Author: an absurd monk

… all voices sound different in solitude!

Ember Days

I am somewhat obsessed with the Ember Days. In the Book of Common Prayer (1662), the Advent ember days are the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after S. Lucy Day (13 December). These are listed as days of fasting and abstinence. And:

Then the Curate shall declare unto the people what Holy-days, or Fasting-days, are in the week following to be observed. And then also (if occasion be) shall notice be given of the Communion; and Briefs, Citations, and Excommunications read.

Excommunications! Wow! That would be interesting. Anyway, here is the Collect from the Book of Divine Worship (which, I think, is also the Collect in The English Missal)::

Ember Wednesday in Advent

GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God: that the coming festival of our redemption may obtain for us the comfort of thy succour in this life, and in the life to come the reward of eternal felicity; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Day 4 – forgetting

Another day, another sleep. If only there was an Olympic medal for sleeping.

I did read more of The Castle, a little of The Five Wounds of Jesus by Williams, and I had a really good browse through the St Gegory Prayer Book. I had all these crazy insights that I have since forgotten. Forgetting! It is an interesting topic. S. Augustine speaks of it in The Confessions. The fact that I can remember not remembering.Perhaps just losing my mind?!

I ate yesterday – a major step forward. I made arrangements for next year. And I did manage to catch a little of the cricket between naps.

marks of the Passion

One night the devil appeared to St Martin [of Tours] crowned with gold and gems, and in a magnificent vestment sparkling with jewels. ‘I am come in judgement’, he said, ‘Adore me.’ ‘Where’, asked Martin, ‘are the mark of the nails, the piercing of the spear, the crown of thorns? When I see the marks of the Passion I shall adore the Lord’. The devil disappeared.

carthusian seelsorge

To the poor of the world we give bread or whatever else our resources afford or goodwill suggests: we rarely receive them under our roof but instead send them to find lodgings in the village. For it is not for the temporal care of the bodies of our neighbours that we have fled to this desert, but for the eternal salvation of our souls. Therefore it is not surprising if we give more friendship and assistance to those who come here for the sake of their souls than to those who come for the sake of their bodies.

Day 3

Another day! Nearly halfway through this period of isolation. And, to be honest, if I was not sick, this would be heaven.

Yesterday, I did manage to read. I read parts of Kafka’s The Castle, which I had not read before, some of Kierkegaard’s Two Ages and Sickness unto Death, and a little of I am Dynamite. Kafka is always interesting, as he is just so weird, and the two Kierkegaard books pick up the same themes. But I know how K. feels!

And I slept. I tried to listen to the cricket and slept through most of the play. (I was awake for the rain delay!)

Tomorrow is Ember Wednesday in Advent, so I hope to return to praying liturgically. My food order should arrive today, and I have started some beans in the slow cooker – my staple for most days. I did eat a little yesterday. What is it with me and food? Also, today is not as hot as yesterday.

I do not have a title for this post. No insights yesterday. Well, there were but they are private at the moment. Have a super blessed day!

eucharist?

They used to say of Mark the Egyptian that he remained for thirty years never coming out of his cell. The priest was in the habit of coming and celebrating the holy Eucharist for him.

Abba Macarius the Egyptian once came from Scete to the Mount of Nitria for the Eucharist of Abba Pambo.

The elder [Matoes] used to say: “I have faith in God that I do not have much to answer for on account of the ordination, since I do not offer the Eucharist.

Abba Macarius once visited Abba Antony then came back to Scete when he had spoken with him. The fathers came to meet him and, as they were speaking, the elder said to them: “I told Abba Antony that we do not have the Eucharist in our place.”

Day 2 – adjust

Yesterday was Day 2 of my Covid isolation. This is the first time I have missed Sunday Mass in a long time. I slept, listened to the cricket, and then slept some more. I would like to be able to read or do something constructive. But at the moment, all I can do is sleep. (At least I am good at one thing!)

It was strange not to go to church. But it was also a relief – no stress or anxiety. I am hoping that I might be able to take a permanent step back and just attend occasionally. Adjust!

That is the word for this week, adjust. My strict routine has been turned upside down. I have no energy to cook so I have not eaten much. (Ok, that is not unusual for me.)

Today will be hot – into the 40C in some areas of the state. So, hide with the air-conditioning on. On top of that, I think I have a fever (which I had last time I had Covid), and my medication makes me sweat. And I really dislike being hot. (Entendre!)

I have been unable to pray, apart from calls for Jesus to return. But today might be different. Live in possibility! I will have a cup of coffee and sit up for a bit. And then reconsider and adjust!

Day 1 – Covid

I have Covid. It is the second time. Not as bad as the first but still a little more than annoying.

So, I thought I would keep a journal of these seven days alone. Today (Day 2) will be the first Sunday Mass I have missed since I last had Covid.

Yesterday (Day 1) was a day of sleep. I woke feeling awful, so I thought I should take a Covid test. No surprise, it was positive. And before you ask, I have no idea where I caught it. I took my medication, went back to bed and slept most of the day. I did order food from the supermarket which will be delivered Tuesday.

So, what now? I think I will take my medication and go back to bed. Yes, reading would be great but I just do not have the mental energy at the moment.

seelsorge

As we look back on the ordinary, not outstanding, anchoress, we visualize a single lady of some spiritual acumen, living a life of prayer, study, work, and spiritual guidance, in a cottage by the church, while she herself submits to the guidance of the parish priest. There are no “vows”, no exaggerated austerity or poverty, no special habit. Age for age, is it over-straining the facts to see a hint at the much-needed vocation for the many devout Anglican ladies whose spiritual gifts are now so shamefully wasted? It is very wrong for these ladies to force themselves to aspire to a monastic vocation which they know they do not really have. It is worse still when their gifts are squandered on “parish work” of very doubtful value. Is the possibility of some modern adaptation of the anchoress, primarily the spiritual guide of others, so very remote? It is, after all, a typical English compromise to which not a few loyal laywomen are already leaning. But, without pride of position, they need authority and recognition.

Martin Thornton, English Spirituality, 170

Sidestep the rather outdated language: the enclosed solitary as a person engaged in seelsorge. An outsider who can engage people on their pilgrimage with Jesus. And a person who can return to their chapel and bring these people before Jesus in prayer. When we move that reality to the modern age, is the internment.a place for seelsorge? (Personally, I would like to return to handwritten letters, but that is not the case for everyone.)

So, the mission statement of the anchorite is: prayer, mortification, and seelsorge.