Preferring Nothing to Christ

LOVE

It has often been said that the one of the reasons why the Rule of St Benedict has continued to inspire people is because of the simple humanity that we find in its pages. St Benedict lays out a way of life that he wants to be within the reach of anyone who deeply desires to follow the monastic path. He speaks of a ‘school of the Lord’s service’ where nothing is ‘too harsh or burdensome’.

Of course, this does not mean that the monastic path is easy or can be undertaken in a half-hearted manner. Our model for all that we do is the person of Christ. Everything that we undertake, whether it be large or small, easy or difficult, has Christ as its focus. The monastic path is counter cultural: it is only LOVE that makes sense of it all.

In a chapter which is considered to be the spiritual heart of the Rule, St Benedict articulates ideas which form something of a manifesto on love:

‘Just as there is an evil and bitter zeal that separates one from God and leads to hell, so too there is a good zeal that separates one from evil and leads to God and eternal life. This, then, is the good zeal which monks must foster with fervent love: They should try to be the first to show respect to the other (Rom 10:12) , supporting with the greatest patience one another’s weaknesses of body or behaviour, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another. No one is to pursue what he judges better for himself, but instead, what he judges better for someone else. To their fellow monks they show the pure love of brothers, to God, loving fear; to their abbot, unfeigned and humble love. Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.’

Ch 72, On Good Zeal

We are to image Christ by putting others first, by considering their good and not our own. The community becomes for us a place where we can learn and practice this art of following Christ. We take up the challenge to live rooted in Christ, with a listening ear, a discerning heart, able to hear and respond to the call of the Spirit.

As the monastic path unfolds we will need to grow in ‘fervent love’, ‘pure love’, ‘loving fear’ and ‘unfeigned and humble love’. Each of these asks something a little different.

Can you see these different forms of love in your own life?
How have you been able to grow in love?
Where do you most need to grow in love?

CHRIST

Much of the Rule of St Benedict is concerned with the practicalities of living in community. St Benedict values good order and urges that things be so arranged that ‘the strong have something to yearn for and the weak have nothing to run from’ (Ch 64). Christ is implicitly honoured in every aspect of monastery life. But two areas of daily life are singled out as special opportunities for honouring Christ: care of the sick and the welcoming of guests.

Care of the sick must rank above and before all else, so that they may be truly served as Christ, for he said: I was sick and you visited me (Matt 25:36) and what you did for one of these least brothers you did for me (Matt 25:40).
(Rule of St Benedict, Ch 31)

Commenting on this chapter of the Rule Sr Aquinata Bockmann says:

‘Benedict emphatically refers to Christ. He is present in the sick whether the sick person shows himself worthy or not, whether he is virtuous or not. In order to serve Christ one is not required to examine whether the person really represents Christ by his virtue. By the fact that he is the ‘least’ and so is in need of help, Christ is present.‘

It is not just the physically sick who require particular attention. Benedict also makes provision for the wayward:

The abbot must exercise the utmost care and concern for wayward brothers, because it is not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick (Matt 9:12)
(Rule of St Benedict, Ch 27)

The actions of the compassionate and merciful Christ are implicit in all of St Benedict’s directives. The compassion and mercy that is to be fostered in the enclosure of the monastery is not an end in itself. Each member of the monastic community is tasked with making this concrete when guests arrive:

All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me. (Matt 25:35)
(Rule of St Benedict, Ch 53)

In the ordinary running of a monastery certain sisters will carry the work of being a ‘Guest sister’. They will be the guest’s first contact. There is, however, an understanding that everyone in the monastery contributes to this work. Christ is implicitly welcomed in all that we do in the monastery.

Look back over your week. How have you welcomed Christ?

Revelation 11:19,12:1-6,10 
1 Corinthians 15:20-26 
Luke 1:39-56 

The older I get the more time I seem to need to spend on paying attention to my body and making sensible choices. This is anything but self indulgent. When you live in community your own well-being is linked to the whole. There’s something of an implicit understanding that what you do or don’t do will affect the whole. While the monastic path might be an overtly spiritual choice, there’s no escaping the fact that this choice is worked out in a very physical way each day. Bodies matter.

When I come to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption I bring to the liturgy my own questions about my bodily life and death. The Church offers me some interpretative keys in the Liturgy of the Word. These are not keys that unlock the mystery straight away. For me these are well worn keys and I need a certain patience to unlock the various doors of mystery.

The first reading from Revelation invites me into the realm of apocalyptic literature. Today the ‘woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown.’ is Mary of Nazareth. I need to suspend what I understand to be the context and meaning of these words of Scripture and allow the text to have a meaning specific to the feast. Here we have Mary, Queen of heaven and bearer of our Saviour.

