Prologue to The Rule (paragraph 7)

We must, therefore, prepare our hearts and bodies to serve him under the guidance of holy obedience. Conscious in this undertaking of our own weakness let us ask the Lord to give us through grace the help we need. (From para. 7 of Prologue to The Rule of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

When I examine what it means to me to "prepare my heart and body" in this way, I realize I'm called to a clearing out of attachments. I recall that elsewhere in the Rule Benedict tells me to eliminate the "thoughtless compromises that have crept in", as well as to make sure that my heart and body are not "weighed down". The mantra teaches me not to cling to distractions. Obedience, in this sense, means letting go.