Living out the call

Benedictines for the future

We envision a new manifestation of Benedictine life. Small groups that do not physically live together but instead commit themselves to becoming a cohesive, committed community that lives the Benedictine Rule as adapted to a new era. These groups are meant to be an adjunct to existing oblate communities for people who desire a deeper experience of living Benedictine life.

These small communities will adapt the key characteristics of cenobitic living described in the Rule to the needs of a new age. They will be cenobites, living under a Rule and a superior. Their cenobium will be their community, the Rule their guidebook to a life seeking God and their superior will be a commitment to obedience as practiced in new forms in their community.

The new communities will be small, to facilitate deep sharing, commitment and mutual support. They may gather in-person, virtually, or both. They will make a strong commitment to meet regularly and to make their community meetings the highest priority.

The groups will read the Rule together, discussing what call to action they see in each paragraph. This is not a “one and done” activity, but in each iteration, as the monastics mature, they will find more that is relevant for their lives.

The kind of Benedictine faith community we envision is for anyone, married or single, carrying a mortgage or paying rent, caring for children or parents. As the world no longer resembles sixth century Italy, this adaptation is for a community that does not live under the same roof.

Fifteen hundred years ago, people were more concerned with being in community than in fostering independence. Over time, in the West at least, we have prioritized self-reliance and individual freedom of choice, and developed the habits of mind that support that point of view. St. Benedict’s Rule was designed to take communally and hierarchically inclined people deeper into their own hearts, where, as St. Augustine says, they will find that God is closer to them than they are to themselves. The goal, as Benedict explains in the chapter on humility, is to arrive at that perfect love of God which casts out fear, and through this love and habitual persistence, all these practices will become effortless--”out of love for Christ, good habit and delight in virtue.”

Modern people have different challenges, but the same goal. Thus, what follows is not a prescription, but an example of how one might study and form the rule in modern life. This is not relativism: we are not saying that each individual decides for themselves what is best. There is one Holy Spirit, moving in each one of us, like the leaven in the dough. And like the working of yeast, there is a different effect on wheat flour, barley flour, or mixed with water malt and hops!

We hope you will take what is useful from the following, using it as a model to deeply ponder what meaning the Rule might have in the life of your community. It is not necessary to understand how Benedict’s practices will mold and hone you, but to know that you have 1500 years of companions who have sought God in this way. It will require the monks to get out of their comfort zones, over and over.

First, find a copy of the Rule online or in a book. You will need it to continue with this series.