The Center for contemplative practice
A Lay Cistercian Looks at Spiritual Reality
A LAY CISTERCIAN REFLECTS ON WEALTH AND HAPPINESS
In a recent Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5), the following thoughts emerged. I am still trying to decipher what it all means, but I wish you share it with you.
- How many rooms do you need in your house?
- How many cars do you need to drive?
- How much money in the bank is enough?
- How many vacations do you need to take to be happy?
- Can bourbon make you feel better?
- Do you have an addiction to food, alcohol, soft drinks, potato chips, candy (except chocolate), watching television, eating out, smoking, taking pain pills not prescribed, binging on vitamin pills, reading pornography, putting other people down who don’t believe like you do (whatever that is), wishing you had the wife of another person, wishing your wife would marry someone else, having no relationship with anyone other than yourself, making yourself god, telling falsehoods about people to build up yourself in their sight, having secret girlfriends or boyfriends your spouse does not know about, and having the psychopathology of the average?
- Do you have a way to make all things new in your life?
These are waste products that come from living a life without dusting or cleaning out your spiritual life. Christ is the broom, but you must sweep your house to make it clean. For a hint, read Chapter 4 of St. Benedict’s Rule. https://christdesert.org/prayer/rule-of-st-benedict/chapter-4-the-tools-for-good-works/
Christianity is about doing, doing Christ.
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The Center for contemplative practice 