On Tuesday the 21st
of May Jamie Miller conducted the Spiritual Reading Group at the Library on the
Prologue of St Benedict’s Rule. Here is the second
paper, which Jamie didn’t get to use in its entirety but from which much of the
conversation emanated.
The Rule of St. Benedict
The Rule itself draws on monastic experience covering some 200 years
in addition to Benedict’s own experience of several forms of monastic
organization. His sources include the
writings of the 4th C desert fathers and mothers, the writings of
John Cassian one of the early Desert Fathers of the Church, as well as a
pre-existing monastic rule entitled The
Rule of the Master.
Benedict’s Rule is a quite short and very practical document,
originally written in Latin. Apart from
the prologue and the first few chapters, Benedict’s goal seems to have been to
provide a framework within which monks could live and work and pray and be
schooled in the Lord’s service. Theology
and theory are never far below the surface, but it is the practicalities of
daily living that primarily command Benedict’s attention. It is well and truly based on Scripture and
contains within it many Scriptural references.
The Rule comprises 73 chapters.
Many of them have to do with the opus
dei [the Work of G-d, specifically the recitation of the divine
office]. Obviously these portions are of
somewhat academic interest to people living in the world today, and who are not
monastics. But there are many other
chapters that deal with the practicalities of every-day living.
Here are some of the broad topic areas he addresses in his Rule:
Liturgical Instructions
for the Divine Office, or Opus Dei ("the work of God"). These
are the seven daily community prayer services that compose the main occupation
of the monks.
Roles,
Responsibilities, and Procedures for Community Members. Benedict provides qualifications and
"job descriptions" for leaders as well as for other selected jobs
within the monastery. He also includes directions for such things as sleeping
arrangements, meals, food, clothing, work, discipline, and the process for
joining the monastery.
How to Live Together in
Community. An
important part of the Rule involves interpersonal relations: how monks should
treat one another and conduct themselves to promote peace and harmony in the
community.
Spiritual Direction. Benedict encourages his monks-and
us-to take our relationship with God seriously and to actively nurture it. He provides directions for such disciplines as
prayer, study, Lenten practices, and living with humility before God.
The Rule has theme words: roots,
belonging, community, fulfillment, sharing, space, listening, and silence. The
Rule also addresses questions from "How
do I relate in love to other people?" and "How do I find meaning in what I must do each day?" to "What are the priorities of a
Christian life?"
In a Prologue and seventy-three chapters, Benedict explains how we
can live a Christ-centered life with others. Noted Anglican author Esther de Waal and
incidentally a Benedictine Oblate herself, summarizes beautifully the content
of the Rule:
"It is all about love.
It points me to Christ.
Ultimately the whole meaning and purpose of the Rule is simply, [in
Benedict's own words] "Prefer nothing to the love of Christ."8
The center of the Rule is
Christ, the cornerstone is Scripture, and the focus of the Rule is how to live in loving relationship with God,
self, and others.
That's why the Rule is so relevant for all Christians. The way to live, Benedict states in his
Prologue, is by following the Gospels (Prologue 21), especially Jesus' main
directive ‘to love one another.’
Benedict sees that the way to holiness is through other people. While we might agree that it's easy to be a
saint alone, Benedict knew that people are relational creatures, desiring
relationships with others as well as with God. While stressing the importance of being in
community, Benedict felt that there also needed to be a balance between being
alone and being with others.
The Rule is practical and down-to-earth, and easy to read. Benedict's gentleness and understanding flow
through the words. "Therefore,"
he writes in the Prologue, "we intend to establish a school for the Lord's
service... we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. The good of all concerned, however, may prompt
us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love"
(RB Prologue 45~7).
In her book Living the Rule Today, the Benedictine nun Sr. Joan Chittister likens the Rule
to a railing that you can cling to while climbing the stairs. We all need some
kind of railing to hold onto in this life: one that supports both our physical
and spiritual journeys, one that will better help us to live out our Baptismal
Covenant and follow Christ in our daily lives.
It is interesting to note that the etymology of the word Rule flows from words meaning Trellis – something by which a plant
might be supported, something that might train the plant to grow into a certain
shape.
Last but not least, the Rule is very much about living an ordinary
life well. Thomas Merton, monk, priest, social activist and spiritual writer,
said the essence of the Rule is "doing
ordinary things quietly and perfectly for the glory of God."
Why am I a Benedictine? Why
am I a Benedictine Oblate? I hope that
perhaps in telling Benny’s story and describing Benny’s Rule, I might have, in
part, answered that question for you.
If you are looking for ways in which to better order your spiritual
life you will find appropriate chapters on this too. All of this to be conducted in an atmosphere
of quiet reverence. Not silence – like
some other monastic regimes, but quiet reverence
My relationship with the Rule
Very early in my reading of the rule I came to the conclusion that
if I could only submit myself to those parts of the rule that applied to my
life as it was then, I would be able to make significant changes and
improvements. That maybe I could take
charge of my life again. Maybe I could
achieve the order and discipline I so desperately craved.
