May 28

Chapter 7 pt. 3

The Rule of St. Benedict May 28

Today is my first full day as a Benedictine canon.  I professed my solemn vows, took the habit and a religious name, and donned the pectoral cross as the Prior (religious superior) of the newly established Community of St. Mary of the Annunciation.  I then turned and witnessed the vows of a new novice, Br. Rawleigh Emmons, and welcomed him into the community.  As I sit here at home this morning, engaging in my practice and orienting myself to the new reality of my life, our Father Benedict's instructions on this day are especially poignant.

St. Benedict reminds me today that I am not the master of anything in my life, not my newly minted vocation, not the new canon community I shepherd, not even my own thoughts.  In fact, the greatest danger I face as I drape my habit over my head, fasten my belt, and place the cross over my chest is the temptation to pride and vanity that slithers among my semi-conscious thoughts.  If I am to overcome this temptation, I must subject all of myself to the warm, gentle, and piercing light of God, who, my Father Benedict says, is ever present within my thoughts anyway.  My work is to stop pretending that what I hide from myself and repress deep within is hidden and repressed from God.  God has always seen all of me, and has loved me all along.  

Br. Chad 2012