The Monastery of the Heart: An Invitation to a Meaningful Life by Joan Chittister

Author:Joan Chittister [Chittister, Joan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
Published: 2011-04-30T22:00:00+00:00

14

Co-Creation

“Regard all utensils and goods of the monastery as

sacred vessels of the altar. ”

Benedictine spirituality

is a sacramental spirituality.

It holds all things—

the earth and all its goods—

as sacred.

In our twenty-first-century view of life—

through the lens of the Rule of Benedict—

we know now in new ways

that the earth and all its fruits

are not for our exploitation,

they are for our care.

We are co-creators with God

of what creation has left unfinished.

What has been left in embryo

is left for us to develop.

What can be developed

God trusts us to bring to full potential.

But not for ourselves alone.

Co-creation,

the human commitment

to continue the work of God

on earth,

requires us to tend the land

and conserve the waters,

to till the garden

and protect the animals,

to use the things of the earth

in ways that enhance all life now—

and preserve them

for later generations, as well.

The human-centered view of creation

is a stunted one.

It fails to recognize

the oneness of creation, the symphony of life forms

that depend on one another

to bring the universe,

pulsing and throbbing with life,

to a wholeness that is mutual,

that reflects the full face of God

rather than simply our own.

The male-centered view of creation

is an incomplete, an inadequate one.

It fails to recognize women

as equal agents

in the development of creation

and so ignores half the resources of creation

in the decision-making process

of life.

Benedictine spirituality seeks a balanced life,

one in harmony with all its parts—

earth, fire, air, and water,

animals, plants, females, and males—

all alive in the heart of God.

To allow ourselves to become

digital chips in an electronic world,

isolates in an interdependent universe,

women and men out of touch

with the life pulse of a living God,

indifferent to creation,

concerned only with ourselves,

and still call ourselves good—

is to mistake the rituals of religion

for the sanctifying dimensions of spirituality.

In a Monastery of the Heart

we are called to listen to nature

as well as to one another,

to hear its groans

and till its gardens,

to nurture its young

and maintain the purity of its air,

until we ourselves become

the voices for life in everything

everywhere.

To do that we must become part

of the liturgy of life,

treating as holy everything we touch,

regarding as sacred every being alive,

intent on preserving

the best of what is—

while we use our science and technology

to protect, defend, and enhance them all.

To pursue the path

of Benedictine spirituality means

that we will leave

whatever part of the world we inhabit—

its neighborhoods and nations,

its oceans and preserves,

its forests and its soil—

in better condition than they were

before we came.

Benedictines over the centuries,

following the life the Rule prescribes,

laid the foundation of the towns

to which they brought order and organization,

hospices, learning, scripture, and art,

the tools of civilization,

and the sustenance of the soul.

They used every human form

of education and skill

to bring order out of chaos,

equality to the masses,

and healing to the globe.

They tilled arid land and made it green.

They dried the swamps and made them flower.

They hired the peasants

and taught them new skills.

They seeded Europe with crops

that sustained entire populations,

they raised the cattle that fed and clothed,

they plowed the land,

they distilled liquors and brewed beer

that brought joy to the heart

and health to the body,

and they did all of that

despite the plundering and pillaging

that went on around them

as the forces of war and domination

overran and burned down

one defenseless region

after another.

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