August 31

Feast of Sts. Aidan and Cuthbert, Bishops of Lindisfarne

Chapter 73

The Rule of St. Benedict August 31

Here at the end of his Rule, St. Benedict models humility regarding his own work.  We can learn from his example and hold gently the good that comes from our lives, recognizing that it is by God's love and grace that we have been brought to the place we inhabit.

This final chapter is a good reminder at the end of the Rule that means to do not equal ends, and it is the end, the goal, the telos of our life that is the priority.  We are formed by our Benedictine practices to find our true self at home with God, and to find God at home in our lives.  We are all beginners.  And we will always need to begin again.

Let us adopt our Father Benedict's humility, then, and open ourselves to what we can learn from others on parallel journeys so that we might be formed more completely into the likeness of Christ.

Br. Chad 2012