THE RULE OF BENEDICT: INSIGHTS FOR THE AGES
Joan Chittister, OSB
CHAPTER 3. SUMMONING THE COMMUNITY FOR COUNSEL
Jan. 16-May 17-Sept. 16
As often as anything important is to be done in the monastery, the prioress shall call the whole community together and explain what the business is; and after hearing the advice of the members, let her ponder it and follow what she judges the wiser course. The reason why we have said all should be called for counsel is that the Spirit often reveals what is better to the younger. The community members, for their part, are to express their opinions with all humility, and not presume to defend their own views obstinately. The decision is rather the prioress's to make, so that when she has determined what is more prudent, all may obey. Nevertheless, just as it is proper for disciples to obey their teacher, so it is becoming for the teacher to settle everything with foresight and fairness.
Benedict knows about more than the value of experience. Benedict knows about the presence and power of God. And Benedict knows that there is a spark of the divine in all of us.
CHAPTER 3. SUMMONING THE COMMUNITY FOR COUNSEL-Continued
Jan. 17-May 18-Sept. 17
In every instance, all are to follow the teaching of the Rule, and no one shall rashly deviate from it. In the monastery none are to follow their own heart's desire, nor shall they presume to contend with the prioress defiantly, inside or outside the monastery. Should anyone presume to do so, let them be subjected to the discipline of the Rule. Moreover, the prioress herself must revere God and keep the Rule in everything she does; she can be sure beyond any doubt that she will have to give an account of all her judgments to God, the most just of judges.
If less important business of the monastery is to be transacted, the prioress shall take counsel with the elders only, as it is written: "Do everything with counsel and you will not be sorry afterward (Sir. 32:24)."
Benedictine monasticism is life lived within the circuit of four guy wires: the Gospel, the teachings of its abbots and prioresses, the experience of the community, and the Rule of Benedict itself...Each of us, monastic or not, deals with the same elements in life. We are all bound to the Gospel, under leadership of some kind, faced with the dictates of tradition or the cautions of experience and in need of a direction.
CHAPTER 4. THE TOOLS FOR GOOD WORKS
Jan. 18-May 19-Sept. 18
First of all, "Love God with your whole heart, your whole soul and all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Mt. 22:37-39; Mk. 12:30-31; Lk. 10:27)." Then the following: "You are not to kill, not to commit adultery; you are not to steal or to covet (Rom. 13:9); you are not to bear false witness (Mt. 19:18; Mk. 10:19; Lk. 18:20). You must honor everyone (1 Pt. 2:17)," and "never do to another what you do not want done to yourself (Tb. 4:16; Mt. 7:12; Lk. 6:31)."
Renounce yourself in order to follow Christ (Mt. 16:24; Lk. 9:23); discipline your body (1 Cor. 9:27);" do not pamper yourself, but love fasting. You must relieve the lot of the poor, "clothe the naked, visit the sick (Mt. 25:36)," and bury the dead. Go to help the troubled and console the sorrowing.
The surprise is that Benedict does not call us first to prayer or sacrifice or devotions or asceticisms. This is, after all, a contemplative lifestyle. It is at the same time, however, a communal lifestyle for "that most valiant kind of monastic heart," who sets out to find the holy in the human.
CHAPTER 4. THE TOOLS FOR GOOD WORKS-Continued
Jan. 19-May 20-Sept. 19
Your way of acting should be different from the world's way; the love of Christ must come before all else. You are not to act in anger or nurse a grudge. Rid your heart of all deceit. Never give a hollow greeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love. Bind yourself to no oath lest it prove false, but speak the truth with heart and tongue.
"Do not repay one bad turn with another (1 Thes. 5:15; 1 Pt. 3:9)." Do not injure anyone, but bear injuries patiently. "Love your enemies (Mt. 5:44; Lk. 6:27)." If people curse you, do not curse them back but bless them instead. "Endure persecution for the sake of justice (Mt. 5:10)."
You must "not" be "proud," "nor be given to wine (Ti. 1:7; 1 Tm. 3:3)." Refrain from too much eating or sleeping, and "from laziness (Rom. 12:11)." Do not grumble or speak ill of others.
Nonviolence plunges the monastic into the core of Christianity and allows for no rationalizations. Monastic spirituality is Christianity to the hilt.
CHAPTER 4. THE TOOLS FOR GOOD WORKS-Continued
Jan. 20-May 21-Sept. 20
Place your hope in God alone. If you notice something good in yourself, give credit to God, not to yourself, but be certain that the evil you commit is always your own and yours to acknowledge.
Live in fear of the Day of Judgment and have a great horror of hell. Yearn for everlasting life with holy desire. Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die. Hour by hour keep careful watch over all you do, aware that God's gaze is upon you, wherever you may be. As soon as wrongful thoughts come into your heart, dash them against Christ and disclose them to your spiritual guide. Guard your lips from harmful or deceptive speech.
Prefer moderation in speech and speak no foolish chatter, nothing just to provoke laughter; do not love immoderate or boisterous laughter.
Benedict reminds us over and over again in the Rule not to be overtaken, consumed, swept up, swallowed by anything because, no matter how good the thing that absorbs us, we lose other goods in life because of our total lack of discipline about a single part of it.
CHAPTER 4. THE TOOLS FOR GOOD WORKS-Continued
Jan. 21-May 22-Sept. 21
Listen readily to holy reading, and devote yourself often to prayer. Every day with tears and sighs confess your past sin to God in prayer and change from these evil ways in the future.
"Do not gratify the promptings of the flesh (Gal. 5:16);" hate the urgings of self-will. Obey the orders of the prioress unreservedly, even if her own conduct - which God forbid - be at odds with what she says. Remember the teachings of Christ: "Do what they say, not what they do (Mt. 23:3)."
Do not aspire to be called holy before you really are, but first be holy that you may more truly be called so. Live by God's commandments every day; treasure chastity, harbor neither hatred nor jealousy of anyone, and do nothing out of envy. Do not love quarreling; shun arrogance. Respect the elders and love the young. Pray for your enemies out of love for Christ. If you have a dispute with someone, make peace with her before the sun goes down. And finally, never lose hope in God's mercy.
These, then, are the tools of the spiritual craft. When we have used them without ceasing day and night and have returned them on the Day of Judgment our wages will be the reward Christ has promised: "What the eye has not seen nor the ear heard, God has prepared for those who love (1 Cor, 2:9)." The workshop where we are to toil faithfully at all these tasks is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in the community.
Life, Benedict implies, is a tapestry woven daily from yesterday's threads. The colors don't change, only the shapes we give them. Without the past to guide us, the future itself may succumb to it.
CHAPTER 5. OBEDIENCE
Jan. 22-May 23-Sept. 22
The first step of humility is unhesitating obedience, which comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all. Because of the holy service they have professed, or because of dread of hell and for the glory of everlasting life, they carry out the order of the prioress as promptly as if the command came directly from God. God says of people like this: "No sooner did they hear than they obeyed me (Ps. 18:45);" again, God tells teachers: "Whoever listens to you, listens to me (Lk. 10:16)." Such people as these immediately put aside their own concerns, abandon their own wills, and lay down whatever they have in hand, leaving it unfinished. With the ready step of obedience, they follow the voice of authority in their actions. Almost at the same moment, then, as the teacher gives the instruction the disciple quickly puts it into practice out of reverence for God; and both actions together are swiftly completed as one.
It is love that impels them to pursue everlasting life; therefore, they are eager to take the narrow road of which God says: "Narrow is the road that leads to life (Mt. 7:14)." They no longer live by their own judgment, giving in to their whims and appetites; rather they walk according to another's decisions and directions, choosing to live in monasteries and to have a prioress over them. Members of this resolve unquestionably conform to the saying of Christ: "I have come not to do my own will, but the will of the One who sent me (Jn. 6:38)."
Abbots and prioresses, good leaders and teachers, fine parents and mentors, tender husbands and gentle wives, good friends and quality administrators, who listen to us as much as we listen to them, are there to help us bear the heat of life that shapes us, not to escape it.
CHAPTER 5. OBEDIENCE-Continued
Jan. 23-May 24-Sept. 23
Obedience will be acceptable to God and agreeable only if compliance with what is commanded is not cringing or sluggish or half-hearted, but free from any grumbling or any reaction of unwillingness. For the obedience shown to a prioress is obedience given to God, who has said: "Whoever listens to you, listens to me (Lk. 10:16)." Furthermore, the disciples' obedience must be given gladly, for "God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7)." If disciples obey grudgingly and grumble, not only aloud but also in their hearts, then, even though the order is carried out, their actions will not be accepted with favor by God, who sees that they are grumbling in their hearts. These disciples will have no reward for service of this kind; on the contrary, they will incur punishment for grumbling, unless they change for the better and make amends.
Real obedience depends on wanting to listen to the voice of God in the human community, not wanting to be forced to do what we refuse to grow from.
CHAPTER 6. RESTRAINT OF SPEECH
Jan. 24-May 25-Sept. 24
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)." Here the prophet indicates that there are times when good words are to be left unsaid out of esteem for silence. For all the more reason, then, should evil speech be curbed so that punishment for sin may we avoided. Indeed, so important is silence that permission to speak should seldom be granted even to mature disciples, no matter how good or holy or constructive their talk, because it is written: "In a flood of words you will not avoid sin (Prv. 10:19);" and elsewhere, "The tongue holds the key to life and death (Prv. 18:21)." Speaking and teaching are the teacher's task; the disciple is to be silent and listen.
Therefore, any requests to a prioress should be made with all humility and respectful submission. We absolutely condemn in all places any vulgarity and gossip and talk leading to laughter. We do not permit a disciple to engage in words of that kind.
Benedictine spirituality forms us to listen always for the voice of God. When my own noise is what drowns that word out, the spiritual life becomes a sham.
Photographer: Stephanie Schmidt, OSB
CHAPTER 7. HUMILITY
Jan. 25-May 26-Sept. 25
Divine Scripture calls to us saying: "Whoever exalts themselves shall be humbled, and whoever humbles themselves shall be exalted (Lk. 14:11; 18:14)." In saying this, therefore, it shows us that every exaltation is a kind of pride, which the prophet indicates has been shunned, saying: "O God, my heart is not exalted; my eyes are not lifted up and I have not walked in the ways of the great nor gone after marvels beyond me (Ps. 13:1)." And why? "If I had not a humble spirit, but were exalted instead, then you would treat me like a weaned child on its mother's lap (Ps. 131:2)."
Accordingly, if we want to reach the highest summit of humility, if we desire to attain speedily that exaltation in heaven to which we climb by the humility of this present life, then by our ascending actions we must set up that ladder on which Jacob in a dream saw "angels descending and ascending (Gn. 28:12)." Without doubt, this descent and ascent can signify only that we descend by exaltation and ascend by humility. Now the ladder erected is our life on earth, and if we humble our hearts God will raise the ladder to heaven. We may call our body and soul the sides of this ladder, into which our divine vocation has fitted the various steps of humility and discipline as we ascend.
The goals and values of the spiritual life, in other words, are just plain different from the goals and values we've been taught by the world around us. Winning, owning, having, consuming, and controlling are not the high posts of the spiritual life. And this is the basis for social revolution in the modern world.
CHAPTER 7. HUMILITY-Continued
Jan. 26-May 27-Sept. 26
The first step of humility, then, is that we keep "the fear of God always before our eyes (Ps. 36:2)" and never forget it. We must constantly remember everything God has commanded; keeping in mind that all who despise God will burn in hell for their sinful ways, and all who fear God have everlasting life awaiting them. While we guard ourselves at every moment from sin and vices of thought or tongue, of hand or foot, of self-will or bodily desire, let us recall that we are always seen by God in the heavens and that our actions everywhere are in God's sight and are reported by angels at every hour.
Sanctity, in other words, is not a matter of moral athletics. Sanctity is a conscious relationship with the conscious but invisible god.
CHAPTER 7. HUMILITY-Continued
Jan. 27-May 28-Sept. 27
The prophet indicates that our thoughts are always present to God, saying: "God searches hearts and minds (Ps. 7:10);" and again: "God knows our thoughts (Ps. 94:11);" likewise, "From afar you know my thoughts (Ps. 139:3);" and, "My thoughts shall give you praise (Ps. 76:11)." That we may take care to avoid sinful thoughts, we must always say to ourselves: "I shall be blameless in God's sight if I guard myself from my own wickedness (Ps 18:24)."
"How does a person seek union with God?" the seeker asked. "The harder you seek," the teacher said, "the more distance you create between God and you." "So what does one do about the distance?" "Understand that it isn't there," the teacher said...."The sun and its light, the ocean and its wave, the singer and the song."
CHAPTER 7. HUMILITY-Continued
Jan. 28-May 29-Sept. 28
Truly, we are forbidden to do our own will, for Scripture tells us: "Turn away from your desires (Sir. 18:30)." And in prayer too we ask that God's "will be done" in us (Mt. 6:10). We are rightly taught not to do our own will, since we dread what Scripture says: "There are ways which some call right that in the end plunge into the depths of hell (Prv. 16:25)." Moreover, we fear what is said of those who ignore this: "They are corrupt and have become depraved in their desires (Ps. 14:1)."
As for the desires of the body, we must believe that God is always with us, for "All my desires are known to you (Ps. 38:10)," as the prophet tells God. We must then be on guard against any base desire, because death is stationed near the gateway of pleasure. For this reason Scripture warns us, "Pursue not your lusts (Sir. 18:30)."
To give ourselves entirely to the pleasures of the body may close us to beauties known only to the soul.
CHAPTER 7. HUMILITY-Continued
Jan. 29-May 30-Sept. 29
If "the eyes of God are watching the good and the wicked (Prv. 15:3)," if at all times "God looks down from the heavens on us to see whether we understand and seek God (Ps. 14:2);" and if the angels assigned to us report our deeds to God day and night, then, we must be vigilant every hour or, as the prophet says in the psalm, God may observe us "falling" at some time into evil and "so made worthless (Ps. 14:3)." After sparing us for a while because God is loving and waits for us to improve, we may be told later, "This you did, and I said nothing (Ps. 50:21)."
The God-life, Benedict is telling us, is a never-ending, unremitting, totally absorbing enterprise.
CHAPTER 7. HUMILITY-Continued
Jan. 30-May 31-Sept. 30
The second step of humility is that we love not our own will nor take pleasure in the satisfaction of our desires; rather we shall imitate by our actions that saying of Christ: "I have come not to do my own will, but the will of the One who sent me (Jn. 6:38)." Similarly we read, "Consent merits punishment; constraint wins a crown."
The question, of course, is how do we recognize the will of God? The answer lies in the fact that the Jesus who said, "I have come not to do my own will but the will of the One who sent me," is also the Jesus who prayed at Gethsemane, "Let his chalice pass from me." The will of God for us is what remains of a situation after we try without stint and pray without ceasing to change it.
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