Bryan Sherwood

It's Over!

What a relief – the summer term of grad school is finally finished. I don’t mind telling you it’s been the l-o-n-g-e-s-t term of my grad school experience so far. The good news is I actually get a short break and don’t have classes resume until Sept. 21.

What’s this mean? It means I’ll have more time to enjoy with my family and friends. It means I can read books that I WANT to read. It means I won’t have to spend my lunch break doing homework. And it means I’ll get a lot more sleep between now and Sept. 21. All of those are very good things!

You may even notice more frequent blogging here. It’s unfortunate but blogging must take a backseat to most everything else. Hopefully, you’ll keep coming back though since I do try to keep my blog updated as much as I’m able.

I am looking forward to finishing a book I’ve been trying to read for weeks: Thomas Merton’s The Monastic Journey. Although I’m not even half way through, I’ve found it to be a helpful book as Merton writes about the monastic life. Like most of us, he can write about what he knows about and he has lived and knows the life of a monk with its challenges and blessings. Here’s a quote from my lunch hour reading today:

It is in the Mass and the liturgy that we are most truly and perfectly monks, because it is there that we most fully live our life in Christ, finding Him whom we have come to seek, submitting in and with Him to the Father’s will. (p. 28)

Chew on that for a while.

Okay, I better get busy; work beckons. Peace to you.

An Ancient Saying

The health of a local church is seen in the health of its monasteries. 

(An ancient saying  repeated on a podcast by Metropolitan Jonah)

A Few Thoughts on Church - Part 2

I left off with a statement about how our time in a house church was a pivotal time for me and Heather.  Why was that?  Here are a few thoughts that come to mind.

The Divine Office

I was just beginning to learn about the divine office and liturgical prayer.  Being part of Vine & Branches solidified this practice in our lives.  Although I enjoy praying the office in a large group setting, there's something about a small band of people praying the Psalms together.  Even apart, they bind us together. 

Community

Community is a word that's been thrown around quite a bit.  I learned much of what this means at VBCC.  One of the ways I would describe community is just "regular."  Living every day life with others.  That might be as simple as sharing a meal together, playing games, or watching TV.  There wasn't some big organized program to build community.  No workbooks.  No simulcast.

In the last few years "community" has brought a lot of difficulty too.  It's NOT easy to make room for others and live in a way where you are accountable to a small group of people.  In the end, it's been the most difficult thing I've ever participated in but also the most life-changing and rewarding thing.

At Saint Patrick's, we see this lived out in priories - small groups of people covenanted together.  Our second year in a priory is almost over and I have hope that these priories will continue to be a way in which we can learn to live like Kingdom people.

Life in the kingdom isn't to be lived alone.  This kind of interaction is important for us to understand things like forgiveness, grace, humility and honesty.

Liturgy

As a guy who grew up in the Southern Baptist and Christian Church traditions, I knew nothing about liturgy.  I had always written it off as something "rote" and repetitive and of no real value.  Boy, was I ever wrong.  I found out fairly quickly that repetition can be good.  It's forming.  As I pray the prayers over and over or say the Creed over and over, it begins to sink in.  It begins to inform my own theology and view of God.  It's a bit like having that favorite hymn that you know the words to.  It becomes a part of you.

It's my opinion that these are important practices for Christians to engage in.  Notice, they aren't short in duration.  These are practices that are meant for the long haul.  They form us and change us over time.

Part 3 will be all about why Heather and I have ended up in Anglicanism.  More to come.

Feast Day of Saint Columba

Today the church remembers Saint Columba. I have a particular appreciation for this saint since he is the patron saint of our priory. He lived quite an interesting life.

Columba was an author of hymns, founder of churches and monasteries, and is said to have transcribed over 300 books. He seemed to be an energetic man with a passion for evangelism. He wasn’t without faults but I believe we can be encouraged by his life and be thankful for his ministry.

When I read and remember the saints of the church, I wonder what it is that we believers today can learn?  Certainly, we quickly are reminded that we are not alone.  We are connected to the saints of the past.  We're all part of the greater story of God's work on earth.  What other lessons can be learned?  Jump in and let me know what you think.

