Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. — Psalm 51:(see 3)

Mass readings: 1 Kings 21:17-29 / Matthew 5:43-48

Empty Yourself Completely

Today we may observe the feast day of St. Romuald. My Uncle Romuald, the first of five sons in my father’s family, was somewhat like this sainted monk and abbot who founded the Camaldolese order in the 11th century. One of St. Romuald’s “Brief Rules” to his monks was: “Empty yourself completely and sit waiting, content with the grace of God, like the chick who tastes nothing and eats nothing but what his mother brings him.”

Another of St. Romuald’s Rules is like it: “Sit in your cell,” he told his monks, “as in paradise. Put the whole world behind you and forget it. . . . Realize above all that you are in God’s presence, and assume there the attitude of one before the emperor.”

Prayer: Holy Spirit, send to us an attitude like St. Romuald’s, an attitude of complete trust.