Reflections
on the Rule of St Benedict: Introduction
(please scroll down for daily reflections)
We wanted the Rule of St Benedict (RB) to pulse through the website as
it does through our life, hence the decision that the daily portion of the Rule,
read in most Benedictine monasteries and by many individuals, should feature on
the Home Page. The version selected is that of Dom Justin McCann of Ampleforth
published by the Stanbrook Abbey Press in 1937 and used by kind permission of
the Ampleforth Abbey Trust. There are several reasons for this choice: first of
all, we feel it still reads as an elegant translation, then we wish to
celebrate cooperation between the Ampleforth and Stanbrook communities over
many years, and thirdly, perhaps the old-fashioned ‘thees’ and ‘thous’ can actually
help us approach the Rule of St Benedict thoughtfully. For all its relevance,
RB remains an ancient text which needs careful ‘unpacking’.
To accompany the extracts of the Rule we hope to post regular reflections, from
members of the Stanbrook Community and Stanbrook Oblates. These do not aim to
be scholarly commentaries of which there are many excellent editions available.
Rather, the reflections allow us to re-visit the Rule, to try to listen to its
familiar voice anew, and to share thoughts via this forum.
Your comments are welcome via secretary@stanbrookabbey.org.uk
Website Reflections May-Sept 2022
Reflections for this cycle are by Mary Cockroft, an oblate of Stanbrook
CHAPTER 3 CONSULTING THE COMMUNITY
MAY 17 – 18
I do not have a community to consult,
but this chapter has much to tell all of us about the value of listening to
others’ opinions and really hearing what they say. If we run our choices and more
important decisions past others it may help us to reflect more deeply and
discern more prayerfully. Do we value the different approaches that our
friends, our colleagues, our parents, even our children may offer? I love the
way Benedict reminds us that the young may have insights. Experience is
valuable, but the young may see clearly through to what is important and will
possibly be less hesitant to say what they think.
Do we value the views, not only of
those younger than ourselves, but different from us in other ways? Whom have we
classed as unimportant… the ‘wrong’ age, the ‘wrong’ colour, the ‘wrong’
educational background, the ‘wrong’ social status…?
Are we allowing God to speak to us
where we are, through the people whose lives touch ours?
Ultimately our decisions are our
responsibility, but where is God in my decision-making process? Have I
discussed things with Him? Have I recalled a bit of Scripture or the Rule which
might help? Does my decision reflect my desire to love God and others by using
my gifts in service? Will it enable me to grow in friendship with the Lord? Or
is it all about ME? What I want, what I think is best?
CHAPTER 4 THE TOOLS OF GOOD WORKS
MAY 19
Do my eyes glaze as I skip down this
list of things I haven’t done recently – killed anyone, committed adultery,
stolen anything, coveted others’ possessions (really not?), borne false
witness…
Stop! Have I honoured every human being?
Have respect for everyone? (1 Peter 2:17)
Am I dealing firmly with the instinct
to prioritise my own desires and ambitions, and thus becoming more free to follow
Christ?
And of course, am I putting nothing
before the love of Christ? That is the motivation for my response to this whole
chapter.
There are far too many tools in this
chapter, even when split up over 4 days, for most of us to take on board at
once. It may be helpful just to focus on one or two for each day, areas calling
for spiritual growth. For me personally this May 19th, offering support and
accompaniment to the sick, the sorrowing, those who are a bit down about life,
is one of those.
So just take one or two, start small,
take it slowly, but start!
MAY 20
Again, there are around 20 excellent
tools here for how to live at peace with others and to avoid excess in one’s
personal life. I would suggest taking a mindful moment, then calmly asking God
to be alongside as I read them and to show me which he wants me to focus on
today. Which needs to grow right now in my spiritual life? Be open to His
choice!
And place all your hope in God. You
are not alone on the journey. Ever. Not for a moment does God abandon us to
cope alone with our mistakes, temptations, tendencies, confusions.
MAY 21
Today, too, I would choose from among
all these excellent tools the one I personally need most. I am going to admit
that I always prefer to skip over these thoughts of death, but the recent
unexpected death of a friend has focused my mind on the quality of my living
and the prioritising of what I believe to be the ultimate goal of the journey.
Greater clarity about the journey is a gift from God we may recognise at
moments of loss, and His gifts are always for our growth.
