This week Sr. Marcia Ziska and I spoke to a class of
Benedictine College freshmen about what St. Benedict has to teach us about
being a follower of Christ. In preparation, I made a list of ten things that St.
Benedict believed, based on his Rule and insights from the book Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict by
Esther de Waal. Coincidentally, I also begin my formal study of the Rule this
week with Sr. Cecilia Olson and several members of the Mount community. It will
be interesting to pull out this list next May and see if I would make any
changes!
Ten Things That St. Benedict Believed
1. God’s presence is everywhere, and it is our job
to seek it out.
2. We must seek God with urgency, because we don’t
know how much time we have to do so before we die.
3. Christ should be the center of our life, and
because we belong to the Body of Christ, our search for God must take place in
community with others.
4. Seeking God means listening to the voice of God
and following it, so we are led along the path of God’s will rather than our
own.
5. When we live in obedience to God’s word, we will
act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with our God, as summarized by the
prophet Micah.
6. Loving tenderly means offering hospitality to
others as if we were encountering Christ himself.
7. Walking humbly with our God means that we
practice humility. Humility means knowing who we are: a beloved child of God
with special gifts. It also means knowing that everyone else is also a beloved
child of God with special gifts. Therefore, pride has no place in the life of a
Christian; gratitude does.
8.
Flexibility and moderation are important;
everyone should receive according to his or her need, the strong should have
something to yearn for, and the weak should have nothing to run from.
9.
In the life of a Christian, a balance between
prayer, work, and study is important.
10.
We should always work toward conversion of life,
recognizing that God is always calling us to growth and new life.
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