Rule Of Benedict 50
April 10, 2010
7 is the chapter the Rule elaborates on living humbly with God and others. Verses 35-38 address the fourth step on humility: quiet obedience and acceptance of life in spite of hardships.
The fourth step of humility is that if in this very obedience hard and contrary things, even injuries, are done to him, he embraces them patiently with silent acceptance, and does not grow weary to give in, as the Scripture says: He who perseveres to the end shall be saved (Matthew 10:22). And again: Let you heart take courage, and wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:14). And showing how the faithful ought to bear all things, however contradictory, for the Lord, [the Scripture] says in the person of the afflicted: For you we suffer death all day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter (Romans 8:36; Psalm 44:22).
Paul says in Philippians “do all things without grumbling”. I may grit my teeth and obey. I may obey dutifully but attitudinally inwardly be rebellious. I may think myself obedient when truly I’m indifferent.
Deep commitment to Christ is not obtained in life’s peaks but in the mire of life’s troughs. Our love is deepened in the troughs and our love motivates our going further along the road less traveled among many of us today: The Way of the Cross.
Prayer: Dare I ask you for perseverance and endurance? Shall I enter willingly into sufferings (mine and yours to complete), denial, and crucifixion? Is there no other way? Narrow is the way and few there be who find it. Lead me on this way though my ego be killed. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God who knows the way of grief and suffering, shame and abandonment, have mercy on me.
Rule of Benedict 49
April 7, 2010
Chapter seven is the longest chapter so far in the Rule of Saint Benedict. Today we look at verse 34. The divisions of the chapters I have been following come from a book I’ve referred to periodically called Preferring Christ by Norvene Vest and the translation of the Rule itself is done by Fr. Luke Dysinger, OSB (Order of Saint Benedict).
7:34 says: The third step of humility is that for the love of God a person submits himself to his superior in all obedience; imitating the Lord, of whom the apostle says: He was made obedient even to death (Phil 2:8).
Benedict here is direct as he has been all along. He has advocated that to live by the Rule around which a group may gather means to have a humble spirit. The first step in the ladder toward humility (the Ladder of Humility is attributed to Cassian from whom it is believed that Benedict borrowed it):
A person always keeps the fear of God before his eyes. We tend toward self-exaltation. Keeping our lives in the fear of the Lord moves us in the direction of humility.
The second step is not to love our own will (or kingdoms or actions). humility demands that we do not gratify the desires of the flesh but to trust in the Lord’s will and to live in a kingdom of his making, submitting to its actions and rules.
The third step, in verse 34 quoted above is to learn obedience to someone further along the Road less traveled. That’s what Benedict means by superior.
Comment: The third step on the Humility Ladder is hard to do. In the Christian tradition in which I live and work, we prize the individual’s right to live out her call as an individual. Often the way this works out borders on individualism, a plight seen in the Dream of many in the West. I am the captain of my ship, the master of my own destiny. Letting someone else direct my life, to whom I am responsible for the choices I make (beside God, that is) is not part of my tradition. Yet I see the benefit of humbly submitting to someone who is further along the Way.
Humility must move from the inward aspects of our lives (pride, fear of God, desiring the will of God) to outward expressions such as surrendering to the direction of another person of God’s choosing who may input into my life, and may encourage further obedience along the journey of faith in God.
Prayer: Dear God, help me to be willing, as I listen to those who are further along the life everlasting, to be obedient to the unmistaken voice of God. Help me to be humble and search out someone who may listen to your movement in my life and to do as he advises. Lord, have mercy, and guide me, and enable me to be obedient to those who have known true obedience through humility.
Benedict’s Rule 48
April 3, 2010
Chapter 7:31-33. Previously Benedict had said that the first step of humility is that our existence is always lived in the presence of God. This ever present God is our motivation to overcome evil desires that tempt us to live according to our will. So Benedict’s logic here is don’t love your own will. Here’s how he puts it:
The second step of humility is that a person does not love his own will, nor delights in gratifying his own desires; but carries out in his deeds that saying of the Lord: I came not to do my own will, but the will of the one who sent me (John 6:38). And again it is written: Self-will deserves punishment, but necessity wins a crown.”
Comments: The training of the will to die is slow work.It’s constant work. We can’t help but will; will what is good and will what is bad; will with right motives, or with wrong motives; will that is self-protective and will that is others empowering. Benedict, in answering life questions defaults to Jesus and Scripture. He saw no better way. Christians still see no better way. There is none. Jesus offer us nurture that is heavenly as we trust him and feed on him and eat his book. He also desires very much that we imitate him. He did not do his own will (it was not his will to be shamed, humiliated, suffer ignominy, or die. It was his Father’s will. He lived God’s actions in his life; he lived the kingdom of God. So his promise is that in imitation we would succeed as he did. Do the will of my father, he says.
A disciple is not above his teacher, but when the disciple is fully formed, he will be like his teacher. My spiritual formation is undertaken by none other that the Spirit of God. Learning to relinquish my will for that of the Other is imperative. How I make this my own may be different than how others do it. For me, it is the constant observation of Jesus in his love of his Father and the people around him. It’s dependence on the grace (enabling) of God to help me do what I am not able to do in my own will. One of the hardest things in life is to discern whose will governs our actions. When my heart is being shaped by Jesus through intimacy with him in prayer and eating his Word, I am very much aware that my actions are imitative of His. When I’m feeding on my own self-will and the will of the World, my actions are imitative of the world. This is axiomatic in the Christian life.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. I am ever so tempted to do it my own way when your way is always better, holy, edifying, God-honoring. I repent of my self-willful self and bow humbly before the Lord of my life. Amen.
Rule of Benedict 47
March 30, 2010
Chapter 7:23-30 continues on the theme of humility.
And in regard to the desires of the flesh, we must believe that God is always present to us, as the prophet says to the Lord: O lord, all my desire is before (Ps 38:10). Let us be on our guard then against evil desires, since death has its seat close to the entrance of delight; thus the Scripture commands us saying: Do not go after your desires (Sir 18:30 Here Benedict is quoting from the Apocrypha believing it is Scripture, not a belief held by Christians of all traditions). Since, therefore, the eyes of the Lord behold good and evil (Prov 15:3); and the lord is ever looking down from heaven upon the children of humans, to see who has understanding or is seeking God (Ps 14:2); and since the works of our hands are reported to God, our Maker and Creator, night and day by the angels appointed to watch over us; we must be always on the watch, brothers, lest, as the prophet says in the psalm, God should see us at any time fall into evil and become unprofitable (Ps 14:3); and lest, though God spare us now because he is merciful and expects our conversion, God should say to us hereafter: THese things you did and I remained silent (Psalm 49:21).
Comment: If our lives are open books before the Lord our God, why are we so bold as to sin? The desire for forbidden delight seems to trump even the all seeing eyes of the Lord. Benedict’s warning to be diligent against evil desires because of the death they bring. Of course not all desire is evil. But given free rein to our desires will land us in hot water. In order to deal with these desires we must place along side of them the greater to live in the fear of the Lord (to live the love likfe with God). It is not enough to destroy evil. We must fill the vacuum with good.
Prayer: Dear God, we affirm that you are good. In your goodness, even when our desires are bent toward evil, show us the way of escape that we may be able to endure and overcome. Amen! Christ, have mercy!
Rule of Benedict 45
March 28, 2010
Benedict continues dealing with humility in verses 9-13 of Chapter 7 of his rule. Previously he spoke of Jacob’s ladder. He continues on the same theme.
The sides of the same ladder we understand to be our body and soul, in which the call of God has placed various steps of humility or discipline, which we must ascend. The first step of humility, then, is that a person always keeps the fear of God before his eyes (Ps 36:2), avoiding forgetfulness: that he is ever mindful of all that God has commanded; that those who despise God will be consumed in hell for their sins; and that he always considers that life everlasting is prepared for those who fear God. And keeping himself at all times from sin and vice, whether of thoughts, tongue, eyes, hands, feet, or his own will, let him thus hasten to cast away the desires of the flesh. Let him consider that he is always beheld from heaven by God, and that his actions are everywhere seen by the eye of the Divine Majesty, and are every hour reported to God by the angels.
