A monk at St. Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana said to me, "We've been living by the Rule of St. Benedict for 1500 years. Something must be working."He was speaking of the Rule that Benedict, an Italian monk, created in the sixth century. If you're curious, you can read it all here. The Rule guides their daily living, when to pray, who takes care of what, etc. Some of it is mundane (how much food each monk should get), some of it is beautiful. Basically, it's the rules for their life together.
I'm curious as to what the Rule is we live by. What are the practices or rules which make for faithful living? Whether we're in a monastery or living in the midst of the world, we all live by a rule. It may even be unacknowledged, but there is a rule that guides our living.
I'm using the summer of 2014 to study this. Thanks to the generosity of my congregation and the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program I'm able to spend the summer studying how monasteries,churches, and Christian communities live by a rule. This blog is my way of sharing what I learn along the way.