Prologue to the Rule (paragraph 8)
If, however, you find in it anything which seems rather strict, but which is demanded reasonably for the correction of vice or the preservation of love, do not let that frighten you into fleeing from the way of salvation; it is a way which is bound to seem narrow to start with. (From para. 8 of the Prologue to Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
This approach to the Rule is, for me, also exactly the same approach to the saying of the mantra.
“And so we are going to establish a school for the service of the Lord . . . “. I remember that when I studied Latin in high school how puzzled I was by the etymology of the word “student”. It came from the Latin “studere” which meant “to be eager for”. Up until then, at age fourteen, I had found most schooling a drag and a bore. Even though I could do decently around cram times, it was never something I felt any eagerness for. At age seventeen, however, I was forced to begin to think about the future. Surprisingly, a career choice captured me. For the first time I felt genuine eagerness about school. For the first time I consciously became “eager for”, I became a student. Abba, keep me eager, keep me your child, enthusiastic for this, Benedict's school of your service to which you have invited me.
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