Chapter 37: Care for the elderly and young
Human nature itself is drawn to tender concern for those in the two extremes of age and youth, but the authority of the Rule should reinforce this natural instinct. (From Ch. 37 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
It seems to me that the "natural instinct" of which St. Benedict speaks is not so apparent today. May I become ever more sensitive to the special gifts of the elderly and the young, and reflect them back to them.
Now I AM one of the “elderly”. And, Lord, the best role model for how to care for myself in this, my old age, is the one you give me: the little child. Thank you. You would agree with Picasso, who observed, “It takes a lifetime to become young.” Meditation and the mantra are the path toward this ever-youthful and joyful humility.
ReplyDeleteIn Isaiah 58, one of the earlier Lenten readings, the kind of fasting that "I" want God says through Isaiah is compassion towards the oppressed and those in need and "and not turning your back on your own." Benedict emphasizes compassion in his Rule "so that oppression in the name of God will not become a monastic sin."(Chittister) A good question for an examen of conscience for me is precisely that--Has any one been oppressed because of my demands or oversight in compassion and loving-kindness, those closest to me and those in my community whom I tend to overlook because of my comfort zone?
ReplyDeleteIt dawned on me that the aging and child in me are both vulnerable. Thus, the need for me to become more compassionate with myself and do the same with others.
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