Chapter 2: Gifts needed by an abbot or abbess (paragraph 5-6)
They should make their own the different ways of teaching which the Apostle Paul recommended to Timothy when he told him to make use of criticism, of entreaty and of rebuke. (From para. 5 of Ch. 2 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
To know how to guide someone appropriately, I must first put my habits of thought aside, and then listen to the other with an open heart.
To know how to guide someone appropriately, I must first put my habits of thought aside, and then listen to the other with an open heart.
Tough Love again, Abba! Benedict reminds me that that means being tough on myself more than on my subordinates. It means responsible, balanced, loving guidance, walking the difficult tightrope between falling into being simply a dictator or a pushover.
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