Message of Abbot Paul - Tuesday 21st March 2023

Today we celebrate the original feast day of St Benedict, that of his Passing or entry into heaven, for he died on this day in the year 547, aged around 67 years’ old. He died at Monte Cassino, surrounded by his monks, for whom he had written the Rule that bears his name. It always strikes me that there’s not a word in that rule, “a little rule for beginners”, as Benedict describes it, that is superfluous or meaningless, even for us who live by it today. I’ll just say a few words about one of the important themes we find there.

​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, with 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.