LISTENING TO ST. BENEDICT

 During this coming week I have to give a presentation on the spirituality of Saint Benedict. Here are some reflections on Benedictine Values or Traits that might be useful in looking at your own life. 

Benedict's Vision - The Seamless Web

Our modern view of reality splits the world neatly into spiritual and physical, corresponding to good and evil: the two are opposed to each other: body vs. soul. The Hebrew notion of a holistic view of the human person as a body-spirit unity was to get buried time and again by this Hellenistic Dualism, angelism. St. Benedict has a sense of the holiness and the wholeness of the universe. 

Everything in our daily human existence is holy, even the tools of the monastery, which Benedict demands should to be treated with the same reverence as vessels of the altar. Distinctions between the “spiritual” and the “material,” then, make no sense for him, whether you’re talking of trees or axe handles, mountains or cooking pots. 

This blurring of any distinction between the “holy” and the “earthly” comes across in the way the various jobs in the monastery are described. 

The abbot, for example, who is the spiritual head and teacher of the monastery, also has the down-to-earth tasks of making sure the bell gets rung on time, assigning the daily work to the brethren and keeping an inventory of the monastery’s tools and clothing. 

The cellarer, on the other hand, who has the very practical charge of distributing to the monks all the various material necessities, is to do so with the same compassion and concern for everyone’s spiritual well-being as the abbot: he should be “like a father to the whole community.”  “If any brother happens to make an unreasonable demand of him, he should not reject him with disdain and cause him distress, but reasonably and humble deny the improper request.” This monk who is in charge of the store room “must show every care and concern for the sick, children, guests, and the poor, knowing for certain that he will be held accountable for all of them on the day of judgement.”  

If jobs in the monastery aren’t divided into purely “spiritual” and “secular,” neither are the activities of the

monk’s day. You bring your meditation to the way you work, your holy reading to the way you treat your brothers and sisters, your tears to your praying, and so on. In Benedict’s vision, monastic life is one of harmony, balance and interrelatedness, not one of conflict and division. 

Praying, working, feeling, and thinking are all woven together into a seamless fabric. They are all part of  the one most important task, the single-minded search for God. So, when Benedict says that the monk's job is "to seek God," we want to remember his holistic world-view. 

Where do we find this God we're seeking? Benedict starts with two optimistic premises: First, Christ is found in every person, and second, God is everywhere 

I  CHRIST IS TO BE FOUND IN EVERY PERSON:

A) Reverence for the Individual

 "Care of the sick must rank before and above all else, so that they may be truly served as Christ. For he said: 'I was sick and you visited me. (Mt.25:36.)' (Ch. 36, The Sick Brothers, vv.1,2)

All humility should be shown in addressing a guest on arrival or departure. By a bow of the head or by a complete prostration of the body, Christ is to be adored because he is indeed welcomed in them. (Ch. 53:6-7, The Reception of Guests) 

Christ comes to your door unexpectedly all the time, so you need to be ready to recognize and receive him in whatever form He takes. When is it easiest for you to see Christ in another person)? When is it hardest? When do you meet the Suffering Jesus in the course of your day?

B) Respect for individual differences, weaknesses.  

In his teaching… the Abbot must vary with the circumstances, threatening and coaxing by turns, stern as a taskmaster, devoted and tender as only a father can be.  With the undisciplined and restless, he will use firm argument; with the obedient and docile and patient, he will appeal for greater virtue…"  He must accommodate and adapt  to each one's character and intelligence.  (Ch.2 )

The abbot must so arrange everything that the strong have something to strive for and the weak have nothing to run from. (Ch. 64 vv17-19)  

How would you rate yourself on the virtue of flexibility, "varying with circumstances?" How well do you adapt to the varying personalities and needs of the folks around you?) 

