C.S. Lewis: The Great Divorce

C. S. Lewis: Great Divorce

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done..”’—C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce.

The Great Divorce is Lewis’ classic study of the difference between living in heaven and living in hell. In hell, people become increasingly isolated and separated from each other until they lose all communication. Then, before the great distances develop, there is a bus stop where groups of people in hell can go to heaven on a tour bus ride to decide if they want to live there instead. Spoiler alert! Only one person stays in heaven. The rest return to their life in hell. It is a choice.

With each character, Lewis describes what keeps each of us in hell. My favorite is the bishop, whose intellect holds him in hell, as he must return to hell because he is scheduled to give a lecture he does not want to miss.

Other characters remain in hell because they cannot recognize joy. Others see all the difficulties in life as someone else’s fault. Some stay connected to their material goods, which means the most to them. Some find people “beneath them” in heaven. One sees heaven as a trick. An artist must return to hell to preserve his reputation.

The Great Divorce is an excellent study for a book group, especially in Lent, for people to share which characters they most identify with. Lewis hands us a mirror to see where we fail to recognize we are still controlling the show and living in hell and have forsaken the gifts of heaven on this earth.

Joanna  https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Silence, Waiting for Dolphins, Chant

Silence, Waiting for dolphins, Chant

“When chant music stops, sometimes quite abruptly, an audible silence reverberates throughout the room, especially in the high arches of the oratories in which it is sung...If we listen carefully, we discover that chant inducts us into this silence that is the ground of our being.”—David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B., The Music of Silence.

We sit silently on a balcony overlooking the Gulf in the early morning, watching, waiting for the sunrise and the dolphins to make their first run. Then we wait for a line of pelicans to sweep silently by.

The rhythm of the waves is like a heartbeat. Today, it is a slow heart rate. At home in Arkansas, when the weather is warmer, we sit with our son and his family on his back deck as the sun sets behind the trees of his backwoods, and wait for the hummingbirds to come and feed before they finally rest for the evening.
Nature seems to call us to wait, to wait. Our heartbeat slows. Our body seems to say we are connecting to something greater than ourselves. Our mind wants to repeat Julian of Norwich’s famous words, “And all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

We are ready for whatever comes. We think. Maybe. The dryer stops working. We know whom to call for help, and we wait again for the repair workers to arrive. We pray to take time between tasks and breakdowns.

What do we do between sunrise, dolphin, pelican, sunset, and hummingbird times?
Another suggestion is to wait for the heartbeat of the music, especially the “silence between the notes” of the Gregorian chant. One of the earliest popular versions is CHANT by the Benedictine monks of Santo Domingo de Silos.

If you get “hooked,” you may want to read their companion book, The Music of Silence, by Brother David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B., which may lead you to a desire to follow in some form the canonical hours or seasons of the day. Another book is simply called CHANT, by Katharine Le Mee, who tells you more about the origins, form, practice, and healing power of Gregorian Chant.

It is incredible where silence can lead us!

Joanna https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Benedictine Life

Benedictine Life

“Listen carefully, my child, to my instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart.”— Prologue to Rule of Benedict

In the 6th century, Benedict of Nursia tried to follow a spiritual path by himself and realized he had to do this in community. From his awareness, we now have the Rule of Benedict, a way to find and follow God in community, balancing work, study, sleep, worship and prayers, and recreation. Members of Benedictine monasteries have used this rule for centuries.

Today, people are developing ways to follow a rule as they live in the secular world, still connecting in community with spiritual friends and spiritual directors.  

This prologue to the rule is my favorite part of the rule. “Listen with the ear of your heart.” This is the call to spiritual life, a way to live in the world that is still connected to God. First, we are to listen and pay attention. We are to use the ear of our hearts. We are to connect to something outside ourselves, hearing and loving. We hear and learn about love in a community outside of ourselves.  

There are many outstanding books about the Rule of Benedict. I will share three favorites, but I would like to hear from others about the books that have been most helpful as you try to find your rule of life.

The Rule of Benedict, A Spirituality for the 21st Century by Joan Chittister, is used by the International Community of Hope to train lay pastoral caregivers, immersing them in Benedictine spirituality. Joan Chittister writes a short meditation after each part of the rule and applies it to everyday life.

 Always We Begin Again, The Benedictine Way of Living is a pocket-sized small book someone can carry daily. Memphis lawyer John McQuiston II wrote this modernization of Benedict’s Rule and included a sample rule of life.

 St. Benedict’s Toolbox is precisely what the author, Jane Tomaine, calls it in her subtitle, The Nuts and Bolts of Everyday Benedictine Living.

 All three books are outstanding to read together in community, learning and supporting each other.

Joanna https://www.joannaseibert.com/