Help
With Your Rule
One Reason Why A Rule Can be Hard to Follow...
Dear Holly,
I had a light bulb moment today, they don't happen often...:) I was standing in my kitchen and it came to me that I need to write down and work on what the spirit of my rule is. Now, I have to say that when I read the book Holly, I thought that yours sounded great and I thought ok, I'll do that when I get myself, kids, husband, home, etc in order. Well, that was two years ago and really will I ever be "in order". I think really I need to work on the spirit of my rule to help with the order, I keep falling away from my rule because I haven't had a written spirit so to speak. Something about having it written down makes it more real for me, more tangible. The starting point isn't just getting organized. So, I embark on an adventure, I think it will be part of my lenten
"project".
Labels: About a Rule of Life
posted by Holly at 10:50 AM
2 Comments:
I think you've hit the nail on the head.
In A Mother's Rule, I explained that Mother Teresa did not begin with writing up her practical schedule first. Instead, she focused on the spirit of her rule - what was the charism the Lord was calling her to? What was her focus to be? What duties stemmed from this harmonizing principle? Then, when would they be taken care of?
When I began my rule, I sat down and tried to understand the vocation I was called to. The 5 Ps were my starting point. But I went through them and determined what I believed I was called to in each area, and THEN placed the essentials in my schedule.
As I mentioned in the book - I realized that previous failure was due perhaps to the fact that my schedules were dealing with random things, not my essentials. And that is why I had felt schedules didn't work.
In MROL, I have included in the appendix the spirit of my mother's rule. It includes my prayer-filled reflections on what I believed the Lord was calling me to.
If I could rewrite the book, however, the "Spirit of a Mother's Rule" would be the final and consummating chapter, not a mere appendix. I believe that it is, in fact, very much a synthesis of what most mothers are called to, as it deals directly with the priorities of the vocation that they all share in their universal form. It is up to us to apply them practically, in their particular form, to our unique families. I think it is in the practical application that they differ, not so much in the spirit.
So, I would encourage all mothers who are feeling drawn to a rule to take the "Spirit of my Mother's Rule" in the appendix this Lent, and work your way through it as a Lenten reflection, and fine tune it in relation to the emphasis you believe the Lord is calling you to. Please feel free to use the one in the book as a model - not feeling that you have to start from scratch. As, I've said, our motherhood vocation shares basic principles.
Once you have felt the call from the Lord, THEN begin to implement your practical rule, using the questions in the book to help you deal with your unique specifics. I think you will find much more success doing it this way.
wow, thank you for this post...i "forget" to check here more often, but when i do, there is always sometrhing that is uplifting!
The idea to go through the Spirit of the Rule is just what iu need...I'm having MUCH trouble sticking to it. I had no trouble sitting for hours and writing though *giggle*
Blessings to all over thei Lenten season!
Barbara
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