Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year of Saint Joseph
Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"
Day of Prayer for Migrants Who Died in the Mediterranean
Sea Sunday to Remember the Vital Work of Seafarers
Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 33 Monks and Private Ownership
Mass: Solemnity: Pr 2:1-9; Resp Ps 33; Eph 4:1-6; Mt 19:27-29
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Amos 7:12-15; Resp Ps 85; Eph 1:3-14; Mk 6:7-13
Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ.
Happy Solemnity of Our Holy Father Saint Benedict!
In the 1964 Apostolic Letter Pacis Nuntius, Pope Saint Paul VI proclaimed Saint Benedict as the principal patron of Europe giving him the illustrious titles of messenger of peace, creator of unity, teacher of civility, and above all the herald of the religion of Christ and the founder of western monasticism! For reflection, we turn to Saint Benedict and the Holy Rule. How does the following apply to you at home, work, or wherever you find yourself?
In the Prologue of the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict, our holy
father Benedict tells us that we set out on this way of life with the Gospel
for our guide (RB Prol. 21). As we solemnly commemorate Saint Benedict, then,
we heed his words and turn to the Gospel. It is there that we find Peter,
rather matter-of-factly, saying to Jesus, “We have given up everything and
followed you.” Peter follows with a question: “What will there be for us?” (Mt.
19:27).
It is fitting and right for us on this celebratory day to
look to Benedict and the Rule for wisdom and guidance. And it happens that
today’s reading from the Rule, as well as several other chapters, provides
fitting commentary on Peter’s words to Jesus. First though, if we find
ourselves turning to Jesus and reminding him that we too have given up
everything, we might ask ourselves if we really have given up everything. With
that in mind, what are some ways Saint Benedict teaches us to go about it day
in and day out, especially since giving up everything is more a process over
the course of our lives? We may give up some things here and now, once and for
all, but most giving up comes slowly and sometimes painfully. For example, ways
in which we are called to give up our own will, once and for all (RB Prol. 3).
The road can be bumpy, yes, even narrow (RB Prol. 48). No matter, with the
grace of God we keep going.
Regarding Saint Benedict’s chapter on monks and private
ownership (RB 33), Benedict is clear. None of us are to presume to give,
receive or retain anything as her own, not even a book, writing tablets or pens
or pencils. In short, not a single item (RB 33:2-3). Even though we do give and
receive, and even have things we call our own, do we have the freedom to detach
ourselves from them and more and more make our way of acting different from the
world’s way (RB 4:20)? Are there attachments that keep us from truly seeking
God? (RB 58:7). For whatever we really need, we turn to our Abbess for help and
she on her part, as we read in the chapter on Distribution of Goods According
to Need (RB 34), then considers the request while taking into account our
weaknesses and strengths. And one of my favorite lines follows: “Whoever needs
less should thank God and not be distressed, but whoever needs more should feel
humble because of her weakness, not self-important because of the kindness
shown to her” (RB 34:3-4). After all, no one should be disquieted or distressed
in the house of God (RB 31:19), we learn in the chapter on the monastery
cellarer. We learn to put our trust in God that our real needs will be met.
Otherwise how can anyone accept that she doesn’t even have the free disposal
even of her own body? (RB 33:4).
In the end, each one of us can look to Saint Benedict for
ways to more and more, day by day, give up everything. What is difficult for me
may not be difficult for you. Peter and the other Apostles, and the early
Christians too struggled to give up everything, even those who at once left
their nets (Mt 4:20) and followed Jesus. Saint Benedict, as he quotes from the
Acts of the Apostles: All things should be the common possession of all,
as it is written, so that no one presumes to call anything her own (Acts
4:32/RB 33:6), reminds us of Ananias and Sapphira who had their share of
difficulties. May we not suffer their demise (Acts 5:1-11).
What will there be for us? If we never swerve from God’s
instructions but faithfully observe His teaching in the monastery until death,
we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve
also to share in His kingdom (RB Prol 50). We will inherit eternal life (Mt
19:29). May Christ bring us all together to eternal life (RB 72:12). Amen.
Novena Prayer in Honor of Saint Benedict
Our
Holy Father, blessed by God both in grace and in name, yielded his angelic
spirit into the hands of his Creator, while standing in prayer with his hands
raised to heaven.
You
have crowned him, O Lord, with glory and honor.
You
have placed him over the works of your hands. Enliven in your Church, O Lord,
the spirit which animated our Holy Father, the Abbot St. Benedict, so that,
filled with the same spirit, we may learn to love what he loved and to practice
what he taught.
Grant
us perseverance in your holy service, O Lord, so that the people serving you in
our days may increase both in merit and in number. May all the monks in the
ranks of the saints join their intercessions to ours so that you, Almighty
Father, may hear us through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
SAINT BENEDICT,
SAINT JOSEPH,
PRAY FOR US.
Today's image: Icon of Saint Benedict through the hand of Br Claude, OSB. Used with permission of the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel, OR.
© Gertrude Feick 2021
