Plain as the Nose
Sometimes, things are so obvious that your humble servant here simply misses them altogether. This is one of the gifts of contemplative practice: when I slow down long enough to actually remind myself that I am a breathing organism who continues to live and love solely by the grace of God, among other things I’m giving my brain a chance to catch up with my normal speed-of-life distracted self.
This morning, just as my wife and I were chanting the words by which we begin our prayer every morning (“O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me”), I got this little insight that, once I thought about it, seemed so utterly obvious that I really felt like a dolt for not having noticed it before.
This is it: monasteries are house churches. (more…)
