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.

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Prologue to the Rule (paragraph 7)

Well then, brothers and sisters, we have questioned the Lord about who can dwell with him in his holy place and we have heard the demands he makes on such a one; we can be united with him there, only if we fulfil those demands. We must, therefore, prepare our hearts and our bodies to serve him under the guidance of holy obedience. (From para. 7 of The Prologue to the Rule of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

What does it mean to prepare my body to serve under the guidance of holy obedience? I am reminded that meditation is the most incarnational form of prayer there is. Thus, even qualities such as physical fitness, moderation, and taking time to "find my seat" for my practice, prepare me to be wholly in the Presence.

1 comment:

Wally SaundersJanuary 6, 2019 at 5:22 AM

“Holy Obedience” means pausing from my natural frenetic compulsivity long enough to hear you gently inviting me. It means to wholly listen to you, Abba, to catch the nuances of your affection and eagerness to be with me in the midst of whatever is going on in my life today.
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