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UID:66c6c6d3-183d-4bef-baf4-cfb5820aacb1
X-WR-CALDESC:<i>If there are artisans in the monastery \, they are to pract
 ice their craft with all humility\, but only with the permission of the pr
 ioress or the abbot. If one of them becomes puffed up by skillfulness in t
 he craft\, and feels that they are conferring something on the monastery\,
  they are to be removed from practicing the craft and not allowed to resum
 e it unless\, after manifesting humility\, they are so ordered by the prio
 ress or abbot.</i>\n\nThere are three major points made in the chapter on 
 the artists of the monastery: first\, that there may be artists in a monas
 tery\; second\, that they must themselves be humble about it\; and third\,
  that an art is not to be practiced for the sake of money. All three point
 s have a great deal to do with the way we look at religious dedication\, p
 ersonal development and contemporary society in the development of spiritu
 al life today.\n\nThe points made in the Rule are relatively plain: The de
 velopment of the spiritual life does not depend on the suppression of beau
 ty or the destruction of the self. The gifts we have been given are for th
 e doing of them\, not the denial of them. We do not smother great gifts in
  the name of great spirituality. The painter\, the writer\, the musician\,
  the inventor\, the scholar\, all have to figure out how to put their gift
 s at the disposal of their spiritual life\, not how to build a spiritual l
 ife at the expense of the gift.\n\nThe unusually gifted person or the pers
 on with the unusual gift\, however\, is also required to see that their gi
 ftedness does not get in the way of their striving for sanctity. No gift i
 s given to tyrannize the community. On the contrary\, we are expected to l
 earn to take our gifts in stride\, to practice them because they deserve t
 o be practiced and because the community can profit from them. Aristotle w
 rote: 'The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things
 \, but their inward significance.' Any great gift is a revelation of the m
 ore in life\, a natural expression of the spiritual\, a necessary expressi
 on of the sacred. To stamp out the artist in the name of religious rigor i
 s to stamp out the spiritual eye itself and that kind of blindness plunges
  any group\, any family\, any person into darkness indeed. Without the art
 ist to show us what we ourselves do not see of the beauty of the world aro
 und us\, we lose sight of the beauty of God as well. Benedictine spiritual
 ity never substitutes conformity in discipline for fullness of expression 
 in life. The function of the artist in the monastery--and in the life of u
 s all--is to make the transcendent visible\; to touch the soul in ways tha
 t match the soul\; to enshrine beauty so that we may learn to see it\; and
  to make where we live places of wonder.\n\nA monastery without an artist 
 could be a poor place spiritually indeed.\n\n<i>Whenever products of these
  artisans are sold\, those responsible for the sale must not dare to pract
 ice any fraud. Let them always remember Ananias and Sapphira\, who incurre
 d bodily death (Acts 5:1-11)\, lest they and all who perpetrate fraud in m
 onastery affairs suffer spiritual death.\n\nThe evil of avarice must have 
 no part in establishing prices\, which should\, therefore\, always be a li
 ttle lower than people outside the monastery are able to set\, 'so that in
  all things God may be glorified (1 Pt 4:11).'</i>\n\nOf all the paragraph
 s in the Rule that are contrary to the cultural climate in which we live\,
  this is one of the clearest. 'Money often costs too much\,' Ralph Waldo E
 merson wrote and Benedictine spirituality would surely agree. Not just dis
 honesty but even the standards of the marketplace are un-Benedictine accor
 ding to this chapter. Benedictine spirituality develops goods so that peop
 le can have them\, not in order to make them available only to the highest
  bidder or to make excessive profits. Money gained in that fashion costs u
 s compassion and community and our role as co-creators of the reign of God
 . It hollows out our souls and leave us impoverished of character and depr
 ived of the bounty of largesse. It is Benedictine to develop our gifts and
  distribute their fruits as widely and broadly as possible so that justice
 \, but not profit\, is the principle that impels us.
