I found in the Holy Rule of St. Benedict not a harsh, repressive,
or violent prescription for daily life. Rather, I was almost surprised by the
kindness of spirit St. Benedict manifests in his rule. The contents of this
Rule seem more like advice written by a kind grandfather for his grandchildren
than a ‘rule’ for ‘monks’. The Rule is full of examples of the kindliness of
this Saint.
Consider,
for instance, that Benedict makes sure that his sons do not overwork themselves;
when speaking of manual labor, he writes: “let all things be done ini
moderation on account of the faint hearted”.[1] Upon reading the Rule, one
can agree that this life ordains “nothing that is harsh or burdensome” [2] - so contrary to the
manner in which monastic life is imagined by those who have never experienced
it!
The
kindness and humanity of St Benedict become more evident in his treatment of
food and drink. In this area, Benedict draws his inspiration from the book of
Acts, which recalls how among the first Christians, “distribution was made
according as he had need”. (Acts 4:35) [3]. The weekly table servers
are prescribed “over and above the regular allowance” of food and drink “in
order that they may serve their brethren without murmuring and undue hardship”.[4] As to boys and old men, it
is forbidden that “the rigor of the Rule in regard to food be applied to them”.
On the contrary, they are to “receive compassionate consideration” from the
kitcheners. [5]
And the sick are to be provided with meat – a delicacy in Benedicts’ day. [6]
One
may object to any claim for St Benedict’s kindness and compassion on the
grounds of frequent mention of punishments, which were at times corporeal.
However, if one considers that the punishments were necessary for constraints
for the order of large communities, and that the spirit with which the
punishment was to be carried out, then any argument for a brutal Benedict is
turned on its head. For the Abbot is charged with “all diligence in his care
for erring brethren, for ‘they that are in health need not a physician, but
they that are sick (Mat. 4:12)”.[7] In this view, the
punishments prescribed by the rule are not administered in a spirit of
vindication, but in a spirit of compassionate healing.
It
should be no surprise that the Rule of St Benedict prescribes mercy and
compassion in so many instances. For St Benedict saw the monastery as the place
of spiritual discipleship, where the monk learns to live his life in accord
with the Gospel. And what is the essence of Gospel living if not that agapic
love of Christ? Benedict envisioned his monasteries as a place to grow in love
of God and neighbor. This is evident from the metaphors employed by the text of
monastery as a “school of the Lord’s service”[8] in which one learns to use
the “tools of the spiritual craft”[9] in the workshop of
charity.[10]
It is
within the context of these metaphors that one can understand the corporal,
psychological, and spiritual demands for discipline in the monastic life. In a
school, one should maintain an attitude of listening and openness to truth.
Silence flows from this attitude of learning, and greatly contributes to it. A “perpetual
ban” on “buffoonery and talk that is vain and stirs laughter”[11] would seem harsh in an
area for the purpose of recreation. But anyone would approve of such a ban in
an area for the purpose of learning and reflection, such as a library. Indeed, “it
becometh the master to speak and to teach, but it befits the disciple to be
silent and to listen”.[12]
It is
in the context of apprenticeship that one can understand St Benedict’s
teachings on humility. If someone really desires to learn an art or craft
(here, the art of loving God), it would behoove him to do all things carefully,
mindful of the watchfulness of his master. Those who are learning should not
carry out their work willfully and independently, opening their own shop, as it
were. Hence Benedict’s insistence on turning from self-will, and of vowing
obedience to a superior in all things. A reading of the twelve steps of
humility described in this rule is very intelligible if one keeps these steps
in mind as the necessary qualities of an apprentice.[13]
St
Benedict was aware that man’s life on earth is not simply a life of quiet
learning – one must constantly struggle against the evil tendencies of fallen
nature if one wishes to love God. For this reason, St Benedict includes the
metaphor of the battlefield for the monastic life: “To thee are my words now
addressed, whosoever thou mayest be that renouncing thine won will to fight for
the true king, Christ, dost take up the strong and glorious weapons of
obedience”.[14]
Benedict saw that to do good, we must cut off the evil tendencies of our own
will, which are manifested as unruly passions. To do this requires the “weapons”
of obedience; for to fulfill the law of Christ’s love is difficult and exhilarating,
it is battle against the foe. It is significant that Benedict mentions
obedience in the first line of his Rule. For it is by obedience to the Rule and
to the Abbot that the monk obeys Christ the Kings’ commands in the battle “against
the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the
spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12).
For
all the importance given to the Rule in the monastic life, St Benedict did not
see his Rule as an end to itself. “Whoever, thou art that hasteneth to thy
heavenly country, fulfill first of all by the help of Christ this little Rule
for beginners.”[15]
Benedict saw his rule as an aid for those seeking to arrive at their heavenly
country by means of love. By insisting that “the full observance of justice is
not established in this rule” [16] Benedict prevents the observance
of his Rule from becoming a rigid legalism. Benedict was a man of the Gospel –
that is why he is a saint! He knew that just is fulfilled only in love of God
and neighbor. Because in this very chapter Benedict mentions St Basil’s
Detailed Rule for Monks, we can assume that Benedict read and agreed with Basil
that “the love of God is not founded on a disciple imposed on us from outside,
but is constitutively established as the capacity and necessity of our rational
nature”. [17]
Benedict saw that his rule served to awaken within man the spark of divine love
that is hidden within us. It was the saints’ hope that by observing this rule,
Our hearts may be enlarged, and we shall run with
unspeakable sweetness of love in the way of God’s commandments, so that, never
abandoning his rule, but persevering in the monastery until death, we shall
share by patience in the sufferings of Christ, that we may deserve to be
partakers also of his kingdom. Amen.[18]
[1] Benedict
of Nursia, The Rule of Saint Benedict,(Newman,
Westminster, 1960) chapter 48, pg. 111
[2]
Ibid, prologue, pg. 13
[3]
Ibid, ch.34, pg. 87
[4] Ibid,
ch.35,pg.89
[5]
Ibid, ch.37,pg.93
[6]
Ibid, ch.36, pg.91
[7]
Ibid, ch.27.pg.77
[8]
Ibid, prologue, pg.13
[9]
Ibid.ch.4.pg.31
[10]
Ibid.ch.4.pg.32
[11]
Ibid.ch.6.pg.37
[12]
Ibid.ch.6.37
[13] The
twelve steps of humility are given in chapter seven of the Rule.
[14]
St Benedict, Rule of St Benedict,
prologue, pg. 7
[15]
Ibid,ch.73pg.163
[16]
Ibid.ch.73.pg.161
[17]
St Basil the Great, Detailed Rule for
Monks
[18] St
Benedict, The Rule of Saint Benedict, prologue,pg.13
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