The Rule of Benedict - A Spirituality for the 21st Century - Chapter 7 Humility
May 27, 2024
Something to consider.
The very consciousness of God in time is central to Benedict’s perception of the spiritual life. Benedict’s position is both shocking and simple: being sinless is not enough. Being steeped in the mind of God is most important. While we restrain ourselves from harsh speech and bad actions and demands of the flesh and pride of soul, what is most vital to the fanning of the spiritual fire is to become aware that the God we seek is aware of us. Sanctity, in other words, is not a matter of moral athletics. Sanctity is a conscious relationship with the conscious but invisible God. The theology is an enlivening and liberating one: it is not a matter, the posture implies, of our becoming good enough to gain the God who is somewhere outside of us. It is a matter of gaining the God within, the love of Whom impels us to good.
- Chittister, Joan. The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century