Chapter 70
The Rule of St. Benedict December 28
On this feast, two weeks after the massacre in Newtown, CT, pray with me:
We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I have often found it easy to set myself up as judge and executer. From my perspective trapped behind my two small eyes, I succumb to the temptation to act as though I see the world as it is, unadorned and objective. My angry reactions are then justified as acts of defense in the service of Truth and Justice. Our Father Benedict seeks to prevent this impulse here in Chapter 70. Sr. Joan comments,
Benedictine spirituality depended on personal commitment and community support, not on intimidation and brutality. Benedict makes it clear that the desire for good is no excuse for the exercise of evil on its behalf. . . . To become what we hate--as mean as the killers, as obsessed as the haters--is neither the goal nor the greatness of the spiritual life.
As Benedictines, let us consider carefully the posture we assume with each other, with those we encounter in our daily lives, and with our ideological adversaries. As much as it appears at times to be the case, God has not set us up as vigilantes for God's own Truth.
Br. Chad 2012
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