Remain in Christ

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O God, you led St. Benedict to seek you through prayer, work, obedience, and life in community. Through his intercession, give me a listening heart and bring holy order to my days. Keep me faithful in small duties, peaceful with others, generous to the stranger, and steady on the way that leads to life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pause in silence, and bring to mind the intention you are praying for.

In the app, your own saved intention rests here during the silence. The narration stays the same for everyone.

Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can't bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.

Benedictine stability resists the fantasy that holiness is always somewhere else. It asks us to remain with Christ in the place, commitments, and community where love is actually tested. Fruit grows slowly on a branch that stays joined to the vine. Stability never requires remaining in danger or refusing a necessary change.

Jesus, calm my urge to escape whenever faithfulness becomes ordinary or difficult. Root me in you and show me which commitments love asks me to keep. Through St. Benedict's intercession, make my steady presence fruitful for others in hope. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

St. Benedict, wise teacher of those who seek God, carry my intention before the Lord. Pray that the holy Cross may guide and protect me, that peace may govern my relationships, and that prayer and work may become one faithful offering. Help me begin again each day and persevere with Christ to the end. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.