Rule of Life

Dear Friends,

Our Wednesday group just finished a study of the book Life in Christ by Mother Julia Gatta, who teaches at Sewanee. It's a fantastic book with a ton of wisdom about how Anglicans approach the spiritual life. I highly recommend it. As a side note, I also highly recommend our Wednesday group. We meet at 10:00 am for Eucharist and 11:00 am for study. We have a great time, and we learn a lot together.

At the end of the book, Mother Julia addresses the practice of discerning a "rule of life." That might sound intimidating, but it just means a set of practices that help you live out your life in an ordered way. We talked at length about how we could develop practices in different areas of our lives—spiritual, physical, relational, financial, and vocational—to grow in our lives as disciples of Christ.

A rule of life isn't an idol that becomes the dictator of everything in life. It's meant to be flexible and attainable. It also isn't only a goal for the "super spiritual" people. Instead, it's a tool for a healthier, more vibrant life as a Christian, and it's one that every Christian at any stage of life can benefit from.

But it takes some thought.

I'd like to encourage you to spend some time this summer, when the pace of life slows down just a bit (I hope!), to think and pray and discern about those different areas of your life. How might you develop concrete practices that help you grow as a disciple?

If you'd like to spend some time thinking through this, please know that I'd love to start a conversation with you about a rule of life. I've developed and redeveloped my own many times over the years, and I'm always happy to help someone else think through what they might be called to develop as they seek to know Christ more.

God bless,

Fr. Quinn+

[Photo by William Warby on Unsplash]