Yesterday, during
an interview for a vocation video, I was asked what I value about Benedictine
spirituality. The first things that came to mind were hospitality—the continual
opportunity to see and encounter Christ in guests and in community members—as
well as cultivation of the awareness of God’s presence through prayer. As I
thought about it further, I was somewhat surprised to realize how much I value
the Benedictine quality of love of learning.
I have had a
lifelong love affair with words, so it makes sense for me to follow a Rule that
gives the best part of the day to reading. Although Benedictines take a vow of
stability, our minds are free to encounter the wisdom of other times, cultures,
and peoples through books, classes, workshops, speakers, and videos. Just in
the past several months I have visited Egypt through a class on Desert
Spirituality; the southern United States through a workshop on Flannery O’Connor;
Honduras and Mexico through the stories of guest speakers who spoke about immigration;
and the outer reaches of the universe through Richard Rohr’s book The Universal Christ.
Although I was
sad to give up the bulk of my personal library when I joined the monastery, I
have discovered that my access to the great hall of learning, the Body of
Christ, is unlimited. God truly does make all things new, and the love of
learning takes us to fresh and surprising places. As G.K. Chesterton said, “There
are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people.”
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