Chapter 3: Calling the community together for consultation (paragraphs 2-3)
Such an ideal can be achieved only if everyone duly conforms to the authority of the Rule and no one gives way to self-will by deviating from it.
(From para. 2 of Ch. 3 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
My self-will can stand in the way of seeing how my behavior affects others. The practice of meditation reveals to me, little by little, a sense of the interconnectedness of creation.
Rash decisions do not allow for careful consideration which comes from a heart that is open to listening-listening to the deep true inner voice and to the wise counsel of others. It is the meditation practice that teaches me to trust the listening and the truth of what I hear.
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