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 spiritual attentiveness. 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.)

Benedict has a specific instruction here about fidelity to the Divine Office, but I'm struck by the way the final phrase repeats the word "work",  to say to me, in essence, "to perform the work at the place of work".  In this way, I may see all work as the work of God,  and all places as that oratory which is the secret room in my heart.

Chapter 49: How Lent should be observed in the monastery

Therefore we urge that all in the monastery during these holy days of Lent should look carefully at the integrity of their lives and get rid in this holy season of any thoughtless compromises which may have crept in at other times. (From para. 1 of Ch. 49 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

Where are the gaps?  At what points in my life is there a lack of connectivity between who I am and what I do?  What are the thoughtless compromises in which ego takes place over spirit, distraction takes place over attention, self takes place over others?

Chapter 48: Daily manual labor (paragraphs 6-7)

If there are any who are so feckless and lazy that they have become unwilling or unable any longer to study or read seriously then they must be given suitable work which is within their powers so that they may not sink into idleness. (From para. 6 of Ch. 48 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

At the beginning of this chapter, Benedict said, "Idleness is the enemy of the soul."  That means to me that idleness is a disconnect between spirit and body -- a forgetting of the awe in which Benedict wants me to live always. That awe is a manifestation of divine energy that leads me appropriately into contemplation, into action.

Chapter 48: Daily manual labor (paragraphs 3-5)

From the first of October to the beginning of Lent they should devote themselves to lectio divina until the end of the second hour, at which time they gather for Terce and then they work at the tasks assigned to them until the ninth hour. (From para. 3 of Ch. 48 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

My copy of the Rule carries a special note on "hours" in the Rule: "For the Romans, each day (from dawn to dusk) and each night (from dusk to dawn) was divided into twelve 'hours'. The actual length of these 'hours' varied according to the season.... Timekeeping, therefore, called for a special expertise and flexibility."

     I'm fascinated by the concept that something as, well, as chrono-logical as time could simultaneously have a very fluid and organic nature. This is a concept that I don't find in our culture. But it is an experience made available to me by a contemplative consciousness.

Chapter 48: Daily manual labor (paragraphs 1-2)

It may be, of course, that because of local conditions or the poverty of the monastery the community may themselves have to do the harvest work. If that happens it should not discourage anyone because they will really be in the best monastic tradition if the community is supported by the work of their own hands. (From para. 2 of Ch. 48 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

This passage speaks to me of the Shaker motto: "Hands to work, and hearts to God." It seems to be that it's in that touchpoint, between hands and hearts, that my work can become energized by the Spirit.

Chapter 47: Signalling the times for the work of God

The superior is personally responsible for making sure that the time for the work of God, both at night at during the daytime, is clearly made known to all.

(From para. 1 of Ch. 47 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

Today, St. Benedict exhorts me to a bravely counter-cultural stance. The "work of God", in the broadest sense of living in Christ-consciousness, is unwelcome and unfamiliar to the world at large. But, the Spirit moves to help me realize Christ in the world.