Chapter 37: Care for the elderly and the young
Human nature itself is drawn to tender concern for those in the two extremes of age and youth, but the authority of the Rule should reinforce this natural instinct. (From Ch. 37 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
I think we've come to a point in culture where the tender concern Benedict speaks of, toward age and youth, is sorely lacking, as values have shifted toward individual agency, power, even celebrity. Listening to the mantra is countercultural, and has helped me become more alert to the call of frailty.
I think we've come to a point in culture where the tender concern Benedict speaks of, toward age and youth, is sorely lacking, as values have shifted toward individual agency, power, even celebrity. Listening to the mantra is countercultural, and has helped me become more alert to the call of frailty.
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