The first thing mentioned by my class in Montgomery County, Maryland was how the Rule mandated treating work tools just as meticulously as worship articles. The group was surprised that a monastic community would think work was as important as worship.
One of the members referred to the 31st article that reads, “Regard all utensils and property of the monastery as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar, aware that nothing is to be neglected. Monks should not be prone to greed, nor be wasteful and extravagant with the goods of the monastery, but should do everything with moderation and according to the abbot’s orders.”
The first thing the 31st article reflects is Benedict’s appreciation of work. Remember he thought hermit monks praying all day and depending on others to feed them was an example of wicked zeal. Every one was to work, so the community would be self- sufficient. Of course, they were expected to care for the needy. However, an able bodied person was not considered needy.
The article also reflects the balance that Benedict thought must be observed between every part of life. The classic architecture of the monastery gave the same space to the four central areas of life: the chapel, the dining hall, the workspace, and the dormitory. I was surprised on my first reading of the Rule that one could be late for worship but not for dinner. Good zeal made sure to balance the four.
Balancing the spiritual life meant practicing moderation in all things. To claim you are too busy praying to work is just as bad as claiming you are to busy working to pray. In order to make that point, monks were expected to stop working at regular intervals in order to pray. Remember, a primary function of our prayer is to be a filter that reminds us God is present in our lives.
Another part of the 31st article reads, “Take care of everything, revere one another, eat and drink moderately, pray where you work, think deeply about life every day, read, sleep well, don’t demand the best of everything, pray daily, live as a community.”
Sister Joan believes these precepts can be transferred to our everyday communities. Their observance would certainly correct many of our modern problems. They assume all of life is sacred, because God is present among us. They believe every last one of us has something to do well, but that nobody can do everything. Everyone has to work together if we are to make the world a better place.
She thinks too many of us do not have time for other important things in our lives these days, because we have made our work our god. Our work demands too much of our time. We have taken on more than we can handle well. We are enslaved by our devotion to profit rather than to quality. In that sense, our goods own us rather than the other way around. The way to healing lies in appreciating how a spiritual community works together, each person sharing their gifts so that all have time to experience God’s presence.
