St. James E-Newsletter volume 1 Issue 6, July 13, 2005

St. James E-Newsletter volume 1 Issue 6, July 13, 2005
Pax et Bonum
St. James' online resource for

The world is charged with the grandeur of God...there lives the dearest freshness deep down things.
                                                                                                                                                          Gerard Manley Hopkins

Monday was the feast day of Benedict of Nursia, the father of Western Monasticism. Benedict was born around 480 in Nursia, Italy, and educated in Rome, during a time of political instability, and the breakdown of western society as it was known then. Benedict's frustration with society led him to seek a vocation of monastic seclusion. Gradually, a community grew up around him. Some time between 525 and 530 he moved to Monte Cassino and established another community. There, in 540, he wrote his monastic RULE.
Benedict was dedicated to the belief all activities are done under God. Work, study, and prayer played equal parts in the life of the community, and thus all became part of the spiritual formation of the monks.

Here is an excerpt from the Rule:

This, then, is the good zeal, which monks must foster with fervent love; they should each try to be the first to show respect to the other supporting with great patience one another's weaknesses of body or behavior, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another. no one is to pursue what he judges better for himself, but instead, what he judges better for someone else. to their fellow monks they show the pure love of brothers; to God, loving fear; to their abbot, unfeigned and humble love. let them refer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.-12)

The Collect for Benedict's day:

Almighty and everlasting God, your precepts are the wisdom of a loving Father; give us grace, following the teaching and example for 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.

                                                                                           (Rule of St. Benedict 72, 3

Pieces of the Grand Design

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the National Cathedral with some dear friends visiting from California. As I stood before the high altar, I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the figures in the raredos, the apostles and prophets, those who went before us in our faith. It suddenly reminded me that we are one small part of a much larger picture - the history of our faith which has endured for many thousands of years, with myriad faithful people living out their faith in day to day fashion just as we do.
Later, we went into the meditation room, and I found myself caught up in an image of a great puzzle, or more artistically, a great mosaic. We are each a piece of that mosaic, one tiny tile in a piece of art that threads around the universe, a ribbon of color and movement that is the history and character of our faith. Those marble figures in the raredos were those who, before us, formed part of the mosaic in their own time, one tile that in itself seems insignificant, and may only be seen when it is missing.
Who has not looked at a mosaic, or a puzzle, and immediately spotted the place where the missing piece is?   This is how we know our value. We are that piece. If we were not here, there would be a difference in this great image of faith.   Yet it also reminds us that what we often feel is so important is a small thing in comparison to the greater picture. The problems the church is facing today forms just one image in a greater picture. We are part of something so much bigger than we can imagine, and the image continues, and will continue, in spite of the problems of the day.
And that is comforting.

Oh God of Peace,
You have taught us not to be anxious in our living.
Release us from feeling frenzied about our commitments.
Free us from the burden of our many fears,
  so that we may place our whole trust in your wise care
  and be at peace in the sure knowledge of your love.
We offer our anxious hearts to you for the healing of faith.
Through Christ, our living Lord. Amen.
                                                                                          Marjorie Thompson

Debra's Mid-Week Meditation

"For in this hope we were saved.
Now hope that is seen is not hope.
For who hopes for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see,
We wait for it with patience."
Romans 8:24-25

HOPE
Hope is a difficult virtue in our times. It is hard to hope for the righteous to triumph in the face of terrorism and domestic strife.

And yet, Paul is encouraging us in Romans to be faithful to the hope we have been given in Jesus Christ.

Christians are hopeful people.
Christians are not blind to evil and struggle, but we know that God is bigger than evil--a light in the darkness.
Hope requires patience and openness. These attributes also are necessary for the prayer life.
Thomas Merton writes this about Paul and meditation:

"This is what meditation meant to St. Paul: the finding of ourselves in Christ, the penetration of the scriptures by divinely enlightened love, the discovery of our divine adoption and the praise of His glory."

We practice hope through prayer, confident that God is even more hopeful than we could possibly imagine.

Practice hope today.

Blessings, Debra

Daily Morning Prayer:

http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html

if the link doesn't open, highlight it, click copy, and then paste it into your web browser address line.

This week at St. James:

Sunday July 17
Holy Eucharist at 8:00 and 10:15
Christian Formation Discernment 9:00

Monday July 18
Youth Focus Group, 6 pm

Wednesday July 20
Nathan's Birthday
Healing/Eucharist at 8:30 in the Meditation Chapel

Work has begun on the interior of the church. As of July 31, we will be moving our services to the Susan Tucker Moore room so that the carpenters can work undisturbed.

The Saint James Community invites you to join us at a going away celebration for Nathan Humphrey and Anne Stone on Saturday, August 13th at 6:00 pm at the home of Stephanie and Nick Meittinis 2311 Tracey¹s Road in Sparks. If you are attending please contribute a food/drink item that corresponds to the first letter of your last name:
A-D= appetizer
E-H=side dish (non salad)
I-L= salad dish
M-P= sodas/non-alcoholic beverages
Q-T= beer and/or wine (chilled if needed please)
U-Z= desserts

Babysitting will not be provided at this event. Directions will be available in the church office. To approximate the event size please inform Marie or Doreen in the church office of your plans to attend and the number in your family.

Let us live with uncertainty
as with a friend
to feel certain
means feeling secure
to feel safe is unreal
a delusion of self
knowing we do not know is
the only certainty
letting the self be lost into Christ
from Esther DeWaal's Seeking God: the Way of St. Benedict

Prayers Etc.

Those in need of healing and their families:
Chloe Sarah J. Joel B. Anna B. Lelia G. Alexis M. Laurel Natalie K. Karl Maria R. Peggy K. Uncle Bob O. Matty Susan L. Denise Rosemary Phil O. David W. Joyce R. Earl C. Aris Pastor Robert W. Groves Heather, JB, Chase & Sandy

All wounded soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen in our military hospitals.
We pray for Fred Wehr, father of Emily Emerick, who has died.
We pray also for the repose of the soul of Wally Dow.

In Closing:

May there always be work for your hands to do
May your purse always hold a coin or two
May the sun always shine on your windowpane
may a rainbow be certain to follow each rain
May the hand of a friend always be near you
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Irish Blessing

Pax et Bonum,
Loree+

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