Let me give you
some ‘for instances’….. as to family life,
Benedict’s rule addresses these issues: Speaking the truth
Making peace
before sunset
Obeying without
grumbling
Serving G-d
with the good things we have been given
Helping others
in times of trouble
Good stewardship
Independence
Self-sufficiency
“Council”
meetings [aka ‘family conferences’]
Listening to
youngsters
Every one to
have an equal voice in making decisions and solving problems
The head of the
household to teach by example
Guests to be
received as Christ
I’ve now lived with the Rule in my [metaphorical] hip pocket for
around 35 years. It has served me well
and preserved my sanity on more than one occasion. Without boasting I think I can say that I
have balance in my life. I have a sense
of proportion as to what is important and what is not. I have a well developed and solidly grounded
spiritual life. At times when things
threaten to go off the rails, I stop and reflect what Benedict might have to
say.
I say two offices each day. I
spend time in reflective reading – usually the Scriptures. I manage and have done for 30 years, a twice
daily discipline of 30 minutes of meditation in the John Main tradition. I’ve managed to do this throughout a busy
career at the top end of corporate life involving multinational business and quite
huge travel demands – in fact I’m tempted to say that I managed that career only
because I had adopted a Benedictine view of the world and my life.
Some years ago I discovered I had a life-threatening bowel
cancer. Throughout my illness and
recovery I tried diligently to maintain the rhythm of my Benedictine
life-style. Dianne and I credit that
life style with my recovery and my ability to come to grips with a radically
altered anatomy.
I sometimes reflect on what it is about Benedictine spirituality
that makes it so appealing to those who encounter it. Perhaps it is the invitation to a mysticism
of everyday life, a very ordinary way, by which our sacred yearnings are
joined with the secular realities of our lives. This spirituality
of the ordinary creates a milieu in which attitudes to prayer, peace,
justice and love have not only permeated communities of monastics but
significant numbers of people who are not.
There is a rapidly growing sense in the wider monastic community that it
is only through Benedictine Oblation [along with oblates, associates and
tertiaries of order religious orders] that the charism of the religious life
will survive the next 50 -100 years.
Why a Benedictine Oblate…….
Oblates are those who discern that G-d has called them to a balanced
life of prayer and study and who have turned for advice, help and direction to
the experience that monasticism has developed over the centuries. They are those who like me, keep the monastic
ideal before them, even though they are not monks or nuns.
A very long time ago I discovered and visited the Anglican
Benedictine community at St. Mark’s Abbey, Camperdown. Despite having been an active parishioner of
some 40 years standing in a Melbourne
suburban parish, I found at Camperdown and in that monastic community something
that was missing from my spiritual life – Community – I discovered there a
sense of belonging, an opportunity for meaningful relationship and an
opportunity for service. This is
something I believe many contemporary spiritual seekers yearn. It is through the community experience of
work and worship, play and prayer that unconnected individuals become united in
the knowledge that they are loved by the G-d of Jesus, and can commit to living
in Christ’s name. In growing numbers,
non-monastic people like you and I who already belong to worshipping
congregations are also being drawn to monasteries. This is because our monastic sisters and
brothers invite us to share in their community, and in an historic enduring way
of life that brings home to them the practicality and promise of the Christian
Gospel. Over time, as I got to know this
Benedictine community and they got to know me I was invited to give form and
substance to my association with them. I
accepted, and for a year or so was a novice Oblate – confirming my life under
the Rule of Benedict, living out in ordinary life the three promises of
Obedience, Stability and Conversion of life (in-so-far as my life allows) maintaining
an appropriate level of spiritual discipline and support and visiting and
supporting the Camperdown community. A
year or so as a novice confirmed my desire to make my Oblation and I did that
by making promises about my participation in the Benedictine way of life before
G-d, the Community and Abbot Michael King.
Today I am in no doubt that I am part of that community. I do not live in the enclosure but there is a
sense that I do live in a monastery without walls. As a Benedictine Oblate I am generously supported
by my community and by my family.
I am convinced that Benedictine monasticism is a very significant
resource for the body of Christ – the Church, and for the modern world. The way I give expression to this conviction
is through my Oblation to St. Marks Abbey.
I know I am in good company. Many
Christians around the world seeking meaning purpose and community in their
spiritual lives are turning to monastic communities and joining as
Oblates. Already the number of Oblates
exceeds the number of professed monastics by a very wide margin – some estimates
say there are 20 Oblates for each professed monastic. In the past ten years the growth in Oblate
numbers has exceeded 75%. In my own
community there are now just two professed religious and the community has over
80 Oblates
Forty years ago when I came to the conclusion that I did not have a
monastic vocation I was wrong. I now
think that I do have a monastic vocation, one that God had in mind for me all
along, but one I was unable to identify until much later in life. One that is lived outside the monastic
enclosure.
In conclusion permit me to
quote the concluding chapter to Benedict’s Rule – Chapter 73
Whoever you may be [see, he is not just
addressing monastics ! ], whoever you
may be, then, in your eagerness to reach your Father’s home in heaven, be
faithful with Christ’s help to this small Rule which is only a beginning. Starting from there you may in the end aim at
the greater heights of monastic teaching and virtue… and with G-d’s help you
will be able to reach those heights yourself.
Amen.
©Jamie Miller, Obl. OSB
July 2019
July 2019
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