Hence the Lord says in the
Gospel, "Whoever listens to these words of Mine and acts upon them, I
will liken to a wise person who built a house on rock. The floods
came, the winds blew and beat against that house, and it did not
fall, because it had been founded on rock" (Matt. 7:24-25).
Having given us these assurances, the Lord is
waiting every day for us to respond by our deeds to His holy
admonitions. And the days of this life are lengthened and a truce
granted us for this very reason, that we may amend our evil ways. As
the Apostle says, "Do you not know that God's patience is inviting
you to repent" (Rom. 2:4)? For the merciful Lord tells us, "I
desire not the death of the sinner, but that the sinner should be
converted and live" (Ezech. 33:11).
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The image that
is called to mind is the Benedictine notion of Stability. The Lord calls for us
to be stable and clearly building on rock lends stability to our faith. A rock
solid foundation will prevail against any storm. Stability is not that simple.
It also calls us to remain in place, not just from a perspective geographic
place but also to be grounded in the community. As an oblate of Mt. Angel
Abbey, I am not only connected by profession to the Abbey itself, sitting on a
hilltop overlooking the fertile Willamette Valley, but also to the community of
monks who reside there. They pray for me as an oblate daily and I am called to
pray for them as well.
This subject will
come back again in Chapter 7 but for now, it is easy to see where we are headed
based upon what we are reminded of today and at this point in the prologue.
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