Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Chapter 62: The priests of the monastery


When ordained a monk must be careful to avoid a spirit of self-importance or pride and he must avoid taking on himself any duties to which the abbot has not assigned him. (From para. 1 of Ch. 62 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

To my ears, St. Benedict is not discouraging a spirit of initiative or service.  He is, more directly, reminding me of the dangers of spiritual pride, and that the ego can insinuate itself into absolutely anything.

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