Chapter 7 pt. 13
The Rule of Benedict June 7
I perceive the ninth step of humility to be Benedict's way of weaning us from the belief that our daily circumstances stand in need of our uninvited interpretations and solutions. By keeping silent until addressed, we cultivate the capacity to be truly hospitable and open to reality on God's terms instead of our own.
I am currently being taught that this is especially true with respect to speaking in order to get myself out of unflattering light. I am learning to trust that my truest interest is served in silence when others' negative regard, real or imagined, is upon me.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
June 6
Chapter 7 pt. 12
The Rule of Benedict June 6
Trailblazer. Entrepreneur. Innovator. These are the titles of aspiration in our culture and antitheses of Benedict's eighth step of humility. We must take care, as a part of a lay order that has no clear precedent, to not become a law unto ourselves. It's up to us to find those who act as our elders on this path and place our feet in their footprints.
My novitiate as a Benedictine canon is part of this process of seeking "elders". Let us hold the question together of whether the identity of a Canon Community of St. Benedict fits well at the center of our common life to the end of helping us to establish "the common Rule of the monastery."
The Rule of Benedict June 6
Trailblazer. Entrepreneur. Innovator. These are the titles of aspiration in our culture and antitheses of Benedict's eighth step of humility. We must take care, as a part of a lay order that has no clear precedent, to not become a law unto ourselves. It's up to us to find those who act as our elders on this path and place our feet in their footprints.
My novitiate as a Benedictine canon is part of this process of seeking "elders". Let us hold the question together of whether the identity of a Canon Community of St. Benedict fits well at the center of our common life to the end of helping us to establish "the common Rule of the monastery."
Sunday, June 5, 2011
June 5
Chapter 7 pt. 11
The Rule of Benedict June 5
For a good idea of that which Father Benedict seeks to accomplish with the seventh step of humility, consider its opposite. We've all experienced an individual who inflates his virtues to anyone who will listen. Some of us have been such individuals. This tendency is born out of a deep belief that the admiration of others will satisfy the deepest needs of one's soul--that other people's regard is the key to well-being. The seventh step of humility is an attempt to pull up that belief from its roots.
The Rule of Benedict June 5
For a good idea of that which Father Benedict seeks to accomplish with the seventh step of humility, consider its opposite. We've all experienced an individual who inflates his virtues to anyone who will listen. Some of us have been such individuals. This tendency is born out of a deep belief that the admiration of others will satisfy the deepest needs of one's soul--that other people's regard is the key to well-being. The seventh step of humility is an attempt to pull up that belief from its roots.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
June 4
Chapter 7 pt. 10
The Rule of Benedict June 4
There's an image that comes to mind when I read this passage. It's an image of Gil, in August of 2006, the week he was appointed Vicar at St. Augustine's, in sunglasses, a baseball cap, shorts, a long-sleeved shirt, and gloves cutting back the palo verde that had grown to completely cover the church sign on College Ave. It was well over 100 degrees that day and cloudy, and we all know how Gil feels about the %*##@ heat. But, as the new Vicar, he didn't demand that anyone other than he brave the Summer weather and tend to the grossly neglected landscaping in front of the Parish.
The Rule of Benedict June 4
There's an image that comes to mind when I read this passage. It's an image of Gil, in August of 2006, the week he was appointed Vicar at St. Augustine's, in sunglasses, a baseball cap, shorts, a long-sleeved shirt, and gloves cutting back the palo verde that had grown to completely cover the church sign on College Ave. It was well over 100 degrees that day and cloudy, and we all know how Gil feels about the %*##@ heat. But, as the new Vicar, he didn't demand that anyone other than he brave the Summer weather and tend to the grossly neglected landscaping in front of the Parish.
Friday, June 3, 2011
June 3
Chapter 7 pt. 9
The Rule of Benedict June 3
Perhaps over time the Benedictine Sisters and Brothers of St. Brigid will entail a relational dynamic wherein regular confession of secret wrongdoing to the Prior or Prioress is natural and appropriate. It seems that this is not the case now, at least not for most of us. However, it does seem appropriate that we each find ourselves in a relationship with a spiritual guide of some sort from whom we hide no evil thoughts or deeds. To confess with our mouth that which we have intentionally hidden can be a powerful healing act in the proper context. We would do well to incorporate such acts into our Benedictine practice.
The Rule of Benedict June 3
Perhaps over time the Benedictine Sisters and Brothers of St. Brigid will entail a relational dynamic wherein regular confession of secret wrongdoing to the Prior or Prioress is natural and appropriate. It seems that this is not the case now, at least not for most of us. However, it does seem appropriate that we each find ourselves in a relationship with a spiritual guide of some sort from whom we hide no evil thoughts or deeds. To confess with our mouth that which we have intentionally hidden can be a powerful healing act in the proper context. We would do well to incorporate such acts into our Benedictine practice.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
June 2
Chapter 7 pt. 8
The Rule of Benedict June 2
The fourth step of humility reminds us that spiritual formation, not utopian community, is the end, or goal, of Benedict's Rule. Community is a messy organism that can fail at every possible level, but the monastic is not thereby excused from her commitment to remain engaged and malleable to the work of the Spirit through community.
The Rule of Benedict June 2
The fourth step of humility reminds us that spiritual formation, not utopian community, is the end, or goal, of Benedict's Rule. Community is a messy organism that can fail at every possible level, but the monastic is not thereby excused from her commitment to remain engaged and malleable to the work of the Spirit through community.
June 1
Chapter 7 pt.7
The Rule of Benedict June 1
After the instruction to love not our own wills, but to love the will of God, we are, in the third step of humility, admonished to submit ourselves in obedience to the will of a flesh-and-blood human being. It is Benedict's understanding, so it seems from chapter 5, that such obedience prepares us to obey the will of God in our lives.
In our order, there is not an obvious set of circumstances that call for obedience to the will of the superior. Therefore, it seems to me that it is incumbent upon the Prior to make occasions for obedience to serve in the spiritual formation of the members.
The Rule of Benedict June 1
After the instruction to love not our own wills, but to love the will of God, we are, in the third step of humility, admonished to submit ourselves in obedience to the will of a flesh-and-blood human being. It is Benedict's understanding, so it seems from chapter 5, that such obedience prepares us to obey the will of God in our lives.
In our order, there is not an obvious set of circumstances that call for obedience to the will of the superior. Therefore, it seems to me that it is incumbent upon the Prior to make occasions for obedience to serve in the spiritual formation of the members.
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