Chapter 7: The value of humility (paragraph 18)

The eleventh step of humility is concerned with the manner of speech appropriate in a monastery. We should speak gently and seriously with words that are weighty and restrained. We should be brief and reasonable in whatever we have to say and not raise our voices to insist on our own opinions. We should speak gently and seriously with words that are weighty and restrained. We should be brief and reasonable in whatever we have to say and not raise our voices to insist on our own opinions. (From para. 18 of Ch. 7 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

If I have any doubt about how the Rule of Benedict applies to my life in my current community and culture, I can read these words and realize that both Benedict and Fr John teach the power of silence, selflessness, and truth. This is not timidity but rootedness, stability.  I believe that this is in the same way as Quakers say, "Speak truth to power."