January 22

Chapter 5 pt. 1

The Rule of Benedict January 22

I am posting my letter from September 23, 2010 with an additional comment.


Father Benedict is concerned in this chapter with the clear pinpoint of the will within each of us.  This precise point is often obscured by the details of our experience: our emotional habits, patterns of thought, and circumstances.  Yet it is the place at which our true self responds to God in a given moment, and it is the freedom to respond in the affirmative that Benedict wants the monastic to acquire.

We, in the Benedictine Sisters and Brothers of St. Brigid, have the privilege of practicing our faith within the stability of our order.  This gives us access to some of the tools that Benedict builds into his monasteries, the first of which is that we have a Prior.  Father Benedict makes it clear that his instruction to immediately obey the command of the leader is not because the leader's commands are perfect, but, because by obeying without hesitation or resistance, the monastic learns to do, and is regarded by God as doing, the will of God.

Some of us may recognize within ourselves what I'm describing as the pinpoint of the will.  Some of us may not.  If you do not, I would be happy to help you recognize it within yourself.  Regardless of how clear the concept is to you right now, though, we have the opportunity to follow Benedict's instructions.

To begin, I would like to establish a protocol for our communication.  When you receive an email from me, I would like for you, upon receiving it, to reply without hesitation.  If I ask a question for which you do not have an answer, simply reply that you got my email and that you'll respond soon with your answer.  If it is at all possible, pause at the very moment you see the email, "immediately put aside [your] own concerns, abandon [your] own will, and lay down whatever [you] have in hand, leaving it unfinished," (Ch. 5) and reply.


January 22, 2011:


I'd like to add some clarity to the above instruction regarding email by signing all messages that I send as Prior with, "Your Prior."  I think this will be of practical help to us all.