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UID:8a63f076-aceb-4fc7-befc-ca06ec516626
X-WR-CALDESC:<i>If we wish to dwell in God's tent\, we will never arrive un
 less we run there by doing good deeds. But let us ask with the prophet: 'W
 ho will dwell in your tent\, O God\; who will find rest upon your holy mou
 ntain (Ps 15:1)?' After this question\, then\, let us listen well to what 
 God says in reply\, for we are shown the way to God's tent. 'Those who wal
 k without blemish and are just in all dealings\; who speak truth from the 
 heart and have not practiced deceit\; who have not wronged another in any 
 way\, not listened to slanders against a neighbor (Ps 15:2-3.) They have f
 oiled the evil one at every turn\, flinging both the devil and these wicke
 d promptings far from sight. While these temptations were still 'young\, t
 he just caught hold of them and dashed them against Christ (Ps 15:4\, 137:
 9).' These people reverence God\, and do not become elated over their good
  deeds\; they judge it is God's strength\, not their own\, that brings abo
 ut the good in them. 'They praise (Ps 15:4)' the Holy One working in them\
 , and say with the prophet: 'Not to us\, O God\, not to us give the glory\
 , but to your name alone (Ps 115:1).'</i>\n\nTwo themes emerge very strong
 ly here. In case the meaning of the earlier paragraphs has escaped us\, Be
 nedict repeats them. Justice\, honesty and compassion are the marks of tho
 se who dwell with God in life\, he insists. Then\, he reminds us again tha
 t we are not able to achieve God's grace without God's help. If we do good
  for the poor\, it is because God has given us the courage to do good. If 
 we speak truth in the face of lies\, it is because God has given us a tast
 e for the truth. If we uphold the rights of women and men alike\, it is be
 cause God has given us eyes to see the wonders of all creation. We are not
  a power unto ourselves.\n\nThe two ideas may seem innocent enough today b
 ut at the time at which Benedict wrote them they would both have had great
  social impact.\n\nIn the first place\, physical asceticism had become the
  mark of the truly holy. The Fathers and Mothers of the Desert\, the domin
 ant form of religious life prior to the emergence of communal monasticism\
 , had been known and revered for the frugality\, discipline and asceticism
  of their lives. They lived in the desert as solitaries. They ate little. 
 They prayed night and day. They deprived their bodies to enrich their soul
 s. They struggled against the temptations of the flesh and fled the world.
  Theirs was a privatized version of religious development not unlike those
  theologies that still thrive on measuring personal penances and using rel
 igion as personal massage rather than on making the world look the way God
  would want it to look. Benedict\, then\, introduces very early in the Rul
 e the notion of responsibility for the human community as the benchmark of
  those who 'dwell in God's tent\,' know God on earth\, live on a higher pl
 ane than the mass of humanity around them. The really holy\, the ones who 
 touch God\, Benedict maintains\, are those who live well with those around
  them. They are just\, they are upright\, they are kind. The ecology of hu
 mankind is safe with them.\n\nIn the second place\, Benedict puts to rest 
 the position of the wandering monk Pelagius who taught in the fifth centur
 y that human beings were inherently good and capable of achieving God's gr
 eat presence on the strength of their own merits. Benedict wants 'good dee
 ds' but he does not want pride. We do what we do in life\, even holy thing
 s\, the Prologue teaches\, not because we are so good but because God is s
 o good and enables us to rise above the misery of ourselves. Even the spir
 itual life can become an arrogant trap if we do not realize that the spiri
 tual life is not a game that is won by the development of spiritual skills
 . The spiritual life is simply the God-life already at work in us.\n\nAn o
 bligation to human community and a dependence on God\, then\, become the c
 ornerstones of Benedictine life.
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DTSTAMP:20260416T023035Z
DESCRIPTION:<i>If we wish to dwell in God's tent\, we will never arrive unl
 ess we run there by doing good deeds. But let us ask with the prophet: 'Wh
 o will dwell in your tent\, O God\; who will find rest upon your holy moun
 tain (Ps 15:1)?' After this question\, then\, let us listen well to what G
 od says in reply\, for we are shown the way to God's tent. 'Those who walk
  without blemish and are just in all dealings\; who speak truth from the h
 eart and have not practiced deceit\; who have not wronged another in any w
 ay\, not listened to slanders against a neighbor (Ps 15:2-3.) They have fo
 iled the evil one at every turn\, flinging both the devil and these wicked
  promptings far from sight. While these temptations were still 'young\, th
 e just caught hold of them and dashed them against Christ (Ps 15:4\, 137:9
 ).' These people reverence God\, and do not become elated over their good 
 deeds\; they judge it is God's strength\, not their own\, that brings abou
 t the good in them. 'They praise (Ps 15:4)' the Holy One working in them\,
  and say with the prophet: 'Not to us\, O God\, not to us give the glory\,
  but to your name alone (Ps 115:1).'</i>\n\nTwo themes emerge very strongl
 y here. In case the meaning of the earlier paragraphs has escaped us\, Ben
 edict repeats them. Justice\, honesty and compassion are the marks of thos
 e who dwell with God in life\, he insists. Then\, he reminds us again that
  we are not able to achieve God's grace without God's help. If we do good 
 for the poor\, it is because God has given us the courage to do good. If w
 e speak truth in the face of lies\, it is because God has given us a taste
  for the truth. If we uphold the rights of women and men alike\, it is bec
 ause God has given us eyes to see the wonders of all creation. We are not 
 a power unto ourselves.\n\nThe two ideas may seem innocent enough today bu
 t at the time at which Benedict wrote them they would both have had great 
 social impact.\n\nIn the first place\, physical asceticism had become the 
 mark of the truly holy. The Fathers and Mothers of the Desert\, the domina
 nt form of religious life prior to the emergence of communal monasticism\,
  had been known and revered for the frugality\, discipline and asceticism 
 of their lives. They lived in the desert as solitaries. They ate little. T
 hey prayed night and day. They deprived their bodies to enrich their souls
 . They struggled against the temptations of the flesh and fled the world. 
 Theirs was a privatized version of religious development not unlike those 
 theologies that still thrive on measuring personal penances and using reli
 gion as personal massage rather than on making the world look the way God 
 would want it to look. Benedict\, then\, introduces very early in the Rule
  the notion of responsibility for the human community as the benchmark of 
 those who 'dwell in God's tent\,' know God on earth\, live on a higher pla
 ne than the mass of humanity around them. The really holy\, the ones who t
 ouch God\, Benedict maintains\, are those who live well with those around 
 them. They are just\, they are upright\, they are kind. The ecology of hum
 ankind is safe with them.\n\nIn the second place\, Benedict puts to rest t
 he position of the wandering monk Pelagius who taught in the fifth century
  that human beings were inherently good and capable of achieving God's gre
 at presence on the strength of their own merits. Benedict wants 'good deed
 s' but he does not want pride. We do what we do in life\, even holy things
 \, the Prologue teaches\, not because we are so good but because God is so
  good and enables us to rise above the misery of ourselves. Even the spiri
 tual life can become an arrogant trap if we do not realize that the spirit
 ual life is not a game that is won by the development of spiritual skills.
  The spiritual life is simply the God-life already at work in us.\n\nAn ob
 ligation to human community and a dependence on God\, then\, become the co
 rnerstones of Benedictine life.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250104T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250104T235900
LOCATION:Prologue
SUMMARY:Prologue
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR