BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//eriebenedictines.org//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.30.10//
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
UID:41a666a2-e46d-43f1-ab4b-1456175e8220
X-WR-CALDESC:<i>This very obedience\, however\, will be acceptable to God a
 nd agreeable to people only if compliance with what is commanded is not cr
 inging or sluggish or half-hearted\, but free from any grumbling or any re
 action of unwillingness. For the obedience shown to an abbot or prioress i
 s given to God\, who has said: 'Whoever listens to you\, listens to me (Lk
  10:16).' Furthermore\, the disciples'obedience must be given gladly\, for
  'God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7).' If disciples obey grudgingly an
 d grumble\, not only aloud but also in their hearts\, then\, even though t
 he order is carried out\, their actions will not be accepted with favor by
  God\, who sees that they are grumbling in their hearts. These disciples w
 ill have no reward for service of this kind\; on the contrary\, they will 
 incur punishment for grumbling\, unless they change for the better and mak
 e amends.</i>\n\nIf there is one determinant of monastic spirituality\, th
 is is surely it: You must want it. You must give yourself to it wholeheart
 edly. You must enter into it with hope and surety. You must not kick and k
 ick and kick against the goad.\n\nIt is so easy to begin the spiritual lif
 e with a light heart and then\, one day\, drowning in the sea that is ours
 elves\, refuse to go another step without having to be dragged. We ignore 
 the teachings or demean the teachings. We ignore the prioress or criticize
  the abbot. We defy the teachers to teach.\n\nWe do what we are told\, of 
 course. We come to the meetings or keep the schedule or go through the mot
 ions of being part of the community or part of the family or part of the s
 taff but there is no truth in us and we weigh the group down with our comp
 lainings. We become a living lamentation. We become a lump of spiritual ce
 ment around the neck of the group.\n\nThis\, Benedict says\, is not obedie
 nce. This is only compliance and compliance kills\, both us and the commun
 ity whose one heart is fractured by those who hold theirs back. Real obedi
 ence depends on wanting to listen to the voice of God in the human communi
 ty\, not wanting to be forced to do what we refuse to grow from.
X-WR-RELCALID:c9a2a1984b52a24fefaa16e6e85f13f0
X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20241103T020000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
RDATE:20251102T020000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20240310T020000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
RDATE:20250309T020000
RDATE:20260308T020000
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9fa3423d-4613-4ef4-b1f0-e3c1931f90cc
DTSTAMP:20260406T010001Z
DESCRIPTION:<i>This very obedience\, however\, will be acceptable to God an
 d agreeable to people only if compliance with what is commanded is not cri
 nging or sluggish or half-hearted\, but free from any grumbling or any rea
 ction of unwillingness. For the obedience shown to an abbot or prioress is
  given to God\, who has said: 'Whoever listens to you\, listens to me (Lk 
 10:16).' Furthermore\, the disciples'obedience must be given gladly\, for 
 'God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7).' If disciples obey grudgingly and
  grumble\, not only aloud but also in their hearts\, then\, even though th
 e order is carried out\, their actions will not be accepted with favor by 
 God\, who sees that they are grumbling in their hearts. These disciples wi
 ll have no reward for service of this kind\; on the contrary\, they will i
 ncur punishment for grumbling\, unless they change for the better and make
  amends.</i>\n\nIf there is one determinant of monastic spirituality\, thi
 s is surely it: You must want it. You must give yourself to it wholehearte
 dly. You must enter into it with hope and surety. You must not kick and ki
 ck and kick against the goad.\n\nIt is so easy to begin the spiritual life
  with a light heart and then\, one day\, drowning in the sea that is ourse
 lves\, refuse to go another step without having to be dragged. We ignore t
 he teachings or demean the teachings. We ignore the prioress or criticize 
 the abbot. We defy the teachers to teach.\n\nWe do what we are told\, of c
 ourse. We come to the meetings or keep the schedule or go through the moti
 ons of being part of the community or part of the family or part of the st
 aff but there is no truth in us and we weigh the group down with our compl
 ainings. We become a living lamentation. We become a lump of spiritual cem
 ent around the neck of the group.\n\nThis\, Benedict says\, is not obedien
 ce. This is only compliance and compliance kills\, both us and the communi
 ty whose one heart is fractured by those who hold theirs back. Real obedie
 nce depends on wanting to listen to the voice of God in the human communit
 y\, not wanting to be forced to do what we refuse to grow from.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250123T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250123T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 5
SUMMARY:Obedience
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR