Chapter 2: Gifts needed by an abbot or abbess (paragraph 2)
In fact they should remember that they will have to account in the awesome judgement of God both for their own teaching and also for the obedience of their disciples. (From para. 2 of Ch. 2 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
My hunch about the judgment of God is that it's "awesome" because it's somehow inclusive, and probably the term "judgment" doesn't really apply at all. I'm treading on mysterious territory here, but the contemplative experience helps me see that so-called judgment may actually be more of a purification -- a burning away of all that causes individual separateness -- but not of individual responsibility. I'm responsible for my own actions and the infinite ways they reverberate in the universe. This is a paradox of uniqueness and unity.
This entry from Benedict goes on to say "if they have faithfully shepherded a restive and disobedient flock, always striving to cure their unhealthy ways, it will be otherwise: the shepherd will be acquitted at God's judgment." It reminds me God is merciful. The Abbott or prioress is not a controlling dictator but a model of Christ who instills in those they guide a sense of personal responsibility and a direct relationship with a merciful God, the ultimate Prioress/Abbott. As a mother guiding my children (who just turned 13!) I am a prioress of sorts. I am called to live a life of faith in Christ, molding, shaping, disciplining and loving my children whose care God has entrusted me with. The mantra helps keep me faithful and centered in Christ (not my own ego). It helps me to detach as appropriate with love, and at this stage of their development, to ride the wave of the teenage years with some semblance of sanity, equanimity and mercy for us all. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus...
ReplyDeleteSt Paul say “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” How blessed is the person whose image is a true reflection of Christ, whose ego does not block Christ's love.
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