Two thoughts: one, humility is not a passive stance. We can do something to humble ourselves before almighty God by living in awe of God, not forgetting his ways, not giving free will to our sinful nature. Two, that our lives are open books, lived in the presence of God. We can hide nothing, not with figs, not with twigs, not with brick or mortar, not with denial. The Divine Majesty pays attention to our lives. We give account. We live in the company of angels, open to the cosmos to see. What we do in the dark, is revealed in the light. Not for condemnation but for mercy.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. I desire to climb this ladder of humility but with God’s enabling. The upward mobility that I seek is from an external show of humility to the internal height of self-denial, and holy self-love. I desire to live by the fear of the Lord as guide and I desire to live in obedience so that the crown of righteousness I receive from your hand can be placed at your feet: “Lord you showed mercy. I give back to you the gift of humility.”
Lord Jesus, have mercy. Amen.
Rule of Benedict 44
August 31, 2009
Chapter 7:1-8 of the Rule of Benedict speaks to humility, the virtue we all need to check our pride and to be Christlike.
The Holy Scripture cries out to us, brothers, saying: Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and one who humbles himself shall be exalted (Luke 14:11; 18:14). In saying this, it teaches us that all exaltation is a kind of pride, against which the prophet shows himself to be on his guard when he says: Lord, my heart is not exalted nor my eyes lifted up; nor have I walked in great things, nor in wonders above me (Ps 131:1). And why? If I did not think humbly, but exalted my soul; then like a child that is weaned from its mother–so you would treat my soul (Ps 131-2).
Therefore, brothers, if we wish to arrive at the highest point of humility, and speedily reach the heavenly exaltation to which we can only ascend by the humility of this present life, we must by our ever-ascending actions erect a ladder like the one which Jacob beheld in his dream, by which the angels appeared to him descending and ascending. This descent and ascent signifies nothing else than that we descent by exaltation and ascend by humility. And the ladder thus erected in our life in the world, which, if the heart is humbled, is lifted up by the Lord of heaven.
Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up. Let’s face the reality. We don’t descend naturally. We tend to desire to ascend to God’s position. That’s of course a dead end (pun intended). To the position of others? Ah, there’s the rub. You accomplished this, I accomplished that. And my that is better than your this.
Only those who come to the end of themselves pursue humility. It dawns on them one day that the Holy Spirit is winning; he has them pinned down, and the power to self-exaltation dies on the heap of pride. There is growth in humility. Once the Holy Spirit intensifies the squeezing of pride from us, we come along and participate in the process. But we must do it indirectly. To seek humility directly is a non-sequitur.
In confession, in solitude, in silence, in fasting, in service, in worship, and by other means of grace, we come to the end of our exalted, ascending selves. By these means of grace, we discover that humility surreptitiously edges it way into our soul, driving away pride out one inch at a time.
Descending is a non-stop activity of the Holy Spirit who is always at work in us, who are apprentices in living Christ in this world.
Prayer: Lord, who am I that you are mindful of me? That you take note of me? You made me. I did not make myself. You knitted me together. I am not self-knitted. I honor you. I seek your mercy when humility lacks in me. Amen. Christ, have mercy.
Benedict’s Rule 43
August 19, 2009
Chapter 7 is about that other virtue in Benedictine monasticism: Humility. Chapter 5 was about Obedience, chapter 6 about silence.
Verses 1-8 say this about humility:
The Holy Scripture cries out to us, brothers, saying: Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and one who humbles himself shall be exalted (Luke 4:11; 18:14). In saying this, it teaches us that all exaltation is a kind of pride, against which the prophet shows himself to be on his guard when he says: Lord. my heart is not exalted nor my eyes lifted up; nor have I walked in great things, nor in wonders above me (Ps 131:1). And why? If I did not think humbly, but exalted my soul; then like a child that is weaned from its mother–so you would treat my soul.
