Oblates of St. Mary Monastery, Rock Island, Ill., blog about Benedictine values, prayer and life.
Posted in Benedictine Oblates, Benedictine prayer, Benedictine values on Oct 25th, 2010
By Sr. Ruth Ksycki, OSB “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” (Psalm 33) This line was the responsorial psalm for the first reading from Ephesians 3:14-21 last week. As I was doing lectio, I decided to try Sr. Irene Nowell’s method of interspersing the response in between the verses of the [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Sep 2nd, 2009
Lately the Psalms I’ve been reading all begin with a dramatic declaration of praise for YHWH. I’ve been letting my attention trace praise and adoration throughout the psalms, instead of moving towards places I might otherwise highlight. Both an observation and a question came to me.
Posted in Benedictine prayer on Dec 13th, 2008
So often one fruit of prayer seems to be a steady calm, a silence, under everything else. That “everything else” might not be calm, but something in us can be. Psalm 1.2-3: “Happiness comes to those who delight in the Law of YHWH, who meditate on it day and night. They’re like trees planted by [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 22nd, 2008
So many of the Psalms focus on the Temple, on Zion, as a place of pilgrimage, joy, security. I am wondering what others feel when they pray a Psalm centered on Temple imagery, since I have not usually responded emotionally to this image–certainly not in the intense way that Jews of ancient Israel would have [...]