Benedict's Rule and the True Self
Wake Up
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
I’m a man of routine, and almost every morning, at 6:00 AM, my alarm clock radio wakes me. For a few minutes I try to deny reality and keep sleeping, but after a bit I slowly wake up while listening to the radio. “I really should get up,” I think, as I pull the covers tighter over me, “But, just a few more minutes.” Then the moment of . . .
Listen
Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
The first word is listen. Before Benedict says anything else, he asks us to listen. The prologue of Benedict's Rule begins, saying, "Listen carefully, my child,
to the master's instructions,and attend to them with the ear of your heart." Think of the teacher, waiting at the front of the class for everyone to quiet, . . .
Humility
Monks have a practice called kneeling out. If one of them makes a mistake during their daily prayers, he kneels at the finish until everyone has left. For example, if the one leading the singing makes the mistake of being on the wrong Psalm and throws off their gathered prayer, then when they are done he goes to the middle of the chapel . . .
Stability
In one of the monasteries I visited, after evening prayer one of the monks met the guests outside the chapel and mentioned to us that one of the guests was singing very loudly and throwing the monks' singing off. He was nice about it, but he asked us to do our best to listen and blend in with the monks' singing. Then he said, . . .
Creativity
At the entrance area to Saddleback Church's worship center was a collection of art. I wasn't able to completely understand the story behind it, but from what I gathered they were an exhibit of different pieces depicting the lives/stories of street people. I don't normally think as megachurches as places of creative . . .
Celebration
Back in July, I complained on Twitter that a bunch of teenagers had descended on my quiet Iona hotel. A friend replied, in jest, "Well, Iona is kinda a party place, right?" Religious pilgrimage destinations aren't typically known for their wild celebrations, but celebration was a common theme among places I visited in the . . .