During the season of Lent, Joan Chittister will provide a daily reflection to online readers, a kind of
Monastery Almanac for Lent.
Monday, March 16 — The Chinese philosopher Wu-men wrote: “Ten thousand flowers in spring, the
moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary
things, this is the best season of your life.” What is clouding your mind from seeing the good in this
period of your life? What particular thoughts do you have to empty out?
Tuesday, March 17 — Before we can fill ourselves with something new, we have to empty out whatever
it is that is filling our time and our hearts and our minds now. What should you be emptying out of your
spirit? What should you be filling it with? Saint Patrick, whose feast we celebrate today, filled his with
love for the one God in a world that—like ours—had chosen to follow multiple gods.
Wednesday, March 18 — The community monastery, Mount Saint Benedict in Erie, PA, has three
hermitages where people can go to empty noise, distraction and schedules out of their lives so that
they can get a better look at what’s filling them up. Have you ever given yourself some time without
time for serious thought about the values and direction of you life?
Thursday, March 19 — Today, on the feast of Saint Joseph, the Italian community sets Saint Joseph’s
Table, a feast heaped in food that is then given to the poor. Saint Benedict also calls his followers to
reckless, magnanimous hospitality. We don’t empty ourselves just to trim our lives. We empty ourselves
to make the lives of others better.
Friday, March 20 — Liturgists tell us that the old practice of covering statues during Lent was to
remind us that on our way to heaven we had sometimes lost sight of goodness and to plunge us into the
darkness that comes from finding ourselves off a sure path. Staying on the path takes discipline, but the
purpose of the path is depth. Which do you need most in life right now: discipline or depth to clear
your vision again?
Saturday, March 21 — Today is the feast of the Solemnity of Saint Benedict. The life of this man whose
ideals and Rule have guided people for over 1500 years is clear proof that everything we do seeds the
future. No action is an empty one. That’s a scary idea, isn’t it?
March 22 — Fourth Sunday of Lent
Meister Eckhart wrote: “There is nothing so much like God in all the universe as silence.” Today’s
Gospel reminds us that “God so loved the world” that Jesus became the Word of God among us. Alive.
In our midst. Like us. Rather than come to power, God came silently in Jesus so that we could discover
divinity at out own pace.
Monastery Almanac for Lent.
Monday, March 16 — The Chinese philosopher Wu-men wrote: “Ten thousand flowers in spring, the
moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary
things, this is the best season of your life.” What is clouding your mind from seeing the good in this
period of your life? What particular thoughts do you have to empty out?
Tuesday, March 17 — Before we can fill ourselves with something new, we have to empty out whatever
it is that is filling our time and our hearts and our minds now. What should you be emptying out of your
spirit? What should you be filling it with? Saint Patrick, whose feast we celebrate today, filled his with
love for the one God in a world that—like ours—had chosen to follow multiple gods.
Wednesday, March 18 — The community monastery, Mount Saint Benedict in Erie, PA, has three
hermitages where people can go to empty noise, distraction and schedules out of their lives so that
they can get a better look at what’s filling them up. Have you ever given yourself some time without
time for serious thought about the values and direction of you life?
Thursday, March 19 — Today, on the feast of Saint Joseph, the Italian community sets Saint Joseph’s
Table, a feast heaped in food that is then given to the poor. Saint Benedict also calls his followers to
reckless, magnanimous hospitality. We don’t empty ourselves just to trim our lives. We empty ourselves
to make the lives of others better.
Friday, March 20 — Liturgists tell us that the old practice of covering statues during Lent was to
remind us that on our way to heaven we had sometimes lost sight of goodness and to plunge us into the
darkness that comes from finding ourselves off a sure path. Staying on the path takes discipline, but the
purpose of the path is depth. Which do you need most in life right now: discipline or depth to clear
your vision again?
Saturday, March 21 — Today is the feast of the Solemnity of Saint Benedict. The life of this man whose
ideals and Rule have guided people for over 1500 years is clear proof that everything we do seeds the
future. No action is an empty one. That’s a scary idea, isn’t it?
March 22 — Fourth Sunday of Lent
Meister Eckhart wrote: “There is nothing so much like God in all the universe as silence.” Today’s
Gospel reminds us that “God so loved the world” that Jesus became the Word of God among us. Alive.
In our midst. Like us. Rather than come to power, God came silently in Jesus so that we could discover
divinity at out own pace.
NO ACTION IS AN EMPTY ONE
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