Chapter 4: Guidelines for Christian and monastic good practice (paragraphs 9-13)

The workshop in which we are called to work along these lines with steady perseverance is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in community life. (From para. 13 of Ch. 4 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

Nearly each word or phrase in Benedict's sentence beats, to my ears, a steady rhythm that is the pulse of stability. This stability is offered to me, as I recognize my life rooted in God, with God, as the most important relationship of my life. This central relationship then allows all the other relationships of my life more freedom than my ego could ever give them.