Measuring A Rule of Life
I have been living into a rule of life for over fifteen years now. My experience with a rule of life is what eventually drew me in to taking vows as a third order (or secular) Franciscan, living into some basic vows.
Over the years at the Mission School of Ministry, I have led several groups of students through the process of developing their own rule of life. We usually began with a survey of Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, exploring the classical spiritual disciplines of the faith. Then we read up on The Rule of Saint Benedict (RB), and also Saint Francis’ rule for his third order.
A rule defines the values and priorities that an individual or a group endeavors to live into and be formed by. In many ways a rule is simply an intentional way of life, ripe with practices that shape and form us over time. The rules of Francis and Benedict focus on spirituality as well as day to day living within the group or community context, in particular how we respond to the other person and how we care for needs. This expresses the importance of the place of others in our individual journey of spiritual growth and maturity.
When exploring a Rule of Life we must ask: Where do I want to grow? What would truly be a discipline to live into that would help me grow into the likeness of Christ? What requires sacrificial development on my part? Each of us have disciplines that come much more naturally to us, but which are more difficult yet necessary for growth?
Here are several areas students have explored in developing a Rule of Life:
Silence - Including meditation and solitude, to personally interact with God and to know myself as his creature, and pay attention to the Holy Spirit.
Study - Including reading, thinking, and writing. The intent is to be washing my mind with the kingdom of God, and to grow in knowledge of who God is, what the gospel is, and what the kingdom is.
Build Community - With an inclusive weekly meal where all participate in making and sharing the meal. Praying through the Lord's Prayer together, and also speaking words of encouragement and hope over one another.
Retreat - Intentionally spending at least ten minutes a day in meditation on scripture, no technology, no noise, externally or internally, redirecting my thoughts each time they are distracted, and also retreating from society in some capacity, at least biannually to recharge for serving the church.
Service - Practicing a daily attitude of, "How do I serve God and others today well?" I want to intentionally go out of my way, as led by the Spirit, to befriend and serve someone outside of what is considered my "mandatory" ministry/relationships.
Creativity - Seeking new ways to connect my heart to my mind and using my hands to make it come to fruition, finding solace and rest in his Spirit by making something within my means, such as gardening, knitting, or some other act of creativity.
Value Others - Make time to be available, to coach and mentor, to listen and encourage others along their journey.
Prayer - develop a multifaceted approach to one's prayer life with fixed hour prayer, corporate and individual, truly seeking to live into a life of prayer.
Order - To be intentional with time so to keep on top of housework and tasks, to provide more order and head-heart space and time for important things.
Discipline - Living a life for health, exercise, self control, balance.
A rule of life can bring enrichment to your life, and to the lives of those around you. Anything can become death when it becomes law, so avoid making your rule of life a law, and avoid seeing inconsistency as a failure. Instead, try to grow in consistency and in your discipline. As Saint Francis de Sales wrote in Introduction To The Devout Life. published in 1609:
“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew.”
Father Dale Hall came to The Mission Chattanooga in 2013, since then he has served at all of our parishes, and has been instrumental in launching TheMission School of Ministry and The Street Chapel, in downtown. He currently serves as a priest at our Cleveland Parish, and as chaplain to the homeless at The Community Kitchen. He and his wife, Kim, live in Ooltewah.