I love the name of Monday's Marian observance - Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The idea that she is perpetual - not limited in time or space - available at any time of day. She is there, waiting for us - ready to help us. What a wonderful concept!
Our Lady who is always open to us, who is giving us her "yes" just as she gave her "yes" to God, is a wonderful counterpoint to the terrible political turmoil that is happening right now. I welcome the opportunity to turn my back on all the political news that is legitimately captivating - but which does not speak to my vocation or my heart, really.
The balance of body and soul becomes disturbed when the news becomes inflammatory and there is a lot of controversies jockeying for our attention. It becomes impossible to tune into the blissful, slowly flowing and peaceful mood that typifies the meditative, contemplative life when there are excitable elements demanding our attention constantly.
I've noticed also that the mind, once it becomes involved with those energetic influences, tends to want to stick with that vibe, which isn't good for me, speaking from my personal point of view. So I have to gently call it back from the dramas that are unfolding in the world, then point it in the direction of the Divine.
My instruction to meditation students has always been "incline the mind to the Divine." When we do this, we are with God. Rather, we recognize that God is always with us. We're just not paying attention most of the time.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a wonderful intermediary - someone to hold our hand and soothe us in that process of detaching our attention from the 3-act play in front of us and onto our Lord. I think of her, in times like these, as a divine bridge.
Yesterday's saint is an example of a steady saint who exemplifies a balanced personality, spiritually speaking, and a wide range of skills. I sense that he must have been an extremely intelligent man. Saint Anthelm, like many of the saints, was a hermit for some time.
Time spent alone with God is like anchoring yourself at a very deep level, and after that you may travel anywhere and everywhere and do all sorts of business, yet still be attached to the Lord. Living as a hermit gives you a type of security that does not allow for other people or exciting events to throw you off balance.
Saint Anthelm started out as a priest, and then after visiting the Carthusian Charterhouse at Portes, he entered that contemplative order. A couple years later, he was made abbot of Le Grande Chartreuse, the most famous of the Carthusian order's monasteries. The Carthusians are ascetic and contemplative.
I remember watching a wonderful program about Le Grande Chartreuse when I was a monastic with the Vedanta Society. It really affected me. I remember thinking that male monastics have much grander establishments than the women, which may not be a bad thing. I've just noticed that, no matter what the religion, men always have more comfortable and grander living arrangements. Often, they've corralled the women to wait on them, including, in some instances, NUNS, who I don't imagine particularly enjoy that, having given up domestic life to join the convent.
Just to prove my point, I'll tell you that he made a lot of improvements to the place, including building a defensive wall and an aqueduct. It seems he was equally skilled as an organizer and administrator because he pulled together the various charterhouses and standardized the rules.
He may have worn himself out with all of that building and fixing and organizing, because it was after that episode when he lived as a hermit for a couple of years. He no doubt needed to anchor himself to The Lord after all of that!
After a couple years as a hermit, he got all busy with political stuff, defending Pope Alexander III against an "antipope." After this, he was appointed bishop of Belley, France. WHEW!
Was there anything this guy did not do? Building, organizing, contemplating, hermiting, bishoping. A remarkable man, by all accounts, and I've only told you half his story. Anyway, he is an example to me that, as much as I think I am overwhelmed with all the things I must do, while at the same time being unable to actually physically DO them, it is not impossible, and perhaps I need to just ask for the intercession of Saint Anthelm to help me organize.
So, my personal affiliation with this saint is much more tenuous than with the others that I typically discuss. He was sent to England to arbitrate a dispute between Henry II (my 26th great grandfather) and St. Thomas Beckett, but something curtailed that trip because he had to return to Belly where he took care of the poor and the local lepers.
Now, it seems to me that caring for the poor and the lepers is the sort of thing your superiors task you to do when you have gotten too big for your britches and you need to get in touch with your humble faith. But who could blame this saint for being a little impressed with himself. Honestly, he really IS impressive, don't you think?
My takeaway from Saint Anthelm is that it may be possible for me to "balance it all," hermit-life and the maintenance of the physical plant, writing and study and all the other labors.
Speaking of which, I am coming up on my 20 year anniversary of hermit life. I need to renew my enthusiasm for the life and become more regular in my prayers, if that is possible when considering how my disabilities affect my schedule. But I think I can do better than I have done recently, and I plan to make some changes before my anniversary in February of 2023. I will ask Saint Anthelm to help me. I think he's just the guy.
In the meantime, I ask that you please pray for me so that I may become a better example of this life and thereby grow closer to God. I will pray for all of you also.
God bless us all!
Sannyasini Kaliprana
No comments:
Post a Comment