Im interested in connecting person-to-person with others who share my values, who want to participate with me in building a meaningful network of relationships that will serve to support us on our spiritual journey. This emphasis on silence is so that we can learn to listen to God more acutelyThis kind of sensitivity and awareness makes it easier to pray at all times. This article explains that silence is healthy for community life and fosters the learning of reverence for all creation. The Benedictine practice of service to others is intimately entwined with the reverence for all creation, and another of the great foundations of Benedictine spirituality. On a personal level the rule calls the monk to live a life marked by frugality, simplicity, and gratitude for the many gifts of God. In his blog Benedictine Monks, Fr. But for all, the ideal has remained "solitude of heart" with God, guaranteed by the "order of charity" in the community institution. Benedictine spirituality is a way of life that helps a person to seek God and his will daily. Benedictines are called to strive for silence and have a love for silence. Every four months, we begin again at the beginningso we read the Rulethree times every year. Benedict reminds us of our priorities: prayer, contemplation, balance and the importance of everything we do. Im interested in connecting person-to-person with others who share my values, who want to participate with me in building a meaningful network of relationships that will serve to support us on our spiritual journey. Prayer is the foundation to the monastic life and calling, and can be a constant part of the life of non-monastics as well. Downloaded from the web site of the Bodleian library: Created: 8th century date QS:P,+750-00-00T00:00:00Z/7, we acknowledge the primacy of God and look for God in the ordinary events of each day, Benjamin Schfer, 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, requires that we never stop asking hard questions about our personal growth, The Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Indiana explain the importance of community life in Benedictine practice on their website, Interviewed by Krista Tippett for her podcast, Kyle T. Kramer explains in his 2011 article for America Magazine that hospitality, for a Benedictine, An essay by the Sisters of St. Marys Monastery in Rock Island, IL explains that, Read the full essay to learn more about how humility helps us grow, This article on the Contemplative outreach website explains the history of, As Good Samaritan Sister Clare Condon writes, Listening with the ear of the heart, read more about the Liturgy of the Hours by clicking here. Monastic life was punctuated by the rhythms of prayer during the hours of each day. 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. Ive drawn this list of 22 (+ 1 = 23) Benedictine practices (arranged alphabetically) from, Being in right relationship is wholly other than being in, Brother David Steindl-Rast of the Gut Aich Priory monastery in St. Gilgen, Austria, is the founder and senior advisor for. The Ten Hallmarks of Benedictine Education. It appeared little by little wherever the Church took root, a spontaneous manifestation of the Holy Spirit urging Christians to become monks in response to the counsel given by Jesus in the Gospel: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions , follow me " (Mt 19.21). In chapter 72 of the rule, Benedict encourages his monks to be zealous, "supporting with the greatest patience one another's weaknesses of body and behavior, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another. Encyclopedia.com. to the Rule is a good way to summarize the goal of Benedictine spirituality and prayer. An atheist is a man who lives without God. %PDF-1.4 % The Benedictines, strictly speaking, do not constitute a single religious . Awareness of God In Benedictine practice we acknowledge the primacy of God and look for God in the ordinary events of each day. Digital nun, writing for ibenedictines.org tells us, Fr. Benedictine spirituality is essentially contemplative even though many who follow the rule are deeply involved in intellectual or manual work as well as in ministerial service to others. In contemporary society, Christian spirituality is generally defined as a set of beliefs, values, and way of life that reflect the teachings of the Bible, the holy book of Christianity. As for details, Benedict left much to the discernment and initiative of the superior. 540-604 CE), who praised Benedict for his discretion and moderation. He was born on March 2, 480 AD, in Norcia, Italy. Yes, work, too, is a basic tenet of Benedictine Spirituality. Gymnasts do routines, yoga students practice poses, swimmers practice strokes, and tennis players practice their serves. Orbis, 20-21). 