LISTEN

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for the feast of St. Benedict is, “Listen.”

The first word in his Rule is, “Listen….”

If there is anything this world needs now - but also yesterday and also tomorrow is that we listen.

I’ll use a Preface for  this Mass today that calls for us to meet with each other. 

I would hope that when we meet with each other, we will do double with the listening and half with the speaking.

That might make for a great meeting.

We have 2 ears and 1 mouth. How many times have we heard that one?

So the title of my homily for this the feast of St. Benedict is the first word in his rule, “Listen….”

THE 4 STEPS

We have all heard the 4 step process of prayer in the Benedictine Tradition which comes from the Christian Desert period in the Church.

The first step is the Lectio Divina - the Divine Reading.

Step One: Read the instructions - before acting - before jumping in.

Before the journey read the map - type into your GPS where you’re going.

Stop before you start.

Look before you leap.

Listen before you speak.

We know the second step is to think about what we just read. It’s called “Meditatio” - Meditation - Thinking -  Reflecting - Wondering about - Questioning.

The third step is Oratio - praying. That’s the movement to the mouth - to speak with the mouth. Ora is the Latin word for mouths - to orate, give an oration - and when speaking to God - it’s prayer - an oration.

The fourth step is Contemplation. There is the shutting up again - and letting what we have experienced sink in.

FIRST STEP: LECTIO DIVINA

But let me get back to the first step: the Divine Reading.

This would include the whole day - the whole of creation - all that surrounds us - the light of a new day awakening us - or our body awakening us……

Listen. Open up our ears to hear creation - birds singing - people moving - life for today.

Listen. To open up our mind to what are the calls of this day.

Listening - so it’s not just reading a book - but reading everything.

It’s standing on top of the mountain of morning - and looking down - ahead - into the valley of today.

ST BENEDICT

On this day we are called to listen to the life of St. Benedict….

His dates are around 480 to 550.

As a young man he decided to escape from it all - and ended up in a quiet cave in Subiaco - now part of Italy.

Why do people step back?

Read people who do that?

Why do coaches call, “Time out!”

Benedict stepped back into God and began reading all that God had created.

He was becoming Saint Benedict.

People realized it would be a good move to listen to this man called Benedict.

Benedict founded monasteries.

Benedictine monasteries preserved great books.

Benedictine monasteries dotted and saved Europe.

Benedict and his monasteries preserved Western civilizations - just as Buddhists and Buddhist and Confucian and other religious centers persevered culture.

Lots of religious groups read and used Benedict’s rule to come up with their rules.

Lots of prayer systems - used the Benedictine 4 step method - which goes back into earlies times.

The Jesuit Exercises come out of the Benedictine Method which came out of the Early Christian Desert movements.

CONCLUSION

Listen….

I’m listening to the clock. Enough with the talking - more with the listening.

Today practice listening.

Today lookup on line - on the Internet - Benedict - and Monte Cassino and

go from there.

Doing that I got in touch with some fond memories of taking a taxi from a village down below Monte Cassino and I went up to the top - and I began reading history from the first inch of the trip.