Therefore, brothers, if we wish to arrive at the highest point of humility, and speedily reach that heavenly exaltation to which we can only ascend by the humility of this present life, we must by our ever-ascending actions erect a ladder like the one which Jacob beheld in his dream, by which the angels appeared to him descending and ascending. This descent and ascent signifies nothing else than that we descend by exaltation and ascend by humility. And the ladder thus erected is our life in the world, which, if the heart is humbled, is lifted up by the Lord to heaven.
Pretty biblical if you ask me. This is a good starting point when speaking about such issues as concern our postures in life and in relationships.
Self-exaltation, or “look-at-me-ism” is standard around us. I used to hear this from a minister friend: “if you don’t toot your own horn, no one else is going to.” That was not good advice. Benedict, like Christ, his master, believes that the Christian way is the humble way. Not shunning big, glitzy, noticeable things is the self-ascending way. It earns us the reward which God promised: hay and stubble.
Pharisaic self-righteousness is good for no one. Its pleasures are deceptive, its benefits fleeting. Humility, if sought, must be sought indirectly. As many virtues in the Christian life, such as hope in adversity, faith, and love of our enemies, humility is acquired as a grace or gift from God. It comes to us when we engage in the means of grace: Solitude, silence, service, fasting, Scripture memory, etc… Soon these means of grace do their work in us transforming our desire for self-exaltation into humble submission, the clay that Christ uses to God-exaltation in us. It also comes as situations, placed in our lives by God, shape our hearts on the path to humility.
Lord, have mercy and enable us by your grace to do what you were able to do should you be in our place. We affirm with you that the humble way is the way of life in your kingdom. We come to you, heavy with burdens to receive from you humility of heart. Holy Spirit, thanks for undertaking the death of my ego to replace it with your very self. I pray your work will be complete in me.
Rule of Benedict 42
August 18, 2009
Chapter 6 in its entirety follows:
Let us do as the prophet says: I said, I will take heed to my ways that I not sin with my tongue: I have placed a watch over my mouth; I became dumb, and was silent, and held my peace even from good things (Ps 39:1-3) Here the prophet shows that if we ought to refrain even from good words for the sake of silence, how much more ought we to abstain from evil words, on account of the punishment due to sin! Thserefore, on account of the importance of silence let permission to speak be seldom granted ever to perfect disciples, even when their conversation is good and holy and tending to edification, because it is written: In much speaking you shall not avoid sin (Prov 10:19); and elsewhere Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov 18:21).e
For it is appropriate for the master to speak and to teach; but the disciples is to be silent and listen. And therefore, if anything is to be asked of a superior, let it be done with all humility and deferential reverence, lest more be said than is proper. But as for buffoonery or silly words, such as move to laughter, we utterly condemn them in every place, nor do we allow the disciple to open his mouth in such discourse.
Benedictine monasticism works when all abide by certain virtues. Benedictine virtues for monastic living include: Silence, obedience, and humility. These do not come naturally to human beings. They obviously were important also in Benedict’s day. Ecclesiastes mentions silence as having its course at times.
I am given to words, and my opinions. This creates the need to keep silent even when having something good to say. Since noise is ever present in our lives, learning to switch off the noise that clutters our minds is crucial. Silence, not saying anything, not demanding anything, not asking anything is a good counterbalance to the noisy life.
I can’t remember who said this: Pray silently. Use words if you must (I’m thinking it’s C.S Lewis). Nor do I remember where this comes from: Silence is golden or “you don’t have to say everything that comes to your mind” Probably my mother). Jesus was silent on occasion; even when he was right and even when defending himself might have saved his life!
Disciples are learners, apprentices, students. They are tasked with observing the master and learn of him. I apprenticed as a wood carver and for 6 months I stood and watched and said very little. Lots of silent thinking. We have bought into learning by experience and doing and give little credence to silence as a teaching sphere. Much learning happens in silence. Silence frees the mind from formulating words to justify ourselves, to show off, to blame, and to accuse.
