Chapter 64: The election of an abbot or abbess (paragraphs 3-4)
They should not be trouble-makers nor given to excessive anxiety nor should they be too demanding and obstinate, nor yet interfering and inclined to suspicion so as never to be at rest. (From para. 4 of Ch. 64 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
My job is not to be busy about controlling people or events, but to "speak truth to power", as the Quakers say. May I be of service to others by allowing "the indwelling Spirit of Truth [to] continually influence and form" me (paraphrased from John Main, Silence & Stillness, p. 239).
Recently I had all of my five grandsons, ages two to nine, together. The eldest ran up to me asking that I settle a squabble he was having with his seven year old cousin, who, in turn, paid me no heed. When I complained to his mother, she thought for the briefest moment and then said to me, “tell them to settle the matter themselves. I am not going to micromanage their disagreements.” In that moment, what a good abbess/abbot/parent role model she became for me, Abba. Help me avoid the “excessive anxiety” and forgetfulness of you that too often leads me to micromanage my life and the lives of those about me.
ReplyDeleteAs my own Abbess, I need to be balanced in allowing my strength points to be developed and my weaknesses to be understood. So that I can optimize both in serving well in the Kingdom of God here on Earth.
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