We are working our way through a laundry list of the Lord’s lovely, levelheaded, logical legislations.

For modern, mobile monastics.

Today’s instruction from verse 11 is . . . “(be) fervent in spirit.” Well, that’s simple enough. We are all nearly always being fervent about SOMETHING!

Of course, our fervor often showcases our favorite things … movies, fashions, sports, news, something gone wrong, something that turned out right. Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudel . . .

. . . but . . . “fervent in spirit” . . . what does that mean? Really?

The word “fervent” means “heated to boiling.” How does that work among those who are to “let their moderation be known to all; the Lord is at hand?” (Philippians 4:5) We have met some of those “fervent” Christians who cannot go out for a quart of milk without turning it into a fervent spiritual activity.

Maybe this will help. It is our love that is supposed to be white-hot. If our spirits are “fervent,” and others are not engaged . . . or even repulsed . . . it could be that we have found a new thing, Christianity, to pique our interest. In truth, while it is far better to be hot than lukewarm, the goal of our lives is not Christianity, it is CHRIST’S LIKENESS, and Jesus loved people. That’s why He was here! He loved the Father and His will EVEN MORE, and that’s why He was here. God is love. If love were a flame, God would be the fuel, the fire, the heat, the light, the energy, and the consuming.

Soon we shall be consumed with the love of God, not our past, not our guilt, not Church, not ministry, not our hopes or plans, not the cares of this world, not riches, not anything beyond the love of God in the power of the Holy Spirit in the middle of the lives we have been given to live.   As that day dawns, we won’t be seen to be the most passionate, but the most peaceful. This walk with God is too hot to handle, unless we become the flame. In a dark, cold world, we shall become white-hot comfort and light, lamps on their stand, a shining city set on a hill.

Andreas Cruz photography

                  For the next few days, we will dissect a string of instructions that follow on the heels of the admonition of our last investigation . . . “in honor, prefer one another.”

                  Remember those parental indoctrinations? “NO chewing gum in bed! Brush your teeth. Don’t forget to floss! Make sure your face is clean! Do you have a clean hankie under your pillow?”

                  This next passage in Romans reads like that . . .

^vs 10)Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;

^vs 11) not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

^vs. 12) rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,

^vs. 13) contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

                  Four verses . . . ten reminders. Let’s look today at verse 11 . . . “not lagging behind in diligence.”

                  We have a special regard in life for those who simply “get the job done,” whether it’s keeping the house tidy and the meals succulent and on time; keeping steady at work, even without much recognition; raising the children in the fear of the Lord and the admonition and nurture He prescribes. Even those who manage to appear in public with a modicum of well-coifed, neatly dressed style can attract a degree of respect.

                  It is time for a great big HOW MUCH MORE! How much MORE those who diligently seek the Lord . . . like you, dear Sisters. HOW MUCH MORE those who will not let the day close without having worshiped, enjoyed, entreated, and obeyed the God Who loves us.

                  DILIGENCE . . . it’s not just for the butcher, baker and candlestick maker. It’s for the modern monastic in search of the nearness of God.

Andreas Cruz photo, by permission

                  We have mentioned here in Cor Unum that George Washington kept account of certain rules of behavior. They were, for him, his training in character and uprightness, and one could say they took him far.

Today’s L.U.C.I.E. fast verse is another that touches upon our relationship to others: “Give preference to one another in honor.” (Romans 12:10)                 

Here is one of President Washington’s Rules of Civility: “Every action done in company ought to be done with some sign of respect to those that are present.”

In the close quarters of monastic life, anything less is chaos.   As a result, the nuns have prescribed greetings, some spoken and some silent, that they employ when they pass one another in the corridor or sit silently at meals. In some Carmelite monasteries, no nun may serve or help herself in the Refectory, but must wait until any lack is noticed by her table partner. In many little ways, honor is woven into cloistered life, in order that it may endure over the ages.

