Benedictine spirituality is essentially contemplative even though many who follow the rule are deeply involved in intellectual or manual work as well as in ministerial service to others. Therefore in Benedictine spirituality, mutual obedience is a habit to be shown by all to one another. backgrounds including non-Catholic ones find deep spirituality in the Divine Office and the other Benedictine practices in the Rule such as the emphasis on work and lectio divina (slow prayerful reading), is difficult to state briefly. As for details, Benedict left much to the discernment and initiative of the superior. Benedictines carry on a monastic tradition that stems from the origins of the Christian monastic movement in the late third century. But it also requires that he let go of false expectations concerning others. Out of these . This model of [], [] rather than continually traveling on to somewhere else. Benedictine Spirituality - also known as Monastic Spirituality. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. What practise spiritual practices do? Perhaps the most useful definition is that given by Jean gerson: "Theologia m, Omnipotence is derived From the Latin omnis (all) and potens (capable of making or producing). It is only in a secondary sense that Benedict himself, speaking through the rule, and the abbot of the community are masters. Through this experience, he came to believe that authentic spiritual growth happens only when we life with and among flawed human beings whose faults and failings are only too obvious. In community we struggle through the practice of being in right relationship with people who are stubborndullundisciplinedrestlesscareless scatterbrainedirritatingand tiresome. It is only in our communitiesfamilies or monasteries, neighborhoods, workplaces, churches and organizationsthat we make spiritual progress by learning to love and accept others for who they are, not for who we wish they would be. Which value speaks to your heart most strongly at this time and why? It is not possible to formulate a singl, Etymologically the word "contemplation" derives from templum, which signified the space marked out by a seer with his divining rod as a location for, Barth, Karl For the readers convenience, I will include only six of them here along with a simple explanation. Instead, holiness of life was to be found through the right balance of these elements in life. Brendan Rolling, OSB of St Benedicts Abbey of Atchison, Kansas quotes Abbot Martin Veth: To will what God wills and because He wills it, this is the essence of patience. It is humility that takes the monk beyond the myth of his own grandeur to the grandeur of God. Because I couldnt find relevant, simple answers online to the questions, What is Benedictine Spirituality? and What are Benedictine practices? I decided to publish this summary of 23 habits Benedictines seek, through lifelong practice, to cultivate into a lifestyle. Hence they are rich compared with many who come to the monastery for help. It is a lifetimes work, and it is not to be rushed or short-circuited in any way. Click here to read hints on how to enjoy this lifelong practice. Chanon gave Ignatius the book Exercises for the Spiritual Life written by Benedictine reformer, Fr. Only in later centuries and especially since the 19th century has it occupied a more important place in monastic life than in the observance of the majority of non-monastic religious congregations, with the consequence that it is usually considered a special feature of monastic life and spirituality. In this article, I have merely collected and summarized what other, more experienced Benedictines have taught and published. The resulting collection of ten core values - love, prayer, stability, conversatio, obedience, discipline . 480 to 547 CE in Italy. 0000000556 00000 n But Benedict also reminds the monk that there is a wicked zeal which leads to death. Seeing the Face of Christ in the Poor. Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/benedictine-spirituality. Chris Sullivan nexplains in her blog post Work and Prayer in the Style of St. Benedict for Loyala Press. We always can go deeper in prayer, grow more open to the truth, enrich our understanding of the will of God, and learn what, in this moment at this time, is good, acceptable, and right. Joan Chittister is a Benedictine sister with an ecumenical outreach and vision who has written more than 50 books. The Benedictine practice of mindfulness, like all the Benedictine practices, is lifelong. Benedict shows us the value of ordering our day around communal prayer (i.e. Fr. Romey is the driving force behind "Being Benedictine in the 21st Century: Spiritual Seekers in Conversation," a conference planned for June 2020 at Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison. This religious practice refers to St. Benedict and his spiritual practice. The typical person takes little time for personal renewal in the hectic daily round of activities. Ive drawn this list of 22 (+ 1 = 23) Benedictine practices (arranged alphabetically) from Stepping into the Oblate way of life, published by St. Benedicts Monastery in 2017, when Laureen Virnig OSB served as Director of Oblates. Music students practice their instruments. Benedict called this lifelong process conversatiomorum or conversion of life. It is that same balance that has made it attractive today to those countless lay men and women who are not living vowed lives in a monastery but who are associated with Benedictine monasteries as oblates attempting to live their lives in the secular world according to the spiritual values set out in the rule. The Friends of St. Benedict website says The Rule offers people a plan for living a balanced, simple, and prayerful life. Simple, yes. When I consider Benedictine hospitality, I like to extend this notion to the dialogues we initiate with those of other religious and spiritual backgrounds, especially with non-Christians. 