Bairbre Cahill
Ignatian spirituality, being ‘contemplative in action’ and ‘finding God in all things’ has always seemed a very good fit for my life as a busy working woman, a mother,and a laywoman.
I never felt that the monastic model fitted well and I would have questioned those who offered it as a model for laypeople. Over the past few weeks however I find myself thinking a lot about St Benedict and his advice for the spiritual life.
I think what started it was the notion of stability – something important in the writings of St Benedict and in the life of his followers. My calendar is usually fairly full. It is an unusual week if I don’t have a number of meetings, various deadlines and copious to-do lists as well as the occasional opportunity to catch up with a pal over a cup of coffee somewhere. I’ve often fallen into the trap of valuing myself on the basis of what I do, what I have achieved. Now I find that my primary purpose is simply to be here in my home, venturing no more than 2km, making no unnecessary trips. Surprisingly we are coping better than I would have expected with the confinement.
The phrase that keeps coming to me is ‘It is good for us to be here’ – a line we heard in the gospel of the transfiguration a few weeks ago. It feels like home is a good place to be. It is a place of safety, security and stability in a world that has been turned upside down. Benedict talks about the importance of community, about being rooted in one place, living a life of mutual service. We are living in one very particular place and yet I have never been more aware of our connection to the whole of humanity. Community and stability can indeed invite us to a universal vision.
It has occurred to me that we are like a little group of monks here, each disappearing into their own space to work or study, coming back together for meals, praying a little together. It is little wonder then that the wisdom of Benedict comes to mind. He talks about the importance of prayer, about attentiveness to the presence of God and that it is in the context of prayer that virtues like integrity, courage and compassion can grow. I have found that prayer is essential – again it is about that sense of stability. Benedict sees a life grounded in the love of Christ as giving us the capacity to always live in the hope of God’s mercy. Living with hope is vital – and challenging – in these difficult days.
In his special Urbi et Orbi Pope Francis told us that this is a moment for us to make choices about how we will go forward. Many people are questioning whether life can ever be the same again. I think Benedict has words of wisdom for us here, about stewardship, justice and peace, humility, transformation and obedience. We need to listen to what this global crisis is telling us. We need to take seriously our responsibility to be stewards of creation. We are faced daily with the challenges of inequality and made aware that only by working in genuine solidarity can we hope to come through this crisis. Statistics cast a clear light on injustice. Why in Chicago are 70% of the deaths to Covid-19 within the African American community when they make up only 30% of the population of the city? Poverty turns a crisis into a global scandal.
Have we courage to face the challenges, to let go of an old way of being, a way defined by the inequality of the haves and the have nots? Will we have the humility to learn, to allow ourselves to be transformed? Benedict reminds us that it is the journey of a lifetime but in this time of crisis we also have a time of opportunity.