Guide to Weekly Life in Balance Gatherings
Welcome to Life in Balance
With the Anne Arundel Community of Reconciliation
All are warmly invited to join in prayer, silence and facilitated discussion each Thursday at 11:00 AM. We seek to reclaim the balance and harmony often missing in modern life through ancient Benedictine wisdom, centering our life and action in the Spirit.
The approximate schedule is as follows:
- 11:00 Quiet time and opening prayer
- 11:05 Lectio Divina or “spiritual reading” signaled by the bell
- 11:20 Reading from the text, currently The Monastery of the Heart by Sister Joan Chittister; Reflection and Discussion
- 11:55 Closing prayer
- 12:00 Farewell
About quiet: We begin with silence as we transition from the clamor of modern life. You are invited to use this time to focus inwardly, releasing the cares of the day and becoming present and aware.
Lectio Divina: This is a way of listening to Scripture as if God were speaking directly to us. It can allow for a profound experience and is divided into four parts: reading the passage to identify which word or phrase “speaks” to us, reflecting attentively on the meaning of the passage, responding spontaneously (however the text moves us), then simply resting deeply in the words and in the Divine. Many find that closing their eyes during this process helps to shut out distractions. A bell signals the beginning and the end of lectio. If lectio is a new practice for you, please feel free to pick up a more detailed handout as you depart!
Sharing and discussion: When we gather, a sacred space is created. Participants are free to listen or to share reflections that arise from the reading and lectio. We speak from our own experience, using the “I” voice, and welcome one another’s reflections with courtesy and kindness.
- We respect and maintain silences.
- We allow others to speak and refrain from interrupting.
- We neither judge nor give advice.
- We acknowledge differences of opinion in a positive way; we do not defend our positions nor try to convert others to them.
- We practice community by supporting one another through both good and challenging times.
All are invited to continue the discussion over fellowship from 12-1PM the first Thursday of the month.
Can’t make it on a given Thursday? Join us online anytime: http://www.monasteriesoftheheart.org/monastery/anne-arundel-community-reconciliation-aacor
Still have questions? Please contact Lynn at lynnj@his.com.
"We must prepare our hearts and bodies.... Listen carefully...Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God, and our ears to the voice from the heavens that every day calls out...Love God with your whole soul and all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself...your way of acting should be different from the world’s way; the love of Christ must come before all else...these, then, are the tools of the spiritual craft."