Saying of the Desert Christians: Gentleness 6

from: http://www.cin.org/dsrtft11.html

Abba Xanthios said, "A dog is better than I am, for he has love and he does not judge."

Some thoughts:

This is a wonderful one, is it not? At first I wondered why it was in the section on Gentleness instead of that of Judging Others but then I realized, not judging others is also treating them with gentleness.

I am Episcopalian and the General Convention of my church is meeting even as I type to decide some stuff that will affect how we express what it is to be Episcopalians. I pray that all attendees practice this sort of gentleness.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for July 9, 2009

March 9, July 9, November 8

Chapter 31: What Kind of Man the Cellarer of the Monastery Should Be

Above all things let him have humility;
and if he has nothing else to give
let him give a good word in answer
for it is written,
"A good word is above the best gift" (Eccles. 18:17).


Let him have under his care
all that the Abbot has assigned to him,
but not presume to deal with what he has forbidden him.


Let him give the brethren their appointed allowance of food
without any arrogance or delay,
that they may not be scandalized,
mindful of the Word of God as to what he deserves
"who shall scandalize one of the little ones" (Matt 18:6).


If the community is a large one,
let helpers be given him,
that by their assistance
he may fulfill with a quiet mind the office committed to him.
The proper times should be observed
in giving the things that have to be given
and asking for the things that have to be asked for,
that no one may be troubled or vexed in the house of God.

Some thoughts:

Here's that emphasis upon humility again. I deeply appreciate the humanity of this passage. The caring, the concern to make sure that others have what they need when they need it. And not only bare subsistence but enough to thrive.

Seems to me that is another aspect of Holy Hospitality, giving people not only what they need when they need it but giving them more so that they can actually thrive, grow into that abundance so that they are in their turn able to give unstintingly in spendthrift manner to those that need.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Gentleness 5

from: http://www.cin.org/dsrtft11.html

Once when a hippopotamus was ravaging the neighbouring countryside the fathers called on abba Bes to help them. He stood at the place and waited and when he saw the beast, which was of enormous size, he commanded it not to ravage the countryside any more, saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you not to ravage this countryside anymore." The hippopotamus vanished completely from that district as if driven away by an angel.

Some thoughts:

We have here an example of hagiography. One can google the word and find all sorts of definitions, explanations and history. It is often a source of important biographical info but mostly the word is used to describe what we in the 21st century would call impossible events. Things too miraculous to be miracles but seem more like down right nonsense.

On the face of it, today's Saying sounds more like nonsense than anything else. Who in their right mind would consider doing such a thing? Yes, yes, I know that many of the Sayings sound as if more than one Desert Christian was not in their right minds and I have long had my doubts about St Simon the Stylite.

But here is how I view hagiography. It's a metaphor. It's a metaphor that says if such extraordinary things could be done by extraordinary person, this person is such a person.

So imagine, what degree of gentleness was it that so emanated from Abba Bes that a ravaging hippopotamus sensed it and was so impressed that it fled the scene never to return again.

More importantly, how can we learn this degree of gentleness?

Rule of St Benedict Reading for July 8, 2009

March 8, July 8, November 7

Chapter 31: What Kind of Man the Cellarer of the Monastery Should Be

As cellarer of the monastery
let there be chosen from the community
one who is wise, of mature character, sober,
not a great eater, not haughty, not excitable,
not offensive, not slow, not wasteful,
but a God-fearing man
who may be like a father to the whole community.


Let him have charge of everything.
He shall do nothing without the Abbot's orders,
but keep to his instructions.
Let him not vex the brethren.
If any brother
happens to make some unreasonable demand of him,
instead of vexing the brother with a contemptuous refusal
he should humbly give the reason
for denying the improper request.

Let him keep quard over his own soul,
mindful always of the Apostle's saying
that "he who has ministered well
will acquire for himself a good standing" (1 Tim. 3:13).


Let him take the greatest care
of the sick, of children, of guests and of the poor,
knowing without doubt
that he will have to render an account for all these
on the Day of Judgment.


