Chapter 72: The good spirit which should inspire monastic life
By following this path they try to be first to show respect to one another with the greatest patience in tolerating weaknesses of body or character. (From Ch. 72 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
Why can it be so hard to tolerate weakness of body or character -- those of others or mine, as well? Impatience is the ego jumping in, I suppose, trying to build itself up by putting others down, or trying to gain attention for its own pitiful state. And so it seems to me that impatience is the opposite of love. Love expands the space between my impatient reaction and my heart, making room for the patient gaze of love.
“Growing old is not for wimps,” comments my friend, also in his seventies. Life and aging do demand of me lots of what Benedict calls here “the greatest patience in tolerating weakness of body or character”, whether in myself or others. My twice-daily meditation helps. My patience is still far from perfect but certainly has improved since I started this discipline of silence, stillness and simplicity a few years ago.
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