Today’s text from Corinthians plunges us into the mystery of the physicality of resurrection. There is a reassuring order in which things happen:

‘Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him.’

This text gives me such hope. Despite our weaknesses and our failings we know that we ‘belong to him’. In the Church’s understanding of the Assumption, Mary is so closely related to Jesus in mind and body that it is unthinkable that she her body should know decay. Legend has it that, perhaps in Ephesus, she falls asleep and is bodily assumed into heaven. In the bodily Assumption of Mary we find our hope too. I think there’s a case for understanding the Assumption as a sign that Mary’s body and our bodies too are places where God’s grace can take hold and where God’s power and glory can be seen. Our destiny, as those who belong to Christ, is to be resurrected with bodies that are glorified.

When we come to the Gospel text from Luke we are on familiar territory. This door opens easily for me. Two pregnant women meet in a sharing of joy and thanksgiving for the new life that they bear within them. Both women know that their bodies are channels of God’s promise and grace.

Poet Malcolm Guite expresses this so well in his sonnet, Visitation.

Two women on the very edge of things
Unnoticed and unknown to men of power
But in their flesh the hidden Spirit sings
And in their lives the buds of blessing flower.

As we look at this scene from the vantage point of the feast of the Assumption we see the dynamic of Mary’s faithfulness in mind, body and heart.

‘Blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

With Mary’s ‘Yes’, this promise takes shape in flesh and blood. What God has done in and through Mary, is God’s desire for each one of us. In celebrating the Assumption we celebrate redeemed humanity. Theologian John McQuarrie sees the Assumption as an on going event:

‘…whenever here on earth there is a gleam of true glory, a faithful act of discipleship, a prayer offered in faith, a hand stretched out in love, there is assumption, human life is being lifted up to God by God.’

How can you be open to the graces of the Assumption this week?

CHRIST

Let them prefer absolutely nothing to Christ,
and may he lead us all together to everlasting life.
(Ch 72, On Good Zeal)

That the Rule of St Benedict is Christological is evident on just about every page of the text. Whether St Benedict is speaking of ‘running in the way of God’s commands’ (Prologue), or treating the ‘goods and utensils of the monastery as the sacred vessels of the altar’ (Ch 31), it is to Christ that everything is directed.

There is a school of thought that sees the Prologue of the Rule as baptismal catechesis. Implicit is the leaving behind of one way of life in order to take up ‘the strong and noble weapons of obedience, to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord.’ There is a clear sense that you are being invited to embark upon a new path. The Rule concerns itself with training us to run on a road together, under the direction of Christ.

In Baptism we were each called to a life that is centred on Christ, in the fullness of his humanity and divinity. We were called to imitate Christ in all that we do. As the priest anointed us with the Oil of Chrism he said these words:

God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin,given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed PRIEST, PROPHET and KING, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.

The call to enter a monastery is one that makes concrete the call of baptism. Whichever way we choose to live out our baptismal call, our aim will be to become more and more like Christ. The monastic path offers us the opportunity to do this with a community of people, a Rule of Life, the guidance of an abbess, communal prayer, personal prayer and manual work. Our task in the monastery is to be open to the ways in which we can imitate Christ as Prophet, Priest and King in the monastic rhythm of each day.

How does your baptismal call shape your day to day life?
Where are you most aware of the call to image Christ?
Perhaps you have your own Rule of Life. How does this centre you on Christ?

Luke 12:32-48

This lengthy Gospel text from St Luke could almost be a manifesto for monastic life. I hear in every paragraph strong resonances with the Rule of St Benedict.

‘Sell your possessions and give alms.’

As I prepared to enter the monastery I went through several phases of divesting myself of my ‘worldly goods’. Most of my worldly good were clothes and shoes. One day I invited my friends round and opened up my wardrobes, inviting them to take whatever they wanted. It felt hugely liberating. Of course in the 30 years that have lived in a monastery I have probably accumulated roughly the same amount that I gave away. I’m no minimalist.

‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’

It’s very easy to read this text just as a warning about having too many possessions. However, the word that I always hear loudly is ‘treasure’. Treasure can be a subtle thing: what I treasure, you might not treasure. What I might hide away in order to keep safe, you might not even notice. I’m reminded here of St Cuthbert’s account of the death of Bede. As Bede’s death approaches he makes this request:

‘I have a few treasures in my box, some pepper, and napkins, and some incense. Run quickly and fetch the priests of the monastery, and I will share among them such little presents as God has given me.’

Each year I wonder what my ‘treasures’ are now, what do I keep in a safe place? I also wonder what I will consider ‘treasure’ when my life nears its end. In monastic culture it’s often the little things that make their mark on us. Monastic writers talk of poverty and simplicity and the importance of non-attachment to ‘things’. The lived reality is far more complex. Each day I have the opportunity to evaluate my choices and to steer that careful path between ‘wants’ and ‘needs’. Perhaps the key thing here is not so much how much or how little you have, but how willing you are to share.

‘See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit.’

This text forms the basis of one of my favourite Antiphons in Advent. I love the dynamism and sense of expectancy. For the monks of St Benedict’s day their way of life allowed them to take this text more or less literally:

They sleep clothed, and girded with belts or cords; but they should remove their knives, lest they accidentally cut themselves in their sleep. Thus the monks will always be ready to arise without delay when the signal is given; each will hasten to arrive at the Work of God before the others, yet with all dignity and decorum.

Rule of St Benedict, Ch 22, The Sleeping Arrangements of the Monks

On one level the monks weren’t doing anything unusual in sleeping clothed. Having special nightwear was not part of Sixth Century custom. St Benedict takes an ordinary thing and gives it a special significance; being ready for the Work of God was the priority in St Benedict’s thinking. Every thing is the monastic’s day is so arranged so as make sure that the liturgy takes priority.

All of the above quotations have something to say to us about how we prioritise things in our lives. They have something to say about how we open our hearts to God. I hear the texts in a particular way because of my monastic path. How do you hear these texts?

How can you open your heart this week?

GOSPEL

‘Let us get up then, for the Scriptures rouse us when they say: It is high time for us to arouse from sleep. Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God.’
(Prologue, Rule of St Benedict)

For St Benedict, Scripture is a living and active thing in the life of a monastic. He uses a description of Scripture which is unique to his writing- ‘light which comes from God’. Some translations say ‘deifying light’. His use of this phrase in the Prologue brings to mind the picture of an appearance of God (theophany): light and thunder from the sky and the voice of God appear in the theophany of Mt Sinai (Exodus 19:16-24).

St Benedict arranges the monastic timetable so that a monastic is guaranteed to be in the presence of this ‘light which comes from God’. The monastic liturgy is composed almost entirely of Scripture. And added to this are the prescribed times for Lectio Divina- the slow reading and pondering of God’s Word. Little by little the monastic learns to listen attentively to God’s voice in the Scriptures. With years of repetition some texts become woven into the heart and mind.

Sr Irene Nowell osb, a Biblical scholar, expresses her sense of the place that Scripture holds in the life of a monastic. She remembers her high school English teacher saying: ‘It’s so nice to be a Benedictine and live with the Psalms every day. They just soak into your bones.’

During her own life in monastery she has found this to be the case:

‘We are charged not to harden our hearts, nor dull our ears, nor close our eyes. We are called to integrate thinking and praying and acting. Scripture is the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink. What would our monastic lives be without Scripture? How grateful we must be that God chooses every day to speak to us with our own human words in our own human lives. “The word of God is very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out” (Dt 30:14; cf. Rom 10:7).’

Spend some time today doing a ‘Scriptural brainstorm’. Don’t edit, just see which texts surface for you. Can you see any patterns? How is God speaking through the Scripture that you have stored in your heart?

Luke 9 :28-36

A voice came from the cloud saying,
‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’

Much of the spiritual life involves the following of a fairly ordinary path of joys and challenges, moments of insight and times of darkness. For some there will be a mountain-top experiences. For others there will be the stories of the mountain-top experiences of others. In the story of the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John have a mountain-top experience.

Some commentators suggest that the disciples’ experience of glory is a strengthening for Christ’s impending Passion. Other commentators think that this experience on Tabor might be a resurrection appearance which Luke has mistakenly inserted here. Either way the text presents us with mystery.

I am always drawn to the fact that Jesus took with him those whom tradition considers his closest disciples. Though they didn’t and couldn’t understand what was happening, this mysterious experience would change them and bind them together. In our ordinary lives we too are offered this experience. It’s love which will transfigure us.

I was struck by the centrality of love in this verse from our Lauds hymn this morning:

Transfigured Christ, believed and loved,
In you our only hope has been;
Grant us in your unfailing love
Those things no eye has ever seen.
(Stanbrook Abbey)

How are you called to be transfigured by love today?

‘Clothed then with faith and the performance of good works, let us set out on this way, with the Gospel for our guide, that we may deserve to see him who has called us to his kingdom.‘ (Rule of St Benedict, Prologue)

St Benedict rouses us to action in his Prologue with a call that is almost impossible to ignore. Every Christian is called to live the values of the Gospel. Every Christian is called to find in the stories of Christ and his teachings the inspiration to live as Christ lived. So, what is specific about living the Gospel in monastic life?

Life in the monastery gives our hearing of the Gospel a particular focus. There are texts that stand out and have particular depth because of the way we live. Texts that talk about love, community and dying to self can remind the monastic of the essential values in Benedictine Life. Over the years you come to know some of the texts by heart and this is, in turn, deepens your response. I have found that daily engagement with Scripture, combined with periods of silence, holds me to account in a very particular way.

When we speak of being guided by the Gospel we are speaking fundamentally about good news. We are speaking about a series of events that have changed the world forever.

St Paul gives us a short and clear explanation of what that good news actually is:

Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures: that he was buried: and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and second to the Twelve.

1 Corinthians 15

If we really believe this message, then we will set out on a path that leads us towards Christ. Our hope is that day by day we will become more like Christ. Christ is our model for our daily living. The text of the Beatitudes is often quoted and often people puzzle over just what it means. All of the values of the Beatitudes are modelled for us in Christ. It has been said that the Beatitudes are not so much a spirituality but a ‘geography’: they tell us ‘where to stand’. We stand with the ‘poor in spirit’, we stand with the ‘gentle’…

How blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Blessed are the gentle: they shall have the earth as inheritance.
Blessed are those who mourn: they shall be comforted.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.
Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognised as children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.

Matthew 5

When we speak of Gospel values, in any walk of life, we have specific things in mind. Our baptismal call invites us to a life that holds these values as central. Every Christian is called to walk a beatitudinal path.

Where are you most aware of the values of the Beatitudes in your own life?
Where do you see these values in others?
Where do you see these values in yourself?
Are there particular Biblical texts that rouse you to action?

Luke 12:13-21

Scholars tell us that in the time of Jesus 90% of people relied on the agricultural economy for their survival. The well-being of your family depended on the well- being and right use of the land. Many were tenant farmers who lived with the pressure of the landowner’s expectation of the biggest yield possible.

And yet, in our parable today this big yield is not to be celebrated. We are confronted instead with the rich man’s greed. His desire to store this yield is seen as short-sighted. In his master plan of tearing down barns and building bigger he has missed the point of human existence. In the language of the Psalms ‘he has no regard for God.’ His greed has paved the way for the last plan he will ever make. Denis McBride CSSR comments that this rich man dies twice. His first death is his own choosing of self above all else.

The hearers of Luke’s Gospel lived with the expectation that the second coming of Jesus was imminent. Every choice had an implication for that day of judgement. The message is clear: don’t be like the rich man. Parables are intended to shock us and to jolt us. If you are left slightly uncomfortable by this text, then it has done its work. Parables are not gentle stories.

It’s a fairly easy leap from this parable to words about the dangers of amassing wealth, the scandal of inequality and the perils of a consumerist society. These are all important areas. But what if we look inward and ask ourselves ‘What am I willing to tear down in order to build bigger barns?’, ‘What is it that blinds me to my need for God?’

We can expect to be unsettled as we answer these questions. Our ancestors in the faith grappled with these questions too and from this place they sang: ‘O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.’

How can you make God your refuge this week?

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 difficulties that will lead him to God.
The Procedure for Receiving Brothers, Ch 58

A person can have a desire to enter a monastery for many different reasons. This desire might have grown since childhood; a quiet, insistent voice that won’t go away. Or sometimes this desire can be prompted by a particular set of circumstances; a chance meeting, a retreat, a book, or a person. Many different experiences can lead a person to enter a monastery, but once there ‘the concern is whether or not the person truly seeks God.’

The Benedictine path offers the opportunity to search for God and to follow the deepest longings of our hearts. This search for meaning in life is something which binds all of humanity, whether they express it in formal religion or not.

Seeking God in a monastic context means being open to God in the Scriptures and liturgy, the Rule of St Benedict, the teaching of your Prioress and the example of your sisters. The monastic path is a particular way of shaping your search for God. For the monastic the search is ‘in this place, with these people.’

St Benedict understands the search for God in a monastic context to involve ‘eagerness for the Work of God, for obedience and for trials.’  Do you have any experience of praying the Divine Office? Praying the Office alone isn’t always easy. Is there anything that you have found helpful over the years?

When St Benedict speaks of ‘eagerness for obedience’ how does this strike you? Can you bring to mind experiences in your life where obedience seems straight forward? Can you bring to mind experiences in your life where obedience is a challenge?

‘eagerness for trials’ can seem a rather difficult idea. St Benedict wants to be quite sure that a person is serious about their desire for monastic life. How do you hear St Benedict’s words? How do you respond when trials come? Is there anything that you learnt about yourself during the pandemic?

Reflect on your own search for God. What are your hopes and dreams?