Let him regard all the utensils of the monastery
and its whole property
as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar.
Let him not think that he may neglect anything.
He should be neither a miser
nor a prodigal and squanderer of the monastery's substance,
but should do all things with measure
and in accordance with the Abbot's instructions.


Some thoughts

It is with great relief that I see we have finished with the disciplinary bits and turn to a chapter which is perhaps not so controversial.

On Google books I found a very nice explanation of what a cellarer is and does: http://tinyurl.com/lsn9tj

On Wikipedia it says: The cellarer, or bursar, who acted as chief purveyor of all foodstuffs to the monastery and as general steward. In recent times the name procurator is often found used for this official. He had as assistants:
the subcellarer;
the "granatorius". Chapter xxxi ofSt. Benedict's Rule tells "What kind of man the Cellarer ought to be"; in practice this position is the most responsible one after that of abbot or superior
The thing I find interesting about Benedict's list of requirements is that they are exactly the same as anything we've read about the description of a good monk. In addition, the cellarer would need to have what we today would call good business skills, management potential coupled with some pastoral skills.

For me the important point is the pastoral skills, which I define as the ability to give people what they need in a way they can receive. I can give you an example, one of hundreds I have witnessed in parishes over the years.

I know of a woman who was going through considerable sturm und drang with family health crises, one on top on top on top of one right after the other with no respite. stress was poisoning her, it was so constant without let up. She was seldom able to make it to church on Sunday or to the mid-week Eucharist during this time. Desperately needing some pastoral care, this woman would email her rector when she had the chance, usually after getting home from the ER at 3AM or so. The rector never responded in any way.

When she wrote an email saying, please, have you nothing of comfort to say to me, she finally received and email back. The rector in question said he hated to use email (despite his reputation as a verbosian on a certain email list) and that he hated to use the telephone, probably because his heritage is Norwegian and how much he upsets his wife as he doesn't want to chat with her about day to day trivialities on the phone. But if this parishioner wanted to come to the office, he would be happy to sit and chat with her about all that was going on. Needless to say, this woman did not do that for the very simple reason that she was unable to spare the time from care-giving to suit the rector's convenience.

This is what I mean about the ability to give people what they need in a way they can receive. This woman needed pastoral care. She wasn't making an impossible demand, just asking for what she thought she had every right to from her priest. I am very happy to report that she was able to receive Christian consolation, support and pastoral care from an email pen pal who lives thousands of miles from her. It made all the difference on a number of occasions, helping this woman gain the strength to continue to face the health care crises. Especially since the rector involved has yet to voluntarily offer any consolation via email, telephone or in person when the woman is able to make it to church.

Now, I know we all may want to focus on this anecdote and lambaste the priest. That will not do any of us any good. But will do us good is self-examination. Are we willing, if we haven't already, to learn the ability to give people what they need in a way they can receive? Of course, people need to be able to receive but their ability to do or not is really none of our business. Our business is to learn to offer people what they need in a way that they can receive it, even if it inconveniences us.

I would really love to know what you think.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Gentleness 3

from: http://www.cin.org/dsrtft11.html

A hunter in the desert saw abba Antony enjoying himself with the brothers,
and he was shocked. Wanting to show him that it was necessary sometimes to
meet the needs of the brothers, the old man said to him, "Put an arrow in
your bow and shoot it." So he did. And the old man said, "Shoot another,"
and he did so. Then the old man ssaid, "Shoot yet again," and the hunter
replied, "If I bend my bow so much, I will break it." Then the old man said
to him, "It is the same with the work of God. If we stretch the brothers
beyond measure, they will soon break. Sometimes it is necessary to come down
to meet their needs."

Some thoughts:

To be honest, this particular saying always strikes me as a bit
patronizing. But everything I've read about St. Anthony says he was
anything but patronizing. So this challenges me to look past my own issues
which I may be reading into the text and try to find something else in it.

