Special guest: Brother Philip

One of the advantages of living life in community is that there are times to “stand and stare” and do things that are seemingly completely unproductive. This morning I raked the gravel paths in our kitchen garden; slowly, meditatively. The gravel is quite deep and therefore any footprints make a definite mark; at the end of the exercise there is a pleasing "smoothness": but not for long - the good weather means that many folk are out and about beginning Spring jobs and so footprints quickly re-appeared. But that was okay. I hadn’t pulled the rake round and round the paths to produce something folk could look at but not walk on! There was something other in the doing of it. Chanting the psalms several times a day together in choir has a similar quality. There is no performance - no audience (something brought home to me even more these past couple of years as our ordinary ministry of hospitality has been in abeyance), and therefore very few others to hear our efforts. The difference being that the gravel path raking is something I’m choosing to do on sunny days; the Office is to be attended to on not so sunny days; God give me grace to not forget this positive feeling of seemingly unproductive worth in the simple things of life; and the great privilege of being able to attend to the Daily Office several times a day, every day. I/we couldn’t do it without the support of many, many folk who think this way of life is important, even if superficially unproductive. Thank you. Br Philip.