Kids in Church

As a community, we have changed from having couples and singles to now also having children from 7 years old and downwards with us.

A question we have discussed is "How do we best meet their needs as part of our community?"

I think we have taken a very Benedictine route, by incorporating them into our prayer and community life so that there is no adults vs children's meeting, but merely families and singles meeting, eating, praying and travelling together. We learn and teach faith by participation, discussing, rite, routine, observation, practice and love.

I hope that as they get older, the unique relationships which my children will form in our community will help them to travel along life's journey with some additional security and more wisdom than just mum and dad's.

Interestingly, Andrew Hamilton and Alan Creech have also written about raising children in the faith at their sites. Check 'em out here

http://www.backyardmissionary.com/2007/07/but-what-about-your-kids.html

http://www.backyardmissionary.com/2007/07/but-what-about-your-kids-ii.html

http://www.backyardmissionary.com/2007/07/if-you-dont-believe-me-then-listen-to-an-expert.html

http://www.alancreech.com/2007/07/train-up-child.html

More blooging

by Chris here.
(Although of an arty farty nature...)

Linkage

Chris has written some birthday and music refelctions here

An Anglican View of the Motu Proprio

Good little Article here - worth checking out.
A few great remarks, many of which echo my own beginning and unformed thoughts on the subject.

"In an increasingly secular would, there is a drastic need to rediscover a sense of the numinous, an echo of the power of the wind which blew over the waters at the beginning of time."

"What I am suggesting is that HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEAM, this IS my body, is a real and true statement, as we Catholics in the CofE believe, and therefore what we have is the life of the world as the centre of our lives, so we need to find a way to celebrate that."

"The Motu Proprio is, in essence, about tolerance and sharing the central truth of the resurrection with as many people as possible, in a way which brings them close to the Wellspring of Truth."

"The Mass is the Mass is the Mass, whether Book of Common Prayer, Common Worship, Novus Ordo, English Missal, the focus is Christ. We know this, because we have seen,like Thomas. Let us show our unity in diversity of expressions of Faith, but let the Christ be evident in our actions and in our worship and in our lives - and stop bickering about stylistics! "

Happy St. Benedicts Day

Happy St. Benedict's Day!

It is a day of celebration in monastic circles, with whiskey, ice cream and chocolate been the order of the day at my favourite monastery!

What does St Benedict, and the order he inspired, mean to me, and us, as a community?

Primarily, for me, it gives us the outline for living the Christian life. In a world which shouts persistently to "do it my way", St Benedict's words speak clearly and persistently - with a lot of common sense.

Listen. Pray. Listen. Work. Listen. Sleep. Listen. Study. Listen. Eat. Listen. Drink. Listen. Speak. Listen. Be silent.

Secondly, it gives me tools for exploring the mystery of God.
The office and liturgy. Being Humble. Lectio Divina. Spiritual Direction. Living in community with all the hard work that entails. Centuries of thinking, delving, reading and writing into the reality of God.

Lastly, St Benedict connects us to a world wide community of people who are seeking after God. My relationship with the monks, and what they have taught me, is strengthened by meeting and talking with people of like mind. Being present at a monastery has introduced me to a world of authors and thinkers previously unknown.

It is Christianity which is deep, and relevant, and fun.

I wonder if Alan, NWC, Dom John or Bryan have anything to say on the matter?

God bless you!

Thoughts in the quiet

Hello friends!

Still here, but insane times of manic buisiness with the end of term upon us all.
I've also been busy applying for a new Job as a campus minister at a local Roman Catholic school, so prayers would be appreciated!

Links for today

Anglo-Catholic Socialism an awesome resource of links and articles from the Anglican left.

If anyone knows of similar groups operating out of the Catholic Left, could you let us know?

Pax Christi the international Catholic peace organization

St Benedicts table a groovy church from somewhere in Canada (Thanks AH!) .... Great name!

and the of course the Pope has let the Latin Mass be used a bit more.
Not sure what I think about this

Bless you!

Spirituality and Pastoral Care

I have just finished reading this excellent book. I know it was excellent because apart from making me critique my inner life, it made we want to research and read about other writers, prayers and places mentioned in the book. If you've read Kenneth Leech before, you know that he is an incredibly sane and well educated voice on the social justice and spirituality junction point. If you haven't read anything by Ken, do yourself a favour and seek out his works. Enough review. A few short quotes which captured me:

Prayer and meditation ... are not some species of personal hygiene by which individuals isolate themselves from anything that might ruffle the still waters of their inner tranquility. It involves undertaking that inner struggle which is our personal share of the search for the wholeness in its corporate living by the community at large.