Today as I read this, I am reminded of the Jewish Law and how impossible it
was to keep all of the Law perfectly all the time. Knowing this, God came
down to meet our needs in the Incarnation showing us what it truly means to
be human and to live in relationship with God.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Gentleness 4

from: http://www.cin.org/dsrtft11.html

Some monks came to see Abba Poemen and said to him, "When we see brothers dozing in the church, should we rouse them so that they can be watchful?" He said, "For my part, when I see a brother dozing, I put his head on my knees and let him rest."


Some thoughts:

I can just imagine the scene. Monks have gathered in their church. Churches did not have pews or seats at that time, the worshippers stood for the whole service. I can see a monk, perhaps a young one still getting used to this life or maybe a more experienced monk who has overdone the all night vigils. Whichever, the monk's legs will no longer support him and he falls asleep on the floor of the church.

I can see other monks noticing, distracted from their prayers. Some might be thinking "poor guy." Others might be thinking "this is no place for a nap." I am sure you can think of other things that might have been thought or said. And obviously some wonder if it is there duty to wake the man up.

I can also see another monk sinking to the floor also. So now the first monk is not the only one on the floor, but has company there. The second monk tenderly lifts the first monk's head and places it in his lap, to cushion it from the hard ground. The second monk continues his own prayers.

What tenderness to join the monk that some might think disgraced. What compassion to make a comfy pillow. What a demonstration that any of us might be subject to the frailty of the flesh and that we are all but human.

That's what I see. If you see something in addition, I'd love you to mention it.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for July 7, 2009

March 7, July 7, November 6

Chapter 30: How Boys Are to Be Corrected

Every age and degree of understanding
should have its proper measure of discipline.
With regard to boys and adolescents, therefore,
or those who cannot understand the seriousness
of the penalty of excommunication,
whenever such as these are delinquent
let them be subjected to severe fasts
or brought to terms by harsh beatings,
that they may be cured.

Some thoughts:

Here we are again with my least favorite part of the entire RB. Sometimes when I come to it, I have to skip it, if i am feeling much too vulnerable and other times I grit my teeth and read it. Today is one of the latter.

First of all, allowing for extremists out there somewhere, I am 100% confident corporal punishment is not a part of monastic life. Secondly, Benedict was as much a product of his times as we are of ours and as much as we would like to think he was above his times, who among us ever is? Thirdly, there was no concept of abuse such as we have today. Please let me stress the "today". I am sure the early Middle Ages had some concept of abuse, but it was not as fine-tuned as ours. After all, women and children were still chattel back then.

Compared to life in the West, life in Benedict's day was harsher than ours. But there are many places in the world today where conditions are very similar to his. Where women and children are subject to despicable treatment. Perhaps we can redirect our horror at Benedict's words to helping those in our world who experience this sort of trauma every day.

Rule of St Benedict Reading for July 6, 2009

March 6, July 6, November 5

Chapter 29: Whether Brethren Who Leave the Monastery Should Be Received Again

If a brother
who through his own fault leaves the monastery
should wish to return,
let him first promise full reparation for his having gone away;
and then let him be received in the lowest place,
as a test of his humility.
And if he should leave again,
let him be taken back again,
and so a third time;
but he should understand that after this
all way of return is denied him.

Some thoughts:

No one can say that Benedict wasn't willing to give a person a chance. Would the gentle readers of this list agree with me that even if there are bits we don't like in these chapters of dealing with the recalcitrant monastic, that over all the impression we are left with is one of caring, compassion and maybe even tenderness?

It's easy to always point as I do, that the good Saint was concerned with what was best for the community. But it is also apparent that he also cared about the individual. I read this particular passage to mean that he cared for the individual for that person's own self, and not just whether that person fit into monastic life.

What do you think, please?

Saying of the Desert Christians: Gentleness 2

from:http://www.cin.org/dsrtft11.html

We came from Palestine to Egypt and went to see one of the fathers. He offered us hospitality and we said, "Why do you not keep the fast when visitors come to see you? In Palestine they keep it." He replied, "Fasting is always with me but I cannot always have you here. It is useful and necessary to fast but we choose whether we will fast or not. What God commands is perfect love. I receive Christ in you and so I must do everything possible to serve you with love. When I have sent you on your way, then I can continue my rule of fasting. The sons of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them; when he is taken away from them, then they will fast."