Do you value silence? I wish you would.
Prayer: Lord, hear my prayer. It comes from my heart. I have no words.
Rule of Benedict 41
August 17, 2009
Verses 14-19 of the Rule of Benedict state similar to the previous verses focus on obedience:
But this very obedience will be acceptable to God and sweet to others only if what is commanded is done, not fearfully, tardily, nor lukewarmly, not with murmuring, nor with an answer showing unwillingness: for the obedience which is given to superiors is given to God, since God Himself has said: he one who hears you hears me (Luke 10:16). And this obedience ought to be given with a good will, because God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7)
For if the disciple obeys with ill will, murmuring not only with his lips but also in his heart, even though he fulfill the command he will not be acceptable to God. For God sees the heart of the murmurer. And for such action he will gain no reward; rather he will incur the punishment due to murmurers, unless he amends and makes satisfaction.
Wow! Ouch! I knew it all along. Knowing and doing or not doing are different matters. Don’t complain in serving the Lord. Jesus also never did. Paul said in Philippians 2:14 that our actions, obedience and everything we set our minds on doing should be done without grumbling (other translations have murmuring, complaining).
When obedience is done unwillingly or halfheartedly the blessings of surrender are missing, humility is replaced with selfish desires, and we reject the blessings God and others want to bestow on us by giving some direction to our lives.
Prayer: Lord, have mercy on us and help us to replace murmuring with praise and gratitude. We confess it is thinking less highly of you when we have leaders we refuse to listen to. It is thinking too little of your gifts to us.
Rule of Benedict 40
August 10, 2009
Chapter 5:10-13 of the Rule of St Benedict follow:
These [the humble and the obedient] therefore choose the narrow way, upon whom presses the desire to attain eternal life, of whom the Lord says: Narrow is the way which leads to life (Matthew 7:14). So that living not by their will, nor obeying their own desires and pleasures, they walk according to the judgment and command of another: thus they live in community, and desire to have an abbot over them. Such as these without doubt fulfill that saying of the Lord: I came not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me (John 6:38).
Obedience and humility are the sources of all disciplined Christian living. The narrow way, the Jesus way, is the cruciform way of life we opt to live.
Submission to the will of God often implies submission to the will of another (not always obviously, for humans are fallible). Submission implies the willingness to let another determine what I do. I must obviously have confidence in this other believing he or she wills only what is god for me.
This is a radical way of thinking about our will. Left to my own I will often cater to my desires and pleasures as Benedict astutely discerns. Willingly submitting to another helps me eliminate or at least curtail my craving to please myself first by catering to my desires.
Other than a spouse, do you have the will or inclination to let another person of your choosing help you decide the path of life with you and at times for you?
Individualistic Christian living often prevents us from communal living or submission to the direction of the community we belong to. However, we must not detour the Christian highway, which is the communal way.
Do you agree with the primacy of the corporate nature of our Christian life? Is this the reality in your church community?
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen.
Rule of Benedict 39
August 6, 2009
Preferring Christ, a Devotional Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict by Norvene Vest, is an inspiring book. It has inspired me to read the Rule, and to consider what it might teach me. Her comments are not a big part of mine though at times they do inspire some thoughts. When the thoughts are hers I give proper credit. Vest uses the translation of Fr. Luke Dysinger, OSB, as her text.
Chapter 5 is 19 verses. Today I quote verses 1-9, which address the virtue of obedience.
The first step of humility is obedience without delay. This becomes those who hold nothing dearer to them than Christ, and who on account of the holy servitude which they have taken upon them, and for fear of hell, and for the glory of everlasting life, as soon as anything is ordered by the superior, just as if it had been commanded by God himself, are unable to bear delay in doing it. It is of these that the Lord says: upon hearing me with his ear he has obeyed me (Ps 18:44). And again, to teachers he says: he who hears you hears me (Luke 10:16).
