WCCM Oblate Blog: Reflections from Daily Reading of the Rule of St. Benedict

WCCM Benedictine Oblates are encouraged to read a designated portion of the Rule daily, and to write a brief, personal response. I hope that this blog will support our Oblate community in this practice. Please, keep blog entries brief and in a first-person ("I") voice. Refrain from discussing, offering an opinion, or commenting on other entries. Simply consider how a particular section of the Rule is speaking to you in your present circumstances.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Chapter 50: Those whose work takes them away from the monastery

Those whose work takes them some distance from the monastery so that they cannot manage to get to the oratory at the right times for prayer must kneel with profound reverence for the Lord and perform the work of God at their place of work. (From para. 1 of Ch. 50 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

I'm sensing an inward movement -- the work of God (meditation) and my places of work -- closing in on each other, becoming more continuous.

2 comments:

Wally SaundersDecember 1, 2016 at 5:26 AM
" . . . shall perform the Work of God
in the place where they are working,
bending their knees in reverence before God."
Experts tell me that getting down on my knees, for even a few moments, before you, Abba, is a good orthopedic exercise for my aging arthritic bones and muscles. The practice, no matter how brief, also reminds me of how the "serious eyes of a child" (John Main's words) view and explore and adventure in our ever-new world.
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Roger SessionsDecember 2, 2016 at 6:33 AM
It is easy to remember to stay centered in God when I am with my community of God. It is harder, but even more necessary, to remain centered in God when I am away from my community.
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