For today, my very dear Sisters, and those of you Brothers who have taken up a devotional “habit,” let’s observe the abbatial advice of a man who was not supremely well-educated, who lost many more battles than he won, but whose DEVOTION and integrity took him to the highest office in his country, and caused him to hold that office, not as monarchs and potentates had done for all the centuries before him, but as an honorable, honoring, dedicated public servant, setting the tone for those who would come after him.

Just as we aspire to do, here in Cor Unum.

Andreas Cruz Photo

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. (Romans 12:10)

We look into devotion nearly every day in Cor Unum, and our focus has been on devotion to God, but it does not take long to see that He always sends us back to love one another.

We worship Him, we pray, we seek His Face, and He draws near to us and His Spirit lifts us comforts us and gives us strength and peace.

The next thing we know, someone else walks on stage and needs what we have . . . redemption, truth, comfort, and the love of God.

We have seen and we will ever observe, that love for God deepens and widens our love for others.   We may as well, and we must, make sure that our devotion to God flows out into the needy world around us.

As has been said over the years, there is no better place to start than close to home, making sure that wives are devoted to their husbands, not just using or tolerating them . . . that husbands are devoted to their wives, not just using or tolerating them. That grown children are DEVOTED to their aging parents and teaching their children to be devoted, too.

“Be devoted.” It isn’t a mantra, it is a style of life. One we cannot live without.

French flowers, by French Photography

Romans 12:9 says . . . Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.

It might help us, here in Cor Unum, to come to terms with the fact that most of us love and fall in love and register love in juxtaposition to how it FEELS, EFFECTS, COMFORTS, STRENGTHS, SUSTAINS, NURTURES, and CAJOLES us. Rarely do we fall in love with somehow who does not make us feel important or stronger or more comfortable or nurtured or just . . . “in love.”

Now . . . we’re here. Married. Set into a church. We’re parents. Love is what we do . . . supposedly. Can we ever remove the last vestiges of hypocrisy? Well of course we can!

We just have to make sure we start HATING.

He loves best who most hates the evils of selfishness, jealousy, indifference, laziness, and greed as he discovers them in HIMSELF. As to LOVE, if we would desire above all things to show and impart the love of God rather than spending our days in a revolving effort to feel loved, we would know peace and fulfillment at last. Peace and fulfillment and love. It is in patience, kindness, in the crucifixion of haughtiness and rudeness toward others, that we know love and experience it in deep and lasting ways. It may take awhile. It may take a lifetime.

If we will will keep heading in a L.U.C.I.E. direction, away from lethargy, unbelief, complaining, idolatry and excess, our hypocrisies will have no place to hide, and our marriages, churches, and children will prosper for it.

“Dislike” won’t be enough. To love really well, there are a few things we must hate, and it would be wise, here in the monastery of the heart, to begin today. LETHARGY – UNBELIEF – COMPLAINING – IDOLATRY – EXCESS … we hate them all. Were we to see what they’ve done to us and others, we would hate them with a perfect hatred, and we would, at last cling to what is good.

Splendid photo by Andreas Cruz!

                  Welcome to the first day of the Cor Unum L.U.C.I.E. Fast!

                  For the next forty days, we will be looking into Scriptural reminders and instructions from several passages in the Epistles. When we catalogue them, we see that they will help us to forsake:

L ethargy

U nbelief

C omplaining

I dolatry

E xcess

The L.U.C.I.E. Fast!

We start with these words from Romans 12, verses 6-8, remembering that they follow hard upon the exhortation to present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God:

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, [let us use them]: if prophecy, [let us] [prophesy] in proportion to our faith; or ministry, [let us use it] in [our] ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Here is a two-fold lesson for us, calling for twice the “conversatio” (conversion of lifestyle.) We are commended not only to put the gifts of God to good use, but also to make sure that our giftings and graces will be most valuable to others and most powerful in their lives.

