{"id":81386,"date":"2020-09-27T13:25:21","date_gmt":"2020-09-27T13:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/?p=81386"},"modified":"2021-01-15T19:41:07","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T19:41:07","slug":"23-spiritual-practices-taught-by-the-rule-of-benedict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tracyrittmueller.com\/2020\/09\/27\/23-spiritual-practices-taught-by-the-rule-of-benedict\/","title":{"rendered":"23 Spiritual Practices Taught by The Rule of Benedict"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do spiritual practices do?<\/span><\/h1>\n

Practice is how people develop the skills to become adept at anything.\u00a0Music students practice their instruments. Gymnasts practice routines, yoga students practice poses, swimmers practice strokes, and tennis players practice their serves. Successful organizational leaders practice self-mastery and teamwork. Just as all these people practice to become more proficient, spiritual seekers practice in order to become better at living a spiritual life.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What is the Rule of Benedict<\/em>?<\/span><\/h1>\n

Do you yearn for a good life, and do you desire to see good days? Near the end of his life in 547 AD, Benedict of Nursia wrote a a guide to living, in the company of other humans, the kind of good days that add up to a good life. The Rule of Benedict has resonated through more than 1400 years and today is followed around the world by thousands of monastics and oblates (people associated with monasteries who live and work outside the monastery). This \u201clittle rule for beginners\u201d serves to develop a spirituality made up of practices, which Benedictines incorporate into their relationship with God and their interactions with the people with whom they live and work.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What is Benedictine Spirituality? What are Benedictine Practices?<\/span><\/h1>\n

Because I couldn\u2019t find relevant, simple answers online to the questions, \u201cWhat is Benedictine Spirituality?\u201d and \u201cWhat are Benedictine practices?\u201d I decided to publish this summary of 23 habits Benedictines seek, through lifelong practice, to cultivate into a lifestyle.<\/span><\/p>\n

23 Benedictine Practices<\/span><\/h1>\n

I\u2019ve drawn this list of 22 (+ 1 = 23) Benedictine practices (arranged alphabetically) from Stepping into the Oblate way of life, <\/i>published by St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery in 2017, when Laureen Virnig OSB served as Director of Oblates. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1. Awareness of God<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

In Benedictine practice we acknowledge the primacy of God and look for God in the ordinary events of each day<\/a>. This practice is not particular to Benedictines, however. Cultivating awareness of God is important for all who seek a meaningful spirituality. In this article, Benjamin Sch\u00e4fer, who calls himself an intercessory musicianary, blog theologian, and pilgrim on the narrow road of learning to love, writes in depth about ways to foster awareness of God<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Being in Right Relationship<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cBeing in right relationship\u201d is wholly other than \u201cbeing in the<\/i> right relationship.\u201d It isn\u2019t about finding the right person for<\/i> me; it\u2019s about being the right person to<\/i> others in the way I show respect to them, in the way I accept their humanity\u2014even their weaknesses and irritating personality traits. For Benedictines, being in right relationship means that we treat everyone we encounter with loving kindness and patience. This Benedictine practice is exceedingly difficult for most of us, for most of our lives. We stumble through being in right relationship. We practice clumsily like beginners running through piano scales. But, we keep practicing, because we hope that eventually, with faithful practice, that our way of being present to others will be as rich and meaningful as Chopin\u2019s Nocturns are mysteriously rich with meaning when played by the virtuoso Arthur Rubinstein near the end of his life. Listen here:<\/span>
\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LoTQF_Z_3lQ<\/p>\n

3. Commitment to Growth (Conversatio<\/i>)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

On the blog \u201cCatholic Beer Club,\u201d Br. Ignacio Gonzalez, OSB<\/a> writes that the Benedictine practice of <\/a>Conversatio <\/i><\/a>requires that we never stop asking hard questions about our personal growth<\/a>. \u201cAm I growing in my true identity as a son or daughter of God? \u00a0Or, am I living a lie, allowing myself to be conformed to every whim and temptation of my fallen nature?\u201d To complete our personal transformation, we never stop changing. We always can go deeper in prayer, grow more open to the truth, enrich our understanding of the will of God, and learn what, in this moment at this time, is good, acceptable, and right.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

