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.

Saturday, July 6, 2019

Chapter 29: The readmission of any who leave the monastery

Anyone who is guilty of serious wrong by the personal decision to leave the monastery but then asks to be received back again must first of all promise full reparation for leaving the monastery.(From Ch. 29 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

St. Benedict's requirement that I make reparations for my false starts, my failings, my comings and goings, reminds me that my behavior has repercussions on others. This interconnectedness can make me feel overwhelmed at times. But it also urges me to rest in God.

1 comment:

Wally SaundersJuly 7, 2019 at 6:31 AM
“From Saint Augustine, perhaps the greatest Christian genius, a great inventor of phrases, comes this sentence: hope has two beloved daughters: Indignation and Courage; Indignation teaches us to reject things as they are, and Courage inspires us to change them.” (Leonardo Boff). Meditation helps me keep your gifts of both indignation and courage alive while more wisely balancing them.
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