Category Archives: Benedict’s Rule

Chapter 58 of the Rule summarizes the process for admitting a person into the community. In my own experience I have found that when I teach on early Christianity’s procedures for slowing down the process for admitting people into faith … Continue reading →

Chapter 57 of the Rule addresses the various artisans who have become monks and are living in the monastery.  And from this instruction we learn a significant lesson about ourselves. The world says, “You are what you do.”  We are … Continue reading →

The abbot’s table is reserved for guests and travelers.  It is the abbot’s table that touches the world.  This both intentionalizes the hospitality of the monastery (i.e. serving guests as if they are Christ), but it also allows the monks … Continue reading →

Chapter 55 of the Rule is something of a reversal of the old saying, “Clothes make the man.”  In monastic community, it’s the man who makes the clothes. The abbot is charged with providing clothing for the monks, both inside … Continue reading →

Whatever else we may glean from Chapter 54 of the Rule, we must see that spiritual formation includes attention to small things as well as big ones. At first glance, it appears rather “cold” of the abbot to refuse to … Continue reading →

Chapter 53 of the Rule is one of the most-often quoted sections.  Benedictines are known even today for their hospitality.  Chapter 53 reveals the basis for it. Hospitality is nothing other than receiving anyone as if that person were Jesus.  … Continue reading →

Chapter 52 of the Rule deals with the creation and maintenance of sacred, silent space in the monastery.  The Oratory corresponds most closely to what we today call the Sanctuary. The Oratory was to be a place where monks could … Continue reading →

Chapters 50 and 51 of the Rule can be combined for our purposes.  Both have to do with monks who have traveled outside the monastery. In all cases, monks are to observe the stated hours of prayer.  Sometimes they may … Continue reading →

Chapter 49 of The Rule guided the community in the observance of Lent.  Given that we enter the season on February 22, this is a timely meditation. The first thing we notice is that the season is a reflection of … Continue reading →

Chapter 48 is a long and detailed chapter in the Rule, all aimed at making the point described in the first sentence, “Idleness is the enemy of the soul.” The reason this is so lies precisely in the fact that … Continue reading →

Chapter 47 of the Rule can seem very outdated, even cumbersome.  It is not a schedule or lifestyle we are familiar with, so we can get lost in the details.  But when we sort through the specific admonitions, we find … Continue reading →

Chapter 47 of the Rule deals with a very important matter:  the arrangement for worship.  Because worship is the central act of the people of God, it must be done with the combination of regulation and reverence.  And, it is … Continue reading →

Chapters 45 and 46 go together, in that they both have to do with correcting mistakes. Chapter 45 deals with mistakes while reading in the oratory.  Such mistakes are to be confessed with humility, for it is an error committed … Continue reading →

Chapter 44 of the Rule returns to the theme of excommunication, which was treated extensively in chapters 23-27.  The emphasis in chapter 44 is upon the means by which the excommunicated person is restored to fellowship. The beauty and importance … Continue reading →

Chapter 43 of The Rule sets forth a most-interesting understanding of life together. No one is to presume to live “out of step” and “out of time” with the rest of the community.  To do so is just another form … Continue reading →

We often hear the counsel to “begin the day with God.”  And that is good advice.  But Benedict knew that “ending the day with God” is equally important.  In Chapter 42, he described ways for doing that. Some of the … Continue reading →

Chapters 39-41 in the Rule deal with the eating habits of the monks. The life of the monastery revolves around prayer and work.  Both require energy and health.  The energy comes from eating and drinking proper amounts.  Health comes from … Continue reading →

Chapter 38 in the Rule deals with what seems to be a very routine and practical event in the daily life of a monastery:  choosing and training the one who reads outloud while the other monks eat. I really enjoy … Continue reading →

The young and the elderly are the focus of Chapter 37 of the Rule.  These two categories define the polarities of our existence—the beginning and the end. The attitude which defines ministry to these people is “kindly consideration” (37:3).  As … Continue reading →

Chapter 36 of the Rule begins with these words, “Care of the sick must rank above and before all else” (36:1). We are never more vulnerable than when we are sick—never more dependent—never in more need of community. To abandon … Continue reading →

Read:  Matthew 22:1-14 Meditation:  Preposterous! Eugene Peterson has written that no one could have heard this story without thinking, “This is crazy!  No one would act like this!.” No one would receive an invitation from the King and then later … Continue reading →

Chapter 35 of the Rule appears to be about something mundane.  In fact, my first response to it was how long it was, in comparison to other things that seem more “important.” But go into any community—ancient or modern—and the … Continue reading →

I cannot read Chapter 34 of the Rule without falling into immediate conviction.  I write this in relation to the context of the American higher-education system.  I realize this will not fit many of you who read today’s post.  But … Continue reading →

At first glance, chapter 33 of the Rule flies in the face of an economic principle which has become standard in many parts of the world. The key to understanding what Benedict is saying lies in paying attention to the … Continue reading →

