Rule of Benedict 13
February 27, 2009
In chapter one of the Rule of Benedict we are treated to the Saint’s preference of the kind of monk and monastery he wishes to have. In this chapter he names 4 types of monks: The cenobites, the anchorites, the sarabaites, and in today’s verses (10-13) he names the last, the gyrovagues. I quote the verses:
The fourth kind of monks are those called gyrovagues, who spend their whole lives seeking hospitality in province after province, monastery after monastery, staying three or four days at a time; always wandering and never stable, they are slaves to self-will and the snares of appetite: they are in all things worse than the sarabaites.
Of the most wretched life of all these it is better to remain silent than to speak. Leaving these behind us, therefore, let us proceed, with the help of God, to make provision for the cenobites–the strong kind of monks.
Lectio: With nothing good to say about the wretched existence of the gyrovagues, Benedict prefers silence to speech; grace and love, to condemnation. Benedict is a discerning leader.
This is what I heard and am meditating on: You have nothing to say? Say nothing. You don’t think your words edify? It is best to keep them inside and not sound like a clanging cymbal and a noisy gong. Jesus kept silence when his life and ours hung in the balance and I am sure many other times. That takes training of the will. Our tendency is unbridled speech. Too much to say if only some will listen. Say little and many will listen when you have something to say. I don’t have to say everything that comes into the mind. Too much talk is a human luxury no one could afford.
Experience also taught gracious Benedict that stability, staying put in one place for a long time, if not until death, provides a grounding in God, and helps overcome a life governed by self-will rather than by the will of God. Stability is one of the vows Benedictines take, if my memory serves me well. Doing life together with a few other people for life is a feat not many accomplish. Loving the same people, foibles and all is no easy thing. Serving God with others in the same congregation for life for life. Is that ever a consideration when better job opportunities come knocking? Heck, 50% or more of us can’t do it with a wife/husband! Mobility has its drawbacks. By raising all these questions I am becoming aware that stability is no longer a core value to us as a society or perhaps as a society of Jesus.
Is this true in your experience? What do you think we gain by stability? What do you think we lose without it?
Prayer: It is good for brothers to dwell together in harmony in your presence, dear Lord. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
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