Some thoughts:

One thing we see right off is that when it came to fasting and to guests, practices differed in different regions. But that's not the important point in this Saying, IMO. What resonates with me is that this Abba received Christ in his guests and as a result wants to do everything possible to serve them with love.

In my experience, this is easier said than done, but how I long for the whole world to think this way. I also know that it will only start person by person, one by one. Shall we try to learn this together?

Rule of St Benedict Reading for July 5, 2009

March 5, July 5, November 4

Chapter 28: On Those Who Will Not Amend after Repeated Corrections

If a sister who has been frequently corrected for some fault,
and even excommunicated,
does not amend,
let a harsher correction be applied,
that is, let the punishment of the rod be administered.


But if she still does not reform
or perhaps (which God forbid)
even rises up in pride and wants to defend her conduct,
then let the Abbess do what a wise physician would do.
Having used applications,
the ointments of exhortation,
the medicines of the Holy Scriptures,
finally the cautery of excommunication
and of the strokes of the rod,
if she sees that her efforts are of no avail,
let her apply a still greater remedy,
her own prayers and those of all the others,
that the Lord, who can do all things
may restore health to the sister who is sick.


But if she is not healed even in this way,
then let the Abbess use the knife of amputation,
according to the Apostle's words,
"Expel the evil one from your midst" (1 Cor. 5:13),
and again,
"If the faithless one departs, let her depart" (1 Cor. 7:15)
lest one diseased sheep contaminate the whole flock.

Some thoughts:

Ok, Ok, Ok, I know what you're thinking. Corporal punishment, no way. I agree with you. However, need I say that in Benedict's day it was very much a part of every day life? The world is not so different today. There are still Christians today who are strong believers in "Spare the rod, spoil the child." The Sunnis and the Shiites are massacring each other. But lest we get too caught up in condemning the violence, let me assure that to the best of my knowledge, Benedictine communities no longer practice this.

Perhaps though we could look at the corporal punishment as one of many things Benedict said to try in order to convince the erring monastic to repent. They seem to have gone from gentle to stronger to strongest, all the while the monastic superior caring for the person as lovingly as possible, providing support, companions and the whole community in prayer.

Perhaps we could also remember that at every step of the way, the monastic had choices: repentance or walking out the door. No one could force someone to remain.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Gentleness 1

from: http://www.cin.org/dsrtft11.html

Abba Nilus said, "Prayer is the seed of gentleness and the absence of anger."

Some thoughts

I read or heard many a definition, description, or teaching about the nature of prayer, how it works, how do do it etc. But nothing as succinct as this.

This reads to me like a cause and effect. If prays then gentleness will develop within a person and anger will depart. Isn't this good news? Isn't this full of hope?

Gentleness and lack of anger seem to me to be counter to the society in which I live. Gentle people are mocked or walked all over. I hear all the time that we have a right to our anger.

This short little Saying is in stark contrast, is it not? It reminds me once again that what God values is outta step with the values of my culture. But where would I rather fit in? With my society? Or with God?

Rule of St Benedict Reading for July 4, 2009

Chapter 27: How Solicitous the Abbot Should Be for the Excommunicated

Let the Abbot be most solicitous
in his concern for delinquent brethren,
for "it is not the healthy but the sick who need a physician" (Matt 9:12)
And therefore he ought to use every means
that a wise physician would use.
Let him send senpectae,
that is, brethren of mature years and wisdom,
who may as it were secretly console the wavering brother
and induce him to make humble satisfaction;
comforting him
that he may not "be overwhelmed by excessive grief" (2 Cor. 2:7),
but that, as the Apostle says,
charity may be strengthened in him (2 Cor. 2:8).
And let everyone pray for him.

