Today is the feast day of St. Benedict, who as a young man around 20 years old, left his studies and life in Rome to seek a “place” – both in his heart and in a quiet location – where he could truly commit to following Christ.
The words above are from the first sentence of the rule he wrote for monks. His Rule of Life laid out a simple but practical way for them to listen to the voice of God in the ora (prayer) and labora (work) of their days. He spoke of obedience (the Latin root means listen), humility, and silence. These virtues, or habits of acting, invite one to a way of attending to God.
You might wonder what Benedict and his rule could possibly say about hope in a time of corona. After all, our world is very different from 5th-6th century western Europe. Or is it? Violence, lax living, and political wrangling were rampant. And the very first known pandemic, known as the Justiniac plague, was raging. Life and health were fragile. Sound familiar?
As we move through waves and surges of COVID 19, societal tensions, and military conflicts across continents, many of us, too, struggle to find a place where we might hear Christ. Benedict didn’t run away from the discontent of his time, but set the foundation for a way of life built on attending (listening) to God with the heart. His impact on the world has continued for fifteen hundred plus years through the lives of men and women religious, oblates, and lay who have placed themselves under Benedict’s Rule.
In the stress of our lives, what foundation, what Rule guides and invites us to listen with the ears of our heart – where we will indeed find hope.
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