The Meditation The Second Sunday in Lent March 12th, 2017 A.D. Jesus and the Canaanite Woman - c. 1500 Painting by Juan de Flandes (John of Flanders) 1460-1519
2. The Collect for the Second Sunday in Great Lent - A.D. 2017 Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of our selves: keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with the Holy Ghost, ever one God, throughout all ages of ages, world without end. Amen. It s been written in earlier issues of the Meditation that our full co-operation is necessary if we are to reach that state of perfection in love and holiness. St. Augustine of Hippo says: The God who saved you without you, will not sanctify you without you! in today s parlance: you gotta walk the walk, and not just talk the talk! The Book of II Kings, Chapter 5, tells of the commander of the Syrian Army, Naaman, a leper, who was bidden to bathe in the Jordan River in order to be cured. A blind man is instructed by Jesus to wash himself in the pool of Siloam in St John s Gospel; Chapter 9, verses 1-11. Holy Scripture insists on such details in order to illustrate these symbols of man s co-operation in God s work. So how do we interpret God s will for each of us to serve Him? Good question. We re taught through the Scriptures, Holy Mother Church, and the lives of the Saints, that we must go from doing to letting God do. We have to change ourselves from doing things on our own accord, to letting God use us as His instruments. The tough part for us mortals is to be able to discern where the borderline runs between activity and passivity! We live in an age where doing is nearly everything... and being is looked upon as doing nothing, or even being lazy or useless. How can we combine the two actions (and they are actions in their own ways), in order to have some sort of balance and hear God s call in each of our lives? St. John provides for us a lesson in Chapter 10 in the story of Mary and Martha. Now it came to pass, as they went, they entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus feet and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him and said, Lord, doest thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many thing: But one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (St. John; Ch. 10, Vss 38-42). Martha, in serving her
3. guests, was performing her understanding of service. Jesus kindly admonishes her, telling her that what she was doing is good, but what Mary was doing was even better. Martha s doing was interfering with her being and hearing... Mary was being and hearing, in order to be able to one day perform better doing. We see Jesus as our model of perfection as well as our teacher, kindly and lovingly guiding Martha into a clearer understanding of the balance between doing and being. God s choice, and God s grace, are at the origin of all spiritual life. He makes Himself known to the souls He loves, so that they, for their part, will long for union with Him and begin to walk their journey of the via conversio... the Way of Conversion* setting one s feet on the road which leads to Him. He remains with them as their Guide, and at their sight of Him, they come to realize their many imperfections. They are filled with an overwhelming desire to rid themselves of all those things that makes them unlike and therefore unworthy of Him. Inspired by His love, they spare nothing, and begin to seek Him at all costs. He continues to reveal Himself to them, and at every step they take, they will find Him coming to meet them. Leaning on Him, supported by Him, their advancement increases. Each new revelation of His goodness awakens within them fresh strength and courage, and draws them more closely to their Lord. God and they work close together. Little by little, it becomes clear that it is not these souls who are working, but God in them, since of themselves they can do no good. That which they seem to do is not theirs, but God s The more closely united to Him, the more He uses them. It s spiritual abandonment that is rewarded beyond comprehension! Their lives are made up of His deeds of love, their zealousness becomes an abandonment to His action in them, and their sole mission is to conform their wills to His, that He may employ them in the working out of His designs. The Canaanite woman had abandoned herself in accepting Jesus for Who He was... Jesus in turn, used her abandonment to demonstrate to others, what she already knew. Our friend, John van Ruysbroeck, the 14 th Flemish mystic ** speaking of this phase in the spiritual life says: It (the soul) is in God and He in it; so nothing separates them, save the fact of its mortality. God is the Worker, the soul is the willing instrument, always ready and at His Hand. What s been said so far gives us an idea of the place that true zeal holds in the spiritual life. It s the passage from seeking to accepting service; from running to get results, to consenting to those that God produces but, because letting God do is much more difficult for us than doing it ourselves, as a rule, we often do too much! Having zeal doesn t consist in our always being busy. It is instead, keeping our eyes fixed upon God. The Psalmist sings: Behold, even as the eyes of servants look into the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, even so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God. (Psalm 123, Vs. 2). The soul must always be attentive to the smallest desires of its Lord.