For the Abbot must have the utmost solicitude
and exercise all prudence and diligence
lest he lose any of the sheep entrusted to him.
Let him know
that what he has undertaken is the care of weak souls
and not a tyranny over strong ones;
and let him fear the Prophet's warning
through which God says,
"What you saw to be fat you took to yourselves,
and what was feeble you cast away" (Ezec. 34:3,4).
Let him rather imitate the loving example of the Good Shepherd
who left the ninety-nine sheep in the mountains
and went to look for the one sheep that had gone astray,
on whose weakness He had such compassion
that He deigned to place it on His own sacred shoulders
and thus carry it back to the flock (Luke 15:4-5).

Some thoughts:

One of the reasons, I personally would prefer people to look for what they see to be right with the RB rather than what they perceive to be wrong with it, is because the RB is self-balancing, as we see today. Could there be more tenderness? We see that even in the most extreme cases, the monastic is not left to their own devices, but is sought out not only by the monastic superior but also by others the monastic superior thinks best suit to console and encourage.

Writing an Icon for the First Time: The Mother of God of Compassion

June 28, 2009

Writing an Icon for the First Time: The Mother of God of Compassion

During the week June 22-26, 2009, Teresa Harrison (http://www.teresaharrison.com/) offered the privilege of learning to write an icon under her tutelage at Christ Episcopal Church, Coronado, CA (www.christchurchcoronado.org) . Having been praying for years for God to make such a class possible, you can imagine with what joy I received the news. This class has been simultaneously one of the most exhausting and most blessed experiences of my life. I loved it so much that I cannot wait to take another class, even as I struggle to recover.

Writing an icon is not about the paint or the artist, except as God uses both to bring the icon into being. The iconographer is merely a vehicle for God’s grace. God became incarnate and provided us with a living image of Himself, an image humans could see, touch, smell, hear and speak to. Is it possible to be any closer to God than we are when allowing Him to flow through us to bring His Holy Word into being? Perhaps it is a little bit like being a God-bearer one’s self, making Him known to the world.

We call the process “writing” and not painting because an icon is the written Word of God. The brushed is used as it is in calligraphy and not as in painting. We use the brush as a pen to write.

Teresa presented the class as five day silent retreat, beginning with Eucharist at 8:30 AM, offered with us by her husband and rector of Christ Episcopal Church, Father Edward Harrison. Writing an icon requires silence as we pray to God for guidance, honoring the original intention of the original icon. It is part of icon lore that the first iconographer was St. Luke, author of the eponymous named Gospel and Acts. This is why St. Luke is often pictured with a paint brush. It is said that the very first icon, Mary and Holy Child, ever written was by Luke. It may even be that the icon we worked on, Mother of God of Tenderness, is a copy of that very first icon.

Every icon is a copy. The writer does no individual work but sees herself as an instrument in the service of a long tradition. The act of writing an icon is meditation/prayer. The copy corresponds in full to the original and is not less "worthy". It represents the presence of the depicted person(s). So an icon of Christ makes Christ present in the room where the icon is, not only in remembrance, but in actuality.

Each day we spent some time checking in with each other preceded a beautiful opening prayer offered by one of the attendees. For the most part we worked in silence, usually with Gregorian chant or contemplative music in the background to keep us grounded in silence. Occasionally we would get up to whisper a question to Teresa and receive her whispered response. We started our work with the Sign of the Cross and the Prayer Before Working on an Icon:

“O divine Lord of all that exists, Thou hast illumined the Apostle and Evangelist Luke with Thy Holy Spirit, thereby enabling him to present thy most Holy Mother, the One who held Thee in her arms and said: “The Grace of Him Who has been born of me is spread throughout the world.” Enlighten and direct my soul, my heart and spirit. Guide the hands of thine unworthy servant so that I may worthily and perfectly portray Thine ikon, that of thy Mother, and all the Saints, for the glory, joy and adornment of Thy Holy Church. Forgive my sins and the sins of those who will venerate these ikons and who kneeling devoutly before them, give homage to those they represent. Protect them from all evil and instruct them with good counsel. This I ask through the intercession of thy most Holy Mother, the Apostle Luke, and all the Saints. Amen”

It is humbling to stop and remember that, just as in the hymn “For All the Saints”, the members of the class were not only asking for the intercessions of those who have been canonized but also by all who are part of the Body of Christ, living or in Heaven. This means that we also prayed for each other through this prayer.

