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X-WR-CALDESC:Once in office\, the abbot and prioress must keep constantl
y in mind the nature of the burden they have received\, and remember to wh
om they will have 'to give an account of their stewardship (Lk 16:2).' Let
them recognize that the goal must be profit for the community members\, n
ot preeminence for themselves. They ought\, therefore\, to be learned in d
ivine law\, so that they have a treasury of knowledge from which they can
'bring out what is new and what is old (Mt 13:52).' The abbot and prioress
must be chaste\, temperate and merciful\, always letting 'mercy triumph o
ver judgment (Jas 2: 13)' so that they too may win mercy. They must hate f
aults but love the members. When they must punish them\, they should use p
rudence and avoid extremes\; otherwise\, by rubbing too hard to remove the
rust\, they may break the vessel. They are to distrust their own frailty
and remember 'not to crush the bruised reed (Is 42:3).' By this we do not
mean that they should allow faults to flourish\, but rather\, as we have a
lready said\, they should prune them away with prudence and love as they s
ee best for each individual. Let them strive to be loved rather than feare
d.\n\nAt the end of an entire series of injunctions and prescriptions\
, Benedict suddenly reintroduces a description of the kind of abbot or pri
oress whom he believes should guide a Benedictine community. He is\, in ot
her words\, giving us a theology of authority or parenting or leadership.
The Talmud reads 'Happy is the time where the great listen to the small\,
for in such a generation the small will listen to the great.' In the Rule
of Benedict the prioress and abbot are told to display the good like a bla
zing fire but always to 'let mercy triumph over judgment' and to 'strive t
o be loved rather than feared.' Authority in Benedictine spirituality is n
ot an end in itself nor is it an excuse to oppress the people for whom all
law is made. Law is simply a candle on the path of life to lead us to the
good we seek. Any authority that makes the law the end rather than the pa
th are themselves worshipping at a lesser shrine.\n\nExcitable\, anxiou
s\, extreme\, obstinate\, jealous or overly suspicious the abbot or priore
ss must not be. Such a person is never at rest. Instead\, they must show f
orethought and consideration in their orders and whether the task they ass
ign concerns God or the world\, they should be discerning and moderate\, b
earing in mind the discretion of holy Jacob\, who said: 'If I drive my flo
cks too hard\, they will all die in a single day (Gn 33:13).' Therefore\,
drawing on this and other examples of discretion\, they must so arrange ev
erything that the strong have something to yearn for and the weak nothing
to run from.\n\nIn the midrash Genesis Rabbah it reads: 'A farmer puts
a yoke on his strong ox\, not on his weak one.' The function of Benedicti
ne leadership is not to make life difficult\; it is to make life possible
for both the strong and the weak. If a leader gives way to moodiness or in
stitutional paranoia\, if a leader is not emotionally balanced and spiritu
ally grounded\, a whole climate is poisoned. This chapter on the abbot or
prioress is an important signal for parents and teachers and superiors eve
rywhere: what we cannot model\, we cannot expect\, not of children\, not o
f the professionals who work for us\, not even of the people who love us e
nough to marry us. The people around us can only take our emotional batter
ing so long. Then they leave or rebel or batter back. Benedictine leadersh
ip models a guidance that is firm but loving\; clear but understanding\; j
ust but merciful\; itself authentically committed to its own principles fo
r\, indeed\, the rabbis also teach\, 'A little sin is big when a big perso
n commits it.'\n\nThey must\, above all\, keep this rule in every detai
l\, so that when they have ministered well they will hear from God what th
at good servant heard who gave the other members of the household grain at
the proper time: 'I tell you solemnly\, God will put this one in charge o
f greater things (Mt 24:47).'\n\nIn ancient civilizations\, the law wa
s the lawgiver's law. Subjects had no rights\, only responsibilities. The
lawgiver could change the law on a whim or a fancy. In the Roman empire\,
the pater familia\, the Roman father\, could do no wrong in his own home.
No court of law would try him\, no one would convict him. He himself accor
ding to the principles of Roman jurisprudence was judge and jury\, king an
d lawgiver. In a climate and culture such as this\, the chapter on the abb
ot or prioress\, and this paragraph in particular\, are extremely revoluti
onary. This section issues a clear warning: authority has limits\; authori
ty is not a law unto itself\; authority is responsible to the persons unde
r it for their welfare and their growth\; authority itself is under the la
w. It is a theology such as this that makes people free and keeps people f
ree because the knee we bow to government must really be bowed only to God
.