4. Constant concentration on God is more important than the performance of works or offers of service. The latter satisfies our natural desire to be doing, or perhaps in contemporary thinking; producing. The former seeks nothing but the fulfilment of God s good pleasure. Putting it plainly; sooner or later we must all become contemplatives. Contemplation, silences the voice of self, in order that the Voice of God may be heard. We re too ready to speak, to offer our opinion, correction, or judgement. We forget that to speak as we should, we must first listen really listen! Deeds, those words by which the loving heart expresses itself, should only be performed after the ear and the heart have listened. Therefore, we must learn how to listen first, then act. The Lord is always there for those who will accept and do His will with zeal. What more direct way is there to union with Him than to live in His presence, and to accept all that He sends us with joy, and to use it in His service? Mary listened, Martha was busy with her serving, as was her duty. If our Lord reprimanded her, it was not because of her attention to those exterior forms of service, but because of them she was forgetting the one thing that is needful, and trying to draw her sister, who had received and was following a different vocation, into the whirlpool of her own distractions! It would be interesting to know what Martha did in answer to our Lord s gentle reprimand. Did she sit down beside her sister? Or, did she arrange things so that the Master would sit next to her at table? Mary at that moment remained peacefully sitting at the Lord s feet, but that was only part of His plan for her. The day would come when He would say to her: go and tell my brethren! (ref: John: Ch. 20, Vs. 17).*** We mortify the body during Lent in order to give the spirit more of a free reign to better hear the Voice of God. The many self-denials that we perform indeed have a purpose, (although we may wonder sometimes, especially as Lent moves along!) and that is to allow us to be and to listen for that still small Voice that would direct our daily doings towards going from our own work, to His... and His alone. Let us ask in our prayers for our Lord, to be our Model; that we may first be strengthened with the food He gives us: His Eucharist, His Word, and His Will. Then, when the time comes, share Him with our brothers and sisters.
5. If we wish to contemplate things within, let us rest from outward engagements. The Voice of God in truth, is heard as if in dreams, when with minds at ease, we rest from the bustle of this world, and the divine precepts are pondered by us in the deep silence of the mind. For when the mind is at rest from outward employments, and distractions, the weight of the divine precepts is more fully discerned - Pope St. Gregory I excerpted from: Morals; Ch. 23. 37-6 th cent. Notes *This is called the Purgative Way in Ignatian Spirituality (St. Ignatius of Loyola), it is the way of purging oneself of all desires and things that will separate them from Christ and His Father. **John van Ruysbroeck (or, Ruusbroec) : 1293 1381. See the Meditation for the 5 th Sunday After Epiphany (Feb. 5 th ), where he is mentioned. ***St. John: Chap. 20, Vs. 17: Jesus saith to her... go to my brethren, and say unto them
6. Priory Kalendar For the week of: March 12 th to March 19 th - A.D. 2017 In Great Lent Sunday, March 12 th... Second Sunday in Lent.......... See Note 1. Comm. St. Gregory the Great; Po. Conf. & Doct. O.S.B. 6 th /7 th cent. Rome. Monday, March 13 th... feria in Lent....... last day for Lent to begin.................... Fast Day Tuesday, March 14 th... Bl. John; Abt. of Monte Casino; 11 th cent........................ Fast Wednesday, March 15 th.. feria in Lent......................................Fast & Abst. Thursday, March 16 th... feria in Lent.................................................... Fast Friday, March 17 th... St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland; Bp. & Conf.- 5 th cent. Ireland........ F. & A. Saturday, March 18 th.. St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Bp. Conf. & Doct. - 4 th cent............... Fast Comm. St. Edward, King & Martyr, 10 th cent. England Sunday, March 19 th...third Sunday in Lent... Note 2. Kalendar Notes Note 1:
7. Note 2: March 19 th is the Feast of St. Joseph, foster-father to our Lord and spouse to the Blessed Virgin Mary, but it must give precedence to a Sunday, the Third Sunday in Lent. St. Joseph s feast is transferred to Monday, March 20 th for this year. See it in next week s Kalendar. KALENDAR KEY Abt. = Abbot, Abs. = Abbess, Abp = Archbishop, Anc. = Anchorite, Ancs. = Anchoress, Ap. = Apostle, Bl. = Blessed, Br. = Brother, Bp. = Bishop, Card. = Cardinal, C. or Conf. = Confessor, Comm. = Commemoration/Commemorate, Dcn. = Deacon, Doct. = Doctor of the Church, Ev. = Evangelist, H. = Hermit, LBr. = Lay Brother, LSr. = Lay Sister, K. = King, Mat. = Matron, M. = Monk, M.M. = Month s Mind ( Requiem for the recently departed on the 30 th day after death or burial). Myr. = Martyr, N. = Nun, Obl. = Oblate, P. = Priest, Po. = Pope, Pr. = Prior, Prs. = Prioress, R. = Recluse, RM = Requien Mortuorum, ( Mass and Offices for the departed once a month as designated on Kalendar). SDcn. = Sub Deacon, Q. = Queen, Ven. = Venerable, Vir. = Virgin, W. = Widow. FASTING KEY: A = Abstinence, F = Fast, F & A = Fast and Abstinence RELIGIOUS ORDER ABBREVIATIONS: C.O = Congregation of the Oratory (Oratorians), C.P. = Congregation of the Passion (Passionists), C.S.J. = Congregation of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), Er. Cam. = Camaldolese Hermits, F.P. O. = Franciscans of the Primitive Observance, O. Car. = Carmelite Order, O. Cart. Carthusian Order, O.C.D. = Order of Discalced Friars (Carmelites), O.F.A. = Augustinian Order, O.F.M = Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans), O.F.M. Cap = Capuchin Order, O.P. = Order of Preachers (Dominicans also called Blackfriars ), O. Praem. = Order of Cannons Regular (Norbertines), O.S.B. = Order of St. Benedict (Benedictines), O.Ss. S. = Bridgettines, O.S.U = Ursulines, O.C.O. = Order of the Cistercian Observance (Trappists/Trappistines), O.C.S.O. = Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (Trappists/ Trappistines). The Meditation is an online apostolate of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Priory in Raymond, Maine, USA. We are an Anglican-Catholic Benedictine contemplative community that follows the Holy Rule of St. Benedict, the 5 th century Father of Western Monasticism. We are affiliated within the Diocese of the Northeast (DNE), of the Anglican Church in America (ACA), a member of the worldwide Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC). The Meditation is a weekly online offering that is sent out free of charge to anyone who desires to receive it. Subscribers may copy and pass along the Meditation to their families and friends, or send us their e- address (with their permission) to add to our subscription list so they may receive it directly from us. Each issue is sent out as a BCC (Blank Copy) in respect to subscriber privacy and online security. To subscribe, contact us at: klamarre@maine.rr.com
8. PLEASE NOTE: In respect to our contemplative vocation and the animals in our rescue and rehab center, we do not have guest or bathroom facilities and do not regularly receive visitors. Fr. Kevin is available to hear confessions and give spiritual direction by appointment only. Please contact via email to make an appointment. Animal News Sr. Mary Francis, O.S.B. This pileated woodpecker spent what seemed to feel like a spring day tearing into an old rotted maple tree stump out near our road. The chips were flying like barn boards and when he made a hole the size of a human head, and had eaten what he could, he flew away yelling at Sr. for interrupting his feast with her presence. Don t forget to spring ahead one hour Saturday night! PAX