It had been my intention to make a photographic record of the process of my icon. On the very first day though, I was so glad finally to be at an icon workshop, I forgot to photograph the blank board covered in gesso, (quite a process in and of itself, http://www.teresaharrison.com/IconBoards.pdf), the black and white outline on my board or the end of the first day’s work when most of the outline had been colored in. The first day could be compared to coloring in a coloring book as it was important to stay within the lines, building layers of paint gradually to build up an opaque base upon which to write the details that make the icon come alive.
This first layer is intentionally flat, preferably with no visible individual brush strokes. Such flatness is intentional and desirable. Teresa told us that the subject of the icon is not an endpoint, but a window opening the way to become closer to the subject of the icon and ultimately to God.

When I studied painting in college, we were taught to be painterly, to leave something of ourselves in the brushstrokes. It is just the opposite in writing an icon. There should be nothing of the hand that wrote it in the finished piece. I had to fight against what I thought I knew about painting and what I might wish to communicate about myself and be subject to God in the work.

Perhaps it is best to say now rather than later that the image being written is not itself the object of worship. It serves as a vehicle to transport to God the awareness of the one using the icon. The subject draws the worshiper into the spiritual reality which the image merely represents. Teresa called icons “visual incense.”

Gradually that first day, I sank into the work, unaware of time or those around me except when I had to find a tube of paint, clean my palette and wash my brushes. This was not very often since I could not bear to leave my work. Teresa told us that iconographers have always painted the dark parts first, adding the lighter shades. “The light pierces the darkness,” it says in John’s Gospel. Most of the time, I prayed the Jesus Prayer and I found the rhythm of breathing conducive to the work. It also helped to block out sounds.

At the end of the first day, I gazed at my wood covered with large areas of solid color. We had painted all the skin with “sankir”, a Russian word for the initial underpaint tone, which cover the faces and other parts of the body; leaving the sankir exposed to create the shadow areas. Gotta tell you my first reaction to sankir was to paraphrase Pogo, “This looks like spuk.” The closest description I can some to sankir is a very dark olive green, one of my least favorite colors and here I was swiping it all over the faces of Our Lady and Jesus. I really felt they deserved better. Teresa’s response to my doubts? “Have faith,” she reassured me. “Just have faith.”

As I gazed at my blobs of color, I doubted the optimism, “Of course, I can do this,” with which I started the class. How could I take these colors, most of which I did not like because they are the warm earth tones and I really really really like the cool, jewel tones. But the warm earth tones are the traditional colors used and no wonder as the original pigment was rock ground up into egg yolk. As I experienced my doubts I also remembered something Teresa stressed: it is not I who wields the brush but God. I was as much a tool as were the paints, brushes, surface and palette before me.

Once I had my first look at what had happened so far, I felt Mary and Her Son with me. How does one describe this? They were there, as simple as that. No, I couldn’t see them, but some part of me apprehended their presence in that place within which is too deep for words but is just pulsatingly aware.

The second day we worked on the robes and Mary’s veil. Having started with the dark colors, we gradually used lighter and lighter shades to add dimension to the clothing, to paint the draping folds, to make it look like actual garments. The light pierced the dark and behold we had stuff that was recognizable as clothing.
The third day was the day to do the faces and hands. That’s intimidating: to turn blobs of spuk into recognizably human faces. Teresa demonstrated how a very few strokes of paint turned blobs of hideous color into beautiful faces. We had started with the dark olive nastiness and the light really did pierce that darkness to become something lovely. I can’t claim to have done the face myself. I did the best I could and one by one all of us turned to Teresa to fix the faces on the boards.
As I worked on Mary’s face, I thought of something I often think about: that she was the one woman in all the world, in all of history to say “yes” to God, to take the risk. I have often wondered to how many other virgins God had offered to be the earthly mother of the Incarnate Lord and why it is that Mary, of all of them, was the one to offer herself back.

