BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//eriebenedictines.org//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.30.10// CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH UID:489bef7b-4a2e-428b-92a0-9350e84fe743 X-WR-CALDESC:In choosing an abbot or prioress\, the guiding principle sh ould always be that the one placed in office be the one selected either by the whole community acting unanimously out of reverence for God\, or by s ome part of the community no matter how small\, which possesses sounder ju dgment. Goodness of life and wisdom in teaching must be the criteria for c hoosing the one to be made abbot or prioress even if they are the last in community rank.\n\nThe way an abbot or prioress is chosen is\, like mo st other things in the rule\, left up to the changing needs of the group. Why an abbot or prioress is chosen is not. As far as the rule is concerned \, only 'those who show goodness of life and wisdom in teaching' are fit f or the position. Fund raisers and business people\, efficiency experts and pious ascetics\, administrators and philosophers are not ruled out\, they are simply not defined in as categories that demand consideration. The im plication is that if we choose those good of life and wise of heart then e verything else will follow. We\, of course\, are always tempted to look fo r short cuts to success: we look for the people who can trim our organizat ions or shape up our projects or stabilize our ministries. Benedictine spi rituality cautions us always to follow only the good and the wise\, only t hose who call us to our best selves\, our fullest selves\, knowing that if we live according to the scriptures and choose according to the deepest a nd highest and greatest of human ideals\, then life cannot fail for us\, w hatever its struggles\, whatever its cost. 'If I do not acquire ideals in my youth\, ' Maimonides wrote\, 'when will I? Not in old age.'\n\nBenedict ine spirituality tells us to choose for ideals at every turn\, even at tho se times when management seems more important than vision.\n\nMay God f orbid that a whole community should conspire to elect a prioress or abbot who goes along with its own evil ways. But if it does\, and if the bishop of the diocese or any Benedictine leaders or other Christians in the area come to know of these evil ways to any extent\, they must block the succes s of this wicked conspiracy\, and set a worthy person in charge of God's h ouse. They may be sure that they will receive a generous reward for this\, if they do it with pure motives and zeal for God's honor. Conversely\, th ey may be equally sure that to neglect to do so is sinful.\n\nThere is no such thing as a private life in a globalized world. For a monastery\, there never was. The monastery is that model of a place where the doors ar e always open\, the environment is always gentle\, the rhythm is always or dered and God is always the center of life. A monastery is to be a light t o remind all of us how beautiful the world would be if we shaped our own l ives out of the same values. A Benedictine monastery is not of the church in the sense that a diocesan seminary or diocesan college is. It is not bu ilt by the church or operated by local diocesan officials. But it is defin itely in the church and for the church. What happens in a Benedictine mona stery should touch the spiritual life of an entire region. For that reason \, whatever might erode monastic life--a breakdown of lifestyle\, a contri ved election\, a loss of authenticity--is definitely everybody else's busi ness. And the Rule takes care to guarantee and to maintain that sense of p ublic acknowledgement and accountability. 'The voice of the people is as t he voice of God\,' a Jewish midrash writes. In this paragraph\, Benedict r equires the people to be the voice of God so that the house of God can be saved. If the monastery calls the public to commitment\, there is no doubt that Benedict intends the public to call monasteries to authenticity as w ell so that Benedictine spirituality can continue to permeate the Church. We are all guides for one another. X-WR-RELCALID:a62276e75e680d3ed6290ae778719e70 X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20251102T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RDATE:20261101T020000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 RDATE:20270314T020000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:89615119-8c3f-4be2-bdee-99ac4064fb7d DTSTAMP:20260405T113748Z DESCRIPTION:In choosing an abbot or prioress\, the guiding principle sho uld always be that the one placed in office be the one selected either by the whole community acting unanimously out of reverence for God\, or by so me part of the community no matter how small\, which possesses sounder jud gment. Goodness of life and wisdom in teaching must be the criteria for ch oosing the one to be made abbot or prioress even if they are the last in c ommunity rank.\n\nThe way an abbot or prioress is chosen is\, like mos t other things in the rule\, left up to the changing needs of the group. W hy an abbot or prioress is chosen is not. As far as the rule is concerned\ , only 'those who show goodness of life and wisdom in teaching' are fit fo r the position. Fund raisers and business people\, efficiency experts and pious ascetics\, administrators and philosophers are not ruled out\, they are simply not defined in as categories that demand consideration. The imp lication is that if we choose those good of life and wise of heart then ev erything else will follow. We\, of course\, are always tempted to look for short cuts to success: we look for the people who can trim our organizati ons or shape up our projects or stabilize our ministries. Benedictine spir ituality cautions us always to follow only the good and the wise\, only th ose who call us to our best selves\, our fullest selves\, knowing that if we live according to the scriptures and choose according to the deepest an d highest and greatest of human ideals\, then life cannot fail for us\, wh atever its struggles\, whatever its cost. 'If I do not acquire ideals in m y youth\, ' Maimonides wrote\, 'when will I? Not in old age.'\n\nBenedicti ne spirituality tells us to choose for ideals at every turn\, even at thos e times when management seems more important than vision.\n\nMay God fo rbid that a whole community should conspire to elect a prioress or abbot w ho goes along with its own evil ways. But if it does\, and if the bishop o f the diocese or any Benedictine leaders or other Christians in the area c ome to know of these evil ways to any extent\, they must block the success of this wicked conspiracy\, and set a worthy person in charge of God's ho use. They may be sure that they will receive a generous reward for this\, if they do it with pure motives and zeal for God's honor. Conversely\, the y may be equally sure that to neglect to do so is sinful.\n\nThere is no such thing as a private life in a globalized world. For a monastery\, t here never was. The monastery is that model of a place where the doors are always open\, the environment is always gentle\, the rhythm is always ord ered and God is always the center of life. A monastery is to be a light to remind all of us how beautiful the world would be if we shaped our own li ves out of the same values. A Benedictine monastery is not of the church i n the sense that a diocesan seminary or diocesan college is. It is not bui lt by the church or operated by local diocesan officials. But it is defini tely in the church and for the church. What happens in a Benedictine monas tery should touch the spiritual life of an entire region. For that reason\ , whatever might erode monastic life--a breakdown of lifestyle\, a contriv ed election\, a loss of authenticity--is definitely everybody else's busin ess. And the Rule takes care to guarantee and to maintain that sense of pu blic acknowledgement and accountability. 'The voice of the people is as th e voice of God\,' a Jewish midrash writes. In this paragraph\, Benedict re quires the people to be the voice of God so that the house of God can be s aved. If the monastery calls the public to commitment\, there is no doubt that Benedict intends the public to call monasteries to authenticity as we ll so that Benedictine spirituality can continue to permeate the Church. W e are all guides for one another. DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260420T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260420T235900 LOCATION:64 SUMMARY:The Election of A Prioress or Abbot END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR