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X-WR-CALDESC:For the preservation of peace and love we have\, therefore\
, judged it best for the abbot or prioress to make all decisions in the co
nduct of the monastery. If possible\, as we have already established\, the
whole operation of the monastery should be managed through deans under th
e directions of the abbot or prioress. Then\, so long as it is entrusted t
o more than one\, no individual will yield to pride. But if local conditio
ns call for it\, or the community makes a reasonable and humble request\,
and the prioress or abbot judges it best\, then let them\, with the advice
of members who reverence God\, choose the one they want and themselves ma
ke that one the subprioress or prior. The subprioress and prior for their
part are to carry out respectfully what the prioress or abbot assigns\, an
d do nothing contrary to their wishes or arrangements\, because the more t
hey are set above the rest\, the more they should be concerned to keep wha
t the rule commands.\n\nThe problems dealt with in this chapter are th
e problems of loyalty\, honesty\, humility and role and their effect on a
group. The prior or subprioress in a Benedictine monastery are equivalent
to the first assistant of any organization. They act as vicars\, represent
atives\, of the abbot or prioress but they do not have any specific role d
escription or authority of their own. Most local constitutions of Benedict
ine communities to this day\, in fact\, say simply that the subprioress or
prior are appointed by the prioress or abbot to 'do whatever the abbot bi
ds them to do.' The point is that every community has one\, single\, ultim
ate authority\, the abbot or prioress\, and that any other arrangement or
assumption is not only incorrect\, it is dangerous to the unity and format
ion of the community.\n\nUnderlying the theological and organizational con
siderations\, however\, is the dark warning that the temptation to use a p
osition\, any position--vice-principal\, vice-president\, assistant\, depa
rtment director--to wrest authority away from the center or to promote our
own careers by undermining the legitimate leader in order to make ourselv
es look good\, is a sin against community. It uses a group for personal ga
in instead of for the good of the group. It is the story of a Rasputin or
a Lucretia Borgia. It is a grasp at power for its own sake. It corrodes wh
at we say we support. It eats like acid at anything in us that we say is r
eal. It is cheap popularity and expensive advancement because\, eventually
\, it will destroy what we say we value\, the very community for which we
are responsible.\n\nIf these subprioresses or priors are found to have
serious faults\, or are led astray by conceit and grow proud\, or show ope
n contempt for the holy rule\, they are to be warned verbally as many as f
our times. If they do not amend\, they are to be punished as required by t
he discipline of the rule. Then\, if they still do not reform they are to
be deposed from the rank of subprioress or prior and replaced by someone w
orthy. If after all that\, they are not peaceful and obedient members of t
he community\, they should even be expelled from the monastery. Yet the ab
bot or prioress should reflect that they must give God an account of all t
heir judgments\, lest the flames of jealousy or rivalry sear their soul.\n\nThe Tao Te Ching teaches: 'Shape clay into a vessel\; It is the spac
e within that makes it useful.' Every group has a distinct structure and h
istory but without a single driving spirit\,it may lack the heart to make
a common impact. In Benedictine spirituality the abbot and prioress are th
e center of the community. They are the one voice\, the one light\, the on
e heart that the entire community can trust to act always in its true and
total interest. In every group\, in fact\, it is that inspiriting space wi
thin that gives it energy. Destroy the axis\, stop the heart\, collapse th
e core of a world and the world shrivels or shatters or disintegrates in s
pace. That's what rivalry between the leaders of a group does to a communi
ty. That's what divergence between husband and wife does to the family. Th
at's what tension between idols does to a world. Benedictine spirituality
sees the community as something to mold us\, not something to be used for
the interests and vanity and power struggles of a few. It is a life dedica
ted to the spirit\, not enmeshed in the agendas of the political. Where th
e authority of the abbot or prioress is constantly contested\, routinely i
gnored\, mockingly ridiculed or sharply questioned\, then the eye of the s
oul is taken off of the Center of the life and shifted instead to the mult
iple minor agendas of its members. At that moment\, the mystical dimension
of the community turns into just one more arm wrestling match among conte
nders. At that point\, the Rule says\, get rid of the people who lower the
purpose of the group to the level of the mundane\, making light of the gr
eat enterprise of life and diminishing its energy.\n\nIt is good advice in
any human endeavor whose higher purpose is being fed to the appetites of
the immature and the selfish to rid itself of those who have given over th
e lode star of the group to a lesser direction.
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UID:78a21dcb-41b5-4c57-a1be-5ed82e3a64b7
DTSTAMP:20260405T113646Z
DESCRIPTION:For the preservation of peace and love we have\, therefore\,
judged it best for the abbot or prioress to make all decisions in the con
duct of the monastery. If possible\, as we have already established\, the
whole operation of the monastery should be managed through deans under the
directions of the abbot or prioress. Then\, so long as it is entrusted to
more than one\, no individual will yield to pride. But if local condition
s call for it\, or the community makes a reasonable and humble request\, a
nd the prioress or abbot judges it best\, then let them\, with the advice
of members who reverence God\, choose the one they want and themselves mak
e that one the subprioress or prior. The subprioress and prior for their p
art are to carry out respectfully what the prioress or abbot assigns\, and
do nothing contrary to their wishes or arrangements\, because the more th
ey are set above the rest\, the more they should be concerned to keep what
the rule commands.\n\nThe problems dealt with in this chapter are the
problems of loyalty\, honesty\, humility and role and their effect on a g
roup. The prior or subprioress in a Benedictine monastery are equivalent t
o the first assistant of any organization. They act as vicars\, representa
tives\, of the abbot or prioress but they do not have any specific role de
scription or authority of their own. Most local constitutions of Benedicti
ne communities to this day\, in fact\, say simply that the subprioress or
prior are appointed by the prioress or abbot to 'do whatever the abbot bid
s them to do.' The point is that every community has one\, single\, ultima
te authority\, the abbot or prioress\, and that any other arrangement or a
ssumption is not only incorrect\, it is dangerous to the unity and formati
on of the community.\n\nUnderlying the theological and organizational cons
iderations\, however\, is the dark warning that the temptation to use a po
sition\, any position--vice-principal\, vice-president\, assistant\, depar
tment director--to wrest authority away from the center or to promote our
own careers by undermining the legitimate leader in order to make ourselve
s look good\, is a sin against community. It uses a group for personal gai
n instead of for the good of the group. It is the story of a Rasputin or a
Lucretia Borgia. It is a grasp at power for its own sake. It corrodes wha
t we say we support. It eats like acid at anything in us that we say is re
al. It is cheap popularity and expensive advancement because\, eventually\
, it will destroy what we say we value\, the very community for which we a
re responsible.\n\nIf these subprioresses or priors are found to have s
erious faults\, or are led astray by conceit and grow proud\, or show open
contempt for the holy rule\, they are to be warned verbally as many as fo
ur times. If they do not amend\, they are to be punished as required by th
e discipline of the rule. Then\, if they still do not reform they are to b
e deposed from the rank of subprioress or prior and replaced by someone wo
rthy. If after all that\, they are not peaceful and obedient members of th
e community\, they should even be expelled from the monastery. Yet the abb
ot or prioress should reflect that they must give God an account of all th
eir judgments\, lest the flames of jealousy or rivalry sear their soul.\n\nThe Tao Te Ching teaches: 'Shape clay into a vessel\; It is the space
within that makes it useful.' Every group has a distinct structure and hi
story but without a single driving spirit\,it may lack the heart to make a
common impact. In Benedictine spirituality the abbot and prioress are the
center of the community. They are the one voice\, the one light\, the one
heart that the entire community can trust to act always in its true and t
otal interest. In every group\, in fact\, it is that inspiriting space wit
hin that gives it energy. Destroy the axis\, stop the heart\, collapse the
core of a world and the world shrivels or shatters or disintegrates in sp
ace. That's what rivalry between the leaders of a group does to a communit
y. That's what divergence between husband and wife does to the family. Tha
t's what tension between idols does to a world. Benedictine spirituality s
ees the community as something to mold us\, not something to be used for t
he interests and vanity and power struggles of a few. It is a life dedicat
ed to the spirit\, not enmeshed in the agendas of the political. Where the
authority of the abbot or prioress is constantly contested\, routinely ig
nored\, mockingly ridiculed or sharply questioned\, then the eye of the so
ul is taken off of the Center of the life and shifted instead to the multi
ple minor agendas of its members. At that moment\, the mystical dimension
of the community turns into just one more arm wrestling match among conten
ders. At that point\, the Rule says\, get rid of the people who lower the
purpose of the group to the level of the mundane\, making light of the gre
at enterprise of life and diminishing its energy.\n\nIt is good advice in
any human endeavor whose higher purpose is being fed to the appetites of t
he immature and the selfish to rid itself of those who have given over the
lode star of the group to a lesser direction.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260423T235900
LOCATION:
SUMMARY:The Prior and Subprioress of the Monastery
END:VEVENT
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