Having the mind of a beginner, being receptive to starting anew, starting fresh, starting overthis, too, is a Benedictine practice. Personal or private prayer is traditionally exercised under the form of meditative reading of Holy Scripture and of authors who explain and reflect on it, according to the three phases designated by the words "reading" (lectio ), meditation (meditatio ), and "prayer" (oratio or contemplatio ). Her muscular Christianity is grounded in the spiritual practices of the Rule of Saint Benedict, such as silence, hospitality, humility, and peace. You can read more about the Liturgy of the Hours by clicking here, but the best way to learn about Liturgical prayer is to find a monastery and experience it. The discipline of slowing down to pay attention renews our orientation toward receiving the presence of Christ. 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. 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). The second characteristic of the monastic vocation is that it demands a life of which a privileged part is given to prayer. Learn more at www.samuelrahberg.com. Benedictine Abbeys and Priories in the U.S. Benedictine University: Narrative Description, https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/benedictine-spirituality. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. He writes: "The will develops its own gifts, seeking to perfect them in the order of nature and of grace so as to bring the faithful soul to spiritual maturity. The Benedictines, strictly speaking, do not constitute a single religious . Poet/Writer. startxref One of the primary functions of the various monastic structures is to provide conditions in which the monks can concentrate on learning the art of listening. Adrian also writes, This kind of wisdom is why St. Benedicts Rule 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. In other words, Benedicts Rule stirs the hearts of those who want to live each day fully. k. vermeiren, Praying with Benedict: Prayer in the Rule of St. Benedict (Kalamazoo 1999). It is one among many schools that speak to contemporary hearts, yet it is particularly unique in its lasting impact on Western Christianity. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Co-Director of the Spirituality Center. Obedience means "to listen intently," and this vow is undertaken in a spirit of faith and love in following Christ who was obedient to the will of the Father. 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 . Benedictines believe that the Christian life is best lived not through the extremes of any harsh religious asceticism but in the daily context of good, balanced life in community. Benedictine prayer has several characteristics that make more for a spirituality of awareness than of consolation. Be willing to wait. Just because these spiritualities are different does not mean they are contradictory. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. The typical person takes little time for personal renewal in the hectic daily round of activities. 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. Hence they are rich compared with many who come to the monastery for help. We each hunger to make a meaningful contribution to our world. A crucial confessor and teacher for Ignatius very early in his spiritual journey was a French monk, Fr. Benedictine spirituality is a way of life that helps a person to seek God and his will daily. A devoted monk, he established the Rule of Benedict. In The Rule of Benedict for Beginners, Wil Derkse reveals how elements from Benedictine spirituality and the Benedictine lifestyle may be . 0000001968 00000 n Digital nun, writing for ibenedictines.org tells us, Fr. Christian monasticism had been in existence for a long time before Benedict wrote his rule. Father Mandonnet then lists three characteristics that are concerned more especially with the will. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Benedictine spirituality is practical and profound. Poverty of spirit, simplicity, sharing and giving, self-denial prompted by love, freedom of heart, gratitude, care for persons, and sound judgment with regard to created things should proceed from exposure to God in prayer. The Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Indiana explain the importance of community life in Benedictine practice on their website. The rule is marked by a strong sense of the individual monk's personal worth and dignity. It sets up a framework of life, an institution, of which the essential and constitutive elements are firmly determined: life in common under the government of a superior called an abbot, who has the help of a prior and other officials and takes counsel of the whole assembly of monks, even the youngest in the community. The Rule of St. Benedict, written in the 6th century AD, still holds great relevance for our lives today. Hospitality It is rather the fact that monastic existence is a form of religious life having not secondary or ministerial purpose. [contact-form][contact-field label=Name type=name required=1 /][contact-field label=Email type=email required=1 /][contact-field label=Website type=url /][contact-field label=Comment type=textarea required=1 /][/contact-form], Downloaded from the web site of the Bodleian library: [1]. 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. 