“Lex orandi, lex credendi.”
I first heard this phrase in seminary. ‘As we pray, so we believe.’
Or: praying shapes believing.
I was fortunate enough to attend a seminary that ran like a monastery - we all lived on the same block (along with our families and pets). We all studied together. And we all prayed together, three times a day (sometimes four!).
It wasn’t always easy. In fact, it was quite challenging in some ways to spend so much time with so many people in such a small space. Praying shaped our believing - and our tolerance for other people’s quirks! (I’m sure I had a few, too…).
But of all the things I learned in seminary by reading books and writing papers, what formed me for ministry most of all was this: a rhythm of work and rest, study and socializing, quiet and conversation - and prayer in community.
It’s how I learned that the life of faith is not about intellectual assent - it’s about shaping our hearts and stretching our souls. It’s about practice.
Relationship with God is like relationship with anyone else it’s a living and mystical place where love grows and flourishes.
AND - it’s born in relationship, not just with God, but also with our neighbors.
It’s baked right into the Great Commandment from Jesus: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.’
Finding our way in this communal relationship with God and each other is what we’ve long called CHURCH.
And participation in the life of the church has long been called ‘Christian practice’.
But somewhere along the way, church became mostly worship and education centered. These parts of practicing the faith are vital - but they’re not complete.
We forgot the ancient wisdom of a pattern of prayer and worship, work and rest, and how this forms our lives, in small ways - and big ones.
For most of the life of the church, the deep questions you’re asking - Who am I? Why am I here? How does my life matter? Does it all make sense? Am I loved? - weren’t answered with Sunday school or Sunday service alone.
They were answered through practice.
Through rhythms and rituals that connected people to their relationship with God, and to the community of faith.
We can’t solve soul problems with mind solutions.
Praying shapes believing - not the other way around.
What I learned by living in community for three years is that there were plenty of times when I felt isolated, lonely, and lost, even when I spent most of my waking hours with a couple hundred other people.
But praying with them, eating with them, working and resting and playing with them - this helped me keep my connection with them. And with God.
And it helped grow my own soul. My own capacity to keep my center in the midst of change. My own unwavering hope, no matter what the day-to-day conditions.
Trexo was created out of experiences like these, based on the spiritual practices of the earliest Christians. It’s a way to grow in faith together, a ‘soul solution’ that is about participation as much as it’s about learning.
That’s why it’s a ‘gym’ for your soul. We repeat physical exercises to get stronger. We repeat spiritual exercises to get more JOY.
Try it yourself:
There’s another Latin phrase I learned in seminary: Sursum Corda.
It comes from a short liturgical phrase we say at the Eucharist, and have been saying since the very earliest church.
‘Lift up your hearts’.
‘We lift them up to the Lord’.
Sursum corda means ‘Lift up your hearts’. When I researched it, I found out it literally means:
‘Hearts up!’
This has become the Trexo tagline, and it is also a simple practice you can incorporate into your daily life.
When you open your eyes in the morning, say: ‘Hearts up!’
When things are frustrating say, ‘Hearts up!’
When you’re feeling lonely say, ‘Hearts up!’
When you’re feeling joyful -say, ‘Hearts up!’
It’s our orientation towards God - and through the Eucharist, it’s our orientation towards salvation).
See how this shapes your believing.
*** We’re starting something new in Advent! More soon! Everyone who subscribes for a year will be invited to join our Watch and Wait Advent Vigil***
(plus get a year’s worth of Trexo workouts, of course!)