4. Community <\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

The Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Indiana explain the importance of community life in Benedictine practice on their website<\/a>. Before writing his Rule, <\/i>Benedict lived for years as a hermit. Through this experience, he came to believe that authentic spiritual growth happens only when we life with and among \u201cflawed human beings whose faults and failings are only too obvious.\u201d In community we struggle through the practice of being in right relationship with people who are \u201cstubborn\u2026dull\u2026undisciplined\u2026restless\u2026careless\u2026 scatterbrained\u2026irritating\u2026and tiresome.\u201d It is only in our communities\u2014families or monasteries, neighborhoods, workplaces, churches and organizations\u2014that we make spiritual progress by learning to love and accept others for who they are, not for who we wish they would be. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"community\"Photo credit: Kamaljith<\/a> on VisualHunt.com<\/a>\/ CC BY<\/a><\/h6>\n

5. Gratitude\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Brother David Steindl-Rast of the Gut Aich Priory monastery in St. Gilgen, Austria, is the founder and senior advisor for A Network for Grateful Living<\/a>. His books include\u00a0Gratefulness<\/a><\/i>,\u00a0A Listening Heart<\/a><\/i>, and most recently, a new autobiography,\u00a0i am through you so<\/a><\/i>. <\/b>Interviewed by Krista Tippett for her podcast <\/a>On Being,<\/i><\/a> Brother David<\/a> talks about gratitude as the true wellspring of joy. Reading the transcript or listening to the podcast is worthwhile. This discussion shows that it\u2019s impossible to isolate any Benedictine practice as independent of the others. They are all intertwined.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Hospitality<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

The Benedictine practice of hospitality is radical. Kyle T. Kramer explains in his 2011 article for America Magazine that hospitality, for a Benedictine<\/a>, means to welcome all others as Christ, \u201cto recognize that despite vast differences, the diverse human family is part of the same God-given belonging, and we need one another to survive and thrive.\u201d This means facing our fears, letting prejudice and certitude die in us, and rooting ourselves in the love of God, \u201cthe alpha and omega of the entire creation, the force that pulls everyone and everything toward a center that can hold.\u201d Benedictines hold strong convictions, but experience shows \u201cstrident, uncompromising voices\u201d tend to foster arguments, tensions, and hostilities\u2014not peace and love. Benedictine hospitality requires us to moderate our own views and voices, and in this day and age, as in all ages, moderation is supremely radical.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Humility<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

St. Benedict\u2019s chapter on humility is one of the longest in the Rule<\/i>. An essay by the Sisters of St. Mary\u2019s Monastery in Rock Island, IL explains that<\/a>\u00a0 <\/span><\/a>the Benedictine practice of humility<\/a> is the opposite of humiliation. Humility fosters stronger, healthier connections within communities by breaking down the artificial barriers between individuals. Humility helps us accept our gifts and talents joyfully while letting go of our false selves. Humility helps be more authentically, beautifully, and lovingly human<\/i>. Read the full essay to learn more about how humility helps us grow<\/a> in the love of God and deepens our bonds with each other.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

8. Lectio divina<\/em> \/ Listening to God\u2019s Word in Scripture<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Directly translated, Lectio Divina<\/em> means \u201cdivine reading. It includes reading, reflecting, responding to and resting in the Word of God \u2014 not in a scholarly way, not to make a sermon to preach to others, but simply to nourish and deepen our own relationship with the Divine. This article on the Contemplative outreach website explains the history of <\/a>lectio divina<\/em><\/a>, and offers instruction in how to do it<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"open-book-on-table\"Photo on <a href=”https:\/\/visualhunt.com\/re\/8ca354″>VisualHunt.com<\/a><\/h6>\n

