Humphrey Slocum Smith – My Promise for 2025
What prevents me from preferring nothing whatever to Christ?
I am quite vocal and express my opinions about EVERYTHING. All that mewing means that I don’t do much listening. Other felines and humans may have an important word for me from God. But I don’t give them a chance to share it.
Practices from the Rule to help me craft my promise:
“Listen carefully, my child, to my instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from one who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice.” Prologue 1
“…and, A talkative [feline] goes about aimlessly on earth (Ps140:12)” RB 7.58
“Let us follow the prophet’s counsel: I said, I have resolved to keep watch over my ways that I may never sin with my tongue. I was silent and was humbled, and I refrained even from good words” (Ps 39:2-3).”
My 2025 Promise:
This will be difficult for me, but I will do my best to curb my mewing. For two waking hours every day I will refrain from even good words out of esteem for silence. (RB 6.2) I will remember that what is not possible to me by nature, I will ask the Holy One to supply by the help of grace. Prologue 41
What my human needs to learn to help him prefer nothing whatever to Christ:
My human needs to learn to relax more, take more naps and pay more attention to me. I realize I get a lot, but I’m a cat so it’s all about ME!
Practices from the Rule to help my human craft her promise:
“Idleness [overwork here] is the enemy of the soul. Therefore, the community members should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for prayerful reading…But after Sext and their meal, they may rest on their beds in complete silence.” RB 48.1, 2, 5a
“…members are to be given help when it is needed, and whenever they are free, they work wherever they are assigned.” RB 53.20
“Let [the abbot and prioress and my human] recognize that the goal must be profit for the community members [me] , not preeminence for themselves.” RB 64.8 Modified by Novice Humphrey
“Renounce yourself in order to follow Christ” [and pay attention to me] (Matt 16:24; Luke 9:23). RB 4.10 Modified by Humphrey
My Human’s 2025 Promise:
Humphrey asks you to join him and craft your own 2025 Promise.