The Rule of St. Benedict conveys the two grand movements of the monastic life: oratio (prayer) and labora (work). Daily life was ordered in terms of these two elements.
Essentially, the Rule divides itself in these same two ways: (1) Prayer: chapters 8-20 and (2) Work: chapters 31-72. The other chapters round out the life together which the monks and nuns experience and practice every day.
Before we turn to the second emphasis—Work—let’s remind ourselves that, far from being a musty ancient text—the Rule of St. Benedict describes the two foundational elements of Christian spiritual formation: prayer and work. And the Rule does it for any Christian, not just monastics.
Every one of us is called to arrange our lives in relation to these two things. How I am living as a Christian can be largely seen in relation to how I answer these two questions: (1) How are you praying?—and—(2) How are you working?
I’ve referred to this in other Oboedire postings, but this is what Christianity calls “sapiential theology.” Sapience fundamentally means “wisdom.” In other words, we have our minds, hearts, and hands around a “wise” spirituality when we order it in relation to these two dynamics. The wisdom is seen in the integration of these two things, not the separation of them—and surely not the playing of one off against the other.
As a result, membership in the early Christian community was based on a person’s response to three questions: (1) “What do you seek?” was asked to assess if the person’s desire was for “God alone” or something else. Admission into the community was given when a person responded, “I seek God.”
Once in the community, the next two questions formed the spirituality of the individual member and the community as-a-whole: (2) “What do you believe?” was asked in relation to catechesis—the formation of a person’s profession of faith in Christ in keeping with the central doctrines of Christianity, accompanied by baptism, unless the person was a Christian before entering the monastery.
Then (3) “What do you practice?”—was asked to determine how, and to what extent, a person’s theology was becoming a living faith—an enacted belief system–the life of obedience.
So, what we have in the Rule of St. Benedict is a way of life that enables Christians (then and now) to pray and to work: the two dynamics which enable us to seek, believe, and behave. With this larger picture in view, we’ll begin next week to explore the “Work” section of the Rule.
Oboedire 