SEEK A senior chosen for his skill in winning souls should be appointed to look after them with careful attention. The concern must be whether the novice truly seeks God and whether he shows eagerness for the Work of God, for obedience and for trials. The novice should be clearly told all the hardships and …
Monthly Archives: July 2025
Preferring Nothing to Christ (3)
SEEK Seeking his workman in a multitude of people, the Lord calls out to him and lifts his voice again: Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days? What, dear brothers, is more delightful than the voice of the Lord calling to us? Rule of St Benedict, Prologue For …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (2)
LISTEN ‘Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions,and attend to them with the ear of your heart.‘ St Benedict’s words are an invitation to intentional discipleship, an invitation to follow on a path that has been trodden for centuries. Listening with the ear of the heart is no small matter. It can challenge you …
Preferring Nothing to Christ (1)
LISTEN Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from a father who loves you; welcome it and faithfully put it into practice. The opening sentences of the Rule of St Benedict invite us to begin a journey that has been made …
A Little Rule for Beginners
In the final chapter of his Rule, St Benedict invites his monks to ‘keep this little rule that we have written for beginners.’ There’s something gently reassuring about St Benedict’s vision of his Rule being for beginners, a first step on the journey. And yet, as any monastic will tell you, the seventy-three chapters of …