Monks are to listen "to the precepts of the master" but their primary and ultimate master is God. 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. What makes spiritual direction distinctive is its Garcia Jimenez de Cisneros in . Gymnasts do routines, yoga students practice poses, swimmers practice strokes, and tennis players practice their serves. Anglican spirituality is an ecclesial spirituality because Christian spirituality is all about life in Christ, which necessarily means life in His Body. What gives the Rule of Benedict its exceptional quality has commonly been called its "discretion," in the double sense of the word: discernment and moderation. This little rule for beginners serves to develop a spirituality made up of practices, which Benedictines incorporate into their relationship with God and their interactions with the people with whom they live and work. 9 13 According to monastic scholar Fr. 0000002192 00000 n Instead, holiness of life was to be found through the right balance of these elements in life. However, it may involve the following characteristics: Antiquity of 3,000 and 1,500 years. Because I couldnt find relevant, simple answers online to the questions, What is Benedictine Spirituality? and What are Benedictine practices? I decided to publish this summary of 23 habits Benedictines seek, through lifelong practice, to cultivate into a lifestyle. They pray the Office together, with no voice standing out above the others. Through contemplative prayer, the monk becomes an emptiness so there is space for God as well as space for others. Closely related to both listening and humility is the virtue of obedience. Benedictine Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki, a major force behind the ministries and outreach that shaped the Benedictines of Erie, Pennsylvania, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, died Jan. 6 at . Seeing the Face of Christ in the Poor. For more information, fill out the form below or contact: Mary Catherine Holicky, OSB. [] Review Benedictine Spirituality (Part 1 of 3) [], [] Review Core Values: Benedictine Spirituality (Part 1 of 3) [], [] Learn more about core Benedictine values. endstream endobj 10 0 obj <> endobj 11 0 obj <> endobj 12 0 obj <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]/ExtGState<>>> endobj 13 0 obj <> endobj 14 0 obj <> endobj 15 0 obj <> endobj 16 0 obj <> endobj 17 0 obj <> endobj 18 0 obj <>stream Recommended titles: Michael Casey, A Guide to Living in the Truth, 2001; Anselm Grn, Benedict of Nursia: His Message for Today, 2006. Benedictine spirituality is a fresh alternative in an increasingly fast-paced world. (320) 363-7112. But if they are rich communally, they must be rich for the many people who are poor not only materially but also intellectually, culturally, spiritually, and humanly. Eunice Antony, OSB. Core Islamic Beliefs: Six Articles of Faith. Rather, it is a series of embodied practices that forms the monk over the course of a lifetime to make space for the guest. Gymnasts practice routines, yoga students practice poses, swimmers practice strokes, and tennis players practice their serves. That kind of movement toward moderation is especially important as we live the open and complex questions. While there are times allotted for prayer and for work, ultimately there is to be no division between the two. Father Mandonnet then lists three characteristics that are concerned more especially with the will. The Rule of St. Benedict (RB) became a foundational text for monasticism in the West, having emerged in the sixth century as the Roman civilization was collapsing. Hospitality Benedict reminds us of our priorities: prayer, contemplation, balance and the importance of everything we do. Listen to the Holy Spirit speaking through scripture and through the insights of others. Benedict was born in Nursia, Italy in 480 and died in 543. What practise spiritual practices do? 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. Practice is how people develop the skills to get adept at anything. The term was applied to two principal types: the hermits who lived alone or in small unorganinzed groups, and the cenobites who lived in community. 480 to 547 CE in Italy. The root of the word obedience means "to hear" and is about making a commitment to listen for God's voice in the world and respond when you hear the call. It shows itself in the way (emphasis mine) you put up with the many things of your daily life, sickness, death, war, persecution, mishaps and misfortunes of every kind. In other words, without awareness of God and without gratitude, indeed, without the interweaving of all these practices into our lives, patience cannot exist. Benedictine spirituality took shape long before the split between Eastern and Western branches of the church in the 11 th century and the further divisions that resulted from the Reformation in the 16 th century. 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. Balance is less about achieving perfect equilibrium than it is a pendulum which continuously swings back toward a central point. As time went on we decided that we needed a clear focus on the values. Quick and easy, no. Prayer is essential to a Benedictine lifestyle. He neither innovated nor broke with tradition. She reminds that in the Rule of Benedict, in the economy of monastic life, prayer is work and work is prayer. While [t]ime set aside for prayer can be a great blessing, we can turn all of our daily tasks into prayer when we bring to them the awareness of ourselves in relationship with our ever-present God. In 1887 Pope Leo XIII, who was enamored of the Benedictines, reestablished the College of Saint Anselm in Rome. Focus Our Eyes on God and His Word For Saint Benedict, the Word of God was of central importance. [], [] Learn more about Benedictine spirituality. ), member of any of the confederated congregations of monks, lay brothers, and nuns who follow the rule of life of St. Benedict (c. 480-c. 547) and who are spiritual descendants of the traditional monastics of the early medieval centuries in Italy and Gaul. Many Oblates rely on. The Benedictine practice of Moderation in All Things is another that is trending today, under the word balance., Obedience is a concept 21st-century souls dont generally like to consider. Benedictine obedience is ultimately directed not to other humans or to ourselves, but through the agency of others and the deepest yearnings of our own hearts, in love, to God. This listening is not merely an intellectual or rational activity; it is intuitive, springing from the very core of the monk's being where he is most open to God and most open to the word of life that God speaks. Sam Rahberg is former Director of the Benedictine Center and a spiritual director in St. Paul. I hope this list (compiled in September, 2018) is helpful, perhaps even inspiring. Instead of being possessive and manipulative, he is called to grow in detachment which manifests itself in the constructive and creative use of things. Dominican preacher and mystic; b. Strasbourg, c. 1300; d. there, June 16, 1361. This grows our ability to rest in stability. 1) They know that not one-size-fits-all. a. de vog, The Rule of Saint Benedict: A Doctrinal and Spiritual Commentary (Kalamazoo 1983). Benedictine monks and nuns made a commitment to living in a specific location, within a specific community, as the context for their spiritual growth and development. 0000001554 00000 n In contrast to monks who fled the world to encounter God in solitude, St. Benedict's Rule was written to guide communities in living elemental aspects of Christianitysuch as shared meals, shared prayer, and shared work. The principles of evolution just enumerated enable us to understand why within one and the same Benedictine spiritual tradition there could appear and subsist different tendencies. I hope this list (compiled in September, 2018) is helpful, perhaps even inspiring. Near the end of his life in 547 AD, Benedict of Nursia wrote a a guide to living, in the company of other humans, the kind of good days that add up to a good life. 0000000556 00000 n Ignacio Gonzalez, OSB writes that the Benedictine practice of Conversatio requires that we never stop asking hard questions about our personal growth. 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. 21 0 obj <>stream Music students do their instruments. If he gets the grandeur of God in place, he is apt to get the rest of monastic life in place too. The devotio moderna is an example. The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (Latin: Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedict.They are also sometimes called the Black Monks, in reference to the colour of their religious habits.They were founded by Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century monk who laid the foundations of . 6 Characteristics Of Benedictine Spirituality . In this, affective piety and the contemplative study of the mysteries of God were no longer so strictly united as in the preceding centuries, in which the patristic tradition had been preserved. Adrian Burke, OSB writes, Benedict insists in his Rule that we must balance our lives with prayerand work, with readingand recreation, with restand activity. Benedictines attempt to incorporate all of these important aspects into every day. It strives to answer questions about the meaning of life, how people are connected to each other, truths about the universe, and other mysteries of human existence. 4. No one thingprayer, work, rest, studywas to be done in the extreme. Digital nun, writing for ibenedictines.org tells us,The practice of mindfulness, which for a Christian must always be the practice of mindfulness of the presence of God, is not something we learn in a few hours or even a few years. thats most of the time. Furthermore, he avoids anything that would be excessive or beyond the capacity of the average monk. Successful organizational leaders practice self-mastery and teamwork. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. Benedictine monastics make a three-fold commitment to stability, conversion (conversatio), and obedience. Benedictine spirituality is practical and profound. Ive drawn this list of 22 (+ 1 = 23) Benedictine practices (arranged alphabetically) from Stepping into the Oblate way of life, published by St. Benedicts Monastery in 2017, when Laureen Virnig OSB served as Director of Oblates. Benedictine, member of the Order of Saint Benedict (O.S.B. Read the full essay to learn more about how humility helps us grow in the love of God and deepens our bonds with each other. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Ancient Tradition. The Benedictine practice of hospitality is radical. praying the Divine Office) as well as regular silent . Saint Gregory has written that Saint Benedict, in entering his solitude, had no other desire than "to please God alone", "soli Deo placere desiderans." These simple words, better than any others, explain the monastic vocation. k. vermeiren, Praying with Benedict: Prayer in the Rule of St. Benedict (Kalamazoo 1999). Like counselling, therapy and coaching, spiritual direction rests on careful listening to the 'client'. Co-Director of the Spirituality Center. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Paradoxically, the key to a full life, is to understand that all things are to be done with moderation. (Rule of St. Benedict 48:9). Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. It is not possible to formulate a singl, Etymologically the word "contemplation" derives from templum, which signified the space marked out by a seer with his divining rod as a location for, Barth, Karl variety in physical characteristics, languages, and ways of life is really our . When a monk is aware of his own littleness, he is not driven to satisfy his own ego more than his true needs. 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. Be willing to wait. This model of [], [] rather than continually traveling on to somewhere else. Perhaps the most useful definition is that given by Jean gerson: "Theologia m, Omnipotence is derived From the Latin omnis (all) and potens (capable of making or producing). These three characteristics refer especially to intellectual activity. This is a life devoted to the "Benedictine values of community, consensus, peace, balance, hospitality, humility, simplicity and care of the planet in our daily lives," Judith Valente writes in an article for Global Sisters Report. 3 Views. If you fill out this form, Ill respond from my personal email. An essay by the Sisters of St. Marys Monastery in Rock Island, IL explains that the Benedictine practice of humility is the opposite of humiliation. The rule invites the monk to recognize the presence of God in his life, a presence which is neither gained or won or achieved but simply given. People are seen as an integrated whole: Body, Mind, and Spirit. Little by little, however, the Rule of Benedict became the principal rule, particularly in the Anglo-Saxon countries and in Italy. Mindfulness is a trending word these days yogis, psychologists, educators, physicians, and practically everyone else is talking about the importance of quieting our busy minds in order to become more aware of the present moment. 1. 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. 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