I finished reading the Rule of St. Benedict today during my Holy Hour and I’ve come away with a few thoughts on the Rule.
When I first began reading the Rule, it seemed very rigid and very cold, especially when reading about humility, obedience, and restraint of speech. But as I moved passed the first chapters which seemed to stress principles, and went beyond the middle chapters in regards to the liturgy of the hours, I found that the end had much to say about the application of the rule in the every day lives and tasks of the monastery. And in those pages I found a rich abundance of mercy, love, and joy! The charity and the community that the Rule calls for is not what you would expect in the beginning when St. Benedict says that you must regard yourself is lower than a worm, and than causing laughter is essentially a bad thing.
Like a life of Christian virtue, one may be tempted to give up on examining the Rule in the beginning because it seems hard, and kind of depressing. But if one gives the Rule a chance and goes higher up and further in, one sees the beauty, love, generosity, and brotherhood that the Rule seeks to foster.
Though I need a little more prayer, I am becoming more and more convinced that I at least need to try the Rule out.
In a monastery.
