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St Benedict for Today
By Dwight Longenecker
During the four years I spent as an Anglican curate I was introduced to two strands of Christian tradition which transformed my life. The first was new, the second was old. The first was informal and unstructured, the second was structured and formal. The first was the renewal movement. The second was the Benedictine way of spirituality.
The renewal movement came into my life as I was introduced to the healing ministry. I was drafted onto the healing team of our parish by one of the pioneers in the Anglican renewal movement. Fr Richard taught me to pray for the sick and gave me the confidence to believe that people’s lives could still be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. At the same time the Spirit was working in my own life. God came in and cleaned house. This meant some time being counselled. Like a broken bone that had healed badly, many aspects of my inner life had to be broken down in order for God to mend them properly.
During this time of upheaval and healing the Benedictine way of spirituality became a great source of strength. I had always made an annual retreat at a Benedictine monastery, but when God’s healing hit my life that annual retreat became the gateway to a deeper appreciation of the ancient Rule of St Benedict. The three vows of the Benedictine monks and nuns became lodestones for my life. They provided an anchor and direction during a time of restlessness, uncertainty and inner confusion.
St Benedict lived in the sixth century at a time when the Roman Empire had fallen to the invading barbarians. His society was violent, divided and crumbling from the inside. In the midst of the decay and anarchy Benedict founded religious communities which focussed on stability, obedience and conversion of life. The Benedictine monk or nun still takes three solemn vows to pursue stability, obedience and conversion of life.
These three vows provide powerful guidelines for the modern Christian. In an age where every authority is questioned, the virtue of obedience stands as a contradiction. Where increased mobility, short term work contracts and family breakdown threaten our peace, stability offers a guiding principle for life. Where the current trend is to seek personal emotional religious experiences above everything else, the vow to seek conversion of life offers an astringent antidote.
Obedience sounds like a harsh word to those of us who value our personal freedom. It sounds like a military concept. But the word ‘obedience’ is drawn from the root meaning ‘to listen’. The first words of Benedict’s famous rule are ‘Listen my son to the loving wisdom of a father.’ The Benedictine understanding of obedience is therefore a form of attentive listening. The old saying goes that God has given us two ears and one mouth so we might listen twice as much as we speak. This is also the motivation for the traditional silence of monasteries and convents. The silence is enforced so the monks and nuns can learn to listen— listen to their own hearts, listen to one another and listen to God. From that attentiveness they then take the actions love requires.
In the modern busy world we need to take time to listen to the worthwhile authorities in our lives. The Church speaks and teaches with God given authority, but so do the Scriptures and so does the still small voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Having an obedient mindset therefore means that we are quietly attentive to God and always seeking to do His will not our own.
The second vow of stability is enacted by the Benedictine monk or nun by making a commitment to one particular community and staying put. They don’t roam about with pastoral ministries like friars or active nuns. Instead they are ‘enclosed’. They stay in one place their whole life. This vow means they buckle down and learn to find God right where they are. The Benedictine way means we cannot be a church shopper—constantly looking around for the next religious charge. Instead stability means we see how God has called us to this place and this time, and if we cannot find God here and now we will not be able to find him anywhere.
The need for stability encourages us to adopt a discipline of daily prayer. The Benedictine monk or nun has set times for prayer each day. This kind of stability means the day develops a spiritual rhythm, and prayer becomes the heartbeat. Regular, liturgical prayer may not always be exciting, but soon we will find a deep permanence and before long our hearts and lives will be secure and sound in the Lord.
The third vow is conversion of life. We may have a conversion experience, but that is not the same as conversion of life. The conversion experience is a single event. Conversion of life is the work of a lifetime. It means co-operating with the Holy Spirit in the hard work of being transformed into the likeness of Christ. Conversion of life means the whole of our life is changed—from the inside out. Such a task is not easy, but the other two vows of obedience and stability help conversion of life to take place. When we buckle down and learn to listen, obey and stop running about that our lives begin to be converted to the image of Christ at the deepest level.
Benedictine monasteries and convents all welcome visitors for private or organised retreats. There are also many books available on the Benedictine way of spirituality. The Benedictine way is a practical, down to earth and simple way, but it is also a way of deep inspiration and profound prayer. The permanence and stability of the Benedictine way balances the vigorous life of the renewal movement. Together they offer us a way forward with both zeal and stability, and it is that which will help us complete the long distance run to heaven.
Dwight Longenecker is a freelance writer and broadcaster. In March he publishes a book on St Benedict and St Therese. His first book on the Benedictine way is Listen My Son—St Benedict for Fathers. It is published by Gracewing. Dwight is also the co-author of Challenging Catholics -- a Catholic Evangelical Dialogue. He is available for speaking engagements and retreats. Contact him on Dwight@Longenecker.fsnet.co.uk
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