Today we had our annual Oblates of the Order of St. Benedict retreat at the Mt. St. Scholastica monastery in Atchison. The retreat was led by our Oblate Director, Sister Therese Elias. The topic this year was the historical roots of monasticism. St. Benedict lived in the 6th century. The martyrdom period was the 2-3rd century. In the 4th & 5th century, there lived the Desert Fathers & Mothers (the abbas and ammas), the historical roots of monastics who left Rome (which they thought of as the false world with its vices) to live semi-solitary lives in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine and Syria (which they considered to be the real world).
One of the most striking things I heard was this quote from Belden Lane:
"I really don't want a God who is solicitious of my every need, fawning for my attention, eager for nothing in the world so much as the fulfillment of my self-potential. One of the scourges of our age is that all our deities are house-broken and eminently companionable. Far from demanding anything, they ask only how they can more meaningfully enhance the lives of those they serve."
Belden Lane, The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality
1 comment:
I venture to say that you and Dean are Ginger and Chi Chi's housebroken deities-- and eminently companionable ones at that!
St. Spidey
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