Chapter 55: Clothing and footwear for the community (paragraphs 3-5)
The superior ought to inspect the beds at regular intervals to see that private possessions are not being hoarded there. (From para. 3 of Ch. 55 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
Hoarding is a function of my ego, and my ego hoards more than things. Fidelity to the mantra allows the Spirit to inspect my soul, and this simplifies me.
Hoarding is a virtue in our acquisitive, consumer culture. “He who dies with the most toys, wins” reads a popular bumper sticker. How many billions are spent to pay for storage of our “stuff”. How much I have stored up in my head, as well, years of graduate school’s worth, for heaven’s sake! But you invite me to lay all that aside, Abba, let it all go and focus on my one word and you, here, within me, the one thing necessary.
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