Such as these, therefore, leaving immediately all that is their concern, and forsaking their own will, with their hands disengaged and leaving unfinished what they were about, with the ready step of obedience, follow by their deed the voice of the one who commands. And so, as it were at the same instant, the bidding of the master and the perfect work of the disciple are together more perfectly fulfilled in the swiftness of the fear of God.
What is Benedict intending with this exhortation to obedience? This may be helpful. The Latin for obedience as Benedict would have been familiar with is used to describe hearing or listening with the intention to do what is heard. Benedict is not encouraging blind obedience to another human being. What needs to be understood here is that Benedict encourages obedience to the words of Christ and holding nothing dearer than Christ as encouraged and exhorted by the abbot.
When Jesus first encountered his disciples, we are surprissed to see that the first thing he required of them, even before believing in him, was their obedience. Faith will come later, after obedience. The invitation of Jesus is first an invitation to obedience. That initial obedience can only happen when humility kicks in as the Holy Spirit enables us and awakens us to the identity of the “Inviter.”
Prayer: Father, let my first response be obedience to any command I hear from you and from my brothers and sisters in Christ to obey you. Help me to be humble in order to obey and in obeying helping me to live by faith. Amen. Christ, have mercy.
Rule of Benedict 38
August 5, 2009
Benedictine life is this: The call to live holy lives in community governed by an abbot and a Rule for life. This does not sound like an appealing proposition to most of us. Who wants to “escape” into this? Yet, what if in the evangelical church, with the freedoms we have, we could approximate, perhaps not the form, but the spirit of the Rule: Learning to live blamelessly before God and man being separated wholly unto the things of God, learning community living by actually being willing to submit to a community (a few people) which is willing to give direction to our lives and agree to practice our spirituality guided daily by worship, intentional growth, and life with and service to others?
The end of chapter 4 of the Rule of St Benedict says this is hard work and it is possible but demands a load of mercy from God.
Verse 74: And never depair of God’s mercy.
Verses 75-78: Behold, these are the tools of the spiritual craft, which, if they are constantly employed day and night, and fully given back on the day of judgment, will gain for us from the Lord that reward which he himself has promised: “what eye has not seen nor ear heard, God has prepared for them that love him.”
And the workshop where we are to labor diligently at all these things is the cloister of the monastery, and stability in the community.
Craft, Workshop, Diligent labor. Have we misinterpreted the words of Jesus of the easy yoke and light burden to mean don’t do anything to promote your gorwth unto holiness and “perfect” loving? Working at our spirituality (our lived experience with, in, and for God) is a biblical mandate: Train yourself for the purpose of godliness is Paul’s command to Timothy. Train so that you are not boxing at life as if beating the air is his advice to the Corinthians. Yet all of this is too much for us. Mercy, love, grace, hope, faith are all necessary spheres in Christian spirituality.
Prayer: Lord, be merciful unto us, sinners, saved by grace, standing in Christ, with Christ, and for Christ. Amen.
Rule of Benedict 37
August 4, 2009
Chapter 4 and verses 62-73.
Do not wish to be called holy before you are so; but first be holy, that you may also be truly called so. Daily fulfill by your deeds the commandments of God: love chastity; hate no-one; do not be jealous, nor give way to envy. Do not love strife. Flee from vainglory. Reverence your seniors; love your juniors. Pray for your enemies in the love of Christ. Make peace with your adversary before the setting of the sun.
These are sound biblical injunctions when it comes to living the Christian life in common with others, especially is a cloistered fashion! But these injunctions apply even when we live uncloistered lives; for the Christian life is never lived privately.
What strikes me here is the desire to be known as holy. Truth be told, many of us desire this. In our desire for it we may be tempted to hide things in our lives that make us look unholy, giving us the appearance of holiness but not the reality of holiness.
Another thought that keeps haunting me is the command to be holy. Does God expects my holiness? Does He not allow for my brokenness and foibles and sin? While God is unencumbered by the brokenness of sin, in His love )manifested as holiness, grace and mercy and other qualities) he accepts my weak holiness and strengthens me by his accepting love.