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DESCRIPTION:<i>If there are artisans in the monastery \, they are to practi
 ce their craft with all humility\, but only with the permission of the pri
 oress or the abbot. If one of them becomes puffed up by skillfulness in th
 e craft\, and feels that they are conferring something on the monastery\, 
 they are to be removed from practicing the craft and not allowed to resume
  it unless\, after manifesting humility\, they are so ordered by the prior
 ess or abbot.</i>\n\nThere are three major points made in the chapter on t
 he artists of the monastery: first\, that there may be artists in a monast
 ery\; second\, that they must themselves be humble about it\; and third\, 
 that an art is not to be practiced for the sake of money. All three points
  have a great deal to do with the way we look at religious dedication\, pe
 rsonal development and contemporary society in the development of spiritua
 l life today.\n\nThe points made in the Rule are relatively plain: The dev
 elopment of the spiritual life does not depend on the suppression of beaut
 y or the destruction of the self. The gifts we have been given are for the
  doing of them\, not the denial of them. We do not smother great gifts in 
 the name of great spirituality. The painter\, the writer\, the musician\, 
 the inventor\, the scholar\, all have to figure out how to put their gifts
  at the disposal of their spiritual life\, not how to build a spiritual li
 fe at the expense of the gift.\n\nThe unusually gifted person or the perso
 n with the unusual gift\, however\, is also required to see that their gif
 tedness does not get in the way of their striving for sanctity. No gift is
  given to tyrannize the community. On the contrary\, we are expected to le
 arn to take our gifts in stride\, to practice them because they deserve to
  be practiced and because the community can profit from them. Aristotle wr
 ote: 'The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things\
 , but their inward significance.' Any great gift is a revelation of the mo
 re in life\, a natural expression of the spiritual\, a necessary expressio
 n of the sacred. To stamp out the artist in the name of religious rigor is
  to stamp out the spiritual eye itself and that kind of blindness plunges 
 any group\, any family\, any person into darkness indeed. Without the arti
 st to show us what we ourselves do not see of the beauty of the world arou
 nd us\, we lose sight of the beauty of God as well. Benedictine spirituali
 ty never substitutes conformity in discipline for fullness of expression i
 n life. The function of the artist in the monastery--and in the life of us
  all--is to make the transcendent visible\; to touch the soul in ways that
  match the soul\; to enshrine beauty so that we may learn to see it\; and 
 to make where we live places of wonder.\n\nA monastery without an artist c
 ould be a poor place spiritually indeed.\n\n<i>Whenever products of these 
 artisans are sold\, those responsible for the sale must not dare to practi
 ce any fraud. Let them always remember Ananias and Sapphira\, who incurred
  bodily death (Acts 5:1-11)\, lest they and all who perpetrate fraud in mo
 nastery affairs suffer spiritual death.\n\nThe evil of avarice must have n
 o part in establishing prices\, which should\, therefore\, always be a lit
 tle lower than people outside the monastery are able to set\, 'so that in 
 all things God may be glorified (1 Pt 4:11).'</i>\n\nOf all the paragraphs
  in the Rule that are contrary to the cultural climate in which we live\, 
 this is one of the clearest. 'Money often costs too much\,' Ralph Waldo Em
 erson wrote and Benedictine spirituality would surely agree. Not just dish
 onesty but even the standards of the marketplace are un-Benedictine accord
 ing to this chapter. Benedictine spirituality develops goods so that peopl
 e can have them\, not in order to make them available only to the highest 
 bidder or to make excessive profits. Money gained in that fashion costs us
  compassion and community and our role as co-creators of the reign of God.
  It hollows out our souls and leave us impoverished of character and depri
 ved of the bounty of largesse. It is Benedictine to develop our gifts and 
 distribute their fruits as widely and broadly as possible so that justice\
 , but not profit\, is the principle that impels us.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241210T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241210T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 57
SUMMARY:The Artisans of the Monastery
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR