WCCM Oblate Blog: Reflections from Daily Reading of the Rule of St. Benedict

WCCM Benedictine Oblates are encouraged to read a designated portion of the Rule daily, and to write a brief, personal response. I hope that this blog will support our Oblate community in this practice. Please, keep blog entries brief and in a first-person ("I") voice. Refrain from discussing, offering an opinion, or commenting on other entries. Simply consider how a particular section of the Rule is speaking to you in your present circumstances.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Chapter 4: Guidelines for Christian and monastic good practice (paragraphs 1-2)

The first of all things to aim at is to love the Lord God with your whole heart and soul and strength and then to love your neighbour as much as your do yourself. (From para. 1 of Ch. 4 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

If I look at this "first thing" in the way I understand the teaching of Fr John, then I first have to get in touch with myself, my True Self, in order to realize that I am already loved by God. Then, from that kind of self-love, I can better try to love my neighbor knowing that they, too, are already loved by God.

1 comment:

Melanie CondesJanuary 18, 2018 at 4:03 PM
"To prefer nothing to the love of Christ.". It was a day full of worldly cares so I decided to offer everything to Jesus. As a result I am left with nothing, I am just me facing him in all authenticity.
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