CHAPTER 5
30 The Rule, Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
Obedience "The first step of humility is unhestitating obedience, which comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all." Forsaking one's own choice in order to obey someone else, to do the will of another, requires humility. Chapter 5 deals with obedience to the abbot, but St. Benedict is of the opinion that obedience to the superior of the monastery is like the obedience we owe to God:
They [the monks] carry out the superior's orders as promptly as if the command came from God himself. The Lord says of men like this: . . . Whoever listens to you, listens to me (Luke
10:16). Such people as these immediately put aside their own concerns, abandon their own will, and lay down whatever they have in hand, leaving it unfinished. With the ready step of obedience, they follow the voice of authority in their actions. Almost at the same moment, then, as the master gives the instruction the disciple quickly puts it into practice in the fear of God; and both actions together are swiftly completed as one.
St. Benedict sees his monks obeying promptly "because of the holy service they have professed, or because of dread of hell and for the glory of everlasting life." Obedience, along with stability and fidelity to monastic life, is a specific vow the monastic makes. Obedience is a clause in the contract the monastic signs. Monks and nuns obey because they have promised to be obedient. Obedience is part of their routine.
Also, they know disobedience can lead to hell, and they would prefer going to heaven.
In the next paragraph, it becomes clear that it is not just routine or fear of hell that motivates the obedience of monks.
It is love that impels them to pursue everlasting life; therefore, they are eager to take the narrow road of which the
The Rule, Chapter 5 31 Lord says: Narrow is the road that leads to life (Matt 7:14). They no longer live by their own judgment, giving in to their whims and appetites; rather they walk according to another's decisions and directions, choosing to live in monasteries and to have an abbot over them. Men of this resolve unquestionably conform to the saying of the Lord: J have come not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me (John 6:38).
St. Benedict brings us back to that first step of humility, to "unhesitating obedience, which comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all." The monk's obedience is inspired by Christ's obedience to his Father.
Furthermore, the disciples7 obedience must be gladly given, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7). If a disciple obeys grudgingly and grumbles, not only aloud but also in his heart, then, even though he carries out the order, his action will not be accepted with favor by God, who sees that he is grumbling in his heart. He will have no reward for service of this kind; on the contrary, he will incur punishment for grumbling, unless he changes for the better and makes amends.
St. Benedict needs to add a warning against grumbling because he knows the nature of monks. Although they choose to live in a monastery and have an abbot over them, monks are still prone to grumbling when orders are given. In the Rule, monks are frequently admonished not to grumble. The monk who obeys while grumbling, even interiorly, will merit no reward for his obedience. St. Benedict cannot tolerate grumblers. Neither can God.
Another characteristic about Benedictine obedience is that it is not just the abbot to whom we are to be obedient; St. Benedict wants us to be obedient to one another also (ch. 71). Obeying the boss is one thing, but obeying someone who is your equal is something else.
Our infirmarian was having a problem with one of the elderly monks who refused to take a bath. No amount of coax-
32 The Rule, Chapter 5 ing had worked, and the situation was becoming critical— or at least offensive to those of us who dwelt with the old man.
The infirmarian sought the intervention of the abbot. Surely, the senior monk who had lived under obedience to more than one abbot in his long monastic career would listen to this one.
'Who are you?" the monk asked when the abbot commanded him to take a bath.
"I'm the abbot."
The old monk was astounded. This seemed incredulous.
"How long have you been abbot?"
"I was elected by the community ten years ago," the abbot replied.
"Well, I certainly didn't vote for you."
Nevertheless, the old fellow knew what having an abbot over him meant. He submitted to someone else's decision and direction. He took a bath.
St. Benedict's chapter on obedience seems reasonable.
There is nothing irrational in it, no suggestion that his monks will ever be subjected to the demands of blind obedience. St.
Benedict is not the kind of abbot, like some of his predecessors, who sent monks out to cultivate stakes planted in the desert.
What St. Benedict said in the Prologue to his Rule follows through in chapter 5:
In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. The good of all concerned, however, may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love. Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation.
It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.
You do not profess monastic obedience, but you are required to be obedient in many ways in your own state of life.
The Rule, Chapter 6 33 We all learn to "run on the path of God's commandments" by taking that "first step of humility [which] is unhesitating obedience." That's how the race towards heaven is run.
CHAPTER 6
Restraint of Speech We may wonder if St. Benedict applied the wrong title to chapter 6 of the Holy Rule. Perhaps "Restraint of Speech" should be called "Repression of Speech" instead. In his life and teaching, St. Benedict emphasized moderation, but when it comes to speaking he says, "Permission to speak should seldom be granted even to mature disciples, no matter how good or holy or constructive their talk." This hardly seems moderate.
Really, though, things weren't that strict in St. Benedict's monastery. In other chapters of the Rule, we can find evidence that the monks were talkative. They exercised their vocal cords more than seldom. In chapter 42, St. Benedict stresses the silence that "monks should diligently cultivate . . . at all times, but especially at night." He appears to be saying that speaking in the daytime is bound to happen but that it should never occur at night.
He tells the monks to make a special effort in Lent (ch. 49) to avoid "needless talking and idle jesting." From reading chapter 6, we know that St. Benedict would prefer that monks abstain from these faults always, but monks have always been human beings (sociable animals), and St. Benedict knew that better than anyone else. Try harder, he says, to be better during Lent.
In chapter 43, dealing with tardiness, St. Benedict insists that monks come to church even when they are late for prayer.
"Should they remain outside the oratory, there may be those