"Obedience and Peace" was originally the episcopal motto of Blessed John XXIII. I have appropriated his motto for two reasons: when I had the first stirrings of a vocation to the priesthood at age twelve (12), my parents allowed me to register at a high school seminary named after this beloved pope; and secondly, these two virtues are hallmarks of the Benedictine Spirituality, a major influence in my spiritual journey.
At the tender age of fifteen (15), I sought a spirituality that would shape my life. I found it in the Rule of St. Benedict, thanks to the Benedictine Nuns of of the Eucharistic King, who welcomed me, prayed with me, and introduced me to their Spiritual Father and his Rule for Beginners.
Listen, my son, to your master's precepts, and incline the ear of your heart, writes St. Benedict in the introduction of his Rule for Beginners. The imperative, listen!, is the first word of St. Benedict to me. It sums up his whole teaching. Esther de Waal points out in her commentary on the Rule entitled A Life-giving Way that this word is an invitation to a personal relationship not only with St. Benedict, as father and teacher, but ultimately with God Himself. God calls and I respond. This is the essence of any vocation, whatever that vocation may take. I realized then, as a teenager, that God's call was, first and foremost, a call to intimate relationship with God and only secondarily, to the ministerial priesthood.
At the tender age of fifteen (15), I sought a spirituality that would shape my life. I found it in the Rule of St. Benedict, thanks to the Benedictine Nuns of of the Eucharistic King, who welcomed me, prayed with me, and introduced me to their Spiritual Father and his Rule for Beginners.
Listen, my son, to your master's precepts, and incline the ear of your heart, writes St. Benedict in the introduction of his Rule for Beginners. The imperative, listen!, is the first word of St. Benedict to me. It sums up his whole teaching. Esther de Waal points out in her commentary on the Rule entitled A Life-giving Way that this word is an invitation to a personal relationship not only with St. Benedict, as father and teacher, but ultimately with God Himself. God calls and I respond. This is the essence of any vocation, whatever that vocation may take. I realized then, as a teenager, that God's call was, first and foremost, a call to intimate relationship with God and only secondarily, to the ministerial priesthood.
The medal of St. Benedict, which I wear everyday since I was invested as an oblate, contains the word "PAX", which means "Peace," and expresses the purpose and the final fruit of the Benedictine way of life. As Joan Chittister explained it wonderfully well in her book, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today, "Benedictine peace comes from living the Paschal mystery well, from being willing to die to things that keep us from the fullness of life, from confronting culture with the memory of the cross, from letting nothing deter us from the will of God in life, from living immersed in Christ to such a degree that eventually nothing else matters and witness becomes an imperative."
Many years later, one of the pastoral charge I received was as pastor of a community named after Blessed John XXIII. I felt I had arrived at a full circle, only to thrust forward to a new and wonderful adventure with a new parish community, named after St. Josephine Bakhita, our universal sister and model of hope for the twenty-first century. All the same, God repeats His invitation that if I am to live up to my vocation, I should continue to listen…hence the title of this site: Just a servant…obedience and peace.
Many years later, one of the pastoral charge I received was as pastor of a community named after Blessed John XXIII. I felt I had arrived at a full circle, only to thrust forward to a new and wonderful adventure with a new parish community, named after St. Josephine Bakhita, our universal sister and model of hope for the twenty-first century. All the same, God repeats His invitation that if I am to live up to my vocation, I should continue to listen…hence the title of this site: Just a servant…obedience and peace.