Chapter 63: Community order (paragraphs 2-3)
When members of a monastic community meet each other, the junior asks a blessing of the senior. As a senior passes by, the junior rises and yields a place for the senior to sit down and will never sit without the senior's permission. In that way they will conform to scripture which says they should try to be the first to show respect for each other.
(From para. 3 of Ch. 63 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
Meditation helps me to see the brilliance of good order in relationships arising from mutual respect.
We must each honor each other at all times. In the quiet of meditation, our differences dissolve.
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