Prayer: Jesus, I hear of your holiness from those who eye-witnessed your life. I see you with my own eyes living in holiness in many around me. I witness your holy life in me. I aspire to your holiness. Perfection eludes me, but imperfection does not deter me from following hard after you. Amen. Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Rule of Benedict 36
August 3, 2009
Rule of Benedict 36
Chapter 4 and verses 55-61 of the Rule of Benedict say:
Listen willing to holy lectio; apply yourself frequently to prayer. Daily confess to God in prayer your past sins with tears and sighs, and amend them for the future.
Do not fulfill the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16): Hare your self-will. Obey in all things the commands of the abbot, even though he himself (which God forbid!) should act otherwise, being mindful of that precept of the Lord: Do what they say, but not what they do (Matthew 23:3).
Confess sins with tears and sighs!
How about that? Brokenness over past sins (assumable ones committed since last confession) is the advice of Benedict. It is not hard for us to cry over sins against us. It is harder, in my experience, to cry over sins I cause against others.
Obey the Abbot (the one who is in charge over you). Are you motivated to follow someone’s words when their actions do not complement what they say?
Prayer: I cannot manufacture tears over my sins. Help me to know the way you see the hurt that my sins cause others. Enable me to see and to pity, give me eyes of compassion. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Rule of Benedict 35
July 21, 2009
I am in San Antonio, Texas, enjoying my 24 hours old grandson Brae. The miracle of life possesses indescribable beauty. Bless God with me for Brae.
The life of monastics at times seems restrictive. Some see it as impossible because of its restrictive characteristics. On the other hand a different perception of restrictions is possible. Restrictions can also be freeing. If you chose to only do some things you free yourself from having to do others.
What do you think of Benedict’s Rule 4:51-54.
Keep your mouth from evil and wicked words. Do not be excessively talkative. Do not speak vain words or words intended only to provoke laughter. Do not love excessive laughter.
Is this sound advice? Would yo follow it? Why do you think Benedict insists here about the use of words and laughter?
Comment: The key to this advice is the words excessively and excessive. With silence selling cheap and words of pundits earn them in the millions I see Benedict’s advice as a corrective. Silence is short changed and words are over valued. Our words can lead us astray and distance us from Christ. That is why we should measure them and consider what comes out of our mouths to see its real worth. Does it contribute to godliness or not? Laughter, we are told is therapeutic. But laughter also easily distracts us from life with God. Again, silence here gives us the needed corrective to words and laughter. Certainly words and laughter are not bad by themselves. But when when they distract us Christ, or when we neglect to use them for the cause of Christ, perhaps we err and refuse word and laughter for the sake of the kingdom.
Prayer: Lord, you gave us speech. You gave us silence. You gave us laughter. Whatever we use to draw near to you, words and laughter, bless them. Teach us to be silent and to know when not to speak nor laugh. Amen. Christ, have mercy.
Rule of Benedict 34
July 13, 2009
It’s hard to believe that I have posted on the same Rule of St Benedict so many times yet I am not even close to the end. I trust that a meditation on this rule has been as helpful to you as to me. I appreciate Benedict because he got serious about following Jesus as best he understood him in his day. There is benefit to us all from such faithfulness.
Chapter 4:50. This verse says: Dash down at the feet of Christ your evil thoughts, the instant that they come into your heart; and lay them open to your spiritual father.
I am reminded of these lines from the hymn: Oh (a cry of lament) what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Dashing the temptation the moment it enters our mind (the window of its opportunity) or carrying it to God in prayer, is the smartest thing we can do. Another thing we can and should do more often is dash them at the feet of an experienced spiritual companion or brother or sister int he Lord. These are practices that will save us much suffering. Dash (as if out of hate) the temptation against the feet of Christ. It is where it belongs. There it will dissolve as Christ’s tears wash over it. Tears of joy because we did not indulge it. The speed at which we learn to do this can save us much fear, much shame, much anxious living.
