Holy Leisure: Taking Time for God When Sister Claudia Scharf, OSB wakes up in the morning, she lights a candle to enter a moment of reflection, of leisure.
Watching it flicker, her thoughts travel to Jesus, and the light that He radiates in our dark universe.
She thinks of her Sisters, how they are Christ in the world.
In this predawn quiet, companioned by the soft glow of the candle's flame, she prepares herself for the day.
Welcome to "Holy Leisure," the leisure that belongs to the monastic heart.
In daily life ..."Leisure is not only about time and activity," Sister Marilyn Ring, OSB says.
"It's about attitude, toward self, toward others, toward God. It's about attention. We seek, during that time of leisure, to be present to ourselves and to one another."
Deep listening cannot be accomplished in rushed circumstances. It requires time and intention.
"If we have an
attitude of presence to other people or to what we are doing, that's holy," Sr. Marilyn says.
"For instance, I saw some Sisters shucking corn the other day. They were so companionable, chatting as they worked, it felt to me like leisure, like holy leisure, and not like a chore."
Making oneself present to another person - and to God - requires an intentionality of purpose, she notes.
"We can't just use another's presence to talk about ourselves," Sr. Marilyn says. "That's disrespectful. The same thing is true of prayer. We make ourselves present to God to listen to God as well as to talk."
In chapel ..."When I hear
the bells for prayers, I drop everything and go to the chapel," Sister Helen Carey, OSB, says.
"I settle in for those quiet moments and watch the morning fog, the deer leap through the wild flowers. I enter an attitude of receptivity."
During prayers, intervals of silence provide more time for leisure, as does the slow and measured
reading of the Psalms.
"Praying the Psalms slowly with the community is a very prayerful experience," Sr. Helen says.
Sister Catherine Cleary, OSB, says leisure helps us re-create ourselves.
"Balance is the key," she says. "Knowing when to quit work and take a walk or listen to music."
An essential practice ..."Leisure is not work versus not-work," Sr. Catherine says.
"It is intervals of quiet and pleasurable activity that orient the mind to be fully present all the time. You don't achieve it by watching violence on TV. That's the opposite and the enemy of leisure."
It re-creates us, spiritually, mentally and emotionally.
The result?
"Peace, joy, calm," Sr. Catherine says. "A sense of God's presence."
Learn more ...Learn more about Religious Life during our annual Labor Day Discernment Weekend Sept. 5 - Sept. 7. Sisters from many different kinds of communities - from Benedictine and Franciscan to Trappistine and Dominican - will be here to answer your questions. Contact Sister Stefanie to reserve your spot:
smacdonald@smmsisters.org!