It is good to be reminded to cast
despair and temptation at the feet of Christ and to know we can trust his
compassionate support. Perhaps there is something bothering me right now which
I could bring to Christ?
Today we are also reminded of the
need we each have for a spiritual support system including personal prayer,
reading scripture, meeting Christ in the Gospels. Some people are better at
getting organised than I am, I don’t cope well with rigid structures. That
means, however, I have to be more creative each day with how I am going to
listen to the Lord at the heart of my life. God can most certainly cope with each
individually expressed relationship with Him. Beating oneself up because one
has yet again not managed to fulfil a rigid list of prayer targets is NOT
helpful! What will help me grow today in friendship with Christ?
MAY 22
More things to search my life for.
Does one leap off the page today?
The crucial one for me is the
culminating moment of this chapter – never despair of God’s mercy. I will get
things wrong, I will make mistakes, I will wish I hadn’t said this, done that,
failed to help…I am human. BUT…
The Lord is compassion
and love,
Slow to anger, and rich in mercy...
He
does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our
faults. (Ps 102)
I note the everyday-ness of all these
tools. It may help to see them not so much as restrictions (negative) but as
gifts (positive). They deal with the
nitty-gritty of daily living alongside others, of co-operating with people,
some of whom one may wish the Lord had not put in our lives. But there they are,
and my vocation is to accept them and love them with an open heart as I would
wish to be accepted and loved myself. I am called to seek peace and pursue it,
with the help of Benedict’s tools.
CHAPTER 5 OBEDIENCE
MAY 23 – 24
Obedience is the first step of
humility, and humility is going to occupy the whole of Chapter 7 of course.
Obedience outside a monastic setting perhaps calls for me to reflect on how I
discern what is God’s will in my life, and what is mine, and whether the two
are compatible. We pray often, possibly on auto-pilot, ‘Thy will be done’, but
to what extent are we actually open to what this involves, not just in major
decisions, which we don’t often face, but in the minutiae of our undramatic
lives?
Are my skills of
discernment honed by regular (daily?) discussion with God about how my life is
going? Am I reluctant to do what I am
reasonably sure God wants me to do? Why? Maybe it would be good to list my
reasons and pray about them. Remember: Life is not about me!
Or am I doing what I
think God wants me to do, but with an audible sigh, a slamming of doors,
clenched teeth, and an air of martyrdom? It is possible that God does not ask
me to volunteer to help Ukrainian refugees, but wants me to look at the current
circumstances of my life and spot that I can be of service by sitting
unglamorously with the relative who is wheel-chair-bound, extremely demanding
and mega-ungrateful for my help. Maybe He is asking me to go the extra mile for
a neighbour I barely know, a friend with problems, a neighbour, a young
relative I haven’t seen for far too long.
I might ask God today
to be alongside me as I look at my life for all the little ways he would like
me to serve with a gentle heart, and to grow in love. St Thérèse of Lisieux is
probably our best model!
CHAPTER 3 CONSULTING THE COMMUNITY
MAY 17 – 18
I do not have a community to consult,
but this chapter has much to tell all of us about the value of listening to
others’ opinions and really hearing what they say. If we run our choices and more
important decisions past others it may help us to reflect more deeply and
discern more prayerfully. Do we value the different approaches that our
friends, our colleagues, our parents, even our children may offer? I love the
way Benedict reminds us that the young may have insights. Experience is
valuable, but the young may see clearly through to what is important and will
possibly be less hesitant to say what they think.
Do we value the views, not only of
those younger than ourselves, but different from us in other ways? Whom have we
classed as unimportant… the ‘wrong’ age, the ‘wrong’ colour, the ‘wrong’
educational background, the ‘wrong’ social status…?
Are we allowing God to speak to us
where we are, through the people whose lives touch ours?
Ultimately our decisions are our
responsibility, but where is God in my decision-making process? Have I
discussed things with Him? Have I recalled a bit of Scripture or the Rule which
might help? Does my decision reflect my desire to love God and others by using
my gifts in service? Will it enable me to grow in friendship with the Lord? Or
is it all about ME? What I want, what I think is best?
CHAPTER 4 THE TOOLS OF GOOD WORKS
MAY 19
Do my eyes glaze as I skip down this
list of things I haven’t done recently – killed anyone, committed adultery,
stolen anything, coveted others’ possessions (really not?), borne false
witness…
Stop! Have I honoured every human being?
