In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on St. Hildegard of Bingen’s vision of fruitfulness as something that grows slowly through steadfastness. Healing is not the end of the spiritual life. It prepares the soul for deeper growth. For Hildegard, fruitfulness is not measured by visible success, intensity or quick results. It comes through remaining rooted in God, faithful in ordinary life and open to the grace that works quietly over time.

This vision fits deeply within the Benedictine way. St. Benedict does not promise instant change. He gives a way of life in which grace can be received steadily through prayer, work, liturgy, silence and faithful community life. The soul is cultivated through this rhythm. Like a well-tended field, it is protected from neglect and given room to bear fruit in due time.

This episode also highlights how easily the spiritual life can dry out through neglect rather than open rebellion. Prayer is neglected. Attention is neglected. Ordinary responsibilities are carried without care. Hildegard calls the soul back to perseverance. Stability, obedience and prayer keep life from scattering and help the heart remain close to its source. In Christ, who teaches us to abide in the vine, fruitfulness comes not from striving alone but from remaining where life is given.

St. Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias: Book Two, Vision One

“For when a field with great labor is cultivated, it brings forth much fruit, and the same is shown in the human race, for after humanity’s ruin many virtues arose to raise it up again.”

“He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.”

1. Where in my life am I tempted to look for quick results instead of steady growth?
2. Do I trust that grace can be at work even when I do not yet see visible fruit?
3. What ordinary practices in my life help keep my soul rooted in God?
4. Where has neglect begun to dry out my prayer, attention, or fidelity?
5. How is Christ inviting me to abide more faithfully so that fruit can grow in its proper time?

Copyright © 2026 Kris McGregor. All rights reserved. No portion of this content may be reproduced, distributed, published, or transmitted in any form, including audio, print, or digital media, without prior written permission from Discerning Hearts®.

In this episode, Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor explore Lent’s significance, urging introspection and acknowledgment of sin. Deacon Keating highlights society’s loss of this sense, attributing it partly to psychology’s influence.

This reminds us of personal responsibility and freedom in recognizing sin; especially cultural desensitization to sin, emphasizing intentional conscience formation through spiritually grounded fellowship. They advocate for gentle yet firm engagement on moral issues to foster genuine community within parishes.

1. Lenten Self-Reflection: How can you deepen your introspection during Lent to identify areas of sin in your life?
2. Responsibility and Freedom: Reflect on how you balance acknowledging external influences with taking personal responsibility for your actions.
3. Desensitization to Sin: How can you guard against societal desensitization to sin, especially in media and cultural norms?
4. Intentional Conscience Formation: In what ways can you intentionally cultivate a spiritually grounded fellowship to form your conscience?
5. Engaging on Moral Issues: How can you engage in conversations about moral issues with both gentleness and firmness, guided by love?
6. Fostering Community in Parishes: What steps can you take to foster genuine community within your parish, where faith is shared and nurtured collectively?

An excerpt from “Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion”:

“Celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation is, for many Catholics, a most daunting prospect. This sacrament has been the source of many jokes, composed perhaps by persons seeking to reduce the level of stress they feel regarding one of its main components: naming personal sin.

The naming of one’s own sin to oneself and to a priest is self-revelatory to the point of evoking anxiety. Initially, it can be true that some level of apprehension may accompany this sacrament, but over time with regular celebration of this form of worship, anxiety diminishes. Most positively the sacrament of reconciliation promotes truthful self-knowledge regarding sin in the context of Christ’s saving presence. Once someone experiences both the naming of sin and the reception of God’s mercy in this sacrament, he or she actually begins to celebrate this sacrament and see it as a great gift from Christ and his Church.”

Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Heart” page

Day 9: Mary, Woman of Faith

Jesus, for our salvation You willingly humbled Yourself, becoming Man in the womb of the Virgin Mother, grant me through the mystery of Your holy Incarnation the virtue of humility that I may ever please God as Your Mother did, by meekness and lowliness in this world, and be exalted by You in eternity.

Mary, dear Mother of my Savior, I greet you and I thank you for having received the message of the Archangel Gabriel: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” (Luke I:28) and for having answered with your assent, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38) Intercede for me that God the Father, who accepted you as His Daughter and the Mother of His Son because of your humility at the Annunciation, may accept me as humble child. Amen

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—What can make me more like Christ in his humility?

Seek—Ask God to reveal to you his purpose for your life. When you do not feel accepted by others, look to the rejection that Jesus endured on the cross and unite your suffering to his.

Knock—Meditate on Numbers 21:8–9.

The Lord answered him, ‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and lived.

Imagine the people being bitten by serpents, then being healed by staring at the serpent on the pole (which is still the symbol for the medical profession). What do you think healed the people?

Transform Your Life—Learn the acceptance of God. Confess your sins and anything that you think makes you unacceptable to God. Learn to love your physical imperfections and to help others accept theirs and yours.

Michael Dubruiel’s book The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life is currently available in Kindle format.

You can find the book here:
https://amzn.to/4rTMBK9

To explore more of Amy Welborn’s books and writing, visit:
https://amywelborn.wordpress.com/books-by-amy-welborn/

Check out more at the Discerning Hearts’ Michael Dubruiel page

Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor continues with St. Hildegard of Bingen and her vision of God as the One who orders and sustains all things. Hildegard begins not with the self but with God, whose power gives life, fruitfulness, and right order to creation. Her Benedictine formation matters deeply here. Living within the Holy Rule, the Divine Office, and the rhythm of the liturgical year, she learns to see the world as charged with meaning, upheld by the strong hand of the Ruler of All.

Hildegard reminds us that creation is not self-made and not self-sustaining. The sky, the air, the earth, and all living things bear witness to the wisdom and power of God. This vision matters because humility begins when we remember that we are not the source of life. Much of our fear comes from living as though everything depends on us. Hildegard calls the soul back to reality: there is a Ruler of All, and that truth is meant not to crush us but to free us.

This episode also draws out the deep harmony between Hildegard’s vision and the Benedictine way. Stability teaches us to remain with God even when prayer feels dry or life feels heavy. Obedience teaches us to listen with the ear of the heart for the indwelling Christ. Humility grows as we learn that God sees more than we see and holds together what we cannot. In Christ, God’s rule is revealed not as cold force but as faithful love. This episode invites listeners to place their fear, weariness, and need for control beneath the greater wisdom and fidelity of God.

St. Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias: Book Two, Vision One

“No creature is so dull of nature as not to know what changes in the things that make it fruitful cause it to attain its full growth. The sky holds light, light air, and air the birds; the earth nourishes plants, plants fruit and fruit animals; which all testify that they were put there by a strong hand, the supreme power of the Ruler of All, Who in His strength has provided so for them all that nothing is lacking to them for their use.”

“For from him and through him and to him are all things.

1. Where in my life am I acting as though everything depends on me?
2. How does fear affect my need to manage, secure, or control what is happening around me?
3. What does it mean for me to live more consciously under God as the Ruler of All?
4. How have stability, prayer, and obedience been helping me grow in trust?
5. How does Christ reveal that God’s rule is not distant power but faithful love?

Copyright © 2026 Kris McGregor. All rights reserved. No portion of this content may be reproduced, distributed, published, or transmitted in any form, including audio, print, or digital media, without prior written permission from Discerning Hearts®.