Piddingworth Greg Benton |
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| 'Piddingworth...where St. George's Cross is not yet banned.' --Mark Steyn |
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| In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1.1 |
| GOD REST YE MERRY |
| It is difficult at times to try and keep a perspective on all the things going on around us. There are the seemingly endless numbers of kooky doomsayers screaming at us about how awful the world is and that, unless certain things take place, i.e., the abolition of civilisation as we have known it, the oceans will rise over the cities, the Arctic will melt away all the bears, and millions will die. On the reality side, there remains the relatively new and ever-present danger of a malignant fanaticism from what was once an 'isolated' part of the world that remains immersed in a pre-mediaeval culture. Because of technology, and the ability to transcend their geography, these varied tribal groups have already and continue to slaughter the innocent. More of our soldiers, our very best citizens, have fallen in far away places that for reasons that some find difficult to either understand or appreciate. The world's economy is as far from secure as most of us have seen in our lifetime. Many people have lost a great deal: jobs, retirement investments, homes. The concomitant failure of greed, incompetence, foolhardiness, massive debt, and just the natural flow of things, has shaken up what many perceived to be as solid as the rock of Gibraltar. 'Happy Days Are Here Again' is what they sang during the Great Depression. For a lot of people, the doom and gloom is, as it always has been in recorded history, more 'ordinary' and personal; from the breakdown of marriages to the death of a loved one; from the curse of disease to the suffering of the poor and dying; from hunger to the fear of meeting another day. Add to these a whole host of additional stresses and complaints in relationships, the workplace, at home, over the children and so on, and it's easy to see how, under the veneer of prosperity, things can look pretty bleak; even with LED lights on one's Christmas tree. How could any of us, knowing that such darkness envelopes so many people, be so bold as to say 'Merry Christmas!', 'Happy Christmas!', 'Happy New Year!'? It really is a matter of the perspective one embraces; and one that is rooted in faith, moral character and reason. Most of us tend to be reactive rather than proactive in our living. If we've put 'all our eggs into one basket', we lay ourselves bare to the real possibility of a calamitous loss, even ruin, that may require us to have to start all over again from a place so daunting that it seems insurmountable. Rolling the dice is a common affliction, whether in money or love or personal habits. When tragedy, or sickness, or death, or poverty or horror strikes, so very many of us are unprepared for the consequences. In this respect, one surrenders the quality of one's life over to the fleeting chances that come one's way. I have seen this especially in death where the character and conviction of the bereaved bears heavily on their ability to absorb the loss and hurt. Many seem to wait for calamity to strike before they turn to another, unseen power, that could have sustained them and permitted them to carry on with strength and conviction. In all of this, we can learn about living and our world from the Monks and Nuns of St. Benedict and their like. The flippant view of some regarding those who live in a cloister is that they are 'apart' from the 'real' world and so have nothing to offer to any of us who struggle with life in 'our' world. The truth is, of course, that these women and men of faith, bound in community through their vows of chastity, obedience, poverty and stability and a rule of life written by their founder long before Oprah, are utterly immersed in the world. It's just, as Jesus of Nazareth directed, that they are not 'of' the world. So immersed are they that their knowledge of the things that move and shape the world is generally much deeper and keener than it is for most anyone else. They know what greed is and the disaster that can come from being 'attached' to things. They know what materialism is. They know what is love and what is not; the same love that we experience or to which we aspire. They know suffering and death and they know the importance of the necessities of life. Indeed, they are the first and true envioronmentalists. Most importantly, theirs is a life of prayer, their opus Dei, and their primary work; the same kind of prayer that any of us can share whether alone in our rooms or at the altar of celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The Benedictines and their cousins in monastic life, have been around for about 1500 years. What has happened in all that time? They have seen Kings and Queens, tyrants and dictators, Empires and States, come and go. They have seen war and peace, prosperity and adversity. They have buried their dead and our dead and known the great and the small. They share both celebration and mourning; work and leisure. They are a community that depends on all of the gifts and offerings of its members. In the course of their mission, they remain constant, in season and our of season, working and praying in a manner that transcends the on-going history that surrounds them. Their perspective, their way of life, is not altered by the arrows that flieth by day of worldly existence' but it is also neither stoic nor indifferent to the world outside of the monastery walls. Theirs is a vibrancy of spiritual living enjoined to the power of God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, they are united with the rest of us wherever and however we live; just as they, and all of us in the Church, are united with those who have gone before us but 'on another shore'. Through all the gloom, doom, celebration and ecstasy of history, their fundamental strength remains and that is their utter submission to the reality of God in all and above all. This is the same God whose Word became flesh and dwelt among us so that we, too, might know the true Light to answer our darknesses and the true Life to answer our sufferings and death. Jesus Christ is our Comfort and our Joy. If somehow we are able to manage the courage to free ourselves from our submission to the powers of the world and all their tricks and trinkets, and look to Him who was born of Mary, who grew in Wisdom and showed the Way through which we can truly see and live in the world; who gave His life out of Love and who rose from the dead, our perspective on things, right now, will permit us the joy of a Happy Christmas. Similarly, now is the time, indeed it is always the right time, for us to take care of and for each other in the 'community' in which we live; including our families and our friends and neighbours. When things were tough in the Great Depression, our grandparents didn't look to the government to provide, but to those around them and near to them where they shared in their labours and the little they could afford. The social assistance that so many receive today is wonderful but it is clearly not the answer to either our happiness or our future. Christmas Carols are sung with greater meaning and joy when one knows, not only the words, but the One about Whom the words speak. God rest ye merry. Note: I apologise for being away from the Piddingworth site for some time and I see that many of you have returned again and again for updates. Thank you for your faithful interest and support. Alas, my disease and the attention required to keep it in check has prevented me from doing very much. Thankfully, I have found some strength and inspiration in all the spirits of Christmas where I also look forward to the joy and celebration with the Church, family and dear friends and, of course, at Piddingworth! Greg Benton, 20th December 2008 |