Much contemporary spirituality is non-biblical, and it is important to read- the Scriptures in an attitude of silence and struggle. Struggle: so that the Word of contradiction, the Word which is sharper than a two edged sword, may cut through the illusion, the falsehood, the idolatry of our culture and ourselves. Silence: so that we may taste the Word,
digest it, absorb it until it becomes part of our being and transforms us.

Sleep and Prayer are closely realted.
Both call for slowing down, a relaxed conditon, an abandonment to trust.

The Tree of Contemplative Practices

I thought this was kinda cool. You can check out the site it came from by clicking the post title. (Click on Pictures for a larger view!)

Whats your Theological World View?

You scored as Roman Catholic, You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you. Roman Catholic 96% Emergent/Postmodern 71% Neo orthodox 68% Classical Liberal 54% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 50% Modern Liberal 39% Reformed Evangelical 29% Charismatic/Pentecostal 11% Fundamentalist 11% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Catholic then Emergent! Sounds Like me, er, us!

After Mass

Feast of Corpus Christi (Body and Blood of Christ) today.

Simple, beautiful High Mass (as in with incense, procession, organ and cantor, sung responses) with a great homily from Abbot Bernard, linking all the readings with the contemporary celebration of the Eucharist.

Much reading and borrowing books about the Jesus Prayer/Prayer of the Heart. I have found it welling up in me lately, and almost praying itself. So I need to understand what is happening.

Blessings and Love

New Norcia Round Up

Very quiet here in the Monastery.

We came up at short notice and the guesthouse was full for Saturday night but having being fairly regular visitors here the Prior gave us "The Deluxe Rooms!" (as he called them) - the Bishops rooms.
Lovely large spaces with an en suite and shutters overlooking the enclosure, which was covered with mist this morning.
Talk about being spoilt!!

Apart from the retreat group (who aren't coming to the office or eating in the Ref.) there are only five monks, two observers and my friend and I here.
Liturgy in this setting is intimate, gentle and kind.
Exactly what my friend needs and not bad for me either....

I've raided the Library, being for a walk with my friend Dom John, prayed lots and just about finished my reports.

More in the morning.

A Quick Round Up

Not much on the site at the moment but lots happening...

I am applying to Study my MATS degree (Master of Arts in Theological Studies) here - with a double major in Pastoral Theology and Monastic Spirituality.


Earlier this week I spent two days with brain guru John Joseph. If you have kids, check out his site. If you teach, check out his site. If you want to live smarter and deeper, check out ... you get the idea!

On the second day we heard from local mega church pastor Phil Baker (hmmmm) who was OK, and then an integrated health expert, Ian Wee. As above, check out his stuff as it is life changing.

Finally I have been ploughing my way through "Mary for Evangelicals" which is an excellent introduction to Mariology and the history of Marian thought from scripture through patristic writers up to later Vatican pronouncements.

and tonight I am off to visit the Monks in New Norcia with a friend who is having a difficult time of late.

Pray for us.

Hope all is well in your worlds.

Still Alive and Kicking

We are still alive and kicking!

Congrats to Matt and Linda on the birth of there baby boy Levi - born this afternoon after 20 hours of trying!
4.5 kg and lots of hair!
Mum and son doing excendingly well!

God around the House

A Nice Story

A story of a conversion to Catholicism is by Alec Guinness, known to most of us as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the mega-hit Star Wars. While acting the role of a priest in Father Brown in Burgundy, France, he tells the story of a late-evening shoot that attracted a fair number of local folk, including children. In his autobiography he writes:

A room had been put at my disposal in the little station hotel three kilometres away. By the time dusk fell I was bored and, dressed in my priestly black, I climbed the gritty winding road to the village.

In the square children were squealing, having mock battles with sticks for swords and dustbin lids for shields; and in a café Peter Finch, Bernard Lee and Robert Hamer were sampling their first Pernod of the evening. I joined them for a modest Kir, then discovering I wouldn’t be needed for at least four hours turned back towards the station.

By now it was dark. I hadn’t gone far when I heard scampering footsteps and a piping voice calling, “Mon père!” My hand was seized by a boy of seven or eight, who clutched it tightly, swung it and kept up a non-stop prattle. He was full of excitement, hops, skips and jumps, but never let go of me. I didn’t dare speak in case my excruciating French should scare him. Although I was a total stranger he obviously took me for a priest and so to be trusted.

