Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday - Passing of St Benedict - 21st March 2024
Abbot Paul • March 20, 2024
On this day, in the year 560, St Benedict passed to his eternal reward in his monastery at Monte Cassino, some 150km south of Rome and 120km south of Subiaco, where his first monastery was situated. By the time he died at the age of 80, he had written his Rule for Monks and founded several monasteries. His twin sister, St Scholastica, died before him, having had a marked influence on her brother. It’s interesting to detect the mind of a woman in several chapters of the Rule. For us Benedictines and Cistercians, today is the main feast of St Benedict and the original one, as saints are always remembered on the day that they left this life and entered Paradise. Today is also, traditionally, the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere and in many parts of Europe there are ancient traditions connected with this day and the feast of St Benedict. Today let us pray for monastic communities throughout the world that live according to the Rule of St Benedict and let us pray for all those who are spiritually connected with our monasteries: oblates, parishioners, students, relatives, benefactors, friends, tourists and casual visitors. No one comes to a monastery in vain. Guests are welcomed as Christ.
In some manuscripts of the Holy Rule there is a short sentence, probably not going back to St Benedict himself, which reads, “It is called a rule because it regulates the lives of those who obey it.” As Benedictine monks we try each day to live as closely to the Rule as possible because we know that, by obeying it, it will keep us on the way of the Gospel that alone leads us to God. Our oblates and friends do the same, each in their own way. By obeying the Rule and putting nothing before Christ, we also come to love our neighbour. Who is our neighbour but all those whom God puts on our path: our brethren and our families, guests and those in need, the sick in mind and body, the young and the old, our enemies too. In learning to see Christ in others, we discover him in ourselves. Praying for others, we also pray for ourselves. This is the way of St Benedict, a way of simplicity and austerity, a way of joy and thanksgiving, a way of love and tenderness, a way of caring for creation and all that God created, a way of obedience to God’s will.
One of the monastic values and traditions St Benedict was most keen on was stability. In fact, it is one of the three Benedictine vows. It is a word derived from the Latin verb stare, meaning to stand, to stand still, to stand firm, to remain and to rest. The experts tell us that stability refers essentially to a monk’s standing in choir, in his choir stall, surrounded by his brethren. But it is also a vow that refers not only to staying put in one place. Rather more importantly, it also refers to what we do in this one place, i.e. pray. We pray together in choir, singing God’s praises and listening to his word. But in order to do that well, we have to pray alone and in silence, in our cells or wherever we happen to be. It also means assiduously reading the Bible, studying the Scriptures, ruminating on the Word of God, practising lectio divina, which should always lead to mental prayer or the prayer of silence.
Stability is also about growing in love for the monastic community, for the brethren that God has chosen for us, loving our brothers with patience and humility, generosity and joy, seeing Christ in them. This is equally true of those who are married and live a family life. In fact, at the very top of the ladder of humility, beyond the last rung, we find that perfect love which casts out all fear, the goal of the Christian life. So today let us pray for the gift of stability, especially if we are monks, but also if we are married or single, oblates, parishioners or friends of Belmont. We pray for that real stability which, for all of us, means being anchored in the very heart of God.
Through the intercession of St Benedict, may we find in obedience, that peace which surpasses all understanding and the perfect love that casts out fear. By sharing in the sufferings of Christ through patience, may we all deserve to share in his kingdom. Amen
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