Chapter 73: This Rule is only a beginning

The purpose for which we have written this rule is to make it clear that by observing it in our monasteries we can at least achieve the first steps in virtue and good monastic practice. (From para. 1 of Ch. 73 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

These are welcome words to me today, as consoling as John Main's assurance that, "in meditation, we are all beginners".  St. Benedict accepts me as I am, offers me both compassion and challenge, and guides me in the experience of faith, hope, and charity.

Chapter 72: The good spirit which should inspire monastic life

It is easy to recognize the bitter spirit of wickedness which creates a barrier to God's grace and opens the way to the evil of hell. But equally there is a good spirit which frees us from evil ways and brings us closer to God and eternal life. (From Ch. 72 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

I know that I have both the good and the evil in myself -- being both loving and alienating, creating both belonging and exclusion. But the practice of meditation has the power to wipe away even these labels, and open me to the power of the liberating Spirit.

Chapter 71: Mutual obedience in the monastery

Obedience is of such value that it should be shown not only to the superior but all members of the community should be obedient to each other in the sure knowledge that this way of obedience is the one that will take them straight to God. (From para. 1 of Ch. 71 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

What happens when relationships are lived out in mutual obedience? It means I have to suspend judgments and labels about another, in order to see "that of God" in that person. And this demands faith and hope, that by seeing "that of God" in the other, the other may be moved to let go of whatever judgments or labels he or she might have of me.

Chapter 70: The offence of striking another

Every occasion for presumptuous behaviour in a monastery must be avoided, so we insist that no one in the community may excommunicate or strike another unless given the power to do so by the superior. (From Ch. 70 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

Presumptuous behavior, it seems to me, is the opposite of true authority. The first, motivated by the ego, drives me to assume power over others. The second, motivated by the Spirit, helps me to discern selflessly and to do what is appropriate.

Chapter 69: No one should act as advocate for another

Such a thing must not happen in the monastery because it would provide a very serious occasion of scandal. (From Ch. 69 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

I think St. Benedict is telling me that self-interest, even when it appears in the guise of service to another, creates division. Self-interest and division undermine the healing potential of a healthy community.

Chapter 68: The response to orders that seem impossible

If the superior after listening to this submission still insists on the original command, then the junior must accept that it is the right thing and with loving confidence in the help of God obey. (From Ch. 68 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

Christ blesses me with those who challenge my notions of my perceived limitations. In this way, what I might dismiss as impossible for me, becomes, through deep listening, my "growing edge".

Chapter 67: Those sent on a journey

Those who are sent on a journey should commend themselves to the prayers of all the community as well as of the superior, and, at the last prayer of the work of God in the oratory, there should always be a momento of all who may be absent. (From Ch. 67 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

"May the divine assistance remain always with us/And with our absent brothers and sisters," we say at the end of an office and mediation at a WCCM retreat. As an Oblate of WCCM, I often feel that I'm on a journey, and not just the spiritual kind, but also a geographic one -- sometimes traveling great distances to retreats, but mostly meeting other Oblates from around the world on the internet, and staying in touch with many others through other electronic media. I find that in this kind of journey, I feel a great sense of absence, as we are a monastery without walls, and often far-flung from each other. But it seems to me that part of the mystery of our Oblate community is to find the presence in the absence, watching with wonder and gratitude as the Spirit finds new ways to create community among us.

Chapter 66: The porter or portress of the monastery

At the entrance to the monastery there should be a wise senior who is too mature in stability to think of wandering about and who can deal with enquiries and give whatever help is required. (From para. 1 of Ch. 66 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

I glimpse the possibility of an inner emotional stability as a fruit of meditation. My emotions are a part of my humanness, and I experience their force and transience with more awareness now. I hope to befriend them, in all their peace or their drama, in all their coming or going. Compassion for my own wayward feelings may help me to be more compassionate with the difficult emotions of others.

Chapter 65: The prior or prioress of the monastery (paragraphs 2-3)

We have no doubt, therefore, that it is best in the interests of preserving peace and charity that the authority for the whole administration of the monastery should rest with the abbot or abbess. (From para. 2 of ;Ch. 65 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

St. Benedict urges me to understand that the conditions for peace and charity are created when I ground myself in the center of my being.

Chapter 65: The prior or prioress of the monastery (paragraph 1)

There have been instances when some of these officials have conceived out of an evil spirit of self-importance that they also are superiors and for that reasons have assumed the powers of a tyrant, so that they encourage scandalous divisions in the community. (From para. 1 of Ch. 65 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

St. Benedict teaches me that self-importance is a tyrant that ruins both inner and outer harmony. Self-importance, it seems to me, is the opposite of true self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is experiencing my relation to my divine source, and so discovering my true purpose.

