He is in the light,we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of His Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin."  (1 John 1:7)

"Let us walk in the light of the Lord!"  (Isaiah 2:5)

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      

  

(Georges de la Tours painting public domain)