ST HARDINI, MARONITE SAINT AND MONK and ST BENEDICT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
In reading it, the first point to remember is that Benedict’s rule is about people. It is a social rule, written in a time where people still interacted, face to face, requiring charity. There were no faceless media, other than letters, to strip charity from the words of people (unlike today, where it is often so violently presented on the internet). In dealing with others, St. Benedict suggests that charity is key, stressing that it is “better to keep silent than to speak of all these and their disgraceful way of life.” The saint even goes so far as to recommend silence over giving praise. He believed that words do indeed have meaning, and should be carefully chosen so as to neither inflate the ego, nor detract from charity. In addition, Benedict lists the different kinds of monks—those which were trustworthy and those not so—realizing something that much of our current world misses.
The foundation for a culture or society is not an idea; it is a communion of persons. Though it is impossible to separate ideas from a society; it is not possible to have a society or a culture without people. Therefore, Benedict’s rule is primarily a civil, communal rule on how to live charitably in a society of people with whom you may or may not like. Simply put, it is a rule on how to deal with people when they are being people.
Another contrast can be seen in the fact that the United States is a country founded upon rebellion, celebrating rebellion of any sort. If one asked the country, as a whole: “What are you rebelling against?” its collective response might be: “What’ve you got?” This celebration of rebellion extends today to other countries, as well, most recently demonstrated by the street riots in Canada and London. This is the antithesis of Benedictine obedience. Benedict’s rule celebrates obedience. The saint connects obedience with humility, two virtues seriously lacking in the world today. Both of these qualities admit, selflessly, that “there are others out there who know more than I do.” Today, on the other hand, it is sufficient, apparently, to qualify as an “expert” by merely having a blog and reading two, poorly-written, news articles, lacking particulars of any real substance.
Another point about the rule is that nowhere does it imply that anyone must forego their own free will in order to follow God, or St. Benedict’s rule, for that matter. It is exactly the opposite. Obedience is a celebration and glorification of one’s free will, in that it takes more of one’s free will to obey than it does to rebel against it.
Perhaps, the main way the St. Benedict, and his rule, most contradict the world is that, unlike the world, he is concerned with a balanced life of work and prayer (ora et labora). This contradicts a trend represented by the fact that supermarkets and stores remain open, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This mirrors a culture where some would choose to remain perpetually awake if they could. Perpetual hyperactivity is revered in our world today, making it a virtue to the extent that, if one is not in perpetual motion, then guilt ensues. Rest is equated with the vice of laziness. Excessive work—taking a person from family, friends, and fun—is made “holy.” As a result of this confusion, most people in America now work at their play, play at their worship, and worship their work. It has become a world that has lost the rhythm of life—which might explain the need by so many to listen perpetually to music,an attempt to re-establish the missing natural rhythm with an artificial one.
The rule, on the other hand, sets out for the reader how to pray, what to pray, and when to pray, making an allowance for personal devotions and prayer. Likewise, the rule sets times for work, leaving the specifics of that work to the particular community. Like the monks of old, who saved western civilization after the fall and destruction of Rome by the barbarians, another opportunity has emerged. A new dark age is coming to fruition where modernity—post-modernity, progress for progress’ sake, and relativism—have sacked the civilization which the monks saved centuries prior. Literacy is being replaced by proficiency in watching videos. In place of book learning, we have reality TV. Religion is being replaced by superstition. The question now is: “How many decades till classical learning retreats back into the halls and oratories of the monasteries where they shall wait for the fires of Rome to die?”
What is certain is that once the smoke clears, it will be the monks, the culture, and learning—once held so dear—rising from the ash, once again bringing sanity back to the world. Just one day before the death of Pope John Paul II, the then Cardinal Ratzinger spoke of St. Benedict, addressing the crisis of culture in Europe. The future Benedict XVI was receiving the St. Benedict Award for the promotion of life and family throughout Europe. He said: We need men like Benedict of Norcia, who at a time of dissipation and decadence, plunged into the most profound solitude, succeeding, after all the purifications he had to suffer, to ascend again to the light, to return and to found Montecasino, the city on the mountain that, with so many ruins, gathered together the forces from which a new world was formed. In this way Benedict, like Abraham, became the father of many nations. The recommendations to his monks, presented at the end of his “Rule,” are guidelines that show us also the way that leads on high, beyond the crisis and the ruins.
In brief, Benedict’s Rule is not burdensome and impractical, but the contrary. His rules lead one to freedom, assisting people to do what they must and ought. Furthermore, his rule is practical wisdom, not only for monks, but for a world which despises wisdom. It is, in simplistic terms, “a guide for dummies” who live in a society. This world shuns moderation while embracing everything “x-treme.” But we would all do well to learn from the wisdom of this Italian, sixth century monk, who is most practical, most moderate, and according to modern thinking, therefore, quite extreme.
About Paul Catalanotto the author of this article:
Paul Catalanotto teaches theology at Pope John XXIII High School in Katy, Texas. He has articles published in Gilbert Magazine, New Oxford Review, and on CatholicExchange.com. Paul is currently working on an essay involving Tolkien’s The Hobbit
Read more at MONKS AND MERMAIDS (A Benedictine Blog)
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