Discipline

The Discipline of Reconciling

THE COMMON DISCIPLINE

The most important single mark of membership in the Community is the commitment to practice the Common Discipline. It states that it does not require of those who share it any thing harsh or additional to what should be normal, honest, Christian belief and behavior, and it is a balanced guide to a balanced provision of time for prayer, study, work, family life, relaxation, worship, and personal growth. It is both personal to the community using it and also highly adaptable to widely differing social and political climates; it is a stabilizing influence in a world threatened to its core by destructive influences, and yet it also makes provision for growth and change. Each parish, congregation, or institution is free to adapt the details of the Discipline to its own local situation.

THE COMMON DISCIPLINE (REVISED-USA)

The Common Discipline, as outlined here, has its roots in the Benedictine rule of life. It is not a means of salvation but a means by which we may dispose ourselves to God's grace in Christ, so that he may begin to work his saving grace within us and transform us more and more into the person we were called to be from the beginning.

Silence + Prayer + Meditation

The regular withdrawal for silence and solitude is a basic nutrient of the spiritual life. It undergirds all our relationships and energizes our action in the world. Each member of the CCN is asked to devote some portion of each day to silence. Time for prayer and meditation might be as little as ten minutes on four out of seven days or as much as an hour a day. Each person needs to seek his rhythm of withdrawal and involvement. This rhythm may also include a day a month for reflection, an annual retreat of several days and/or a sabbatical leave of several months. One may also seek support for this aspect of the discipline from a small group or spiritual friend.

It would be important for a CCN Chapter to provide, enable or support structures for leading people into prayer. Some kind of ongoing spiritual growth group in which people are led into the various methods of prayer and are given a place to reflect and make sense of their prayer experiences. For those who are already experienced prayers, a spiritual direction group that meets once a month would support them. Also a list of qualified persons who act as Spiritual Directors or Spiritual Friends could be provided. Books and tapes on prayer and meditation could be purchased for the library and a bibliography shared with members. A system for the use of spiritual partners might be developed. Meeting with a Spiritual Director or a partner to discuss one's prayer life would normally happen once a month.

The Nurture of Intimate Relationships

Support for developing healthy family and intimate community life for single and married people would be important for CCN members seeking to follow their part of the Discipline. Study groups, seminars, bibliographies, and support groups would be among the kinds of things the community could offer the individual in this aspect of the discipline. Also resources for counseling for families and married couples could be made available.

The fruit of the spirit working in us in prayer and study will probably be born most clearly and immediately in our relationship with those near at hand. For those who are married or still live in a family, family will constitute a place of intimacy. For those who are single, there will be a larger family of persons who touch their lives daily. Whether married or single, the intimate people in one's life will probably include those persons who are special friends, fellow workers and/or those with whom our lives in community. Time, energy and honesty are the ingredients of intimate relationships. Every member of the CCN is asked to set aside regular time for these relationships, for it is within the openness of this kind of love that the transforming grace of God begins to show itself in change and growth. Where such relationships seem to be in trouble, it will be important to seek the counsel of a wise pastor.