Something disturbed me about the smallness of their lips but then I realized they were compressed into a pucker. The image catches them just before they exchange sweet kisses. I felt like an intruder.

The fourth day was gold leaf. Oh my. Gold leaf. Prized by Christian artists for millennia to convey holiness, other worldliness, sacredness and I was going to get to mess around with it. This is exactly what I did. I had always imagined that applying gold leaf was easy. Prepare the surface, lay the sheet of gold over it, lift the sheet and behold the gold only where it was wanted. No such thing. The whole sheet would come off and I would have to take the brush reserved solely for the use of gold, give it some static electricity by rubbing it in my hair and sweep it over the surface to retrieve all of the extra gold so that it could be placed in the wood box where all the gold scraps are reserved so that they can be used in other places, such as Jesus’ clothes. Gold leaf is too expensive to waste a smidge.
The last day was for finishing up the background, the details around the halos. Because I had not wanted to get stuck in rush hour traffic and be late, I was usually thirty minutes early. As a result, my work was finished first and I could sit with the icon and pray with it. Exhausted yet exhilarated, I allowed the icon to seep within me until it seemed for an all too brief moment that Jesus and Our Lady were actually present in the room with me.

Teresa plans to offer other workshops and I cannot wait.

Saying of the Desert Christians: Hospitality 4

from: http://www.cin.org/dsrtft10.html

It was said of an old man that he dwelt in Syria on the way to the desert. This was his work: whenever a monk came from the desert, he gave him refreshment with all his heart. Now one day a hermit came and he offered him refreshment. The other did not want to accept it, saying he was fasting. Filled with sorrow, the old man said to him, "Do not despise your servant, I beg you, do not despise me, but let us pray together. Look at the tree which is here; we will follow the way of whichever of us causes it to bend when he kneels on the ground and prays." So the hermit knelt down to pray and nothing happened. Then the hospitable one knelt down and at once the tree bent towards him. Taught by this, they gave thanks to God.

Some thoughts:

As much as it was a duty to offer hospitality it was an equally sacred obligation to accept it when offered. Did the tree really bend? Possibly a wind caused it to bow. But what providential timing, if so. The post-modern mind has trouble conceiving that God would act contrary to natural law. OTOH, who created natural law if not God? Natural law is as much His servant as are we. I digress. Please forgive me.

What a witness, though, is this bending tree to the mutuality of holy hospitality. IMO we of Christendom need to reclaim, renew rededicate ourselves to hospitality. "They are known by their love." Hospitality is how we demonstrate love of God and neighbor.

March 2, July 2, November 1

Chapter 25: On Weightier Faults

Let the brother who is guilty of a weightier fault
be excluded both from the table and from the oratory.
Let none of the brethren join him
either for company or for conversation.
Let him be alone at the work assigned him,
abiding in penitential sorrow
and pondering that terrible sentence of the Apostle
where he says that a man of that kind is handed over
for the destruction of the flesh,
that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord (1 Cor. 5:5).
Let him take his meals alone
in the measure and at the hour
which the Abbot shall consider suitable for him.
He shall not be blessed by those who pass by,
nor shall the food that is given him be blessed


Some thoughts

Kardong writes in his definitive Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict that it must be kept in mind that Benedict is not talking about excommunication for grave sins, but for monastic faults. Please note that Benedict does not use "excommunication." Monastic faults would be unauthorized journeys; improper intimacies; open conflict.

It is so easy to look at such a passage and find all sorts of reasons to object to it. Benedict wrote during the Early Middle Ages and we read in post-modern days. In order to fully appreciate the RB, we must as much as possible set aside our post-moderinism. The way I suggest we do that is by looking for what is right in it. Looking for what one can agree with.

What I see here are 2 things. This passage talks about the well-being of the monastic community. The assumption Benedict makes is that if a person is truly called to this life, obedience to the Rule will take care of any individual needs. The second thing is related. Benedict gives the monastic the opportunity to repent. The monastic has to embrace personal responsibility. We read yesterday that the repentant one is welcomed into the full life of the community with open arms.