9. Listening<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

The first word of the Rule of Benedict<\/i> is \u201cListen.\u201d The Benedictine practice of listening is the heart of Benedictine spirituality, for not only are we instructed to listen constantly to one another in community, to leaders, to guests, to the sick, to our inner selves, and most of all, to God, we must also \u201cattend to [what we hear] with the ear of the heart.\u201c As Good Samaritan Sister Clare Condon writes, \u201cListening with the ear of the heart<\/a> can be a scary experience because it can call me to radical change, to a transformation of my limited human perspective. This is not simply a change in my opinion or even in my ideological stance, but a much deeper change in my attitude, a real change in my way of being and doing.\u201d Listening is integral to the practice of conversatio, indeed to all the practices, which, as Laureen Virnig OSB teaches to Oblates in formation, are inseparable woven together to make of our spirituality a living tapestry.<\/span><\/p>\n

10. Liturgical prayer \/ Liturgy of the Hours<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

The Benedictine practice of Liturgical prayer is one of Benedictine spirituality\u2019s most visible, unmistakable hallmarks. As Sister Julie explains on the blog <\/a>A Nun\u2019s Life<\/i><\/a>, \u201cThe Liturgy of the Hours<\/a> is made up of specific prayers said at various time (\u201chours\u201d) during the day and night. You can read more about the Liturgy of the Hours by clicking here<\/a>, \u00a0but the best way to learn about Liturgical prayer is to find a monastery and experience it.<\/span><\/p>\n

11. Mindfulness <\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Mindfulness is a trending word these days \u2014 yogis, psychologists, educators, physicians, and practically everyone else is talking about the importance of quieting our busy minds in order to become more aware of the present moment. Benedictines say mindfulness is as much as a Christian and biblical concept as it is a Buddhist one. The Benedictine practice of mindfulness, like all the Benedictine practices, is lifelong. Digital nun, writing for ibenedictines.org tells us,<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/a>\u201cThe practice of mindfulness<\/a>, which for a Christian must always be the practice of mindfulness of the presence of God, is not something we learn in a few hours or even a few years. It is a lifetime\u2019s work, and it is not to be rushed or short-circuited in any way.\u201d Click here<\/a> to read hints on how to enjoy this lifelong practice.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

12. Moderation in All Things <\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

The Benedictine practice of Moderation in All Things is another that is trending today, under the word \u201cbalance.\u201d In the blog <\/a>Echoes from the Bell Tower, <\/i><\/a>Fr. Adrian Burke, OSB writes, \u201cBenedict insists in his\u00a0 <\/a>Rule<\/i><\/a>\u00a0 that we must balance our lives<\/a> with prayer\u00a0and\u00a0<\/i> work, with reading\u00a0and\u00a0<\/i> recreation, with rest\u00a0and\u00a0<\/i> activity.\u201d Benedictines attempt to incorporate all of these important aspects into every day. Fr. Adrian also writes, \u201cThis kind of wisdom is why St. Benedict’s\u00a0 Rule<\/i>\u00a0 continues, after more than 1,500 years now, to stir the hearts of men and women who want to live their lives entirely for Christ.\u201d In other words, Benedict\u2019s Rule <\/i>stirs the hearts of those who want to live each day fully<\/i>. Paradoxically, the key to a full life, is to understand that \u201call things are to be done with moderation.\u201d (Rule of St. Benedict 48:9)<\/span><\/p>\n

