|
The Sisters of St. John the Divine take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Over the last few months the Home for the Heart reflections have looked at poverty and obedience and their relevance to our Guest House ministry.
Dean Peter Wall wrote about a theology of abundance and contrasted it with a theology of scarcity which says there is never enough. A theology of abundance declares, in God’s world there is always enough, more than enough. We are encouraged to claim our abundant lives and to share our abundance with others. Dean Wall wrote, ‘we can share resources that will make the renovations to the Guest House the exciting reality that we know it is for us all.’ SSJD’s Rule of Life states that, ‘In poverty we bear witness that God is our whole support.’
Sr. Elizabeth Ann reflected on the vow of obedience and how the root of the word obedience is ‘to hear’.The Guest House is a place where we welcome people to ‘come away for a while’, to rest in the silence, solitude and prayerfulness of a monastic community so that they might have the opportunity to hear God’s voice. Our Rule states, ‘In obedience we bear witness that God is our whole life.’
This month we conclude this brief series with a reflection on the vow of chastity. The Sisters of St. John the Divine live the vow of chastity in the celibate state. SSJD’s Rule of Life states that ‘In chastity we bear witness that God is our whole love’
Our Rule states that we are ‘to be open and responsive to the needs of the church and of the world.’ One expression of this is through our ministry of hospitality, welcoming people to our home to worship with us, to enjoy a meal with us or for a longer stay in our Guest House. Guests come to us for anywhere from a few hours to, in some cases, many months.
Hospitality has always been a part of monastic tradition going back to the Desert Mothers and Fathers of 4th century Egypt. The people who withdrew to the desert to be alone with God exerted such an influence and were such an example that people flocked to them for advice and guidance or to just be in the presence of these holy men and women. Today many individuals still seek out monastic communities for spiritual guidance, for silence, solitude and peace, or just to be in the midst of a praying community. And each person, each guest is, as The Rule of Benedict states, ‘to be welcomed as Christ’. Esther de Waal writes that to actually put that pious phrase into practice ‘means, warmth, acceptance, enjoyment in welcoming whoever has arrived.’ That is not always easy, but the vow of chastity is a help.
Chastity is a means for us to make a total commitment to Christ. In our total commitment to Christ we are enabled to be open and responsive to the needs of the world in a way we couldn’t be if we had spouses, dependents or exclusive friendships. In loving God and accepting God’s love for us we are enabled to love and to accept others, to show warmth to and experience enjoyment in our guests.
The vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, rather than being restrictive or limiting instead give us the freedom and the opportunity to be responsive to the needs of our church and our world as we claim God as our whole support, our whole life and our whole love.
| 
