Michael F Conrad

Messages from the Edge of Time Michael F Conrad

A Lay Cistercian reflects on Chapter 4 of the Rule of St. Benedict and how it can transform you from self to God. If you want to transform your life from self to God, you should know a couple of things. Self, as I use it, means the old self, the one who likes to play god, makes up their own rules, and gives in to temptations of the flesh, acting like an animal sometimes. Note that you don't do the transforming, Christ does, so you have to put yourself in a position to be next to the heart of Christ for that to take place.-Chapter 4 of the Rule of St. Benedict (540- BCE) is a checklist of those behaviors St. Benedict would like his monks to move away from that old self to the new person in Christ.-These messages are the written results of blogs that I have had as I meditated on Philippians 2:5, blogs about my Lectio Divina prayers.-The book is laid out with my blog reflections and then space for you to reflect on what I have said. It is a private retreat based on some issues you probably would never have considered on your own.-I use the Cistercian approach to spirituality as practiced by Lay Cistercians. This is a contemplative approach to life, stressing silence, solitude, work, prayer, and community as ways to seek God as you live out whatever life happens your way.-Https: //thecenterforcontemplativepractice.org