A few resources on Columba:

• Wikipedia Article
• Catholic Encyclopedia Article on Columba

Monastic Life at St. Meinrad

A look inside the life of a monk at St. Meinrad Archabbey.  (And even with music!)

Pacem in Terris

If I had plenty of money, I'd live and work at a place like this.  Woods, silence, people, nature., prayer.  Does it get any better?

Epiphany Sunday 2009

Thanks to everyone for their prayers for my grandmother.  I'm happy to report that she is home and recovering nicely.  We couldn't have asked for a better outcome from her surgery!  It was obvious that you stormed the gates of heaven for her.  Thank you.

I spent most of the day at the Abbey of Gethsemani.  It's always good to be there, joining the monks for Mass and our group potluck afterward.  It seems I go there and God often deals with me while I'm at the monastery.  It's not always a pleasant encounter.  It's often filled with pain but ironically, I don't feel alone in the abbey church when pain rises to the surface.  I know many others who are there are partly there because they have pain to deal with.  So, we all sit in the darkness of the abbey church and pray for each other and for ourselves.

I'm back to work on Monday and classes start the same day as well.  Kind of a brutal beginning to the new year.  To be honest, I'm not ready for it. 

I guess that's it for now.  Just wanted to check in and say hello.  Here's today's collect:

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:  Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Meg Funk on Advent

Sr. Meg Funk has written a nice reflection on Advent silence.  Check it out.

So, for this Advent I will observe my withdrawal from posting new entries on this web. Practice silence that refrains from speech of even good things for the sake of listening to God's word. (St. Benedict calls this taciturnity). Within the practice of refraining from electronic talk I enter into the praxis of the mind: descend my mind's eye into my heart through faith.

Once we decide to write the mind has permission to think about what, when, to whom we say this or that. Advent is a time to refrain from writing and enter into that sweet door of stillness. The writing (as in free fall thinking) permission is withdrawn and the mission is emptiness for the sake of experiencing that still, small voice of sheer silence. Presence springs up. We call this Christmas.

The Feast of St. Benedict

Today is the Feast of St. Benedict.  It's a special feast day for me and all those who follow the Rule of St. Benedict, including my friends at the Abbey of Gethsemani.  Today, instead of writing about Benedict, I'll refer you to other writings as the day wears on.  Check back and we'll see what other people are saying about this feast day.  Feel free to refer us to other blog posts about Benedict in the comments.

A prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, whose precepts are the wisdom of a loving Father: Give us grace, following the teaching and example of your servant Benedict, to walk with loving and willing hearts in the school of the Lord's service; let your ears be open to our prayers; and prosper with your blessing the work of our hands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (James Kiefer)

Check out:

• Brandon Fang:  Days in the Diocese
• Meg Funk:  For the Feast of St. Benedict  
• Alan Creech:  Benedict On My Desk 

Front Yard Shots, Tools Matter and Sr. O'Daly

I thought I'd get my camera out and take a few shots around our front yard tonight.  It's a beautiful evening in Kentucky - not too hot, not too cold.  The close-up shots aren't too bad considering I took them all freehanded.  Unfortunately, the grass and tree pollen are "very high" and that's causing me and lots of other people all kinds of allergy problems.

I'm reading (slowly) a book called Tools Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life by Meg Funk.  She gives a good overview of the book and its direction on page 1 of her introduction:

This book is a brief presentation of tools found in the Christian tradition and how they worked for the early monks and nuns.  These monastics were people like you and me.  They felt the same impulse we do--they needed help.  To find that help, they went to visit the early hermits, quiet dwellers in the desert, and asked them, "How do you do it?"  "How can I do it?"  These wise persons taught them to guard their hearts, to watch their thoughts, to spend time in vigils, to fast, to confess, to practice ceaseless prayer, to practice the prayer of the heart, and to do manual labor, to name a few of the recommended practices.

If you're interested in monastic spirituality, I'd recommend picking up this book.

There is a beautiful reflection about the passing of Sr. Monica O'Daly at Sr. Eleanor's Cistercian Vocation blog.  May she rest in peace.  If I'm ever in Ireland (and I hope to be one day), I'd like to stop by St. Mary's Abbey and visit with the sisters there.  Cistercians in Ireland - does it get any better than that?

Peace to you.