A Benedictine Abbot Explains Very Simply Why We All Need a Rule

We all need a Rule. Yes, even us folks who aren't monks. Today a Benedictine Abbot will explain very simply why we all need a Rule.

As you who read this blog know, we often refer to and comment on the Rule of St. Benedict. We even recommend reading it each day as a means to get some order and stability into our lives. This is especially important for us Catholic men at work. We spend so much of our time with our work, it's easy to forgo our spiritual lives. The Rule of St. Benedict, while designed for monks, can help us understand what sort of Rule we might apply to our own lives outside the monastery.

Past suggestions have included setting times for prayer and meditation. Morning suits some of us; others not so much. And while morning is generally a good time to cut out a block of time for the meat of our spiritual exercises, any time will do - as long as we're faithful to it.

What about during the work day? It's not always simple or even possible to consciously spend time with God when we're super busy, when deadlines loom, when our boss is on our backs to get some project finished, if we work in a chaotic work environment, etc., etc. We've gone over this time and again. But no matter how many suggestions we have made, or have tried to follow, some days simply fly by with barely a nod to God.

A personal example: A recent stretch found me missing a late day prayer time that had become a pretty steady habit for quite a spell. Frustration! Why was I missing this all of a sudden? No answers were forthcoming. And it took a while to get back on track. All I could conclude was that somehow this was God's Will, a part of His Plan to which I was not privy. Perhaps it was a way to remind me that we need to rely on God's grace rather than ourselves. Not that we should not do our best to attend to our duties or commitments; but with our fallen human natures, we cannot be surprised when we fall short or even slip and fall from time to time (to put it mildly!). But enough of me.

The fact is, we all need God's grace and we can assist our effort to cooperate with His Grace and do His Will with some sort of Rule. And that Rule will, of necessity, be different for each of us, depending on our unique circumstances. Sure, there are some common elements that we may all share - more or less - but we who do not live in a monastic community cannot rely on a minutely programmed daily life.

One common element that we really all can share is the simple, but conscious intention to do all for the greater glory of God. Seems simple enough, but even this can escape us if we don't develop the habit of making this intention each morning. 

And that's another common element each of us can share: developing habits. Even if we're new to this idea of establishing some sort of Rule for ourselves, any of us can begin our day with this intention and simply work on the habit of making our intention every morning. With effort, it will become a habit. And then we're on our way to building in some other elements that, in time, with daily practice, will result in our unique Rule.

Even with this, we ought not be surprised when even what we thought was a well-established habit somehow flies out the window from time to time (as in the personal example referenced above). But no matter, we know what to do then: Pick ourselves up and start all over again. 

Simple. 

And simple to are these words of that Benedictine Abbot that we referenced when we began today. Read them and they may flare up as a true "Duh!" experience. But isn't that just what we Catholic men at work can use from time to time as we go about our busy work day?

Human nature is the same whether we respond to the monastic cell or whether we live out our lives in a normal worldly environment. Few are so spiritually minded that they can afford to neglect the help of some sort of rule of life and standard of spirituality to which they can endeavour to conform themselves when faced with the many problems of a world where even moral standards have ceased to exist.

(Abbot Wilfrid Upson OSB)