Ready for Silence, Madeleine L'Engle - Poetry for Poetry Month

Ready for Silence
Madeleine L'Engle

Then hear now the silence
He comes in the silence
in silence he enters
the womb of the bearer
in silence he goes to
the realm of the shadows
redeeming and shriving
in silence he moves from
the grave cloths, the dark tomb
in silence he rises
ascends to the glory
leaving his promise
leaving his comfort
leaving his silence

So come now, Lord Jesus
Come in your silence
breaking our noising
laughter of panic
breaking this earth's time
breaking us breaking us
quickly Lord Jesus
make no long tarrying

When will you come
and how will you come
and will we be ready
for silence
                  your silence

On Fasting, by Richard Rohr

In Isaiah 58:1-9a, Isaiah explicitly says that God prefers a kind of fasting which changes our actual lifestyle and not just punishes our body.  (The poor body is always the available scapegoat to avoid touching our purse, our calendar, or our prejudices.)  Isaiah makes a very upfront demand for social justice, non-aggression, taking our feet off the necks of the oppressed, sharing our bread with the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, letting go of our sense of entitlement, and not speaking maliciously.  He says very clearly this is the real fast God wants! In Matthew 9:14-15, Jesus is asked why he and his disciples do not fast.  In effect, he says “because it is the wrong kind of fasting!”  Then he introduces a favorite theme and metaphor that he gradually develops:  life as a wedding banquet, with himself as the bridegroom and humanity as the bride.  It will soon become clear that Jesus is not interested in an elite who do their rituals properly yet refuse to join in the wedding feast that God is preparing for all, both insiders and outsiders. Richard Rohr, from Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent, pp. 18-19

Ash Wednesday by T.S. Eliot

Ash Wednesday by T.S. Eliot

Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope
I no longer strive to strive towards such things
(Why should the aged eagle stretch its wings?)
Why should I mourn
The vanished power of the usual reign?

Because I do not hope to know again
The infirm glory of the positive hour
Because I do not think
Because I know I shall not know
The one veritable transitory power
Because I cannot drink
There, where trees flower, and springs flow, for there is nothing again

Because I know that time is always time
And place is always and only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place
I rejoice that things are as they are and
I renounce the blessed face
And renounce the voice
Because I cannot hope to turn again
Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something
Upon which to rejoice

And pray to God to have mercy upon us
And pray that I may forget
These matters that with myself I too much discuss
Too much explain
Because I do not hope to turn again
Let these words answer
For what is done, not to be done again
May the judgement not be too heavy upon us

Because these wings are no longer wings to fly
But merely vans to beat the air
The air which is now thoroughly small and dry
Smaller and dryer than the will
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still.

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

II

Lady, three white leopards sat under a juniper-tree
In the cool of the day, having fed to satiety
On my legs my heart my liver and that which had been contained
In the hollow round of my skull. And God said
Shall these bones live? shall these
Bones live? And that which had been contained
In the bones (which were already dry) said chirping:
Because of the goodness of this Lady
And because of her loveliness, and because
She honours the Virgin in meditation,
We shine with brightness. And I who am here dissembled
Proffer my deeds to oblivion, and my love
To the posterity of the desert and the fruit of the gourd.
It is this which recovers
My guts the strings of my eyes and the indigestible portions
Which the leopards reject. The Lady is withdrawn
In a white gown, to contemplation, in a white gown.
Let the whiteness of bones atone to forgetfulness.
There is no life in them. As I am forgotten
And would be forgotten, so I would forget
Thus devoted, concentrated in purpose. And God said
Prophesy to the wind, to the wind only for only
The wind will listen. And the bones sang chirping
With the burden of the grasshopper, saying

Lady of silences
Calm and distressed
Torn and most whole
Rose of memory
Rose of forgetfulness
Exhausted and life-giving
Worried reposeful
The single Rose
Is now the Garden
Where all loves end
Terminate torment
Of love unsatisfied
The greater torment
Of love satisfied
End of the endless
Journey to no end
Conclusion of all that
Is inconclusible
Speech without word and
Word of no speech
Grace to the Mother
For the Garden
Where all love ends.