In a world of planned obsolescence and disposable products, we can almost read past Chapter 32 of the Rule of Benedict without entering into its message.  But as with other things in the Rule that might, at first glance, seem … Continue reading →

Given the detail that the Rule goes into in the second main section, I have had some difficulty knowing how to write these posts.  But I could not resist writing about the Cellarer—if for no other reason than that we … Continue reading →

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) … Continue reading →

We have seen in the Rule that there comes a time when it is best for everyone to excommunicate a person from fellowship.  This is still a “hard saying” for a permissive culture like ours to accept. But when we … Continue reading →

Chapter 28 of the Rule summarizes the redemptive actions taken by the community toward a member who is refusing to keep the covenant and be a contributing member of the fellowship. If after the described measures have been taken, and … Continue reading →

Chapters 26 and 27 of the Rule give us a picture of how excommunicated persons are to be treated.  If we read Chapter 26 in isolation, it might seem that the person is to be shunned and left pretty much … Continue reading →

We continue our look at Benedict’s counsel regarding excommunication.  Chapters 23-25 combine to help us do this. Clearly, excommunication is the final stage in a process.  There are at least three steps which precede it:  two private meetings and one … Continue reading →

People outside the church look at us and sometimes say, “I would not want to be part of any group that kicks people out.”  The world views excommunication in this way.  But the Rule of Benedict makes it clear that … Continue reading →

Many small groups and larger faith communities struggle with how to arrange for a proper and orderly exit of participants who cease to thrive and/or contribute to life together.  Our failure to do this often ends up trying to advance … Continue reading →

Chapter 22 of the Rule is not something most of us ever have to think about.  We don’t sleep every evening in large groups.  But the monks had to do it, so Benedict is faithful to describe how even their … Continue reading →

The abbot or abbess knew they could not care properly for a community without help.  So, in Chapter 21 of the Rule there is provision to recruit deans to serve as under-shepherds.  The purpose was that a pastoral atmosphere would … Continue reading →

Chapter 20 in the Rule strikes me as a kind of “pause” from the sea of details which Benedict has given about the daily worship of the community.  For whatever reasons, he seems to feel it’s time to remind his … Continue reading →

There is no indication in the Rule as to why Benedict chose to order the daily services as he did.  But chapters 9-19 provide a detailed ordering of the community’s corporate worship.  While most of us will not arrange our … Continue reading →

Chapter Eight of the Rule has this interesting phrase, “it seems reasonable.”  If that were the only golden nugget in the Rule, I would still want to make an appointment with St. Benedict in heaven and say, “Thank you.” I … Continue reading →

The Rule of Benedict takes a turn as we enter Chapter 8.  Indeed, from now through chapter 70 there is a different tone.  It is the tone of “taking care of business.”  Thumbing through the pages quickly lets us know … Continue reading →

After several brief chapters in the Rule, Benedict writes a rather lengthy and detailed Chapter Seven on “Humility.”  It is a chapter based in paradox:  the way “upward” to God is the way”downward” in humility.  We ascend by descending. Using … Continue reading →

We are drowning in a sea of words.  I rarely come to an intersection without seeing a person next to me, or a person driving through the intersection on their mobile phone.  And that doesn’t even begin to touch the … Continue reading →

When I read the Rule for the first time, I was surprised to learn that grumbling was considered a major sin in monastic communities.  But when you read Benedict’s words (ch 5), it is clear why this is so. Grumbling … Continue reading →

Chapter 5 in Benedict’s Rule describes “unhesitating obedience” (5:1) This is the mark of our humility, for anything other than immediate response is a sign that our ego is still in control to some degree.  The false self is still … Continue reading →

Chapter 4 of the Rule shows how the monastery is to be a kind of “school” of holiness.  The basis for every action mentioned in the chapter are the two great commandments:  loving God and loving neighbor.  Every movement associated … Continue reading →

We hear a lot about “visionary leadership” today.  And, God knows, we need it!  But do we know what it is that we “need”? In some circles visionary leaders claim that they are the only ones through whom the vision … Continue reading →

The Rule moves quickly from the kind of monk who benefits the monastery to the kind of abbot who leads the community.  Benedict knew that the quality of any community is directly related to its leadership. Benedictine leadership is defined … Continue reading →

Chapter One of the Rule describes four kinds of monks.  At first glance, this chapter seems to have very little to do with us.  But it raises an essential element in our spiritual formation:  stability. Stability is the quality that … Continue reading →

We have finally made our way to the end of the Prologue in The Rule of St. Benedict. Our exploration of this document is going to be akin to “a long obedience in the same direction.”  But it is better … Continue reading →

The responsiveness which we spoke of last week must be guarded, lest it turn into pride.  The temptation to take credit for the things we do is always at hand.  Benedict says that “while these temptations were still young, he … Continue reading →

In verses 8-21 of the Prologue, Benedict writes an extended commentary on one theme: responsiveness.  Attentiveness evolves into action—what Eugene Peterson calls, “lived theology.” The simple way Benedict describes it is thus, “Let us get up then, at long last, … Continue reading →