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I don’t know if Abbot Dan has responded to you directly or not, but instead of the DVD, the video for each lesson is included in the lesson itself here on the website.
Hi Carol! Nice to meet you!
One of my favorite things about the Daily Office is that it is so forgiving to lapses, unlike a Bible reading plan for example. 🙂
-Dillon
From Maggie:
My anxiety stems from a fear that I haven’t produced the fruit that the Lord expects from me.
This is an interesting wording for this fear, because it brings forward both the fear of not doing enough of what God has given me to do, but also the fear of not producing the right type of fruit. That is, even if I’m doing his work, maybe this work that I’m trying to accomplish isn’t even meant for me. Maybe the fig tree is trying so hard to grow apples that it hasn’t gotten around to producing figs. This chapter of the course is all about that, and it is interesting for me because it is something that I’ve mostly ignored, historically speaking. As long as something isn’t terribly uncomfortable for me, I tend to assume it is right for me. I’ve never seriously taken the time to examine what is natural or even joyful for me, outside of occasional Spiritual Gifts Inventories that, to be honest, often feel pretty shallow and mood-based, and thus get buried after a few days of trying to live according to my results.
From Abbot Dan:
However, what if the purpose of my skills, abilities, and gifts is to witness His Spirit working through me? What if the accomplishments are really His, but I get to witness them from the most intimate of views – from within?
This is a beautiful thought. It keeps us from taking inappropriate pride in our role in his work, without discounting that role. It gives us a fuller sense of joy and gratitude for what the Lord is doing through us, and from that a gratitude for being made a part in that work. I need to ponder that idea for a while.
Thank you Abbot Dan! I am looking forward to it, particularly as an introduction to monastic spirituality, but also just as a general step forward in my own spiritual development.
Just so you’re aware, one thing I noticed in the course is that the “quizzes” for the two introductory lessons include questions about posting and doing assignments #2 and #3, which the introductory lessons don’t actually have. I kind of fudged it by responding to another intro post and journalling some initial thoughts from your introduction and those of the textbook, workbook, and the Day by Day book. It may be worth re-wording those quizzes for future students.
Peace,
Dillon
Though this post is from a year ago, I will go ahead and respond to it and to the others as I move through the lessons.
a judgment I have avoided by working very hard on His behalf instead of allowing myself enough contemplative time and space to be with Him.
This idea of working to avoid a judgment is so relatable to me, and I suspect to many. The essence of the Gospel is that no amount of work is possible, but that through Christ the judgment has been settled in our favor. Yet it is so contrary to everything in the world, not just in our culture but through all of history, that the insight is still both unexpected and moving. It’s exciting and comforting to realize that we don’t need to hide behind our actions. It makes doing his work a pleasure rather than an ominous and threatening task! I say this, of course, as one who is still learning how to remember that and how to “delight in his will” from day to day.
Hello!
I am just writing this as a brief introduction. I am excited to begin this course and see how Peter’s approach to spiritual health may apply to my life!
I’m a lifelong Anglican and went to a Christian K-12 school, and I grew up in a Christian family, so I have been surrounded by the opportunity to learn about and be with God for most of my life. Yet I’ve become increasingly aware of a distance between me and God, and a kind of deafness in my faith. Not uncertainty, but rather a lack, on my part, of listening and waiting, instead just plowing in with life without making the space to hear him speak.
On that note, this course seems perfect for the situation!
I can’t wait to see how he will move in my spirit in the coming weeks!
-Dillon