Under a juniper-tree the bones sang, scattered and shining
We are glad to be scattered, we did little good to each other,
Under a tree in the cool of the day, with the blessing of sand,
Forgetting themselves and each other, united
In the quiet of the desert. This is the land which ye
Shall divide by lot. And neither division nor unity
Matters. This is the land. We have our inheritance.

III

At the first turning of the second stair
I turned and saw below
The same shape twisted on the banister
Under the vapour in the fetid air
Struggling with the devil of the stairs who wears
The deceitul face of hope and of despair.

At the second turning of the second stair
I left them twisting, turning below;
There were no more faces and the stair was dark,
Damp, jagged, like an old man's mouth drivelling, beyond repair,
Or the toothed gullet of an aged shark.

At the first turning of the third stair
Was a slotted window bellied like the figs's fruit
And beyond the hawthorn blossom and a pasture scene
The broadbacked figure drest in blue and green
Enchanted the maytime with an antique flute.
Blown hair is sweet, brown hair over the mouth blown,
Lilac and brown hair;
Distraction, music of the flute, stops and steps of the mind over the third stair,
Fading, fading; strength beyond hope and despair
Climbing the third stair.

Lord, I am not worthy
Lord, I am not worthy
but speak the word only.

IV

Who walked between the violet and the violet
Who walked between
The various ranks of varied green
Going in white and blue, in Mary's colour,
Talking of trivial things
In ignorance and knowledge of eternal dolour
Who moved among the others as they walked,
Who then made strong the fountains and made fresh the springs

Made cool the dry rock and made firm the sand
In blue of larkspur, blue of Mary's colour,
Sovegna vos

Here are the years that walk between, bearing
Away the fiddles and the flutes, restoring
One who moves in the time between sleep and waking, wearing

White light folded, sheathing about her, folded.
The new years walk, restoring
Through a bright cloud of tears, the years, restoring
With a new verse the ancient rhyme. Redeem
The time. Redeem
The unread vision in the higher dream
While jewelled unicorns draw by the gilded hearse.

The silent sister veiled in white and blue
Between the yews, behind the garden god,
Whose flute is breathless, bent her head and signed but spoke no word

But the fountain sprang up and the bird sang down
Redeem the time, redeem the dream
The token of the word unheard, unspoken

Till the wind shake a thousand whispers from the yew

And after this our exile

V

If the lost word is lost, if the spent word is spent
If the unheard, unspoken
Word is unspoken, unheard;
Still is the unspoken word, the Word unheard,
The Word without a word, the Word within
The world and for the world;
And the light shone in darkness and
Against the Word the unstilled world still whirled
About the centre of the silent Word.

O my people, what have I done unto thee.

Where shall the word be found, where will the word
Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence
Not on the sea or on the islands, not
On the mainland, in the desert or the rain land,
For those who walk in darkness
Both in the day time and in the night time
The right time and the right place are not here
No place of grace for those who avoid the face
No time to rejoice for those who walk among noise and deny the voice

Will the veiled sister pray for
Those who walk in darkness, who chose thee and oppose thee,
Those who are torn on the horn between season and season, time and time, between
Hour and hour, word and word, power and power, those who wait
In darkness? Will the veiled sister pray
For children at the gate
Who will not go away and cannot pray:
Pray for those who chose and oppose

O my people, what have I done unto thee.

Will the veiled sister between the slender
Yew trees pray for those who offend her
And are terrified and cannot surrender
And affirm before the world and deny between the rocks
In the last desert before the last blue rocks
The desert in the garden the garden in the desert
Of drouth, spitting from the mouth the withered apple-seed.

O my people.

VI

Although I do not hope to turn again
Although I do not hope
Although I do not hope to turn

Wavering between the profit and the loss
In this brief transit where the dreams cross
The dreamcrossed twilight between birth and dying
(Bless me father) though I do not wish to wish these things
From the wide window towards the granite shore
The white sails still fly seaward, seaward flying
Unbroken wings

And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices
In the lost lilac and the lost sea voices
And the weak spirit quickens to rebel
For the bent golden-rod and the lost sea smell
Quickens to recover
The cry of quail and the whirling plover
And the blind eye creates
The empty forms between the ivory gates
And smell renews the salt savour of the sandy earth This is the time of tension between dying and birth The place of solitude where three dreams cross Between blue rocks But when the voices shaken from the yew-tree drift away Let the other yew be shaken and reply.

Blessed sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden,
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Even among these rocks,
Our peace in His will
And even among these rocks
Sister, mother
And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,
Suffer me not to be separated

And let my cry come unto Thee.

A holy Lent, a whole Lent?

We pray that we might lead a holy Lent.  A holy Lent.  Holy.  Lent.  Holiness has to do with being whole; that to live in a whole way, we must consider our sinfulness, but also consider our blessedness.

All too often, the church has been a reminder of our sinfulness, of the ways that we don’t live up to God’s gift, of the ways that we fall down, and the church has all too often only been a source of reminding us of this sinfulness.  All too often, I find myself encountering people who are in some sense “recovering” Christians – be they Episcopalians, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Presbyterians or whatever room of the great mansion they may come from.  They are, in some senses “recovering” from the baggage laid on them, and perhaps also, I am sorry to say, abuse. 

Speaking of sin is important, because it can help us to really live in such a way that we know that we can’t “do it” all on our own.  As Paul said, he “sees the good, but can’t do it.”  We may know in our hearts and minds what it might mean to live well and good and lovingly and morally, but sometimes, we just can’t quite make it happen.  Speaking of sin is important for the Church because it is a helpful antedote to arrogance and narcissism.  Speaking of sin is important, in order to help us to focus more on God and our neighbor than on our self.

Speaking of sin, however, can’t be all that the church does. . .  we also need to remember that we are blessed! 

Lent 5 - Sermon - in process

Lent 5 - Sermon - in process - here's how it looks so far, courtesy of wordle.net . . .

I guess I'm preaching about Jesus, this is good!

Lent - Your love...

Psalm 89: 1-18

1 Your love, O LORD, for ever will I sing; *
from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.
2 For I am persuaded that your love is established for ever; *
you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.
3 "I have made a covenant with my chosen one; *
I have sworn an oath to David my servant:
4 'I will establish your line for ever, *
and preserve your throne for all generations.'"
5 The heavens bear witness to your wonders, O LORD, *
and to your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones;
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? *
who is like the LORD among the gods?
7 God is much to be feared in the council of the holy ones, *
great and terrible to all those round about him.
8 Who is like you, LORD God of hosts? *
O mighty LORD, your faithfulness is all around you.
9 You rule the raging of the sea *
and still the surging of its waves.
10 You have crushed Rahab of the deep with a deadly wound; *
you have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 Yours are the heavens; the earth also is yours; *
you laid the foundations of the world and all that is in it.
12 You have made the north and the south; *
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your Name.
13 You have a mighty arm; *
strong is your hand and high is your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne; *
love and truth go before your face.
15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout! *
they walk, O LORD, in the light of your presence.
16 They rejoice daily in your Name; *
they are jubilant in your righteousness.
17 For you are the glory of their strength, *
and by your favor our might is exalted.
18 Truly, the LORD is our ruler; *
The Holy One of Israel is our King.

+


What do you love? Who do you love? We use the word love so often that its depth and breadth have been stripped. However, God's love has not been stripped away, even if our imaginations cannot begin to conceive of the fullness of God, and God's love for us.

What do you love? What do you truly love? There may be glimpses of God's love for us in the midst of the love we have for one another. Reflecting on the people we love, and on the activities we love is helpful as we strive to more fully sense and feel God's everpresent love, faithfulness, and loving-kindness for us. We only have to turn aside and see the many many burning bushes that God gives us to remind us of God's love. We only have to turn around and see that God is running to greet us with open arms after our time away as the Prodigal Child. God's love is ever with us. May we have the eyes and ears and hearts to know it.

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Lent - The return of the prodigal son

Rembrandt van Rijn The return of the prodigal son c. 1662 Oil on canvas 262 x 206 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."

So Jesus told them this parable:

"There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.

"Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"

Lent - show hospitality to strangers

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, 

for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

~Hebrews 13:2

Lent - Haiku by Sam Candler

A bit late, but here is an Ash Wednesday haiku by the Very Rev. Sam Candler, Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral in Atlanta, posted on his great blog, "Good Faith and the Common Good."

Check out his blog,

May we all strive to continue to keep a holy Lent,

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

____________________________

To church for ashes
Today, signs of earth, dust, signs
We are down to earth.



