The Rule of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist
We Brothers welcome you to a share one of our daily practices: listening to and reflecting on a chapter of our Rule of Life.
- To listen to the SSJE Rule of Life, read aloud by a Brother, click on the chapters below or in the left sidebar navigation on this page.
- For a guide to reading the SSJE Rule as a means for your own personal reflection, click here.
- To purchase a print copy of the book The Rule of Life of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, click here.
- We welcome your comments on each chapter.
In addition the Brothers have a series of other resources that we hope might be helpful to you in exploring living with a Rule.
Living Intentionally: Creating a Rule of Life
We invite you to download our Living Intentionally Workbook for Creating a Personal Rule of Life. Walk with Br. David Vryhof step-by-step through the process of writing your own Rule.
A Framework for Freedom:
We invite you to discover the freedom that comes from living by a rule of life, by journeying through “A Framework for Freedom,” a 7-week self-guided video course to help you say “Yes” to your life. Watch the series now. Subscribe to a daily email.
In Lent 2012, we preached a series on the challenges and rewards of living by a rule of life. Drawing on chapters from SSJE’s Rule. Read and listen to the sermons.
A Living Tradition:
Each day of Lent 2011, we posted a short “living commentary” on our Rule, with a Brother or two offering his unique perspective on the document which shapes and forms our prayer and practice more than any other apart from Scripture and The Book of Common Prayer. To read that conversation, click here.
The Rule of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist
We Brothers welcome you to a share one of our daily practices: listening to and reflecting on a chapter of our Rule of Life.
- To listen to the SSJE Rule of Life, read aloud by a brother, click on the chapters to the left.
- To read a Guide to Personal Reflection, click here
- To Subscribe to the SSJE Rule of Life, click the subscribe buttons on the left.
- We welcome comments on each chapter.
- To purchase a copy of the book The Rule of Life, click here
Introduction
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The audio book, The Twelve Days of Christmas, is read by Br. Curtis Almquist and accompanied by carols sung by the Brothers.
The Twelve Days of Christmas follow from December 25 until January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, the traditional date when the Magi arrived to present gifts to infant Jesus. For many, the meaning of these days is lost. By Christmas night we are saturated with the holiday hype, overfed by music and food, and may already be disappointed that the presents received are not enough. This audio book is not a bah humbug about Christmas customs and presents.
This is simply an invitation to go deeper than the tinsel and wrappings, beyond the presents given and received, to the source of all the good gifts in life. Readers are invited to unwrap gifts that will last, praying the twelve days of Christmas.
- To purchase a copy of the book The Twelve Days of Christmas, click here.
- To purchase a copy of In Quiet Silence, the Brothers’ Christmas CD, click here.
Conversion
Perhaps you came to faith in stages, sometimes reluctantly. Perhaps you are, even now, facing the challenge to once and for all to throw in your lot with Jesus. We may not be called to leave our families, homes, and work behind, but to follow Jesus, we must enter a new world. To enter this new world of the Kingdom, we have to radically change direction.
Br. Geoffrey Tristram, SSJE
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Grace
Giving grace to another changes us. Experiencing one more stranger as a friend expands our vision of humanity and of God. How has grace expanded you? To whom might you reach out, to further invite them in?
Br. Luke Ditewig, SSJE
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Generosity
If every one of us gave everything we had to the Church or to the poor, we’d need other people to take care of us. Few of us are called to actual material poverty; instead we are called to be wise stewards of what we’ve been given, and to be generous in sharing it with those who suffer life’s hardships.
Br. David Vryhof, SSJE
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Kingdom
We have a job to do, nothing less than sharing the divine life of Christ our King: we build his kingdom here, today—in this place. If Christ is our King, and we are God’s people, then the dream of God is real. Our mission, which is nothing less than God’s mission, is to make it real for others.
Br. James Koester, SSJE
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Servant
Jesus is a king who subverts all earthly understandings of kingship. He gathers in his person a great paradox: Only God is King, and this God meets us as a Servant. Christian adoration of the crucified, risen, and ascended Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords is rooted in this paradox.
Br. Keith Nelson, SSJE
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Center
We should look for God in our midst through the lives of our neighbors. How you treat another child of God is this life is in actuality how you treat God. By seeing the infinite worth in our neighbor, we keep God as our center and focus.
Br. Jim Woodrum, SSJE
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Thanksgiving
Name three things for which you are grateful as soon as you wake up! Grow your capacity to be happy with little. Cherish the gift of life. Give thanks for the sheer abundance of God’s gifts to you. The more we give thanks, the more we grow in freedom from the compulsive desire for more.
Br. Geoffrey Tristram, SSJE
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Gratitude
This holiday season, if you’re finding fault in another, holding onto hurt, or wanting to throw someone out, consider the question: What have you received? Act from your gratitude and experiences of mercy, forgiveness, and love. Abiding with one another helps, heals, and preserves the whole body
Br. Luke Ditewig, SSJE
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Honesty
It takes courage to speak honestly and directly with God about the whole of our lives, but the task becomes easier when we remember that it is Love who listens to us.
Br. David Vryhof, SSJE
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Destiny
We may well have glimpsed our destiny or life’s calling when we were yet a child, but we might have avoided it, or denied it, or run from it. You have this unique acorn within you. Life is not about our compensating for our inferiorities; life is about recovering our true self.
Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE
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