Prayer: Have mercy on me O God, I cry with the sinner of old. O Christ, tempted in everyway as we, sin never entered thee. Its power without influence on thee. In thy perfection thou hast shown, in thy mercy thou has proven, that I in thee am able of the same grandeur of spirit, victory over sin, and largess of life. The victory is mine as abiding with thee be mine. Amen. Christ, have mercy.
Rule of Benedict 33
July 6, 2009
Benedict writes in 4:48-49
Keep guard at all times over the actions of your life, knowing for certain that God sees you every where.
I didn’t grow up with this Sunday School song: O be careful little hands, feet, eyes, ears what you do, where you go, what you see, and hear for the Father up above is looking down in love… Yes indeed one must be careful. Enticements to drift away from a Jesus-abiding life are many. Outward enticements to indulge our sensual pleasures of every kind abound. Inward enticements fueled by stored memories of sinful pleasures, boredom, and a sense of entitlement or missing out, lie in wait in every nook and cranny of our heart, mind, and soul. Thus keep guard at all times is apt advice, the one necessary thing in kingdom living.
Two people I read about and read some, who have managed a keeping guard over their hearts (Proverbs 4:23) are Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach (other than the proverb writer and of course our Master). Perhaps there are many more.
Laubach in Letters by a modern Mystic says:
As for me, I never lived, I was half dead, I was a rotting tree, until I reached the place where I wholly, with utter honesty, resolved and then re-resolved that I would find God’s will, and I would do that will though every fiber in me said no, and I would win the battle in my thoughts. It was as though some deep artesian well had been struck in my soul… and strength came forth. I do not claim success even for a day yet–in my mind, no complete success all day–but some days are closer to success, and every day is tingling with the joy of a glorious discovery. That thing is eternal. That thing is undefeatable… This spirit which comes to a mind set upon continuous surrender, this spirit is timeless life.
Does this sound doable? Is there a desire within me for this?
Laubach adds:
It seems to me now that yonder plowman could be like Calixto Sanidad, when he was a lonesome and mistreated plowboy, “with my eyes on the furrow, and my hands on the lines, but my thoughts on God.” The carpenter could be as a full of God as was Christ when he drove nails. The millions at looms and lathes could make the hours glorious. Some hour spent by some night watchman might be the most glorious ever lived on earth.
We occupy our lives with all kinds of activities. But with our thoughts we train our minds to turn upward, keeping guard over our actions because the Father up above is looking down in love to give us the desires of our hearts.
This is challenging to say the least. Keeping guard is only the starting point. The rest is to turn our minds to be stayed on Him. Much easier said than done. But willed by our Lord for us.
Prayer from Celtic Daily Prayer morning canticle:
Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield
overshadow me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
Rule of Benedict 32
June 29, 2009
In verses 44-47 St Benedict has a warning. He warns that the actions of our lives matter. The little things we do either move us in the direction toward God or away from God.
He says: Fear the Day of Judgment: be in dread of hell. Ardently desire everlasting life with deep spiritual longing. Keep death daily before your eyes.
Frankly speaking I spend little or no time reflecting on the first and last parts: judgment, death, and hell. I much prefer the middle part. I prefer to desire and long to be near God. Yet my actions, all of them, will one day be evaluated. The reality of this evaluation caused Benedict to earn his followers about the last things: Sin, judgment, death, and hell. To some these sound morbid. They seem to motivate by eliciting negative feelings. Yet there is a healthy way of viewing them. Those who are in Christ have no fear that they will experience any of these things outside of Christ. He is the judge and he will judge in mercy. Death, therefore, can be a daily reality and even at times welcomed out of longing to be nearer to our Lord.
Prayer: Dear merciful God, help us to conduct our lives in such a way as the dread of judgment and hell are far away from us. Yet keep us mindful that in your mercy, there is full assurance of justice. Awaken, reawaken, and constantly awaken within me a deep desire for the things that are above where Christ is seated with the Father. In gratitude I rejoice that the sting of death has lost its power in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. Christ, have mercy.
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