(May God bless us today
In a down to earth way)
Sam Candler

Lent - Wilderness, where the streets have no name

Lent has me exploring the theological aspects of wilderness.  As I begin a busy day today, I began to think about U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name"....in the wilderness, beyond the wilderness...hmmmm...

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Lent - Moses beyond the wilderness

Lent 3

Moses beyond the wilderness...

Have you ever gone to the wilderness, and then gone out the other side?  Have you ever gone "beyond the wilderness"?  Being driven to the wilderness, or led to the wilderness, as Jesus was, I wonder if he went "beyond it" and only going beyond could he come back around?  It is a dark and dangerous place, a large and ominous obstacle, but at times the only way is through, and sometimes the only way to get back is to go beyond.  What was Moses doing beyond the wilderness?  Well, we know that he encountered the living God, the God of his ancestors, and there he was called to do a great thing, to lead his people to freedom.  Have you ever gone to the wilderness, and then gone out the other side? What is waiting for us beyond the wilderness?  Do we have the courage to find out?

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Exodus 3:1-15

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain."
But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM Who I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you':

This is my name forever,

and this my title for all generations.

Lent - The Jerusalem Mile Project

A group of pilgrims from the Diocese of Virginia (including our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Shannon Johnston) are in Jerusalem and are also blogging at "The Jerusalem Mile."  I encourage you to follow along with their pilgrimage, and I have to say that I am envious.

You can also follow along with another pilgrimage, my friend from seminary, Fran, who is blogging at White Mountain Musings or at http://whitemountainmusings.blogspot.com/

I pray I will one day also make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Check them out HERE at http://jerusalemmile.wordpress.com/ and White Mountain Musings or at http://whitemountainmusings.blogspot.com/

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Psalm 137:1-6 Super flumina

1	By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, * when we remembered you, O Zion.
2	As for our harps, we hung them up * on the trees in the midst of that land.
3	For those who led us away captive asked us for a song, and our oppressors called for mirth: * "Sing us one of the songs of Zion."
4	How shall we sing the LORD'S song * upon an alien soil?
5	If I forget you, O Jerusalem, * let my right hand forget its skill.
6	Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, * if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy

Lent - "Hold this space" blogs the 40 words of Lent

Check out "Hold this space" blog and their posts for the 40 words of Lent!

Here's a sample:

40 words of Lent

it begins again
but i need no god to make my wilderness
i find it of my own volition
as discipline this year
i give up nothing
but guilt
the road to crucifixion,
after all,
is paved with failed intentions

Lent - walking the way of Jesus

Image from the "Big Picture Blog" hosted by the Boston Globe Online that got me thinking about Jesus walking in the desert during those 40 days.:

Lent - Bp of Haiti offers Lenten reflection

The Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, the Rt. Rev. Jean Zaché Duracin, offers the following Lenten reflection, commenting on the situation in Haiti and the need for faith, prayer and renewal in the midst of devastation:



From Episcopal News Service



January 12 was a terrible day for the Haitian people. The earthquake left not a soul untouched. There is not a single family that did not lose a close friend or member: Mothers, fathers, siblings, in some cases entire families disappeared.

As for resources, we have next to nothing. The wreckage is beyond imagination.


However, this situation delivers us into faith. I look at this as a baptism. We who are still alive have had the blessing of survival, but in many ways we have died to the ways of the past. We have the opportunity to rise up and start anew. In this moment of grief and mourning, life must continue.
During this Lenten season, it is important for us in Haiti to turn inward and rediscover all that is just within us. It is imperative that we be reborn in this moment. We will live without the physical trappings of the church because we still have the same spiritual guidance, the confessions, the conversations, the reflections.


We need faith. We must go forward with confidence and hope. The Haitian people are fighters. We will not give up. We must see within this situation the possibilities that exist. Jealousy, anger, hatred – this is not the time for these. We turn to Jesus Christ, who did not fall into temptation; though he was in hard situations, he overcame death in victory.


Read the rest HERE

Lent - Polycarp on Forgiveness (from Scott Gunn)

Scott Gunn reminds us of the beautiful words of Polycarp on forgiveness.

Scott writes in his blog, "Seven Whole Days" and quotes Polycarp.

Thank you Scott, just beautiful!

