Regula Sancti Benedicti – The Rule of Saint Benedict, was written in 516 AD by Saint Benedict of Nursia. It followed most community rules up to that point, but it sought to moderate monastic life between personal zeal and institutional formalism. In its original Latin, it consists of 13,317 words, 638 sentences, in 73 chapters. It’s not that big of a book. My own copy is only 111 pages, including the table of contents and the translator’s notes.250 years after it was written, Charlemagne had it copied and distributed throughout western Europe to encourage monks to follow it as a standard. Perhaps its most important influence was to set forth the idea of a written constitution and a rule of law.
The majority of the text covers the “how, what, whys, and whens” of operating a Monastery. Who gets what, how much, when and why. Everything from food, clothing, work, prayer, sleep, and punishment.
There are two chapters which perhaps we can take up on our own – Chapter 4 and Chapter 7.
Chapter 4 provides 73 Tools for the Christian Life, and Chapter 7 lists Twelve Steps of Humility.
Both of which are going to get really important in 3-1/2 weeks when Lent comes around!
The twelve steps of humility from Chapter 7 of the Rule are:
i. Fear God, ii. Follow God’s Will, iii. Follow Church Authority, iv. Even When It’s Hard, v. Confess Sins, vi. Reject Entitlement, vii. Esteem Others, viii. Stay in Community, ix. Listen Before Speaking, x. Don’t Be Silly, xi. Watch What You Say, xii. Be Your True Self.
And far from being a “self-help” chapter, the emphasis throughout is that it is God’s work in us … not our own work … that can help us grow in humility.
Today is the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Our readings today have an undercurrent of Humility.
Isaiah has a vision of God, and in this vision he receives an insight – who he is before God Almighty:
Woe is me, I am doomed!For I am a man of unclean lips,living among a people of unclean lips.
Yet, God sends a seraphim – the angels that burn with a passion and love of God – to remove any wickedness and purge any sin. And at that moment, Isaiah responds to God: “Here I am, send me!”
In our second reading, St. Paul speaks of the proofs of the resurrection – Salvation, Scripture, and the many witnesses. And although Paul, himself, is an Apostle and a witness of Christ, he downplays it, calling himself:
the least of the apostles,not fit to be called an apostle,... [a persecutor of] the church of God.
Like Isaiah, Paul’s solution comes from above … God’s effective grace working within him.
And in the Gospel, Luke chapter 5, Jesus calls His disciples. But the story is perhaps too familiar.
If we place ourselves in the story, what do we see?
A local carpenter walking on the beach gets into somebody else boat, talks for a while, and then starts to tell a group of fishermen, who are done for the day, what they should do to improve production. After an initial protest, they comply. And the result is “a great number of fish … that filled both boats.”
St. Peter sees this for what it is – a miracle – and falls “at the knees of Jesus and [says], ‘Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.’”
Humility. Humility. Humility.
Humility can be defined as “the virtue that … leads people to … a true appreciation of their position with respect to God and … neighbor.”
Isaiah, St. Paul, and St. Peter all found themselves in the Presence of God … whether in a vision or in the flesh. And all three were led to a humble recognition of who they were … and through God’s power were called to a greater mission.
As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – when we find ourselves in the Presence of Christ Jesus under the appearances of Bread and Wine – may we gain the strength to truly appreciate who we are before God … and through God’s love and grace and mercy, may we recognize who He is calling us to become … as we strive to follow Him … He Who is our Way, our Truth, and our Life.
