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 my source.

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 in community creates conditions for growth and expansion -- the expansion of the Spirit that transcends order.

Chapter 63: Community order (paragraphs 2-3)

In that way they will conform to scripture which say 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 the 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 movement away from self-centeredness and towards Christian community -- as my moment of be coming 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 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.)

My oldest child, coming home from college for Christmas, seems a bit like a pilgrim from far away. St. Benedict reminds me to stay open to the presence of the Spirit, in all the comings, goings, and expectations of this busy time of year.

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.