11/28/07:

"Xenophilia: Love of Strangers and the Norbertine Charism" - Julie Massey

Welcome and Introduction

Welcome to this morning’s Common Prayer. In opening this prayer with the chant Veni, Sancte, Spiritus we invite the Holy Spirit to enter our lives more fully and ignite in us the spirit to live as we should. But what is that spirit? What is its shape, its message? What might the Holy Spirit ask of each one of us?

Just as no one word can fully capture the meaning of God, no single list can tell us what it means to live in an en-spirited way, filled with and moved by the spirit of God. But our limitation does not free us from trying. And so this morning, a number of women and men will share reflections on their experiences of the Norbertine charisms, the Norbertine spirit, as they found it expressed in the places we visited on the Heritage Tour. What they offer is not a generic list, but a list steeped in the heritage of this place.

As co-travelers on a journey through the Czech Republic and Austria, we and others learned more about the Norbertine expression of living in the spirit of God. We share with you this day a few gleanings from that journey. We trust the meaning we discovered – first and foremost, the call to reach out to others in love – is not limited to those who toured particular abbeys and convents, but rather, is available to us all, should we allow Norbert and the Norbertine charisms to shape us.

 
Closing Comments and Prayer

As we visited the various abbeys and the convent in which Norbertine women and men make their homes I found myself thinking that the messages of those places felt like a familiar family story. Maybe the stories seemed richer for the context or the details, but they were nonetheless familiar. I believe this is because the charisms we experienced in Europe reflect the spirit we try to embody here as well. The themes brought before you today are not evidence of every moment of our lives together, but rather ideals that call us to holiness as persons and wholeness as community.

Inspired by these stories, by this Norbertine spirit, we pray:
-    God whose love searches for the stranger, help us reach out to those who feel themselves in any way set apart.
-    May we be marked by a spirit of hospitality as we embrace your vision of each person as beloved.
-    May we recognize our responsibility to this location, and respond openly and creatively to the needs of those around us.
-    May our coming together in prayer and celebration strengthen us to do the work to which we are called.
-    May we find worthy models of holy living, among the saints of old and prophets of today, and open ourselves to the challenge of their examples.
-    May we realize that just as we are nourished by your goodness we are asked to reach out to all who hunger.
-    May the message of Norbert and the Norbertine charisms inform our living and increase our loving.

We offer this prayer in the name of Christ Jesus.  Amen.