Chapter 7: The value of humility (paragraph 13)
The sixth step of humility for monks or nuns is to accept without complaint really wretched and inadequate conditions so that when faced with a task of any kind they would think of themselves as poor workers not worthy of consideration and repeat to God the verse of the psalm: I am of no account and lack understanding, no better than a beast in your sight. Yet I am always in your presence. (Para. 13 of Ch. 7 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
This paragraph reminds me that my ideas about where I am or what I'm doing can always be transformed into the experience of being in love with the One who sustains me.
Facebook: how the values of most social networking so contrasts for me with Benedict’s messages on humility. Facebook invites me to “put on a happy face”. Benedict reminds me always to stay mindful of the backstage realities of life and of all people, including my own. Behind my masks and my front stage makeup lurks the real me, warts, meanness, and all. Abba, help me to love and accept myself and everyone as we really are, both front and back stage.
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