Learning to Be Part of a Community

I’ve been sick with a cold for the past few days and have been hibernating so I don’t infect others in the community. Thanks to a cousin who gave me a subscription to Apple TV, I’ve been able to watch the TV show Ted Lasso on my laptop during my period of isolation.

Ted is a coach with a unique perspective; he believes his primary job is not to win ball games but to help young men build on their strengths, understand their weaknesses, and become the best person they can be. One member of his team is a hotshot, Jamie, whose father insists that he be the star of the team. Ted, on the other hand, is trying to teach Jamie to be a team player and pass the ball to others, sharing both the glory and the pressure to score.

Jamie needs to learn the Benedictine value of being part of a community. I myself was reminded of a benefit of community life this morning by Sr. Irene Nowell. I saw her in the hallway and told her I tried to go to morning prayer but had to leave because of my cold symptoms, and she said, “Well, that’s why the rest of us are here.” When you live in a Benedictine community, others pray when you cannot, and you pray when others cannot. Life in community is both humbling (when I can’t be there, life goes on) and reassuring (when I can’t be there, life goes on). It’s also comforting to be checked on several times a day by multiple people who invariably say, “Let me know if you need anything,” reflecting another Benedictine value: the primacy of care of the sick.

Illness, although not pleasant, is one of our teachers. This time, what it taught me is that it’s okay to rest. The community has my back and can carry the ball for a while.