Related to keeping a rule is maintaining the balance between attachment and detachment, between activity and reflection. It is probably fair to say that, without an intentional focus on maintaining such a balance, most of us will end up out of balance most of the time.
Pray remember what I have recommended to you, which is, to think often of God, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you; leave Him not alone.
Lord Jesus Christ
alive and at large in the world,
help me to follow and find you there today,
in the places where I work,
Gather us in, Thou love that fillest all;
Gather our rival faiths within thy fold.
Rend each man’s temple-veil and bid it fall,
That we may know that Thou hast been of old;
Gather us in.
Our ability to make room for others, and the joy we do or do not find in such activity, depends largely on our experience of being accepted or not.
On my worst days, many of which seem to come in February, I need to know of people like Anskar. Anskar labored long and hard, but saw few, if any, accomplishments. His efforts only began to pay off long after his death.
Her hands steadied the first steps
of him who steadied the earth to walk upon;
her lips helped the Word of God
to form his first human words.
Call to mind with me the time when Peter was praised and called blessed. Was it because he merely said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”? No, he who pronounced him blessed regarded not merely the sound of his words, but the affections of his heart.
Peace between victor and vanquished
Peace between old and young
Peace between rich and poor
The peace of Christ above all.
Suffering, disappointment, bad economies, lost jobs—all these are part of our lives. We all will have times of dependence, of being patients, of having to be patient. But those are times with a dignity and even a beauty all their own.