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X-WR-CALDESC:Your way of acting should be different from the world's way
\; the love of Christ must come before all else. You are not to act in ang
er or nurse a grudge. Rid your heart of all deceit. Never give a hollow gr
eeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love. Bind yourself t
o no oath lest it prove false\, but speak the truth with heart and tongue.
\n\nThe end of Benedictine spirituality is to develop a transparent pe
rsonality. Dissimulation\, half answers\, vindictive attitudes\, a false p
resentation of self are all barbs in the soul of the monastic. Holiness\,
this ancient Rule says to a culture that has made crafty packaging high ar
t\, has something to do with being who we say we are\, claiming our truths
\, opening our hearts\, giving ourselves to the other pure and unglossed.
Shakespeare's Hamlet noted once: 'A man can smile and smile and be a villa
in.' Benedict is intent on developing people who are what they seem to be.
\n\n'Do not repay one bad turn with another (1 Thes 5:15\; 1 Pt 3:9).'
Do not injure anyone\, but bear injuries patiently. 'Love your enemies (Mt
5:44\; Lk 6:27).' If people curse you\, do not curse them back but bless
them instead. 'Endure persecution for the sake of justice (Mt 5:10).'
\n\nA peacemaker's paragraph\, this one confronts us with the Gospel strip
ped and unadorned. Nonviolence\, it says\, is the center of the monastic l
ife. It doesn't talk about conflict resolution\; it says\, don't begin the
conflict. It doesn't talk about communication barriers\; it says\, stay g
entle even with those who are not gentle with you. It doesn't talk about w
inning\; it talks about loving.\n\nMost of all\, perhaps\, it offers us no
false hope that all these attempts will really change anything. No\, it s
ays instead that we must be prepared to bear whatever blows it takes for t
he sake of justice\, quietly\, gently\, even lovingly with never a blow in
return.\n\nA story from the Far East recounts that a vicious general plun
dered the countryside and terrorized the villagers. He was\, they said\, p
articularly cruel to the monks of the place\, whom he despised.\n\nOne day
\, at the end of his most recent assault\, he was informed by one of his o
fficers that\, fearing him\, all the people had already fled the town\, wi
th the exception of one monk who had remained in his monastery going about
the order of the day.\n\nThe general was infuriated at the audacity of th
e monk and sent the soldiers to drag him to his tent.\n\n'Do you not know
who I am?' he roared at the monk\, 'I am he who can run you through with a
sword and never bat an eyelash.'\n\nBut the monk replied quietly\, 'And d
o you not know who I am? I am he who can let you run me through with a swo
rd and never bat an eyelash.'\n\nNonviolence plunges the monastic into the
core of Christianity and allows for no rationalizations. Monastic spiritu
ality is Christianity to the hilt. It calls for national policies that tak
e the poor into first account\; it calls for a work life that does not bul
ly underlings or undercut the competition\; it calls for families that tal
k to one another tenderly\; it calls for a foreign policy not based on for
ce. Violence has simply no place in the monastic heart.\n\n'You must no
t be proud\, nor be given to wine (Ti 1:7\; I Tm 3:3).' Refrain from too m
uch eating or sleeping\, and 'from laziness (Rom 12:11).' Do not grumble o
r speak ill of others.\n\nIn the Tao Te Ching it reads:\nBe content wi
th what you have\;\nrejoice in the way things are\,\nWhen you realize ther
e is nothing lacking\nthe whole world belongs to you.\n\nBenedict reminds
us\, too\, that physical control and spiritual perspective are linked: pri
de and gluttony and laziness are of a piece. We expect too much\, we consu
me too much and we contribute too little. We give ourselves over to oursel
ves. We become engorged with ourselves and\, as a result\, there is no roo
m left for the stripped down\, stark and simple furniture of the soul.
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DTSTAMP:20260408T053135Z
DESCRIPTION:Your way of acting should be different from the world's way\
; the love of Christ must come before all else. You are not to act in ange
r or nurse a grudge. Rid your heart of all deceit. Never give a hollow gre
eting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love. Bind yourself to
no oath lest it prove false\, but speak the truth with heart and tongue.<
/i>\n\nThe end of Benedictine spirituality is to develop a transparent per
sonality. Dissimulation\, half answers\, vindictive attitudes\, a false pr
esentation of self are all barbs in the soul of the monastic. Holiness\, t
his ancient Rule says to a culture that has made crafty packaging high art
\, has something to do with being who we say we are\, claiming our truths\
, opening our hearts\, giving ourselves to the other pure and unglossed. S
hakespeare's Hamlet noted once: 'A man can smile and smile and be a villai
n.' Benedict is intent on developing people who are what they seem to be.
\n\n'Do not repay one bad turn with another (1 Thes 5:15\; 1 Pt 3:9).'
Do not injure anyone\, but bear injuries patiently. 'Love your enemies (Mt
5:44\; Lk 6:27).' If people curse you\, do not curse them back but bless
them instead. 'Endure persecution for the sake of justice (Mt 5:10).'
\n\nA peacemaker's paragraph\, this one confronts us with the Gospel strip
ped and unadorned. Nonviolence\, it says\, is the center of the monastic l
ife. It doesn't talk about conflict resolution\; it says\, don't begin the
conflict. It doesn't talk about communication barriers\; it says\, stay g
entle even with those who are not gentle with you. It doesn't talk about w
inning\; it talks about loving.\n\nMost of all\, perhaps\, it offers us no
false hope that all these attempts will really change anything. No\, it s
ays instead that we must be prepared to bear whatever blows it takes for t
he sake of justice\, quietly\, gently\, even lovingly with never a blow in
return.\n\nA story from the Far East recounts that a vicious general plun
dered the countryside and terrorized the villagers. He was\, they said\, p
articularly cruel to the monks of the place\, whom he despised.\n\nOne day
\, at the end of his most recent assault\, he was informed by one of his o
fficers that\, fearing him\, all the people had already fled the town\, wi
th the exception of one monk who had remained in his monastery going about
the order of the day.\n\nThe general was infuriated at the audacity of th
e monk and sent the soldiers to drag him to his tent.\n\n'Do you not know
who I am?' he roared at the monk\, 'I am he who can run you through with a
sword and never bat an eyelash.'\n\nBut the monk replied quietly\, 'And d
o you not know who I am? I am he who can let you run me through with a swo
rd and never bat an eyelash.'\n\nNonviolence plunges the monastic into the
core of Christianity and allows for no rationalizations. Monastic spiritu
ality is Christianity to the hilt. It calls for national policies that tak
e the poor into first account\; it calls for a work life that does not bul
ly underlings or undercut the competition\; it calls for families that tal
k to one another tenderly\; it calls for a foreign policy not based on for
ce. Violence has simply no place in the monastic heart.\n\n'You must no
t be proud\, nor be given to wine (Ti 1:7\; I Tm 3:3).' Refrain from too m
uch eating or sleeping\, and 'from laziness (Rom 12:11).' Do not grumble o
r speak ill of others.\n\nIn the Tao Te Ching it reads:\nBe content wi
th what you have\;\nrejoice in the way things are\,\nWhen you realize ther
e is nothing lacking\nthe whole world belongs to you.\n\nBenedict reminds
us\, too\, that physical control and spiritual perspective are linked: pri
de and gluttony and laziness are of a piece. We expect too much\, we consu
me too much and we contribute too little. We give ourselves over to oursel
ves. We become engorged with ourselves and\, as a result\, there is no roo
m left for the stripped down\, stark and simple furniture of the soul.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250520T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250520T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 4
SUMMARY:The Tools for Good Works
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR