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we are there for one another andfor a world that is in need of our

prayers, healing, support and ser-vice. We reach out to everyonefrom the homeless to the rich,realizing there is a poverty in usall.

Who are we? We are family!

We are a community of womenand men who have chosen to liveand order our lives by the teach-ings of St. Benedict of Nursia anda Benedictine spirituality. We area contemplative community of

people with an apostolic calling.We maintain families and profes-

sional lives. We choose to livethe life of prayer and work. We practice our lives of prayer to-gether yet apart, knowing eachone has chosen to live their livesin this manner. We come together regularly as a community to re-treat, listen, pray, learn, share ameal, work, and fellowship withone another.

Our teachings are broad

in learning yet narrow in living.We are taught many things fromour Desert Mothers and Fathers,from teachers like Thomas Mer-ton, Francis and Clare of Assisi,Teresa of Jesus, John of theCross, Therese of Liseux, St.Augustine, Ignatius of Loyola,

Henri Nouwen, John Main, andThomas Keating. These are justto name a few of the teacherswho daily guide us in the waywe feel God has chosen us tolive our lives.

We are a communitythat supports New BeginningsHouse of Prayer with our time,talents and treasures. We feelas though we live together eventhough we live apart. We know

The Benedictine Way“

The love of Christ must comebefore all else.” At New Begin-nings we believe that God is call-ing us to be shaped by the Rule of St. Benedict, which is grounded inscripture and centered on Christ.

“Am I daily becoming a moreloving person?” Benedict bor-rowed freely from earlier monasticwriters, but it was his emphasis onhow his monks treated one another that made his rule unique. Bene-dictine spirituality, grounded inthe here and now of our dailylives, helps us to see every humanface as an icon of Christ and everytask as holy if offered to God. St.Benedict said that the monk withhis pots and pans in the kitchen isdoing as holy a work as the monk in the choir.

Stability means to stay in one placewithin our own hearts, not to runwhen things get tough, but to com-mit to the long haul and trust inGod’s ability to do His work in andthrough us.

Obedience comes from the rootword “to hear” and means to listenwith an open heart to God speak-ing, wherever and through whom-

ever that might be. Obedience,Thomas Merton said, results in“the freedom to be able to do in thedepths of your heart what youreally want to do”.

Conversion of life involves, asJoan Chittister describes it,“commitment to your own adult-hood”, taking responsibility for your own choices and growth.

THE “CELL” A monk’s room is called a cell. Theword “cell” is not to imply a prisoncell; the monk may enter and exit thecell at will. Rather, the monk’s cell isa place of refuge.-A Journey into Lay Monasticism

“Just as fish die if they stay too long out of the water, so the monks, wholoiter outside their cell or pass their time with men of the world lose the

intensity of inner peace. So like a fish going towards the sea, we must hurryto reach our cell, for fear that if wedelay outside, we will lose our inte-rior watchfulness.” -St. Anthony

“A brother came to Scetis to visit Abba Moses and asked for a word.The old man said to him, “Go sit in

your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”

NEW BEGINNINGS HOUSE OF PRAYERP.O. BOX 854 / 1806 11TH STREET, GALENA PARK, TX 77547 / 713.927.7534

WWW.NEWBEGINNINGSPRAYER.ORG

March 2010Volume 1, Issue 1

ST. SCHOLASTICABENEDICTINE LAY COMMUNITY

NEWSLETTER

Who We Are

NEXT BENEDICTINE MEETING —MARCH 27, 9:30 A.M.

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The ninth step of humilityis that we control our

tongues and remain silent,not speaking unless asked a question, for Scripturewarns, “In a flood of words

you will not avoid sinning.,(Proverbs 10:19), and “ Atalkative person goes about aimlessly on earth” (Ps. 140:12)~Rule of St. Benedict.

The spiritual per-son is silent because at hearthe wants to spend time withGod, and to do that he mustwithdraw from human con-

versation. He does not keepsilent because he dislikes

other humans, but becausesmall talk is small. Chit-chatis to the life of prayer whatstatic is to radio reception.The spiritual person’s in-stinctive withdrawal alien-ates him from the main-stream and pushes him intoa monastic isolation.As we grow in silence, wegrow in love!

As you listen to the writingsfrom the Rule of St. Bene-dict, listen with your heart to

God’s leading:

What word or phrasestruck you?

__________________

Listen to what it issaying to you.

What is your response,your prayer?

Rest in that word or phrase.

What action or act of service is being askedof you?

plative and monastic, wayof life.

We promise to supportNew Beginnings House of Prayer with our time, tal-ents, and treasures, to beas present to one another apart as we are whentogether. We don't livetogether, but we praydaily for one another,seeking God’s will for each ones life. We love

Who is welcomed? Youare if you feel called to adeeper way of life, of love, of being. If you de-sire to join a communitythat is serious about their life with God and oneanother, who has chosena Benedictine lifestyle.

Our teachers are manyand have lived out or con-tinue to live this contem-

each other and desireGod’s best for each other.We are present also to aworld that needs us to bethe hands, feet, mouth andheart of Christ.

If this is something you feelGod is calling you to,please contact us. After all:

Our house is your house!God bless you.

St. Benedict and Lectio Divina (Sacred Reading)

Who Is Welcomed In This Community?

Lenten Journey with Thomas Merton

remedy. It is the Devilwho tells us that we are illand taunts us for it, re-minds us of our helpless-ness by making us evenmore helpless. In thePenitential Psalms Christrecognizes my poverty inHis poverty. Merely to seemyself in the psalm is abeginning of beinghealed. O the need of thathealing! I walk from re-gion to region of my soul,and I discover that I am abombed city.

I meditate on Psalm 6 tosee the green grass andpools of water after thestorm. Although I am ru-ined, I am far better off than I have ever been inmy life. My ruin is my for-tune.”

____________________ Reflect:

At what time in your lifecould you, too, havesaid with Merton that“my ruin is my fortune”?

Thomas Merton after re-flecting on Psalm 120discovered how verymuch he needed thePenitential Psalms. Hewrote: “You do not knowyour need until you ex-perience it. You do notexperience your povertywhen you tell yourself about it but when Godtells you that you arepoor. When God tells youof a sickness, it is be-cause He means, at thesame time, to provide a

When God tells

you of a sickness,

it is because He

means, at the

same time, to

provide a remedy.

-Thomas Merton

Page 2 ST. SCHOLASTICA

Alone in solitaryplaces, as we

deepen our life withGod... as we prepare

ourselves for the needs of

the world.