Four monastic practices

To teach congregations about how to be in, but not of the world.

Brother Poulson Reed, OA is a Professed Member of the Order of the Ascension. Bishop Poulson shared this with the people of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church​, Ardmore, OK at the celebrate of the new ministry of Father Bryan Callen as their rector.

Today we have two connected figures, Richard Benson and Charles Gore, who were largely responsible for the revival of monastic life in the Church of England in the early 20^th century.

The connection extends to the United States. Anyone who has gone on retreat at the Society of Saint John the Evangelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts, or heard a sermon or talk or read a reflection by one of the Cowley fathers from there has Father Benson to thank.

As a member of a dispersed Benedictine order myself, the Order of the Ascension, I am grateful for the work Benson, Gore, and many others did to more fully make space in the Anglican tradition for both women and men to live under shared religious vows.

But, we might rightly ask tonight: what does the monastic movement have to do with the ministry of a rector and a congregation, like the ministry we celebrate here tonight?

Perhaps this: that the monastic movement has a lot to teach congregations about how to be in, but not of the world.

As Jesus teaches his disciples in our gospel reading tonight from John, we are in the world, but we belong to Christ, bound to him and to one another in love.

More specifically, I believe there are four monastic practices that can be blessings to Father Bryan and St. Philip’s, and to any congregation.

First, prayer. The practice at the heart of monastic life is daily prayer, the recitation of the hours. There is much to keep a priest and congregation busy, much even that is important, but nothing so important as modeling and teaching our people daily prayer.

Our Prayer Book clearly envisions the Daily Office alongside the Holy Eucharist, each supporting the other. There is no more powerful tool in our tradition for growing depth of faith, discipleship, than the daily prayers and Scripture reading that our Prayer Book provides.

Daily prayer is too infrequently practiced and taught, but when it is, it will shape the spirituality and vitality of a congregation profoundly for the good.

Second, and related to the first: silence. Most monasteries and convents hold extended periods of silence daily, not only after Compline but at times throughout the day.

We live in a world polluted by noise. Most gathering places seem terrified of anything approaching silence, piping in music at all times.

Traffic, electronic devices, speakers, headphones: most of us are starved for silence. And this means that we are starved for God, for God’s first language is silence, as the Monk Thomas Keating said.

To be on silent retreat at a monastery is to unlearn our habit of filling every silent moment with sound. When our churches provide opportunities for silence, it is a countercultural act. As Elijah experienced, described in our first reading tonight, God is often found and heard in sheer silence.

Bryan, cultivate silence: in brief spots in the liturgy to give moments for reflection, and for longer periods in this holy space, as, in the words of psalmist, we behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and seek him in his temple. Seek out silence yourself, knowing that to do so is to be ready to hear God in the still, small voice.

The third monastic practice that can bless a congregation is friendship. In monastic communities, intermingled amidst the prayer and silence, there is deep and abiding friendship. Very different people, of different ages, life experiences, and interests grow together as friends through living out their common vows.

In a congregation, friendship is the glue that holds everything together. Creating regular opportunities not just for surface level conversation, but sharing more deeply about our life and faith, helps shape a healthy parish culture.

The pursuit of holiness in the Christian life depends on friends for encouragement, for advice, and at times for correction. Small groups like Bible studies, prayer groups, group spiritual direction, choir, and fellowship groups give the Holy Spirit the chance to draw people together in Christian friendship.

The fourth and last monastic practice that can apply to congregations is hospitality. Many monasteries and convents are also retreat houses, welcoming pilgrims for prayer and renewal. Our congregations are at our best when we practice hospitality, welcoming all who come to our doors, whether for worship, prayer, formation, or for a hot meal.

St. Benedict taught that all guests are to be welcomed as Christ. When our churches welcome AA groups, or serve as warming shelters, or help a young mother with no where else to turn, we are doing the ministry of Christ.

Sadly, too often some congregations do the opposite of these four practices. They worship on Sundays, but neither offer nor teach their members how to pray the Daily Office.

Instead of being places of holy silence, some congregations are hectic and draining places of busy-ness and endless meetings. I am speaking not of the cry of a child, which is always music to God’s ears, but rather the contemporary desire to fill every moment at church with activity and sound.

Instead of encouraging friendships, too many congregations implicitly encourage disappearing right after worship, and not gathering during the week.

And instead of hospitality, the temptation can be to lock our churches up tight, paralyzed by fear that things will be stolen or damaged.

On the other hand, a congregation that embodies these four monastic practices of prayer, silence, friendship, and hospitality will grow in vitality, nurturing the faith of its members, and both inviting and welcoming our neighbors with genuine love.

And lastly, these four practices draw us ever closer to Jesus Christ. For it is in prayer that we sit at his feet, in silence that we hear his call, in friendship that we walk together on the Emmaus road, and in hospitality that we see the face of Jesus in the vulnerable.

Brother Poulson, OA