March 15 – “You’re Being Resisted”

When do the questionings begin for the new postulant?

It is impossible to pinpoint as to individual cases, although there are patterns that can be traced over the years. One thing that can be gleaned from the writings of those who have given themselves to monastic life is that those doubts and fears and heart-wranglings do come.

Most often, the concerns that begin to rock the Benedictine boat or the Carmelite canoe are not, “Do I really want to be here, cut off from the pleasures of the world?” but suggestions more along these lines . . .

“Am I really benefitting the Abbey?”

“Will I ever bring a devotion to this house that can match that of those around me?”

“What if I cannot overcome the jealousies and the pride that keep surfacing in my heart?”

Who can number the postulants over the centuries who have had reason to thank a wise and considering Abbess or Abbot, who heard their doubts and fears and spoke to the heart of them.

“No sustained desire to bring glory to God will ever go unchallenged.”

We in Cor Unum know what it is to desire to SEE GOD GLORIFIED, in our lives and in the Church and as far and wide as it has to do with us, by faith, hope, and love.

When ours is a SUSTAINED DESIRE, guerilla warfare will be sent against it. If we RESIST, enemy troops will be dispatched. If we RESIST, siege mounds will be built. If we RESIST, we will find that God is and has been glorified all along the way, that His Kingdom is being established, in and around us, and that every time another assault is mounted, our RESISTANCE weakens the hold of darkness where we have been given to “occupy” until Jesus comes.


"Occupy 'Till I Come"
photo by Kerry