This blog is only a beginning

Thank you and goodbye!

I have written this blog for many years in with the hope that it would be a lively collaborative project, but that has not materialized. Thank you to those of you who did share your reflections. It is fundamental for Oblates of WCCM to read a portion of the Rule daily. I invite you to develop your own practice of reading, reflecting, then writing a sentence or two, in your own spiritual journal, about how the Rule is speaking to you in your life as a meditator right now.

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 continually reorients me to the other and the Other.

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.)

Why, I wonder, does it it seem so much easier to see what is bitter in others and in myself, than to see what is good? I'm aware of having a stubborn and very human disposition towards alienation. But, its hold over me is loosened by the practice of meditation.

Chapter 71: Mutual obedience in the monastery

Any monk or nun who is corrected for anything by abbot or abbess or one of the seniors and perceives that the senior is upset by feelings of anger, even though thy may be well in control, then that junior should at once prostrate on the ground in contrition and not move until the senior gives a blessing which will heal the upset. (From para. 2 of Ch. 71 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)


Mutual obedience will "heal the upset". As in many human encounters, it's not clear to me that one person is completely right, and the other completely wrong, but the community order holds true. Everyone must be obedient to making the necessary gesture of forgiveness. Perhaps I am to learn that a spirit of mutual obedience ensures a spirit of mutual forgiveness.

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 seeing reality, the opposite of right relationship. Presumption comes from the ego and drives me to make judgments and assume power over others. Seeing reality is a gift of the Spirit, putting me into right relationship with the other, without any objective other than to be.

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 to be service to another, creates division. My responsibility to community is to allow the life of Christ to act within each of us, and among all of us.

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 perception of my limitations. In this way, what I might dismiss as mere weakness, 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.)

Sometimes my journeys are the undesirable ones of wandering away from life-giving routine and spiritual discipline, from my place in community, from openness to reality rather than to fantasy. But the "momento" of my true identity in Christ is in saying the mantra.

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 begin to know an inner emotional stability as a fruit of meditation. My emotions are a part of my humanness, and I experience their transience. I hope to befriend them, in all their peace or their drama, in all their coming or going, and let them be. 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.)

I have faith that with one overriding purpose -- the practice of selfless attention -- my inner conflicts can become more peaceful, and my relationships can become more charitable.

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.)

There have been instances where my ego has conceived out of an evil spirit of self-importance that it is my superior and for that reason assumes the powers of a tyrant, encouraging scandalous divisions in myself and my relationships.

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 rest in the Lord. Here I discover the resourcefulness that springs from being grounded in love.

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 demands the effort of discernment in recognizing leaders. This teaching challenges me, personally, to recommit myself to the path of meditation and self-knowledge. Then, whatever leadership positions I may find myself in, in whatever ways I may have an influence on other people, I may be more selflessly attentive.

Chapter 63: Community order (paragraphs 2-3)

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 recognizing the Spirit that dwells within us and among us.

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.)

Through his emphasis on the simple act of arriving at the monastery door, St. Benedict helps me to see my own moment of conversion -- my movement away from self-centeredness and towards Christian community -- as the moment I commit to becoming a new creation in Christ.

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.)

To my ears, St. Benedict is not discouraging a spirit of initiative or service. He is, more directly, reminding me of the dangers of spiritual pride, and that the ego can insinuate itself into absolutely anything.

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.)

In my experience, being in community means understanding that God has brought me together with others, so that I may travel beyond myself, and find all of us in Christ.

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

If, on the other hand, such a pilgrim monk or nun has been revealed as a guest to be overbearing and full of bad habits then not only should all further association with the community be refused but such a guest should quite openly be requested to depart for fear that such a wretched example might lead others astray.  (From para. 1 of Ch. 61 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

For me, a fruit of the practice of meditation has been realizing deeper spiritual resources to help me grapple with issues of unhealthy relationships, and setting boundaries that help to protect an inner freedom.

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. Thus, I lose myself and find myself in love.

Chapter 59: Children offered by nobles or 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.)

A sense of entitlement, what I think I deserve or is due to me, expectations of a material or interpersonal nature -- these are all facets of my ego striving for its own importance. My participation in a loving community, and our practice of meditation, keeps me from ruin.