Today was Ascension Day which is not really celebrated in the churches but is a big day for the monastery. It's a first-class feast which means that we get dessert at dinner (Noon meal)... I, um, think "First-Class Feast" might have other theological meaning, than the fact that we have dessert, but the bread pudding was to die for.
I spent the time between Breakfast and Eucharist sitting on my favorite outdoor chair and reading "Always We Begin Again" by John McQuiston II (when I wasn't staring across the river). This is a paraphrase of the RB - sort of Benedict's rule for lazy people. It's a nice short book about how to apply Benedictine thinking to our lives without having to read specific instructions for people who lived 1500 years ago.
Our "School of Prayer" lesson today was on Lectio Divina, led by Br. James. I learn about this each time I come up here, and, well, honestly, I guess I need a lot more practice at it. He mentioned that the method of prayer while using Biblical verses, is not Bible study... which it usually becomes for me. (Basically you pray by reading a scripture passage repeatedly, each time moving from seeking meaning, to meditation, to asking God for leading through prayer and then into a deeper contemplation.) I gotta work at it some more.
We followed that with a lesson from the RB about the community at prayer, this being Ascension Day, the community's prayers are quite a bit more complex, ("First-Class Feast also means "find the five hidden antiphons somewhere in the Breviary") so a fair bit of discussion centered around the office, how we find our way, etc. This continued in the evening session with Br. Scott.
Today in our work period, we weeded the garden just outside the kitchen door - or at least started to. If I understand the overall project, we're removing the remnants of an old herb garden to make room for more flowers to support Br. Bernard's beekeeping project. Unfortunately none of us knew much about plants so we hope we only pulled weeds. Part of the evening discussion was how do you "pray" during mundane work, which is definitely something I can take home. It's a key concept from St. Benedict.
Tomorrow is a "silent retreat" for us, basically no conversations from now (after Compline) until Vespers (5:00 tomorrow). Just a small "School of Prayer" meeting where "Meditation as Prayer" will be explained. Should be an interesting day...
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