~Peter+
____________________________________________

Today the Church commemorates Polycarp, bishop and martyr. He lived from the mid-first century to the mid-second century. His only surviving work is a letter, “Polycarp to the Philippians“. I’m fascinated by those from the earliest decades of the church, who embraced a glorious life not a glorious institution.

Here are Polycarp’s words on forgiveness. They’re very fitting for Lent.

For I am confident that you are well versed in the Scriptures, and from you nothing is hid; but to me this is not granted. Only, as it is said in these Scriptures, “Be ye angry and sin not,” and “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Blessed is the man who remembers this, and I believe that it is so with you. Now may God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the “eternal Priest” himself, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, build you up in faith and truth, and in all gentleness, and without wrath, and in patience, and in longsuffering, and endurance, and purity, and may he give you lot and part with his saints, and to us with you, and to all under heaven who shall believe in our Lord and God Jesus Christ and in his “Father who raised him from the dead.” “Pray for all the saints. Pray also for the Emperors,” and for potentates, and princes, and for “those who persecute you and hate you,” and for “the enemies of the Cross” that “your fruit may be manifest among all men, that you may be perfected” in him.

Good advice nineteen centuries ago, and good advice today.

Lent - To keep you in all your ways

"...he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
~Psalm 91: 11

Lent - "Lent. What is it for?"

My article last year (2009) in the "Daily Episcopalian" at "EpiscopalCafe.com"....

May your Lent be full of blessings,


~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Lent. What is it for?

By Peter M. Carey
Entering Lent each year I tend to hear people at church (including myself) say that we should “give something up,” or (more recently) “take something on”. Giving up chocolate, or alcohol, or negativity are some choices that I have heard about. Taking on such things as praying daily, reading the Bible, or tending to one’s spiritual life can be wonderful disciplines. Often, however, I get focused on the obstacles. I get focused on (and obsessed with?) the thing I’ve tried to “give up,” or I find myself focusing on the thing that I’ve “taken on.” This is the wrong focus, perhaps like a hurdler focusing on the hurdles so much that she hits every hurdle and crashes. Obviously, the hurdles are not the focus of the race. Focusing on the obstacles can obscure the goal. I imagine this may be true of others as well.

This year, I have tried to really consider the question of the reason that we observe Lent at all. What is the reason to “give up” or “take on.” There are probably tons of reasons, but, for me, as someone with a busy house of three children under 6, and a busy ministry of serving as a chaplain to a large and complex school, the main reason to observe Lent at all has been to give some time to remember God. I have attempted to focus on God, rather than the things I’ve given up (Facebook), and rather than the things I’ve taken on (reading the Bible and theology daily with greater focus).

As simple as it sounds, the practice of giving time back to God, so that I might remember the ever present reality of God, can become difficult.

Read the rest at "Episcopal Cafe"....

Lent - Jesus in the desert

I find this to be a powerful depiction of Jesus' time in the desert. We will read Luke's version of the story of Jesus' 40 days in the desert this Sunday, the 40 days of fasting and temptation by the devil which follow Jesus' baptism. Take a look.

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Lent - at SSJE

SSJE - St. John the Evangelist Society
The St. John the Evangelist Society, the Anglican monastic community in Cambridge, Massachussetts will be offering a variety of Lenten resources this Lent.  There will be a daily reading from their rule of life, as well as weekly reflections by various of the brothers.  I highly recommend checking out their site (and paying them a visit, if you have a chance.)

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

You can access the "SSJE" Lenten site HERE

Lent is the season in which Christians prepare for the Resurrection of the Lord. It is a time to renew our commitment as disciples of Jesus by adopting practices that deepen our relationship to God. 

We invite you to join us, either in person or virtually, for our Lenten preaching series, Monastic Wisdom for Everyday Living. Each Tuesday in March, the 5.15 Eucharist at the Monastery Chapel will feature a sermon reflecting on a specific practice from the SSJE Rule of Life. After the service there will be a soup supper and further conversation with the evening's preacher. March 3—Br. Kevin Hackett, on Silence March 10—Br. Bruce Neal, on The Graces of Friendship March 24—Br. David Vryhof, on Prayer and Life March 31—Br. Geoffrey Tristram, on The Witness and Challenges of Community Life If you cannot join us in person, check back here for a weekly update, featuring an audio recording of the sermon and suggestions for further reading.

.