Christianity Today, December, 2008

Benedictine Wisdom

Quotations to stir heart and mind.

Compiled by Richard A. Kauffman | posted 12/29/2008 09:56AM

THERE ARE TIMES when good words are to be left unsaid out of esteem for silence.
The Rule of St. Benedict 6:2

LANGUAGE IS A GIFT that can be used thoughtfully or thoughtlessly, humbly or proudly. Someone constantly aware of the presence of God will know when and how to speak.
Columba Stewart, Prayer and Community: The Benedictine Tradition

WHAT is not possible to us by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply by the help of his grace.
The Rule of St. Benedict Prologue 41

SPIRITUALITY without a prayer life is no spirituality at all, and it will not last beyond the first defeats. Prayer is an opening of the self so that the Word of God can break in and make us new. Prayer unmasks. Prayer converts. Prayer impels. Prayer sustains us on the way. Pray for the grace it will take to continue what you would like to quit.
Joan Chittister, In a High Spiritual Season

ALL GUESTS who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Matt. 25:35).
The Rule of St. Benedict 53:1

IF WE COULD genuinely practice Benedict's brand of hospitality, welcoming each guest to our churches as the visitation of Christ, it might transform our guests as well as us. Instead of making the other into my image, I am invited to see the other as one who is made in God's image and for whom Jesus Christ died.
Dennis Okholm, Monk Habits for Everyday People

WHAT PAGE, what passage of the inspired books of the Old and New Testaments is not the truest of guides for human life?
The Rule of St. Benedict 73:3

WE NEED, as St. Benedict insisted, to read whole books of Scripture from beginning to end, quietly working our way through a Gospel or an Old Testament prophet, willing to be surprised, resisting the temptation to exercise total control over what we read.
Michael Casey, Wisdom from the Monastery

DAY BY DAY remind yourself that you are going to die.
The Rule of St. Benedict 4:47

AWARENESS of mortality exerts a unique power to focus the mind and heart on essentials.
Columba Stewart, Prayer and Community: The Benedictine Tradition

LOOK FORWARD to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing.
The Rule of St. Benedict 49:7

[W]E WILL ALWAYS be something of an exile in the present world. As lovely as it may be, it's not our final home, and worshiping God in spirit and truth always leaves us aware that there is more than what meets the eye.
Justin DuVall, from Praying with the Benedictines

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