Suddenly with a “Bonsoir, mon père,” and a hurried sideways sort of bow, he disappeared through a hole in a hedge. He had had a happy, reassuring walk home, and I was left with an odd calm sense of elation.

Continuing my walk I reflected that a Church which could inspire such confidence in a child, making its priests, even when unknown, so easily approachable could not be as scheming and creepy as so often made out. I began to shake off my long-taught, longabsorbed prejudices.


From a link here

I quite like this...

The rosary becomes a bond between heaven and earth.

One learns to see earth with the eyes of heaven, and heaven seems as near as earth.

The Mother of god prevents one from looking at one's whole life as a failure,

from grieving over the mistakes made,

the opportunities missed

the things not accomplished.

Adrienne Von Speyr.

Singing, Liturgy, Worship and Feelings

Great discussion on the way home in the car today from the Anglican Church where my wife works.

I commented (in a stirring sort of way!) that I didn't enjoy singing three songs at the start of church, and wondered why we needed to do it. Our travelling companion Michelle said she found it helpful to sing for an extended period as a way of settling into worship.

I retorted that if we followed the liturgy, which is not often followed in its completeness at this particular church, the opening rites of hymn, greeting, confession, and collect lead us into worship better than three songs.

Michelle quite rightly shot back that she felt that different ways appealed to different people, and that Church should be able to accommodate this.

To which I replied, we put aside the Liturgy of the Church, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, at our peril, especially if it just to include 15 minutes of singing at the start of the Liturgy.

Two different approaches, two different answers.

What you think? Can the two co-exist?

I enjoyed these comments on Elizaphanian on "Why Liturgy?" which seemed to reinforce MY position!!!! (I've edited it a bit, so check out the post for the whole thing...)

Why liturgy?

So that I can learn how to speak; and pray; and praise.

So that I can be taught the truth.

So that I can be shaped by the church; so that I can be made into a disciple.

So that the centre of gravity does not lie in my own feelings and vocabulary but in the expression of the church.It is not important how I feel when I say 'Glory be to the Father...'; nor is it important how wholeheartedly I believe what I say. It is a question of obedience - feelings and thought will ebb and flow in my life, but the persistence of discipleship is primarily manifested through obedience.

The point is to maintain the faith and trust in the pillar of fire and pillar of cloud, whether it is day or night within me.

Liturgy assumes
a) that I don't yet know all that I need to know about Christianity,

and b) that the church has learnt some of what it needs to know about Christianity.

Liturgy is how that learning is passed on, and developed.

Liturgy is a whole body activity; when done correctly, liturgy is also an ecstatic, out-of-body activity.

There is no greater tyranny than the tyranny of choice.

I need to fall in with something that is more important than my own perspectives, within which I can find myself.

Liturgy is the spacious room in which the Lord has set my feet.

Liturgy is mystery.

Becoming Catholic causes BIG trouble...

Apparently, the head of the Evangelical Theological Society, Dr. Francis Beckwith, has re-entered the Roman Catholic Church, in which he was raised as a child.
You can read the story here at his website. I wish him well.

As you can imagine, the members of the ETS are NOT pleased.
James White posted his reactions here.
Hmmm.

Apparently everyone seems to have forgotten Jesus' injunction to "love one another".

Some good blogging opinions here and here.

I am very aware that in posting this sort of thing I will just stir the pot more, but I truly believe events like this are a wake up for ALL Christians to be vigilant to pray for unity, and for love and respect between denominations of Christians to be on all of our agendas.

Odds and Ends

Into Great Silence start here in Perth on May 17th.
You can be sure we will all be going along to Cinema Paradiso to see it!

I have really been enjoying the writing at Hypersync.
Anglocatholic, thinking, concerned and relevant.

I have been reading lots of sites about the Book of Common Prayer, especially the 1928 edition.
I am also experimenting with praying Morning and Evening Prayer using these offices - but they sure are longer than the Roman ones..!
Tracing the journey of John Henry Cardinal Newman, I have been wondering what would happen to me if I prayed in some of that language for a while, and perhaps even read the same readings he did on the same day...
This is a work still in progress, but I am intrigued as to what exposing myself to Elizabethan English daily over a long period of time will do my thinking, praying and being...
Some great BCP sites here, here and here.

Oh, and according to one community member, there are no knobs in the Book of Common Prayer...

Hmmm

Apparently, Someone was going to post about the language of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer...