On writing a Rule of Life by Eileen Padmore

This is a piece of writing like no other that needs much inner scrutiny.  Fifteen years of regular retreats with the Whitby based Order of the Holy Paraclete (OHP) have prompted me to make tertiary postulant vows – drawn by the Benedictine seamless daily rhythm of prayer, work, rest and reading.  Now I need to develop a personal Rule.

Benedict, a young middle class Italian, went to study in Rome at the end of the fifth century only to find the Empire in total disarray.  Christianity was by then the official religion but the church was also in turmoil.  Sound familiar?

Discovering there was no help in the capital, Benedict returned to the model of the desert fathers and set up home in a cave.  As many have learned, an authentic search for God attracts others. Before long, he needed to write a Rule for the strange assortment of lay people gathered around him.

Considered by some as a religious name for time management and others as a practical way to get a 'handle on life' – to organise activities according to priorities – I would argue there's a difference.  It's easy to toss off a tabulated list of guidelines designed to improve our act.  I do it every retreat, but it often gets buried under the clutter of daily life on return – only to smack me in the face again at my next retreat!

So what will be different now?

In my travels through various churches and denominations, I have had much excellent verbal and written guidance but no mechanism for personal accompaniment.  Now, I have a designated link tertiary and a spiritual director.  There is a new sense of travelling in community – one made up of enclosed nuns, linked to the non-enclosed diverse body of tertiaries.

In some ways it is more challenging to develop a Rule outside the cloister.  It must be tailored to personal circumstances, dependencies, relations and skills.  The journey has been unexpectedly gentle with advice to take time, be realistic and design a flexible 'trellis' rather than a 'cage'.

So with a busy schedule, lots of commitments, a blank sheet of paper and the desire to join that joyful, praying community of OHP sisters, what do I write?  What do I need to change, what should I add, what discontinue?

In spite of their separation from the outside world and much time spent in silence, I have discovered the nuns to be remarkably tuned in to outside events.  But rather than immerse themselves in endless debates around the issues of this fallen planet (about which they may have a variety of opinions) they choose to turn their faces toward God in worship and intercession.

In my last blog I suggested that a spiritual war is being waged over our nation and beyond.  What a privilege to develop a written Rule to help me travel alongside this powerful, prayer filled community as they engage on the front line of battle!

 
Eileen Padmore has retired from a life spent in health care and academia, having worked in Sierra Leone, Zambia, Eire and Northern Ireland (in the troubles) as well as inner city Birmingham and Leeds.  She has had articles published in Woman Alive, Christian Writer and contributed to the popular ACW Lent Book.  Last November she claimed NaNo 2018 winner at first attempt.  Married to a professional musician, the family includes a feisty springer spaniel and a large African tortoise.