'Rule of St. Benedict'
I heartily apologize for not listing Sources or References attributed to these gems for assimilating. I read two to three books at a time, daily scripture and commentaries, the breviary, bulletins, Vatican Information Service daily, postal mail, Internet Favorites, a few weeklies, newsletters and newspapers, and have for years hence…well, you see my point! (You are invited to click Read! Read! Read! and see for yourself!)
I never dreamed that I would be able to share this wonderful verbiage on this link and now, alas, I cannot go back and find all! Just enjoy and know that He is whom we seek by any verbiage we can read, apostolic action we can do and hearts that know no bounds in seeking Him, our Bread of Life and Source of all that is Right and Good.
The function of Benedictine Spirituality is simply the cultivation of monastic mindfulness.
Out of silence, the Rule implies, comes gentleness and patience and good work and seriousness of purpose and consciousness of the essence of life.
Rituals and customs are ways to see the connection between the human and the holy: something done to raise the ordinary parts of life to signs of life’s extraordinary blessings and graces.
The Rule…how to live with others, how to deal with life’s normal demands, and to develop a spiritual life capable of living in the real world and being attentive to the Spirit at the same time.
The right ordering of an institution, the right handling of its possessions, the right employment of time, the right respect for its members are profoundly significant for this is the certain base on which the structure rests
St Benedict of Nursia (480-554) recognized that our life journeys take a long time and that if we can order them a bit, find a rhythm and a balance to our lives, we can glorify God for the long-term journey.
The Rule of Benedict sets out to make the normal and natural the stepping stones of the holy.
Focusing on the universal call to holiness; steps along the path of spiritual living – silence, solitude, prayer, reading, meditation, journal-keeping, contemplation, and mutual service. Contemplation and a life of action go together. The more I receive in prayer, the more I can give.
Silence reminds me to take my soul with me wherever I go.
Become skilled in recognizing biblical passages in the day’s events and in interpreting its significance for your spiritual life.
Morning Prayer can give you insight into the coming day, same advice on how to live the day…look back at the end of the day, how it manifested itself. Do this regularly so that you, as you awake, first remind yourself this is a day that God will be with you at all times.
Your convent will be the house of the sick; your cell, a rented room; your chapel, the parish church, your cloister, the streets of the city or the wards of the hospital; your enclosure, obedience; your grille, the fear of God; your veil, your holy modesty. St. Vincent de Paul to the 1st Daughter of Charity
We find God by uncovering our own truth; it is in this search for God that we can better discover who we are.
Statio is the practice of stopping one thing before we begin another.
Lectio – sacred reading does not set out to teach; it sets out to enlighten.
Stewardship – another tool of the spiritual craft. If a thing still works, we keep it and we use it gently so that it will work indefinitely. It it’s broken, we repair it, and if it’s usable, we develop it, and if it’s available, we share it.
Silence leaves us at the mercy of the noise within us.
We hear the fears that need to be faced.
We hear the angers that need to be cooled.
We hear the emptiness that needs to be filled.
We hear the cries of humility and reconciliation and centeredness.
We hear ambition and arrogance and attitudes of uncaring awash in the shallows of the soul.
Silence heals what hoarding and running will not touch.
Contemplative consciousness…life is an excursion in consciousness and quality and calm. Life lived with a passion for all its parts lead us to a sense of harmony. Peace comes from not allowing any part of us to consume the rest of us. Peace comes when we end the war within ourselves.
St. Benedict says that every pot and pan in the monastery should be treated like the sacred vessels of the altar.
Benedictine Spirituality is the spirituality for the 21st century because it deals with issues facing us now - stewardship, relationships, authority, community, balance, work, simplicity, prayer & spirituality, and psychological development. It offers a way of life and an attitude of mind.