Soap operas to saints
Let a fifth-century monk help you make the most of your life
Photo from Photos.comIt was my Irish grandmother’s favorite “soap.” Each weekday afternoon she would stop to rest, kick off her shoes, put up her feet on Pop’s big stool, and sit down to enjoy the next episode of “One Life to Live.” The program was not what you’d call great theater by any stretch of the imagination, but its high drama kept Nana in suspense. Though I can’t recall the characters from Nana’s show, its stark title remains etched in my memory. In four short words, “One Life to Live” spoke squarely to the brevity of human lives, urging us to make the most of them.
Stewards of this one life
Christian stewardship has everything to do with being grateful for God’s gifts and using them in a way that is in keeping with God’s purposes. “Stewardship” points in several directions— to an offering of time, talent, and treasure for the greater well-being of others, particularly the poor and disenfranchised, as well as to a studied and wise regard for the earth and the created order of which we are a part. And stewardship invites a deep cherishing of the distinctive lives we have been given.
The vocation to become a good steward of this one life given to us is for everyone—not just the few, the proud, and the brave. What habits of heart and practices help us to be creative and faithful stewards of our lives? An historical figure from the Christian tradition that wrestled mightily with this question was Benedict of Nursia.
Mentor for the journey
The fifth-century Benedict (480-550) gained an early reputation for being a holy man, and many persons sought his counsel. Having lived for years as a hermit, Benedict came to realize that his life was better lived in the company of others. He sought to draw up a “rule of life” that could help him become his best self in community. Key to this “rule” were specific habits of the heart that Benedict wished to embrace more deeply and a commitment to a set of practices that served to nurture these habits. The dispositions or habits of heart that Benedict wanted to foster included a listening for the voice of God in community (obedience), a seeking of God in the company of others (stability), and a standing in right relationship with self, God, and other people (humility) as well as balance in living. The practices that he opted to engage in daily in order to nurture these habits of the heart were work, holy reading, prayer, and study.
Reflecting on our “rule of life”
As thoughtful people, we too are invited to reflect upon our “rule of life”—the habits of heart and practices that shape us. Like Benedict, we seek to deepen our ability to listen for the voice of God in community, to know God in the company of those with whom we live, to come to experience right relationship and the kind of balance in our lives that renders us more hospitable people. “Rules of life” warrant tending. What specific practices are we choosing as part of our daily way that can ground us in desired habits of heart? Responses to this question are likely (and delightfully) to be as varied as the characters in Nana’s soap opera. Putting all high drama aside, a singular reality remains: we have but one life to live. TP
Spiritual Practices
- Close your eyes and focus for a few minutes on your breath. Breathe slower and deeper. Let the breath be a sign of the gift of life given to you by God. Receive this gift anew. Pray whatever comes from this place of cherishing your life as gift given.
- Take a few minutes to reflect upon a particular disposition, attitude, or habit of the heart to which you are invited by God. What is one practice that could help you to cultivate this desired habit of heart? Choose it and make it part of your daily routine this month.
For Reflection
Do you think of yourself as having a “rule of life?” What habits of heart do you seek, and what practices serve to nurture these habits of heart? What aspects of Benedict’s rule prove suggestive for you? What particularly attracts? What does being more intentional about your life mean for you at this time?
*This article appeared in the October 2007 issue of Today’s Parish.
Colleen M. Griffith, faculty director of Spirituality Studies at Boston College’s Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry and adjunct associate professor of theology, holds her doctorate in theology from Harvard University’s Divinity School.