2. This is not simply a change in my opinion or even in my ideological stance, but a much deeper change in my attitude, a real change in my way of being and doing. Listening is integral to the practice of conversatio, indeed to all the practices, which, as Laureen Virnig OSB teaches to Oblates in formation, are inseparable woven together to make of our spirituality a living tapestry. Eunice Antony, OSB. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. Through contemplative prayer, the monk becomes an emptiness so there is space for God as well as space for others. Hence the monk must be poor psychologically because he realizes his dependence on others. Gymnasts do routines, yoga students practice poses, swimmers practice strokes, and tennis players practice their serves. <<8F8BC2AF36339D4C919A3718E673BE78>]>> 0000002499 00000 n 0000004832 00000 n Benedictine spirituality is a way of life that helps a person to seek God and his will daily. A monk should be above all a good listener. endstream endobj 10 0 obj <> endobj 11 0 obj <> endobj 12 0 obj <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]/ExtGState<>>> endobj 13 0 obj <> endobj 14 0 obj <> endobj 15 0 obj <> endobj 16 0 obj <> endobj 17 0 obj <> endobj 18 0 obj <>stream As Joan Chittister puts it, Benedictine practices build a spirituality that will enable us to go on beyond disappointment, beyond boredom, beyond criticism, beyond loss. Benediction spirituality is for the long haul.. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Benedict reminds us of our priorities: prayer, contemplation, balance and the importance of everything we do. In the 7th and 8th centuries it was often combined with other rules, especially that of St. Columban (d. 615). RB 73, the final chapter, is more or less a bibliography for all that precedes it. This little rule for beginners serves to develop a spirituality made up of practices, which Benedictines incorporate into their relationship with God and their interactions with the people with whom they live and work. There was societal chaos and political dissatisfaction and we might wish that the conditions of those times did not sound so familiar to our modern ears. It is likewise through that response that one becomes free to be and develop as the person one is called to be. We are all accountable as steward of creation, they tell us. In other words, to be a good Franciscan means to be a good Christian. Garcia Jimenez de Cisneros in . Benedictine spirituality is a fresh alternative in an increasingly fast-paced world. Personal or private prayer is traditionally exercised under the form of meditative reading of Holy Scripture and of authors who explain and reflect on it, according to the three phases designated by the words "reading" (lectio ), meditation (meditatio ), and "prayer" (oratio or contemplatio ). 0000002422 00000 n Humility demands that the monk take God seriously, that he take others seriously, but that he never take himself too seriously. j. chittister, The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages (New York 1992). As a Benedictine practice, obedience is intimately linked to being in right relationship, conversatio, humility, and listening. 0000001968 00000 n Listen to your body, to the negative and irritating things like our fatigues and headaches and muscle aches, revealing to us the lack of balance and health in our lives.. It's not a principle that defines what it means to be a Benedictine institution. ." On the blog Catholic Beer Club, Br. Stewardship of resources, as a Benedictine practice, flows out of the commitment to stability, explain the monks and oblates of Saint Meinrad Archabbley, in this post on Environmental Stewardship on the blog Echoes from the Bell Tower. He was the son of a noble and grew up in Rome. Brendan Rolling, OSB of St Benedicts Abbey of Atchison, Kansas, Sister Joan tells us that a Benedictine lifestyle is an an oasis of human peace. This Benedictine practice is exceedingly difficult for most of us, for most of our lives. It is a comprehensive rule of life for the whole church and all her members. The monk's own attitude toward his life then is one of stewardship. In her blog, Presbyterian minister Lynne Baab offers ways for those of us who do not live in a monastery to embrace stability. Bndictine D.O.M. Monastic Spirituality. In the East it dates back to the 3rd century with St. Anthony, and in the West to the 4th century with St. Martin and other founders of monasteries. Thus when St. Benedict appeared, monasticism was already solidly implanted in Egypt, Syria, Palestinethe whole East and in Ireland, Gaul, Italy, Spain, and Africa in the West. Lynne Smith elaborates, All this service is sacred and to be done with reverence service is seen as a form of prayer, a way of seeking God. This practice is also linked inextricably to gratitude, as we give thanks for the ways we can serve and for those who serve us. Benedictines say mindfulness is as much as a Christian and biblical concept as it is a Buddhist one. Near the end of his life in 547 AD, Benedict of Nursia wrote a a guide to living, in the company of other humans, the kind of good days that add up to a good life. Benedictine spirituality helps us to: Focus our eyes on God and His Word Be a people of humility Live and pray in community, rather than being too individualistic Maintain prayerful discipline in our lives 1. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. 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