Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Chapter 57: Members of the community with creative gifts


If there are any in the community with creative gifts, they should use them in their workshops with proper humility, provided that they have the permission of the superior. (From para. 1 of Ch. 57 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997).

In my deepening wonder and awe of the creative process, I realize that humility is exactly the key. Like entering into the prayer of Christ, creativity is something I enter into, or relate to, or am. The ego only holds me back.

1 comment:

  1. Fraud in the monastery: who would think about this possibility but a down to earth realist like Benedict! He reminds me and forces me to admit how much I can and have defrauded my family and friends and community by my perfectionism that leads me to bury my creative talents. Writing these reflections on the Rule, for instance. My paranoid fear of others’ criticism so often smothers my “widow’s mite” of a comment. Abba, Divine Artisan, let this tiny contribution be something we co-create, a way we share our Love, a way I share you, who are Love.

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