On March 1st, those who read a section of the Rule of St Benedict every day find themselves starting Chapter 24. The first week’s readings are all about how wayward brothers are to be treated. By the end of the month, they will have reached Chapter49 and the instructions on observing Lent. In between these two topics, we find a surprisingly detailed and mundane list of instructions on the daily life of the monk. These are designed to ensure the orderly running of a large community of men with their own idiosyncrasies and weaknesses but a shared desire to grow in holiness. Akey figure in this is the cellarer, who has charge of the domestic arrangements. The qualities that Benedict expects of the cellarer are demanding. He is to be ‘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. … Above all, let him have humility.’ The Rule then goes on with various instructions on how the monks are to live out their daily lives – they are to look after the tools and property; not to have any private property of their own; not to complain if someone seems to be getting more than them; to take their turn in the kitchen; help those who are weak or sick; be especially kind to the old and children; to eat and drink in moderation; only to speak when necessary and not at all after Compline.
The overall picture, in these March readings and the other sections of the Rule, is of the ideal monk being humble, obedient to his superiors, kind, generous to the poor, welcoming to the stranger, persevering in a life of prayer and quietly trying to become more Christ-like.
The Rule is very much an instruction manual written by a man for a community of men. Of course, it is also used by communities of Benedictine nuns and by lay people, male and female, single and married. So I should not have been surprised recently when I came across a summary of qualities of Our Lady that immediately reminded me of Benedict’s word-picture of the ideal monk – but I was!
Fr Jerry Orbo S.V.D. has made a three-minute Youtube presentation with the title ‘Walking the Path of Mary’. He says that we should use Mary as a guide towards finding God – follow her path and we will reach her Son. He lists the qualities to be found in Mary that we need to practice in our own lives – obedience; hiddenness; humility; joy; trust in the Lord; generosity; kindness; Christ-centredness; perseverance. Doesn’t that sound familiar?
Fr Jerry Orbo did not have time in his three minutes to spell out why he attributed these qualities to Mary. It would be an interesting exercise to look at each quality in turn and link it to aspects of Mary’s life. With Lent starting on the 5th March, would this be a suitable Lenten exercise? To really benefit from this exercise, we would then need to turn to our own lives and work out how we can walk the same path as Mary. How can we practice these qualities in our own life’s journey? Benedictine oblates should, of course, already have their feet on this path. Having our father Benedict on one side and mother Mary on the other gives us the crutches/walking poles to steady us should we stumble.
Here is the link to Fr Jerry’s talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB8FWB9FqmM
Jane Coll
Oblate of Pluscarden
