I'm not a morning person, by any means, but in our hectic hustle-bustle existence of family and parochial life, our morning lectio caffea is a refreshing little mini-retreat of God's Word, prayer, quiet time, and recaffination for the daily "grind."
In fact, we want to expand our meditation, but only a little. And so we have decided to invite a friend to join us in the kitchen for 2011: St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo and doctor of the Church.
So, in addition to our readings from the One Year Bible: Old Testament, New Testament, Psalm, and Proverb, as well as its corresponding little Q&A from the Companion Volume, we will be adding a reading from the Confessions of St. Augustine, and closing with a short quote from the good doctor and a little prayer.
I have a nice edition of the Confessions that will add to the pleasantness of the experience, and by reading only a chapter a day, we will, Deo volente, get through all thirteen "books" by about the end of September. Also, to give us a brief supplement and a short prayer, we will close with Augustine Day by Day.
Although our kitchen is small, and it is already crowded with humans and felines, there is always room for one more. We are gratified that Augustine will be joining us for our little retreats and daily dalliance with monastic meditation. We expect to have much to learn from him.
St. Augustine of Hippo is simply a huge figure in not only the theology, but also the spirituality, of the Western Catholic tradition - including (and especially) among us Lutherans, given Augustine's status as the Doctor of Grace who argued against the works righteousness of the Pelagian heresy. Augustine stands as a foremost apologist of the faith whose writings came once again to the forefront during the Reformation.
And now, he will be spending a year with us at coffee. How exciting!
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7 comments:
If you read Augustine every day, you will do better than I do. What a wonderful addition to your day.
Fr. Beane and Mrs. Grace,
This sounds truly wonderful, If I wasn't working my way through Fr. Curtis' DDSB and Fr. Mayes' Brotherhood Prayerbook I'd love to join you in the kitchen every morning.
Maybe if Bonnie and I are able to learn enough Latin this year I can read Augustine in the original language next year.
God bless the Beanes!!!
Steve and Bonnie
In your honour, since as I recall you rather liked my New Year's post last year, the bleeder will be posted unchanged for 2011, except the dates of Ash Wednesday as an example of how de tempore works in the church year will be updated.
Me, I'd read Boethius, unless I got a thing going for pears.
Dear PE:
For me, it's impossible to think of Boethius without thinking about Ignatius (Reilly, that is). It might be time to read A Confederacy of Dunces again...
Great Judas in NOLA, I believe it is no longer possible for you to live anywhere but there!
I have never read A Confederacy of Dunces, but in things I have read about Boethius and his influence I understand the "Confederacy" is not only in the plot as a, or the, favourite of the protagonist, but also the general model for the structure of the novel.
Feliz ano to you, Miss Grace and Leo.
Judas typing Priest, this computer is even worse than mine in the lack of "I know what you meant" functionality. And I thought 7 would be better!
Meant to say that Consolatio is not only in the plot of Confederacy but also the model for its structure.
I'm still btw whipping up a consolidated post on Boethius, my namesake Terence, Rota Fortuna, and associated clowns like Jerome and Augustine and the whole end of antiquity passed on to the new order itself now recently passed into the postmodern world.
Maybe you'll like that too -- although the "Fathers" don't come out looking too good in it.
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