The Qualifications of the Cellarer, or What We Do with What We Have.
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
No one, at first glance, thinks, “Oh good, this part is going to be a real page-turner.” Chapter 31 is a detailed qualifications description for the Monastery Cellarer, which sounds like reading doubling as a sleeping pill. For Benedict, though, there is nothing dull about the Cellarer’s duties. The Cellarer is one who manages the goods . . .
Excommunication
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
Here’s a big scary word for you: excommunication. I never think, “I really need to work on the excommunication policies for my church,” because we don’t really have those types of rules. Chapters 23-29 of the Rule of St. Benedict deal with just that, how to handle those in the community who have committed serious faults and when they . . .
How They Are to Sleep
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
In ancient times, when I was a college student, some in my church had hopes of creating a young adult/college student ministry. People occasionally asked me about it, but I didn’t make any commitments. My response was, “I’m around college students all the time. I come to church so I can be around other groups, too.” It’s natural for . . .
Appointing Deans in the Monastery
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
Churches often don’t make thoughtful choices about leadership. Usually churches use the “find a warm body” approach to leadership selection. A job needs filling and the church has anxiety about filling it, and whoever can be stuck there is the person chosen for the job. At the other extreme, someone has been in a job a very long time, . . .
Less is More
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
I know the road between Northwest Indiana (where I live), and Missouri (where my family lives) pretty well. I’ve passed through Effingham, Illinois, where I-70 meets I-57, several dozen times. If you’ve gone through there you know besides several places to eat, fuel up, or stay the night, there is also a really big cross there. If you’ve . . .
How to Behave in the Presence of God and the Angels
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
At one monastic stop last summer, a guest forgot to silence her cellphone. Probably everyone who carries a phone knows the feeling of the phone ringing in an inappropriate moment. I can’t imagine a worse place, though, than the middle of a monastery church. The phone sounded out through the silence of dozens of monks and guests in quiet . . .
When to Say "Alleluia"
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
I don’t know a thing about being married. Other than observing a bunch of marriages as an outsider, I have no insider experience on being married. Others tell me, though--and it makes sense--that there are certain practices that make for a stronger marriage. There are many of them, and I’m guessing different practices work for different . . .