Thursday, May 10, 2018

Benedict Today


Another short essay I wrote for class, this time talking about how the Rule of St. Benedict should be applied today and the lessons that people can learn from it.

The excursion to Subiaco was an awesome experience. Visiting St. Benedict’s first monastery, and being from a Benedictine University, was very interesting. It is in a beautiful, remote spot, and the monk who led us around was very friendly and very smart. However, the interaction with him does raise some questions about how The Rule of St. Benedict should apply to monasteries today. St. Benedict could never have imagined a world like the one we live in now, with cameras, cell phones, cars, etc. However, his rule is written in such a way that it should be able to be applied even 2,000 years after his death.
            
Dom Marizio, the monk with whom we interacted, was taking pictures (for the monasteries website) and making jokes all the while we were visiting. Based on all the places that St. Benedict writes that a monk should never joke or laugh and should minimize talking and interaction (even with guests[1]), it would seem that the monks of Subiaco are not living “true” to The Rule. However, in the Prologue to The Rule, St. Benedict writes, “we intend to establish a school for the Lord’s service…The good of all concerned…may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love.[2]” If the ultimate goal of The Rule is service of the Lord and safeguarding love, then it seems safe to say that The Rule itself should not get in the way of either of these things.

While there is certainly a place for a strict and absolute observance of Benedict’s rule—it is good to have people who are willing to make such drastic sacrifices in service of God—the monks of Subiaco, I believe, have realized that there is an opportunity for evangelization and education by opening up their monastery (it being of enough historical significance to have people wanting to visit it) and have decided that, for the sake of serving God and spreading His love, it is okay for at least one or two monks to interact with people, and to do so in a fun and engaging way. We read about a similar scenario in St. Gregory’s book, The Life of St. Benedict, as well. Benedict, desiring to strictly follow his rule, wants to return to his monastery immediately after his visit with his sister, St. Scholastica. Scholastica would like him to stay, so she prays and gets her way; a storm comes in preventing Benedict from leaving. St. Gregory writes that this was a lesson in charity for Benedict, showing that The Rule is important, but that it should never trump love.

It is ideas and themes such as these that (I believe) have led to the longevity of the Benedictine Order. The idea that rules should only be followed insofar as they encourage love and service to God is applicable to everyday life, even for the laity. The Rule is full of other provocative ideas, one of these being the interconnectedness of every part of a person’s life. Prayer (chapters 8-20), work (chapter 48), eating (chapters 39-41), walking (chapter 7), and talking (chapters 6, 7, and 42) can each influence each other and help or hinder a person on their path to Heaven (which is why they each have chapters about them in The Rule). The chapter on humility[3] probably shows this interconnectedness the best, tying together the soul, the senses, the will, the body, community, etc. in pursuit of God.

I have experienced this interconnectedness first hand throughout the Rome Program. While much of the modern world compartmentalizes everything (work happens at work, family is at the house, and religion stays at church) and keeps everything from mixing or relating with each other, the Benedictine Tradition and the Rome Program promote the exact opposite; prayer should influence actions, study should influence community, community should influence prayer, etc. This is exactly what has happened during my time in Rome. Topics and discussions in class become conversations for my friends and I. Conversations with friends often turn into conversations with the chaplains. Conversations with the chaplains often turn into questions or ideas to pray about. Questions or ideas prayed about (ideally) turn into actions. It is all connected, and each reading, discussion, experience, etc. leads to something else, usually (and probably happily for St. Benedict) culminating in prayer or new growth in love and service of God.



    [1] St. Benedict, The Rule of St. Benedict, translated by Timothy Fry, O.S.B. (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1982.), 75.
    [2] Ibid., 18-19.
    [3] St. Benedict, 32-38.

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