TOGETHER
‘Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.’ (Ch. 72, On Good Zeal)
St Benedict began his life of faith in the small town of Norcia, just outside of Rome. As a young boy he was sent to Rome to study; he found himself unhappy there and so left for Affile, a small town roughly thirty miles east of Rome. It was here that he felt a strong call to solitude. He went to Subiaco and made his home in a small cave. It wasn’t long before word spread that there was a ‘holy man’ living at Subiaco. One day an entire community of monks from a neighbouring monastery came to see him and begged him to become their Abbot.
What had begun as Benedict’s solitary search for God, soon became a communal way of life. This search for God was now lived out with a group of brothers. The whole structure of the monastery is built on a life that is held in common. Benedict’s Rule is a guide for the communal search for God and much of it is his teaching on prayer, work and relationships. These are solid, practical guidelines that are designed to ‘safeguard love’.
‘The good of all concerned, however, may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love.’ (Rule of St Benedict, Prologue)
St Benedict knows that the path can be difficult and so he has in mind two sources of strength for the community: his written Rule and the teaching of the Abbess. The Rule gives explicit and implicit guidelines for living together. It is the Abbess’ job to steer a steady course between following the Rule and adapting to the particular circumstances of the monastery.
Reflect on your own experiences of living and working as part of a group or family. What have you learnt about yourself?
What is your experience of following rules or a code of conduct?
Have you ever been in a leadership position where you have had to adapt some rules?
Have you had the experience of being able to safeguard love?