9 0 obj <> endobj What makes spiritual direction distinctive is its It can be described as a state of mind that provides their values and influences how they live their lives and exercise their judgment in such things as deciding between right and wrong. Here are some of the characteristics of Benedictine spirituality: Grounded in Listening For Benedict, the spiritual life was about listening to Godthrough prayer, Scriptures, the depths of our own experience, through listening to others in our community and the wider church. Benedictine spirituality is a fresh alternative in an increasingly fast-paced world. The Benedictine practice of service to others is intimately entwined with the reverence for all creation, and another of the great foundations of Benedictine spirituality. It is specified solely by a commitment to God sanctioned by public vows. Only a year ago, after a year of formation, I became an Oblate of Saint Benedicts Monastery in St. Joseph, MInnesota. "Let everyone that comes be received as Christ" is one of the most familiar and oft-quoted phrases of the Rule. Spiritual Direction, sometimes referred to as spiritual guidance or spiritual friendship, is an on-going relationship in which a person, desiring to be attentive to his or her spiritual life, meets with the spiritual director on a regular basis to become more attuned to God's presence and to respond more fully to that presence. But what does the Bible teach on this issue? Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. 6v-7r of the Bodleian library in Oxford. ." That kind of movement toward moderation is especially important as we live the open and complex questions. xb```f``x(80 Ordered by a rhythm of daily prayer that is Biblical and reflective thats most of the time. Lectio divina involves contemplating what we read or hear in a Scripture, being receptive to the presence of God, and letting ourselves be transformed. Impact. You can order a free copy of Give Us This Day, published by Liturgical Press, by clicking here. How are you being called to participate in Gods work of reconciliation, healing, and in shaping structures that support values like these. Quick and easy, no. Samson and possibly John the Baptist) and those who undertake the vow for a limited time (Paul may have done this, cf. It is humility that takes the monk beyond the myth of his own grandeur to the grandeur of God. His books includeGratefulness,A Listening Heart, and most recently, a new autobiography,i am through you so. This practice is not particular to Benedictines, however. Successful organizational leaders practice self-mastery and teamwork. Cultivating awareness of God is important for all who seek a meaningful spirituality. This will not subscribe you to a contact management software program, and you wont get an onslaught of computer-generated emails begging you to buy my books and services. Practice is how people develop the skills to become adept at anything. Recommended titles: Michael Casey, A Guide to Living in the Truth, 2001; Anselm Grn, Benedict of Nursia: His Message for Today, 2006. Certainly the rule does not see material privation as an end in itself; it is in no way part of the Benedictine tradition to assess everything economically by materialistic standards or to override aesthetic or other values for the sake of cheapness or squalor, for such a mentality narrows the monk's horizons and even creates those very evils accompanying destitution which all Christians have duty to banish from the earth. The ascetic and contemplative orientation of the monastic life was accompanied historically by such cultural activities and manifestations as were compatible with a separation from the secular world, conversion, and a life of personal prayer. The rule is marked by a strong sense of the individual monk's personal worth and dignity. Benedictine monks and nuns made a commitment to living in a specific location, within a specific community, as the context for their spiritual growth and development. It encourages a life balance between corporate worship, spiritual reading and work in the context of community. The resulting collection of ten core values - love, prayer, stability, conversatio, obedience, discipline . What practise spiritual practices do? Therefore in Benedictine spirituality, mutual obedience is a habit to be shown by all to one another. 1. Contact. 480 to 547 CE in Italy. In Benedict's rule, humility is not the same as humiliations, for humiliations degrade the person. The RB is saturated with Scripture and, as Esther de Waal has suggested in her book Seeking God: The Baptismal Invitation of the Rule of St. Benedict (Liturgical Press, 2009), the Prologue exemplifies this as a model of baptismal instruction. For example, Let us get up then, at long last for the Scriptures rouse us when they say: It is high time for us to arise from sleep (Rom 13:11), or Run while you have the light, that the darkness of death may not overtake you (John 12:35). Scripture and baptism undergird the Benedictine vision of Christian discipleship, a vision which relies on a prayerful orientation toward God and relationships which support us in Christ-centeredness. In The Rule of Benedict for Beginners, Wil Derkse reveals how elements from Benedictine spirituality and the Benedictine lifestyle may be . It shows itself in the way (emphasis mine) you put up with the many things of your daily life, sickness, death, war, persecution, mishaps and misfortunes of every kind. In other words, without awareness of God and without gratitude, indeed, without the interweaving of all these practices into our lives, patience cannot exist. Obedience is an act of letting go of the egoistic will. is an herbal liqueur produced in France. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/benedictine-spirituality, "Benedictine Spirituality Ancient Tradition. New Catholic Encyclopedia. Am I growing in my true identity as a son or daughter of God? He simply organized a form of cenobitic life in complete conformity with the demands of the monastic vocation, which is but integral Christian life. In 2007, Benedictine educators collaborated and distilled from The Rule of St. Benedict ten core values of transformative importance that ought to animate Benedictine institutions of learning. He was the son of a noble and grew up in Rome. Like counselling, therapy and coaching, spiritual direction rests on careful listening to the 'client'. Roman Roots. For vowed monastics, stability is literala long-term commitment to a specific place and community. The Rule of Benedict opens with the word "listen" (ausculta ). The Rule revolves around five practices: Prayer, Work, Study, Hospitality and Renewal. . BARTH, KARL (18861968), Swiss Reformed theologian, described by Pope Pius XII as the greatest theologian since Thomas Aquina, A term used to cover a literally bewildering variety of states of mind. As time went on we decided that we needed a clear focus on the values. They are all intertwined. New Catholic Encyclopedia. To be empowered by anything less than the God of love is to risk evil zeal in the name of vengeance. SUGGESTED BOX ON PRAYER The psalms eloquently express how we feel and how we think about life and time and God. praying the Divine Office) as well as regular silent . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoTQF_Z_3lQ. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so we should use them in that order. Using philosophical and theological lens, this paper attempts to 1) present the Benedictine Leadership vis--vis Care ethics 2) proffer that charity or care is the driving force of a transformational leader and, 3) purport that a caring leader, directly or . Encyclopedia.com. A monk spends his whole life becoming humble. Lets make ours a truly humana listening and reverentconnection. Thus prayer and community, to borrow again from Stewart, are at the heart of the Benedictine school of spirituality. [], [] Learn more about Benedictine spirituality. 2. If he persists in this state, atheism truly becomes a way of life. Benedictine Spirituality - also known as Monastic Spirituality. Benedict shows us the value of ordering our day around communal prayer (i.e. In a. Columba Stewart OSB, the 73 brief chapters of the RB make up four major sections. Prosperity and ties with temporal society often led monasteries, especially the larger ones, to depart more or less from certain fundamental observances required by the rule, notably separation from secular society, real simplicity of life, and manual labor. Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/benedictine-spirituality. This practice is not particular to Benedictines, however. Music students practice their instruments. Fr. You will likely recognize the timeless quality of the values which has caused them to endure for centuries and continue speaking to the many layers of our human experience (personal, familial, communal and societal). Emerging out of the high middles ages, it emphasizes the humanity of Jesus Christ as the mystery of God's presence in human flesh. Mindfulness is a trending word these days 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. In her blog, Presbyterian minister Lynne Baab offers ways for those of us who do not live in a monastery to embrace stability. Just as all these people practice to become more proficient, spiritual seekers practice in order to become better at living a spiritual life. It is the balanced spirituality that one finds in the Rule of Benedict that has made it attractive to many men and women throughout the ages. 9 13 The Cistercian Order reinforced the eremetical character of the cenobitical life itself. The years 1987 and 1990 saw the publication of two unprecedented and immediately popular reference works, The New Dictionary of Theology and The New Dictionary of Sacramental Worship.The present work, The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality, edited by Michael Downey, is intended as a companion to these, with a parallel aim and purpose.The NDCS is a collaborative attempt to take stock of . Prayer is essential to a Benedictine lifestyle. //]]>. What is Benedictine Spirituality? The typical person takes little time for personal renewal in the hectic daily round of activities. k. vermeiren, Praying with Benedict: Prayer in the Rule of St. Benedict (Kalamazoo 1999). When I consider Benedictine hospitality, I like to extend this notion to the dialogues we initiate with those of other religious and spiritual backgrounds, especially with non-Christians. MS. Hatton 48 fol. Thus the rule refers frequently to the "divine commandments" and often cites the Bible, particularly the gospel. In the 7th and 8th centuries it was often combined with other rules, especially that of St. Columban (d. 615). 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. Benedictines carry on a monastic tradition that stems from the origins of the Christian monastic movement in the late third century. Getting Started with Ignatian Spirituality Beyond the Basics of Ignatian Spirituality This sounds like the universal call to holiness, the theme that began this article. Benedictines say mindfulness is as much as a Christian and biblical concept as it is a Buddhist one. The whole spiritual life of the monk consists in listening to God by "inclining the ear of the heart." In Benedictine practice we acknowledge the primacy of God and look for God in the ordinary events of each day. 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