Chapter 2: Gifts needed by an abbot or abbess (paragraphs 8-9)
It is above all important that monastic superiors should not underrate or think lightly of the salvation of the souls committed to them by giving too much attention to transient affairs of this world which have no lasting value.
(From para. 8 of Ch. 2 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
To see the soul of another requires selfless attention. Distractions can keep me mired in what is merely passing.
(From para. 8 of Ch. 2 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
To see the soul of another requires selfless attention. Distractions can keep me mired in what is merely passing.
“One of the desert fathers returned from his hermitage to the community speaking about the dangers of spiritual pride when separated from others. Then he added, ‘There, when I was alone, whose feet could I wash?’.” (John Main, “Monastery Without Walls”, Kindle loc 3943). I am sobered by Fr. John’s words as I am by the Rule’s list of “Tools for Good Works”, as Joan Chittister calls them. For most of the year I live in retirement in a relatively isolated beach community in Ecuador. Now for a few months I am living here with my son’s family in a bustling urban setting, out of my “hermitage”. Two grandsons under six and the ordinary challenges of family give me lots of feet to wash. Abba, purify me today in this crucible of family and community.
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