Gifts have been given; it is a very good lesson and a good jog to move us from our spiritual lethargies. God didn’t start with “do’s” and “don’ts” in this passage; He started with gifts freely given that we may freely bestow. If we look at them all together, we will speak to others in humble proportion of faith, ministering to others rather than lording anything over them, in teaching and exhortation that come with real help, with generous hearts and diligence and cheerfulness. That sounds like a heart where many could find a welcome!

We are looking at God’s express instructions, and there are several here, but in short, we take what God has given, and we spend it on others in cheerful, humble, gracious, and faithful service and love until they are able to find the gift of God for themselves. No room for complaining, no opportunity for idolatry … instead, we take all the faith we have and employ it to bless those around us, whether speaking or serving. That will help to heal our unbelief and theirs, too! We can always start with this: God loves us and gave His Son to die in our place that we might live and learn to rejoice in Him.

                  Did you? Did you do it? Did you choose Door Number Three and walk through it yesterday?

                  Did you, on your knees . . . nuns do a good deal of that . . . or with hands lifted up . . . Biblical heroes did a lot of that . . . in the quiet of your room . . . saints of every nation and every age have done that . . . did you say to the Father, our Father,

                  “I will. You know I am Yours, and You know I stumble around and fall on my face and fail to keep my commitments, but I will take a close look . . . a cloistered look . . . into habits of godliness for the next forty days.  Show me lethargy, show me where unbelief hides, put a watch before my mouth that complaining won’t come out of it, deliver me from idolatry and give me to carve away the excesses in my life.”   Certainly we may incorporate physical fasting (desserts, second helpings, eating between meals, one meal per day …) and certainly that will be powerful in our lives, but the WORD itself will change us when we look steadily into it and do what it tells us to do. (James 1:25)

                  Did you say . . . “It’s such a tall order, Father . . . these are things I should have diligently attended upon all these years . . . but if I’m presenting myself a living sacrifice, let’s get on with it! I’ll do the surrendering, if You will do the sustaining!” We have a weekend before us.  Let’s pray and make ourselves available. Remember, dear, dear Brothers and Sisters . . . this is a monastery. The monastery of the heart. We can’t go out or away, for Jesus is here with us, abiding in us: let’s get on in every way with the things that make for everlasting joy and blessing.

                  The second verse in our key Scripture is Romans 12:2 . . . And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Circumstances in life put us in the way of change, and change for the good. The Scriptures commend us to transformation. Might as well get on with it! It’s by transformation that we become well-acquainted with the perfect will of God, and in truth we MUST become well-acquainted with the perfect will of God if we want to enjoy perfect peace and a perfect outcome.

                          We’re going to be here in Cor Unum . . . forever. The Word will live in us forever; the Lord will strengthen us; His Spirit will sustain and direct us. Let’s consider over the weekend the joys and honor there will be in dedicated purification, when it’s the INSIDE OF THE CUP that we cleanse with prayer and repentance and truth in the washing of the water of the Word.

                          Here we go! Forty days – forty Scriptures – and a lifetime of benefit!

White Lilies

Andreas Cruz, by permission

This is going to be so much fun! A nice FAST together! . . . WITH an investigation into God’s comments on Christlikeness! Who could ask for more? Beg pardon? What are we fasting? The Abbess forgot to mention that? Why, here’s the list; it is posted on the Chapter Room door . . . take your pick! Fasting choices for the next forty days . . . Unbelief Complaining Excess Lethargy Idolatry   Now then . . . without further ado, Romans 12:1 . . . “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” This is our impetus and our reward, this Christlikeness, but we are faced with three choices. We may 1) dismiss these words as unappealing, unimportant, or un-possible, or we may 2) take a look and set our jaw and determine that we will, by force of will, accomplish this superhuman task, this call to become LIKE CHRIST, or we might 3) present our bodies before our Father today, as per the beseeching of His servant and apostle, from the heart offering ourselves as a living sacrifice because we may, and because God loves us.  We may trust that our very decision is holy and acceptable to Him. We may decide by faith that, that whatever “our reasonable service” proves to be, we will receive from Him every aid and assistance, every strength and support, every courage and all constancy from His own heart, mind and power. The Abbess heartily recommends plan #3 . . . and if we choose this L.U.C.I.E. fast, forsaking Lethargy Unbelief Complaining Idolatry Excess ,,, we will finish strong and new and more like Jesus than we ever dreamed we could be!     Emaciated Buddha public domain in country of origin

“Everybody” is doing it these days . . . coming up with their corporate, congregational, conditioning “habits” itinerary. For an interesting departure today, let us take a look at Cor Unum’s list of

Nine Habits for the Monastery-Minded!

Let These Nine New Habits Help YOU Acquire the Habit You’ve Been Looking For!

In our case, the “habit” of godliness is the only one we will ever wear, and it will fit us like a glove! The only monastery we will ever inhabit is the one to which our hearts flee, the sanctuary of soul where our Lord abides with us, the cloister of our love and devotion.

The way for us is paved, not with successes but obediences, and we are not traveling toward accomplishment but to our destiny. Here is the list our CEO (Christ, Ever Omnipotent) “posted” about two thousand years ago:

Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

We shall take a monastic look at these; that is to say, we will see how we may devote ourselves to them.

As with all things, whether twenty-six habits of the perfect life (Romans 12,) or four habits for personal peace and perseverance (Philippians 4,) or ten habits for heavenly hearts and homes (Colossians 3,) we are entering a forty-day “fast” track toward serenity, security, and success, which we shall define as . . . Christlikeness.

European Office

Julius Barnhard von Rohr, 1719

public domain, Wikipedia

                  The idea that of all the attributes of God, WISDOM is the one that gets the feminine article, is . . . amazing.  A big thank you, Lord, from the nuns of Cor Unum!

                  In the ninth Proverb, we see her, Wisdom, having prepared a meal and a table, and calling out to the simple and those lacking in judgment, “Come in here!”

                  She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city,
    “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
 “Come, eat my food
and drink the wine I have mixed. 
Leave your simple ways and you will live;
walk in the way of insight.”   (Proverbs 9:3-6)

“Leave your simple ways and live!” she cries. “Walk in the way of understanding!” Many “he’s” and “she’s” could echo those words through personal experience. It is a great thing to have left foolishness behind.

                  The Scripture tells us there are other “she’s,” adulterous tempters beckoning and flirting from the doorways of life, down the alleys of distraction and destruction. WISDOM bids us keep to the path of good sense.

                  The nuns in Regina Laudis Abbey and in convents and monasteries all over the world, have put themselves in the way of finding the heart of God, and we are here in Cor Unum for just that purpose. We will find Him in the wisdom of every circumstance, if we will ever seek Him, and we will find wisdom ever in Him.  WISDOM guards our souls and gains the mind of Christ.

                  The beginning of WISDOM is the holy fear of God, and that reverence is our pursuit today, in the all the parlors, cells, chapels and corridors of Cor Unum Abbey. Perhaps that’s why wisdom gets to be “she.”  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10,)” and it is beautiful as was Sarah when she obeyed Abraham, calling him “lord.”  True submission beautifies men and women together.  

                  Wherever we are, wherever we are headed, WISDOM will never forsake us.  “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or fail to have compassion upon him? She may forget, but lo! I will not,” says the Lord . . . “instead, I have engraved you upon the palms of my hands; your walls are always before Me.” (Isaiah 49:15) Wisdom is with God, ever with God, and God is with us. We have seen that mother-nearness, mother nurture is His idea. Wisdom is the breast where grown-ups ought to find health and comfort and strength. We prize this “she,” and our ears are open when she speaks.

by permission, Peter Trimming

Wikipedia