Chapter 48: Daily manual labor (paragraphs 6-7)
The superior should show understanding concern for their limitations. (From para. 7 of Ch. 48 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
Having understanding concern for the limitations of others, say, in something as ordinary as housekeeping, or in something as significant as matters of the heart -- I must handle all with firm unselfishness, so I don't project my own limitations, or interfere with the liberty of spirit that can redeem us all.
Having understanding concern for the limitations of others, say, in something as ordinary as housekeeping, or in something as significant as matters of the heart -- I must handle all with firm unselfishness, so I don't project my own limitations, or interfere with the liberty of spirit that can redeem us all.
Increasingly, I am finding that concern for others flows from concern for myself. The more able I am to accept myself as I am the more able I am to accept others just as they are. What is becoming evident is that this is not selfishness or navel-gazing. It's being self-full; full of the love of God to the point of bursting!
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