Chapter 43 pt. 2
The Rule of St. Benedict November 22
I love it when the planets align. It's hard to find a more appropriate passage for Thanksgiving Day than today's.
Sr. Joan Chittister's commentary on this second half of Chapter 43 is worth reading in full. Do so here. She writes,
In Benedictine spirituality, . . . the sacramental value of a meal is that the human concern we promise daily at the altar is demonstrated in the dining room where we prepare and serve and clean up after one another.
and further,
The meal becomes the sanctifying center that reminds us, day in and day out, that unless we go on building the community around us, participating in it and bearing its burdens, then the words, "family" and "humanity" become a sham, no matter how good our work at the office, no matter how important our work in the world around us.
Presence at table is an imperative in any household that seeks to walk the path of our Father Benedict. And by "presence" I mean fully awake, conscious engagement with the realities at hand, seen and unseen. This is true in a household of one or in a household of many. The Benedictine is to honor the table as a sacramental focal point wherein the invisible is manifest among the visible. Let us seek to engage our meal(s) with family and friends in this manner today.
Br. Chad 2012
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