While the spirituality of the Rule of Benedict is multifaceted, there are two basic principles of Benedictine spirituality that have been identified by the followers of Saint Benedict. The first is that the divine presence is everywhere. This is emphasized throughout the Rule of Benedict, both in that God sees all things, and that because of the presence of God, the posture of the brothers is to always be one of obedience and awe. For Benedict, the presence of God is all encompassing and expansive. The whole of human life is laid open before God, and it is in light of that reality of the divine presence that the constant calls of the Rule to abstain from laziness are to be understood (cf. Rom. 13:11-13).
The second principle is that Christ is encountered in others. “To love Christ above all else” (RB 4.21) is the ultimate goal of Benedictine spirituality. This goal is sought out through submission to the abbot and to one another as unto Christ (RB 2), and through hospitality to the stranger in whom Christ himself is welcomed (RB 53). While there are clearly authoritarian elements in Benedict’s account of the relationship between the abbot and the brothers in the monastery (cf. RB 63, 68), it should be remembered that Benedict’s understanding of the presence of Christ being mediated through other persons (rather than solely through the Eucharist, the priesthood, etc.) is distinctive in its historical context. Moreover, Benedict is clear that the abbot is accorded honor on the basis of the love of Christ, not because of the abbot’s own “assumption of dignity” (RB 63).
Another central element, or rather the overarching context of Benedictine spirituality is the monastic profession: the vows into which a brother or sister would enter in coming into the community. The Benedictine vow was a three-fold commitment to conversatio (conversion, or the submission to the shape of monastic life), obedientia (obedience, chiefly to the abbot), and stabilitas (the commitment to stay among the community for the rest of one’s life). These vows were entered into as a way of establishing the context necessary for proper growth in holiness, contemplation, and worship of God. Central to the Benedictine life was the total sharing of all things in common, renouncing possessions and self-determination entirely, seeking instead to learn obedience, humility, and service.
The Benedictine vision of rejecting private ownership – which Benedict firmly brands as a vice (see RB 33) – was central to Benedictine spirituality as well. While the Benedictines were not a mendicant order such as the Franciscans who gave up possessions altogether, the Benedictine vision called for the complete rejection of private ownership and the holding of all possessions in common. This form of life in common, rejecting autonomy and private possessions continues to present the church with a prophetic witness that needs to be heard, especially in our culture of commoditization. Fortunately, in the last few years there has been an increased appreciation for this witness within the protestant church.
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