Statio

While I am not considering selling the farm and trying to find a monastery that would accept me, I do read with much interest the writings of some of the monastic souls.  And, one of the things which certainly has an appeal is the order which is created during the day.  Joan Chittister, a Benedictine sister, writes about the monastic life in her book, "The Monastic Heart."  It is subtitled "50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life."   

Obviously, her book based on 50 practices include some that are very familiar such as Lectio Divina which enables us in a reflective reading of the Scripture, but also some that are not so familiar such as "Statio."  This particular practice is one which points to the value of arriving where we are going with our whole self.  This may sound a bit strange until we stop and consider the hurried life we often live which seems to fragment our life to the point that our body arrives where we are going before our ability to pay attention to the moment where it has brought us.   

Chittister writes that as she was being trained in the Benedictine order, she was instructed to arrive in worship five minutes before the bell sounded to begin an hour of prayer or worship.  The practice of Statio could point to the value of arriving early for our own worship services, or sitting for a moment before we jump into our devotional time, or simply waiting in the car a moment before entering into a meeting which awaits us.  It is always important to arrive on time, but when we do arrive we need to be sure we have not left part of us elsewhere.