Have respect for everyone? (1 Peter 2:17)
Am I dealing firmly with the instinct
to prioritise my own desires and ambitions, and thus becoming more free to follow
Christ?
And of course, am I putting nothing
before the love of Christ? That is the motivation for my response to this whole
chapter.
There are far too many tools in this
chapter, even when split up over 4 days, for most of us to take on board at
once. It may be helpful just to focus on one or two for each day, areas calling
for spiritual growth. For me personally this May 19th, offering support and
accompaniment to the sick, the sorrowing, those who are a bit down about life,
is one of those.
So just take one or two, start small,
take it slowly, but start!
MAY 20
Again, there are around 20 excellent
tools here for how to live at peace with others and to avoid excess in one’s
personal life. I would suggest taking a mindful moment, then calmly asking God
to be alongside as I read them and to show me which he wants me to focus on
today. Which needs to grow right now in my spiritual life? Be open to His
choice!
And place all your hope in God. You
are not alone on the journey. Ever. Not for a moment does God abandon us to
cope alone with our mistakes, temptations, tendencies, confusions.
MAY 21
Today, too, I would choose from among
all these excellent tools the one I personally need most. I am going to admit
that I always prefer to skip over these thoughts of death, but the recent
unexpected death of a friend has focused my mind on the quality of my living
and the prioritising of what I believe to be the ultimate goal of the journey.
Greater clarity about the journey is a gift from God we may recognise at
moments of loss, and His gifts are always for our growth.
It is good to be reminded to cast
despair and temptation at the feet of Christ and to know we can trust his
compassionate support. Perhaps there is something bothering me right now which
I could bring to Christ?
Today we are also reminded of the
need we each have for a spiritual support system including personal prayer,
reading scripture, meeting Christ in the Gospels. Some people are better at
getting organised than I am, I don’t cope well with rigid structures. That
means, however, I have to be more creative each day with how I am going to
listen to the Lord at the heart of my life. God can most certainly cope with each
individually expressed relationship with Him. Beating oneself up because one
has yet again not managed to fulfil a rigid list of prayer targets is NOT
helpful! What will help me grow today in friendship with Christ?
MAY 22
More things to search my life for.
Does one leap off the page today?
The crucial one for me is the
culminating moment of this chapter – never despair of God’s mercy. I will get
things wrong, I will make mistakes, I will wish I hadn’t said this, done that,
failed to help…I am human. BUT…
The Lord is compassion
and love,
Slow to anger, and rich in mercy...
He
does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our
faults. (Ps 102)
I note the everyday-ness of all these
tools. It may help to see them not so much as restrictions (negative) but as
gifts (positive). They deal with the
nitty-gritty of daily living alongside others, of co-operating with people,
some of whom one may wish the Lord had not put in our lives. But there they are,
and my vocation is to accept them and love them with an open heart as I would
wish to be accepted and loved myself. I am called to seek peace and pursue it,
with the help of Benedict’s tools.
CHAPTER 5 OBEDIENCE
MAY 23 – 24
Obedience is the first step of
humility, and humility is going to occupy the whole of Chapter 7 of course.
Obedience outside a monastic setting perhaps calls for me to reflect on how I
discern what is God’s will in my life, and what is mine, and whether the two
are compatible. We pray often, possibly on auto-pilot, ‘Thy will be done’, but
to what extent are we actually open to what this involves, not just in major
decisions, which we don’t often face, but in the minutiae of our undramatic
lives?
Are my skills of
discernment honed by regular (daily?) discussion with God about how my life is
going? Am I reluctant to do what I am
reasonably sure God wants me to do? Why? Maybe it would be good to list my
reasons and pray about them. Remember: Life is not about me!
Or am I doing what I
think God wants me to do, but with an audible sigh, a slamming of doors,
clenched teeth, and an air of martyrdom? It is possible that God does not ask
me to volunteer to help Ukrainian refugees, but wants me to look at the current
circumstances of my life and spot that I can be of service by sitting
unglamorously with the relative who is wheel-chair-bound, extremely demanding
and mega-ungrateful for my help. Maybe He is asking me to go the extra mile for
a neighbour I barely know, a friend with problems, a neighbour, a young
relative I haven’t seen for far too long.
I might ask God today
to be alongside me as I look at my life for all the little ways he would like
me to serve with a gentle heart, and to grow in love. St Thérèse of Lisieux is
probably our best model!