Chapter 64: The election of an abbot or abbess (paragraphs 3-4)

They should not be trouble-makers nor given to excessive anxiety nor should they be too demanding and obstinate, nor yet interfering and inclined to suspicion so as never to be at rest. (From para. 4 of Ch. 64 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

My job is not to be busy about controlling people or events, but to "speak truth to power", as the Quakers say. May I be of service to others by allowing "the indwelling Spirit of Truth [to] continually influence and form" me (paraphrased from John Main, Silence & Stillness, p. 239).

Chapter 64: The election of an abbot or abbess (paragraphs 1-2)

The grounds on which a candidate is elected abbot or abbess must be the quality of their monastic life and the wisdom of their teaching, even if they are the last in order in the community. (From para. 1 of Ch. 64 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

St. Benedict teaches me: Order is not merely rank. It is more importantly the quality of alignment in my inner and outer life, and in my life in community with others. This kind of alignment with the living Spirit that flows through me and sustains me, also liberates me.

Chapter 63: Community order (paragraphs 2-3)

When members of a monastic community meet each other, the junior asks a blessing of the senior. As a senior passes by, the junior rises and yields a place for the senior to sit down and will never sit without the senior's permission. In that way they will conform to scripture which says they should try to be the first to show respect for each other. (From para. 3 of Ch. 63 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

It seems to me wonderfully true, that life-giving order emerges out of everyone being  first -- the first to show kindness to the other.

Chapter 63: Community order (paragraph 1)

So, apart from those whom the superior has promoted for a more cogent reason or demoted for specific faults, all the others retain the order of their conversion to monastic life so exactly that one who arrived at the monastery door at the second hour must accept a place junior to another who came an hour earlier, whatever their age or former rank may have been. (From para. 1 of Ch. 62 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

St. Benedict defines my moment of conversion -- my moment of becoming a new creation in Christ -- as my movement away from self-centeredness and towards finding my place in a community of love.

Chapter 62: The priests of the monastery

When ordained a monk must be careful to avoid a spirit of self-importance or pride and he must avoid taking on himself any duties to which the abbot has not assigned him. (From para. 1 of Ch. 62 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

I 'm stunned by the lack of a moral compass today, witnessing leadership that flaunts its own self-importance in dangerous ways. But I must confront my own sense of self-importance and pride. I remember John Main's description of the mantra as like a compass that guides us home in a storm. I realize the absolute necessity of fidelity to the mantra, and thus, of living my own life in a more selfless and attentive way.

Chapter 61: Monastic pilgrims from far away (paragraphs 2-3)

But if no such negative signs are apparent it may be right to go further and not wait for a request to be accepted in the community. It may even be right to persuade such a one to stay so that others may benefit and learn from such example. (From para. 2 of Ch. 61 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

For me, community means understanding that God has brought me together with others. Although these relationships may, at times, be frustrating or baffling to me, God is among us, in the potential for authentic relationships. And even if those relationships should fail, God is still always present in the potential for finding the redemptive value of experience.

Chapter 61: Monastic pilgrims from far away  (paragraphs 1-2)

It may happen, of course, that one of them may find something to point out in criticism about the customs of the monastery, using sound arguments in a spirit of charitable deference. In that case the superior should consider the whole questions with care and prudence in case it was for this very purpose that the pilgrim was sent by the Lord. (From para. 1 of Ch. 61 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

Pilgrims come in to my life, bringing conflict or affection, challenging my self-limitations. And I am a pilgrim in theirs. Each of us brings the potential for selfless attention to the other, which, in God's own time, may spark transforming relationships among us.

Chapter 60: The admission of priests into the monastery

An ordained priest who asks to be received into the monastery should not be accepted too quickly. If, however, he shows real perseverance in his request, he must understand that, if accepted, he will be bound to observe the full discipline of the Rule and may expect no relaxations. (From para. 1 of Ch. 60 Of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

My ego wants to set me above and apart; the Spirit wants to set me down to serve.

Chapter 59: Children offered by nobles of by the poor

Everything concerned with this property should be negotiated in such a way that not the slightest hint of personal expectations can be entertained by the child in a way which could lead through deception to ruin. (From para. 2 of Ch. 59 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

St. Benedict, and John Main, both urge me to relate purely and freely to the material world, as I find my true security in God. 

Chapter 58: The reception of candidates for the community (paragraphs 4-5)

When the decision is made that novices are to be accepted, then they come before the whole community in the oratory to make solemn promise of stability, fidelity to monastic life and obedience. (From para. 4 of Ch. 58 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

St. Benedict teaches me that the monk is one who seeks God. Through meditation I've come to appreciate what he also teaches in the Rule, that that seeking is not simply solitary but is done in community. The solemn promises Benedict names apply to both my journey inward, and to my journey outward. Somehow, in this knitting together of the inward and the outward, the monastery without walls is formed.

