WCCM Oblate Blog: Reflections from Daily Reading of the Rule of St. Benedict

WCCM Benedictine Oblates are encouraged to read a designated portion of the Rule daily, and to write a brief, personal response. I hope that this blog will support our Oblate community in this practice. Please, keep blog entries brief and in a first-person ("I") voice. Refrain from discussing, offering an opinion, or commenting on other entries. Simply consider how a particular section of the Rule is speaking to you in your present circumstances.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Chapter 61: Monastic pilgrims from far away (paragraphs 1-2)

It may happen, of course, that one of them may find something to point out in criticsm about the customs of the monastery, using sound arguments in a spirit of charitable deference. In that case the superior should consider the whole question with care and prudence in case it was for this very purpose that the pilgrim was sent by the Lord.

(From para. 1 of Ch. 61 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

Meditiation has helped me to discern that those people who are the most challenging to me -- who are most adept at "pushing my buttons" -- are the very people who are my most powerful teachers. With them, I have to learn to understand my own behavior, so I can move beyond blaming them, and see the ways in which God is calling me to grow -- soundly and charitably.

1 comment:

Roger SessionsAugust 15, 2012 at 9:45 PM
When others criticize, we must be open to the possibility it is a message from God. This means letting go of ego. Meditation is my best hope for this.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment