One translation of The Rule offers, “A wise old monk should be stationed at the gate of the monastery. He should know how to listen to people and also how to speak to them.”[1] The final specified role of the community is the Porter. Rather than focusing on the age…
The Rule offers a thorough counsel to the community regarding the abbot. This chapter marks a shift of attention to other roles in the community. First, it considers the role of prior. Prior means “first” and is intended to serve as an extension of the abbot. As an extension of…
Chapter 2 describes the qualities of an Abbot and this chapter discusses the election of this leader. These are very sobering instructions to be considered by the community in general, and specifically the one considered for Abbot. The spiritual wellbeing of all concerned rests upon wise discernment for this election.…
Perhaps one of the most challenging chapters, as well as one of the most critical, is this instruction concerning rank. Throughout The Rule, our blessed saint illustrates the importance of humility and equality. No one is more important than another. So, what is the place of rank in our community? This chapter…
In Chapter 60, St. Benedict discusses the reception of a priest who desires to entire the monastic community. Priestly ministry in a parish is very different from living as a priest in our community. The necessity for living in humility and under authority is ever before the monastic. In a…
For more than 30 years, I served in the military. Among the many things I learned during that time was the peace one gains from the familiar. As I traveled from one base to another, there was a since of belonging. Regardless of where I went, there were common facilities…
Saint Benedict sits before us another sensitive topic, once concerned with receiving priests into the community. One powerful lesson that we learn from St. Benedict is the importance of clear communications and understanding expectations prior to accepting anyone into the community. While this may appear contrary to our charge for…
Perhaps this is one of the more challenging chapters of The Ruleto properly apply to our contemporary age, especially in a community dispersed in the larger society. Still, there are lessons for our community. Granted, we do not receive children to raise them in the walls of a monastery as our…