Chapter 58: The reception of candidates for the community (paragraphs 1-3)

The entry of postulants into the monastic life should not be made too easy, but we should follow St John's precept to make trial of the spirits to see if they are from God. (From para. 1 of Ch. 58 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

Trials of the spirits, for me, are often only the workings of my own thoughts, obsessions, fears. Within the silence, these mental demons can become the very point I burn through to find peace.

Chapter 57: Members of the community with creative gifts

If there are any in the community with creative gifts, they should use them in their workshops with proper humility, provided that they have the permission of the superior. (From para. 1 of Ch. 57 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

My understanding of "creative gifts" is expanding. It includes a growing quality of selfless attention when I practice my own art, or make art with others. This is in stark contrast to the self-centered insecurity that I once knew when making art. Creativity, it seems, also becomes the experience of flowing in something much larger than myself, connecting me to all creatures, to all of creation.

Chapter 56: The table for the superior and community guests

The superior's table should always be with the guests and pilgrims. (From Ch. 56 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

Who am I? The superior? The guest? The pilgrim? Being embraced by a community helps me to find my identity in Christ.

Chapter 55: Clothing and footwear for the community (paragraphs 3-4)

There is one saying, however, from the Acts of the Apostles which the superior must always bear in mind, namely that proper provision was made according to the needs of each. (From para. 4 of Ch. 55 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

Living in a world with so much "stuff", I can easily scatter my energies or overindulge in my own material things. Living like this, it can be so hard to know what I or anyone else really needs. But, over time, the discipline of saying the mantra helps me to discern much about the practicalities of life -- and the discipline also helps me to see what someone else might need in the way of a kind word, a loving gesture, a prayer, a presence.

Chapter 55: Clothing and footwear for the community (paragraphs 1-2)

However the superior should see to it that the garments are not short and ill-fitting but appropriate to the size and build of those who wear them. (From para. 1 of Ch. 55 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

With all of Benedict's concern for economy and practicality, I'm touched by his attention to appropriate fit. This speaks to me of the dignity of the body, and offers a gentle challenge to bear with honor the indwelling spirit. Our "treasure is in earthen vessels", says St Paul. 

Chapter 54: The reception of letters and gifts in the monastery

No one in a monastic community may receive or send to others letters, gifts of piety or any little tokens without the permission of the superior, whether it is their parents who are concerned or anyone else at all or another member of the community. (From Ch. 54 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

I think this is a guideline about giving and receiving gifts without strings attached. Do I desire special attention or wish to control someone else, or is my receiving and giving done in a spirit of inner freedom, and respect of the other, without any expectations?

Chapter 53: The reception of guests (paragraphs 5-6)

The kitchen to serve the superior together with the guests should be quite separate, so that guests, who are never lacking in a monastery, may not unsettle the community by arriving, as they do, at all times of the day. (From para. 5 of Ch. 53 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

My household isn't large enough to contain two kitchens. And yet, I recognize the parallel arrangement that Benedict describes, of hospitality and stability standing side by side.

Chapter 53: The reception of guests (paragraphs 1-4)

The greatest care should be taken to give a warm reception to the poor and to pilgrims, because it is in them above all others that Christ is welcomed. (From para. 4 of Ch. 53 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

My experience of being an assistant to mentally handicapped adults in a L'Arche household made very real and reasonable for me a radical gospel message: Put the poor (the weak, the disenfranchised, the vulnerable) at the center of community. I think this is the kind of community that generates transformative relationships for everyone.

Chapter 52: The oratory of the monastery

The oratory must be simply a place of prayer, as the name itself implies, and it must not be used for any other activities at all nor as a place for storage of any kind. (From Ch. 52 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

Jesus teaches me to pray contemplatively: "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret" (Matt 6:6). My inner room is my heart, the oratory of Jesus' prayer to the Father. Within this oratory, there is no room for egotism or psychological baggage of any kind.

Chapter 51: Those on local errands or work

Any who are sent on an errand which will allow them to return to the monastery on the same day must not eat outside, in spite of pressing invitations whatever their source, unless the superior has approved this. (From Ch. 51 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

Too rushed, too tired -- I can be very quick to rationalize reasons why I can "skip out" on my meditation practice, or forgo attention for distraction. St. Benedict is reminding me to always return to my source.

Chapter 50: Those whose work takes them away from the monastery

Those whose work takes them some distance from the monastery so that they cannot manage to get to the oratory at the right times for prayer must kneel with profound reverence for the Lord and perform the work of God at their place of work. (From para. 1 of Ch. 50 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

As a householder in a "monastery without walls",  I 'm not a member of a community that lives and prays together. But the discipline of meditation, as taught by Father John, supports my day, connects my to my absent brothers and sisters, and teaches me how to make time holy.