Measuring people, a process that includes personal
observation and spiritual discernment, is a necessary part of life. It is part
of life in general. It is also an important process in the Christian life.
How does a statement like this square with Christ’s
statement in Matthew 7:1-5 regarding judging others? Christ said,
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with
the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the
measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not
notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me
take the speck out of your eye, while the log is in your own eye?’ You
hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly
to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”
When I read the Rule, when I read the Scriptures for
that matter, I cannot help but to realize the necessity to search for character
traits in others, even in others who offer some type of profession of faith.
It is not done to nit-pick. It is not done to establish some
type of “Big I – Little You” platform. It is done largely for safety and personal
protection. Character and behavior traits, especially the traits considered to
be the fruit of the Spirit[1],
are reasonable qualifiers. There is also the “interior witness” of the Holy
Spirit that is best not ignored. Listen with the ear of the heart to what the Holy Spirit is saying.
Determining qualifying character and behavior traits is particularly
clear in the New Testament in regard to determining the eligibility of Bishops
and Deacons.[2] This
is also particularly clear in the Rule regarding appointment to positions of
service within the monastery.
We will ever be, to some degree, making judgments about
people.
The Apostle Paul tells us that those who are spiritual
discern all things.[3]
Other translations use the words judge or judgment rather
than discern.
There is truth. There is error.
It behooves us to know the Scriptures. The New Testament
did, after all, come to us from the Appointed Magisterium of the Early Church.
It behooves us to know what the Catechism teaches regarding the Deposit of
Faith. It also behooves us, as Oblates of Saint Benedict, to study, know, and daily apply the Rule to our lives in a way that leads us deeper into the truth and
farther away from error.
A recent article from one of the leading conservative
Catholic publishers[4]
insists that none of us are exempt from the duty to repudiate error in the
current moral morass that surrounds us. Repudiating error necessarily means knowing
the truth and being able to spot error.
The danger, inherent in this process, is allowing our
judgments of others to elevate our correctness and perceived personal value
before God in such a way that we begin looking down upon them from a perch of
superiority. It is easy, in our correctness, to discover ourselves conceited
and swollen with pride. We do well to continually remind ourselves of the
destructive nature of this deadly sin[5]
that always precedes and precipitates a fall of grace.
Abbot Benedict insists that humility[6]
is the only antidote for a prideful superiority complex.
He also strictly forbids favoritism in the Holy Rule.
Abbot Benedict wrote of himself, of Abbots that would follow
in his place, and to all of us desiring to follow the principles stated in the
Rule saying,
Let him make no distinction of persons in the monastery.
Let him not love one more than another, unless it be one whom he findeth more
exemplary in good works and obedience. Let not a free-born be preferred to a
freedman, unless there be some other reasonable cause. But if from a just
reason the Abbot deemeth it proper to make such a distinction, he may do so in
regard to the rank of anyone whomsoever; otherwise let everyone keep his own
place; for whether bond or free, we are all one in Christ (cf Gal 3:28; Eph
6:8), and we all bear an equal burden of servitude under one Lord, "for
there is no respect of persons with God" (Rom 2:11). We are distinguished
with Him in this respect alone, if we are found to excel others in good works
and in humility. Therefore, let him have equal charity for all, and impose a
uniform discipline for all according to merit.[7]
My motivation for writing these reflections if very basic.
I believe that the principles contained in the Rule of Saint
Benedict offer the same remedial aid to people in the 21st Century
that they did to those first followers of Benedict in the 6th
Century. I desire, as an Oblate of Saint Benedict living in the world, to shoulder
my own equal burden of servitude.
In so believing and doing, these pages that appear at Oblate
Reflections are merely my own attempt to [1] understand more fully and
integrate more practically these principles into my own life in the 21st
Century, and [2] hopefully communicate these principles in such a way that
others dwelling outside the walls and halls of Benedictine monasteries discover
these values and implement them as a way of life.
[1]
Galatians 5:22-23
[2] 1
Timothy 3:1-13
[3] 1
Corinthians 2:15
[4]
National Catholic Register, The Silence of the Church Deafens the World
[5]
Pride is always listed first in the list of Capital Sins
[6]
Holy Rule Chapter 7
[7]
Holy Rule 2:16-22
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