One of the criticisms that is aimed at the Catholic tradition by many Protestants is that there is too much focus on tradition, the saints, etc and not enough emphasis on Jesus. Yet Benedictine spirituality, however, and The Rule of St. Benedict more specifically, is deeply Christ-centered. The opening paragraphs of The Rule is an encouragement for the monastic brothers to be “armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord” (Rule. Prologue 3). In chapter one we find this wonderful statement about the intention of the Benedictine way of life, “let us walk in His ways, guided by the Gospel.” As we follow the way of St. Benedict, we in turn follow the way of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1). This Christ-centered focus should be our aim in all manner of life. The purpose of the monastic way of life is to surrender one’s will to the will of Christ and to “seek first the kingdom of God”. Truly this is the call of all who follow Jesus. Yet it is seen most acutely in the monastic experience.
The Christ centered nature of Benedictine spirituality is seen throughout The Rule: A basic structure for living in community, oriented around the Opus Dei (the work of God) in the Divine Office, which is the standard daily structure prayer for monastics. Even amidst the work of daily tasks, Benedictine monastics are encouraged to pray. The phrase ora et labora (prayer and work) is associated with Benedictine spirituality even though the phrase does not appear in The Rule. This phrase came into the Benedictine vernacular sometime in the nineteenth century.
For monastics, daily work is essential to the survival and flourishing of the community. These tasks include tending the garden, making meals, baking bread, cleaning, and receiving guests of the monastery, among other tasks. Many Benedictine monasteries, such as St. Bernard Abbey here in Alabama, operates a boarding school which is a large part of the daily work for the monastery. Each of these tasks is encouraged to be Christ-centered in prayer. Too often we in modern Western society, see our work as mundane and even separate from the rest of our lives. Benedictine spirituality, however, calls us to redeem our work no matter how mundane and to see it as the work of God. as St. Paul reminds us “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do do it all for the glory of God” (see 1 Corinthians 10:31).
Values of simplicity and obedience also point Benedictine spirituality toward Christ-centeredness. More will be shared on this in future articles, but for now we will touch on them briefly. Simplicity is not a word that is synonymous with modern Western culture. Jesus himself modeled for us a life focused on simplicity. He was born to, at the time, an unknown family in a rural community in Nazareth. The Scriptures even mention that he “had nowhere to lay his head” (see Matthew 8:20 and Luke 9:58). Simplicity, however, doesn’t necessarily mean poverty. In fact Benedictine monks do not take a vow of poverty, as do other monks. Instead they strive toward simplicity seeking to shirk the tendencies of a consumer culture by depending on the community for their basic daily needs. Simplicity allows us to live within our means which provides space for us to focus on Christ.
Obedience is another “nasty” word in our culture of “expressive individualism” (see The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Truman). Nobody likes to be told what to do, particularly in our culture, which values freedom and liberty. Yet the fact of the matter is we all live under authority; children to parents and leadership at school, workers operate under the authority of their boss, and citizens live under the leadership of the government both the local and national. Even in the church we are under the authority of our pastors (bishops, elders, etc.). And all creation is under the authority of God. The call in each of these relationships is toward obedience.
To be clear, obedience is not blind. Blind obedience fosters tyranny, and our good God is not a tyrant. The kind of obedience set forth and Benedictine spirituality is drawn out by love and trust. For monastics, obedience keeps order in the community. The abbott is the leader in Shepherd of the community. The community obeys the abbott as though he were Jesus. The Rule of St. Benedict even encourages the brothers to receive all guests as though they were Jesus and himself (Rule. 53). This all sounds strange to us as products of modern Western society. Yet this is our call as well. If we hope to live our lives centered on Christ then we must lovingly obey those in authority over our lives as though they were Christ. All authority is delegated by God and we are called to live in obedience under it so long as it does not lead us away from following Jesus (see Romans 13).
The Benedictine values of simplicity and obedience allow us space in order to focus on Jesus through prayer and our work. Too often people claim that they do not have time for prayer. Simplicity allows us to see where we have cluttered our lives too much with things that distract us from the call to which we have in prayer. If we do not have time in our lives for prayer then it is time to simplify and make room. Reevaluate how we spend our time and prioritize rhythms of prayer and scripture through the daily office and lectio divinia (again more on that will be forthcoming). We cannot hear and obey the voice of the Lord if we do not take the time to listen which is why rhythms of Silence are so important as well (See our recent articles series on this topic).
Christ-centered living is not easy. We are called daily to “deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus” (see Matthew 16:24). The way of Saint Benedict calls us to the way of Jesus and calls us to “take up our cross” through prayer and work. As we pray we commune with our creator, and we are strengthened to do the work that he has given us to do (see the BCP Post Communion Prayer). As we labor at our work to which we have been called, we help prepare ourselves and the world for the day when all things will be made new.
Magna Dei Gloria
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