13. Obedient Listening to God, Self, Others<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Obedience is a concept 21st-century souls don\u2019t generally like to consider. We prefer concepts like freedom and independence. In a podcast at DiscerningHearts.com from the Missionary Benedictines of Christ the King Priory,<\/a>\u00a0 <\/span><\/a>Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B explains that obedience means<\/a> to listen<\/em><\/a>.<\/a> Obedience is an act of letting go of the egoistic will. While submission is an act of youth, true obedience can only come as a response of maturity. We become obedient only after we know our own will. Only after we have come to understand our desires are we capable of relinquishing them in service of others. Therefore in Benedictine spirituality, \u201cmutual obedience\u201d is a habit to be shown by all to one another. As a Benedictine practice, obedience is intimately linked to being in right relationship, conversatio, humility, and listening. Benedictine obedience is ultimately directed not to other humans or to ourselves, but through the agency of others and the deepest yearnings of our own hearts, in love, to God.<\/span><\/p>\n

14. Patience<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

In his blog <\/a>Benedictine Monks<\/i><\/a>, Fr. Brendan Rolling, OSB of St Benedict\u2019s Abbey of Atchison, Kansas<\/a> quotes Abbot Martin Veth: \u201cTo will what God wills and because He wills it, this is the essence of patience. Patience does not relieve us of our natural feelings of aversion, irritation, and indignation, but it controls and rises above these feelings… Our Lord felt the natural impulse to avoid suffering, but He set aside and refused to listen to this feeling: \u2018Father not my will but Thine be done\u2019.\u2026Where does this patience show itself?\u00a0It shows itself in the way (emphasis <\/i>mine) you put up with the many things of your daily life, sickness, death, war, persecution, mishaps and misfortunes of every kind.\u201d In other words, without awareness of God and without gratitude, indeed, without the interweaving of all these practices into our lives, patience cannot exist.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

15. Peace<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Sister Joan Chittister is an extraordinarily prolific writer and among the most famous living Benedictines. In an article for <\/a>HuffPost<\/i><\/a> Sister Joan tells us that a Benedictine lifestyle is an \u201can oasis of human peace<\/a> in a striving, searing, simmering world.\u201d This lifestyle disallows war and violence on any level, including the root causes of violence\u2014ambition, greed, waste of resources, class distinctions, and the \u201chubris that leads to the oppression of others, that justifies force as the sign of our superiority.\u201d This lifestyle makes ample room for what it values\u2014\u201ccommunity, prayer, stewardship, equality, stability, conversion, peace \u2014 all [which] make for communities of love.\u201d Without humility, Sr. Joan explains, there can be no peace. \u201cIt is humility that makes us happy with what we have, willing to have less, kind to all, simple in our bearing, and serene within ourselves.\u201d It only takes 2-3 minutes to read her article. If there is anything that everyone of us in the whole world needs more of right now, it\u2019s peace.<\/span>
\n\"IMG_0281\"<\/p>\n

16. Prayer<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Prayer is essential to a Benedictine lifestyle. Many Oblates rely on Give Us This Day, <\/i>a monthly prayer book with simplified daily prayer for morning and evening, to help us participate in the Divine Office when we are away from the monastery. For most Oblates. that\u2019s most of the time. You can order a free copy of <\/a>Give Us This Day, <\/i><\/a>published by Liturgical Press, by clicking here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

17. Reverence for All Creation <\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

In his book Humility Rules: Saint Benedict\u2019s Twelve-Step Guide to Genuine Self-Esteem,<\/i><\/a> <\/b>Augustine Wetta,<\/a> a Benedictine monk, teaches, \u00a0 <\/span>\u201c<\/i>The sum of all virtues is reverence.\u201d \u00a0<\/i>In this 2-minute video, Father Mark Goring (Companions of the Cross) says \u201cThis profound and humble \u2026[Benedictine practice of] reverence for all things is one of the great foundations of Benedictine spirituality.\u201d He explains that this reverence flows from prayer. \u201cTheir prayer discipline is based on the rhythms of the universe.\u201d Benedictine reverence for all creation applies to nature and all creatures, to the objects we use and make, and to all people\u2014pilgrims, the broken and downtrodden, to every single human, including ourselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n