 C) Gentleness: Solicitude for the weak

The Abbot is to imitate the loving example of the Good Shepherd, who left the ninety-nine sheep in the mountains and went in search of the one sheep that had strayed.  So great was his compassion for its weakness, that he mercifully placed it on his sacred shoulders, and so carried it back to the flock. (Chapter 27  “The Abbot’s concern for the excommunicated.” vv 8-9) 

Chapter 31 "On the Cellerar"  (the one who is in charge of ordering the supplies, and giving out things,

seeing that they are kept in good order.) gives us some practical advice:  (a) “…He should not annoy (contristet) the brothers.  If any brother happens to make an unreasonable demand of him, he should not reject him with disdain and cause him distress, but reasonably and humbly deny the improper request. Let him keep watch over his own soul, ever mindful of the saying of the apostle, ‘he who serves well secures a good standing for himself.  He must show every care and concern for the sick, children, guests and the poor,. (31:8-13)

Are you usually gentle in your approach to others? When are you more likely to resort to the use of force and intimidation?

D) Mutual respect     

… When an older monk comes by, the younger rises and offers him a seat and does not presume to sit down unless the older bids him.  In this way, they do what the Word of Scripture says.  They should each try to be the first to show respect to the other. (63:17)

II  GOD IS EVERYWHERE

The first of Benedict's two fundamental principles is that Christ is present in each person; his second says that God is present everywhere. Let's look at some implications of this second principle. 

We believe that the divine presence is everywhere and that in every place the eyes of the Lord are watching the good and the wicked. (Ch.19, "The discipline of Psalmody" v.1.

[The monastery cellerar] will regard all utensils and goods of the monastery as vessels of the altar, aware that nothing is to be neglected. (Ch. 32 The Monastery Cellerar)

BUT , every Christian is always in God's presence, always growing closer to God by making use of created things, whether you're at work, or at home changing diapers or filling out a tax form or saying a rosary, you're standing on holy ground, dealing with holy things.

What can you do to help remind yourself (and others) that God is present in your home, office, etc, and that it is therefore "holy ground?"  What difference might it make if you thought of dustpans, computers and so on as sacred objects?

III  Community

"'They should each try to be the first to show respect to the other (Rom.12:10),' supporting with the greatest patience one another's weaknesses of body or behavior, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another. No one is to pursue what he judges better for himself, but instead, what he judges better for someone else…  (Ch. 72, The Good Zeal of Monks, vv 4-7)

6. When is being a member of community hardest/easiest for you? Are you more of a soloist or more of a team person by nature? 

IV   Moderation - Wise avoidance of extremes

He must hate faults but love the brothers. When he must punish them, he should use prudence and avoid extremes; otherwise, by rubbing too hard to remove the rust, he may break the vessel. (Ch. 64 The Election of The Abbot.)

Yet, all things are to be done with moderation on account of the fainthearted. (Ch. 48, The Daily Manual Labor)

The abbot should show forethought and consideration in his orders, and whether the task he assigns concerns God or the world, he should be discerning and moderate, bearing in mind the discretion of holy Jacob, who said: If I drive my flocks too hard, they will all die in a single day. (Ch. 64 vv17-19)  

In what circumstances is it harder for you to "use prudence and avoid extremes?" 

V  Humility -   I'm not God - I'm seeking God

… [the cellerar] must show every care and concern for the sick, children, guests and the poor, knowing or certain that he will be held accountable for them on the day of judgment.  Above all  …  let him be humble.  If goods are not available to meet a request, he will offer a kind word in reply.  Ch 31, "The Monastery Cellerar"

The Abbot should always let mercy triumph over judgment, so that he too may win mercy.  He must hate faults, but love the brothers.  When he must punish them he should use prudence and avoid extremes.  Otherwise, by rubbing too hard to remove the rust, he may break the vessel. He is to distrust his own frailty, and remember not to crush the bruised reed. Ch. 64 "The Election of an Abbot" vv 9-12

8.  Where is your "own frailty" likely to show up? In what ways could you exercise humility in your everyday occupations. Do you find it easy to admit to others when you've made a mistake? 

I hope that one or another of these ideas may help you on your ongoing journey toward the Kingdom!