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. Divine omnipotence is a divine operative attribute, an, TAULER, JOHANNES Continue to Prayer and Community: Benedictine Spirituality (Part 2). But what does the Bible teach on this issue? Benedictine monks have often received freely from their families and educators, from the rich Benedictine tradition, from the abundant life of their own communities, and from the many mercies of God. About oblates, the Benedictine order says: "Oblates seek God by striving to become holy in their chosen way of life. Encyclopedia.com. 1. In no way am I qualified to be a teacher of the Benedictine way of life. Like counselling, therapy and coaching, spiritual direction rests on careful listening to the 'client'. The Prologue through RB 7 are a foundational primer; RB 8-20 speak of liturgical prayer; RB 20-67 include teachings for the common life; and RB 68-72 offer a theology of monastic life with an emphasis on love (Prayer and Community: The Benedictine Tradition. Only after we have come to understand our desires are we capable of relinquishing them in service of others. Finding God in All Things. Benedictine writers often appealed to methods of prayer and asceticism that were foreign to the monastic tradition. 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. Gymnasts do routines, yoga students practice poses, swimmers practice strokes, and tennis players practice their serves. Benedictine Spirituality - also known as Monastic Spirituality. 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. [], [] Learn more about Benedictine spirituality. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. // endobj The Rule of Benedict opens with the word "listen" (ausculta ). In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Since Benedict was a monk, the spirituality which is based on his rule, is fundamentally monastic. Instead, holiness of life was to be found through the right balance of these elements in life. . When a monk is aware of his own littleness, he is not driven to satisfy his own ego more than his true needs. The website of Subiaco Abbey in Arkansas tells us, Modern monks like to point out that first word in the Rule is to Listen,which cant be done while talking! (Six Hallmarks of Benedictine Spirituality) by Fr. Columba Stewart OSB, the 73 brief chapters of the RB make up four major sections. I hope this list (compiled in September, 2018) is helpful, perhaps even inspiring. 6 Characteristics Of Benedictine Spirituality . defines the leader of a Benedictine community is not being head of an institution but being in relationship with all the members. Closely related to both listening and humility is the virtue of obedience. In other words, the core of Franciscan spirituality is the universal call to holiness that all women and men receive at baptism. 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. In the East it dates back to the 3rd century with St. Anthony, and in the West to the 4th century with St. Martin and other founders of monasteries. Through this experience, he came to believe that authentic spiritual growth happens only when we life with and among flawed human beings whose faults and failings are only too obvious. In community we struggle through the practice of being in right relationship with people who are stubborndullundisciplinedrestlesscareless scatterbrainedirritatingand tiresome. It is only in our communitiesfamilies or monasteries, neighborhoods, workplaces, churches and organizationsthat we make spiritual progress by learning to love and accept others for who they are, not for who we wish they would be. Saint Benedict Benedict of Nursia lived from ca. Being poor with the poor has characterized many religious from the time of the Middle Ages, but Benedictines, because of their cenobitic life and their cultural inheritance, are often rich. It was considered as proposing a spiritual program, while daily life was regulated by "customaries," to which succeeded, from the beginning of the 16th century, "Declarations" and "Constitutions" as well as the "Ceremonial." Awareness of God In Benedictine practice we acknowledge the primacy of God and look for God in the ordinary events of each day. In a blog hosted by Holy Wisdom Monastery of Madison, Wisconsin, Lynne Smith, OSB writes that in America, middle and upper class people tend to imagine they are living self-sufficiently, believing they are able to pretty much take care of [their] needs. This self-deception is possible only when [w]e take for granted all the people who work behind the scenes to provide the food for the store, to staff and maintain the filling station and all those people involved in the health care system. Humility helps us accept our gifts and talents joyfully while letting go of our false selves. Benedicts wisdom and commentary has provided the foundation for Benedictine communities throughout the centuries, and continues to influence many of us in the community of St. Pauls. a. de vog, The Rule of Saint Benedict: A Doctrinal and Spiritual Commentary (Kalamazoo 1983). It is one among many schools that speak to contemporary hearts, yet it is particularly unique in its lasting impact on Western Christianity. Spirituality, mutual obedience is a Buddhist one Benedictine monastics make a meaningful to. Coaching, spiritual seekers practice in the Rule, and in shaping structures that support values like these a of. 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6 characteristics of benedictine spirituality