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BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:88330da8-7f15-447d-87db-88fc658c3049
DTSTAMP:20260405T113626Z
DESCRIPTION:Once in office\, the abbot and prioress must keep constantly
in mind the nature of the burden they have received\, and remember to who
m they will have 'to give an account of their stewardship (Lk 16:2).' Let
them recognize that the goal must be profit for the community members\, no
t preeminence for themselves. They ought\, therefore\, to be learned in di
vine law\, so that they have a treasury of knowledge from which they can '
bring out what is new and what is old (Mt 13:52).' The abbot and prioress
must be chaste\, temperate and merciful\, always letting 'mercy triumph ov
er judgment (Jas 2: 13)' so that they too may win mercy. They must hate fa
ults but love the members. When they must punish them\, they should use pr
udence and avoid extremes\; otherwise\, by rubbing too hard to remove the
rust\, they may break the vessel. They are to distrust their own frailty a
nd remember 'not to crush the bruised reed (Is 42:3).' By this we do not m
ean that they should allow faults to flourish\, but rather\, as we have al
ready said\, they should prune them away with prudence and love as they se
e best for each individual. Let them strive to be loved rather than feared
.\n\nAt the end of an entire series of injunctions and prescriptions\,
Benedict suddenly reintroduces a description of the kind of abbot or prio
ress whom he believes should guide a Benedictine community. He is\, in oth
er words\, giving us a theology of authority or parenting or leadership. T
he Talmud reads 'Happy is the time where the great listen to the small\, f
or in such a generation the small will listen to the great.' In the Rule o
f Benedict the prioress and abbot are told to display the good like a blaz
ing fire but always to 'let mercy triumph over judgment' and to 'strive to
be loved rather than feared.' Authority in Benedictine spirituality is no
t an end in itself nor is it an excuse to oppress the people for whom all
law is made. Law is simply a candle on the path of life to lead us to the
good we seek. Any authority that makes the law the end rather than the pat
h are themselves worshipping at a lesser shrine.\n\nExcitable\, anxious
\, extreme\, obstinate\, jealous or overly suspicious the abbot or priores
s must not be. Such a person is never at rest. Instead\, they must show fo
rethought and consideration in their orders and whether the task they assi
gn concerns God or the world\, they should be discerning and moderate\, be
aring in mind the discretion of holy Jacob\, who said: 'If I drive my floc
ks too hard\, they will all die in a single day (Gn 33:13).' Therefore\, d
rawing on this and other examples of discretion\, they must so arrange eve
rything that the strong have something to yearn for and the weak nothing t
o run from.\n\nIn the midrash Genesis Rabbah it reads: 'A farmer puts
a yoke on his strong ox\, not on his weak one.' The function of Benedictin
e leadership is not to make life difficult\; it is to make life possible f
or both the strong and the weak. If a leader gives way to moodiness or ins
titutional paranoia\, if a leader is not emotionally balanced and spiritua
lly grounded\, a whole climate is poisoned. This chapter on the abbot or p
rioress is an important signal for parents and teachers and superiors ever
ywhere: what we cannot model\, we cannot expect\, not of children\, not of
the professionals who work for us\, not even of the people who love us en
ough to marry us. The people around us can only take our emotional batteri
ng so long. Then they leave or rebel or batter back. Benedictine leadershi
p models a guidance that is firm but loving\; clear but understanding\; ju
st but merciful\; itself authentically committed to its own principles for
\, indeed\, the rabbis also teach\, 'A little sin is big when a big person
commits it.'\n\nThey must\, above all\, keep this rule in every detail
\, so that when they have ministered well they will hear from God what tha
t good servant heard who gave the other members of the household grain at
the proper time: 'I tell you solemnly\, God will put this one in charge of
greater things (Mt 24:47).'\n\nIn ancient civilizations\, the law was
the lawgiver's law. Subjects had no rights\, only responsibilities. The l
awgiver could change the law on a whim or a fancy. In the Roman empire\, t
he pater familia\, the Roman father\, could do no wrong in his own home. N
o court of law would try him\, no one would convict him. He himself accord
ing to the principles of Roman jurisprudence was judge and jury\, king and
lawgiver. In a climate and culture such as this\, the chapter on the abbo
t or prioress\, and this paragraph in particular\, are extremely revolutio
nary. This section issues a clear warning: authority has limits\; authorit
y is not a law unto itself\; authority is responsible to the persons under
it for their welfare and their growth\; authority itself is under the law
. It is a theology such as this that makes people free and keeps people fr
ee because the knee we bow to government must really be bowed only to God.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260421T235900
LOCATION:64
SUMMARY:The Election of A Prioress or Abbot
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR