Suddenly the temperature rose to almost spring like levels, and my body, accustomed to the cold, went into full rebellion. But that's something I'm used to. The problem was that I coughed so much that mass at the Abbey was out of the question. Instead I went to St. Joseph's here in Bardstown, and it was pleasant.
One advantage of going to mass here in town is you can leave later, save gas, and sleep a little later. All those are convenient, yet the moment I can sit for an hour without coughing myself silly and disrupting mass, I'll be right back at the monastery. At St. Joseph's, everyone else was coughing too, including the priest. Tis the season!
The paper I'm working on, an examination of the Constitutions and Statutes, is coming along. This is exciting work because it helps me to solidify in my own mind exactly what the parts of the Cistercian charism really are. What I am finding is that lay people can live out the majority of things the Constitutions require. There are obvious differences, yet we are called to talk about it in a new language, according to Dom Bernardo Olivera.
So here it is, almost Christmas, and I'm feeling spiritually awake, and trying to love as God would have me do.
Happy Christmas!
1 comments:
I hope you're feeling better!
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