Day One – A Living Tradition
A Living Tradition
Question: Several Brothers have preached and spoken of how tradition—and our Rule particularly—is less about the past than it is about the future, God’s future, and that therefore, always looking forward. Can you say more?
Br. Geoffrey Tristram: Living under a rule of life, a regula, as the Latin says it, for a Christian is to incline ones heart toward the life that God designed and desires for us. It’s the larger life, resurrection life that is promised to us in the Gospel, and therefore always grounded in the here and now but oriented to God’s future.
I like what Brother Tristram said about inclining our hearts toward the life that God designed and desires for us. So, if we are looking forward, should there be more hope? I think so. I often find sadness and guilt in looking back, but a new future is full of infinite possibilities with God. My prayer for Lent is to stay more centered in God’s presence. I pray all of us will find more of this life God has designed and desires for us in personal rules that might include generosity, mercy, forgiveness, patience and love.
My focus for this Lenten season is to try out my Personal Rule of Life which I drafted recently. I love the seasons of the Church; they give us so many opportunities to draw closer to Christ. My prayer is that in this season all of us that desire to feel Christ more intimately in our lives will be able to do so.
Lanie, good luck with trying out your new Personal Rule of Life. Check back here in the next couple of days as we will feature members of the Fellowship of Saint John reflecting on how they created (or tried to create!) their own Personal Rules.