BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//eriebenedictines.org//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.30.10//
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
UID:df7df788-4c00-4f3a-9b1c-c166ec70dc9d
X-WR-CALDESC:Let the prioress and abbot always remember that at the judg
ment of God\, not only their teaching but also the community's obedience w
ill come under scrutiny. The prioress and abbot must\, therefore\, be awar
e that the shepherd will bear the blame wherever the owner of the househol
d finds that the sheep have yielded no profit. Still\, if they have faithf
ully shepherded a restive and disobedient flock\, always striving to cure
their unhealthy ways\, it will be otherwise: the shepherd will be acquitte
d at God's judgment. Then\, like the prophet\, they may say to God: 'I hav
e not hidden your justice in my heart\; I have proclaimed your truth and y
our salvation (Ps 40:11) but they spurned and rejected me (Is 1:2\; Ez 20:
27).' Then at last the sheep that have rebelled against their care will be
punished by the overwhelming power of death.\n\nBenedict puts a great
deal of responsibility on the shoulders of people in authority\, but not
all of it. Abbots and prioresses are to teach\, to proclaim\, but the comm
unity's responsibility is to listen and to respond.\n\nBenedict wants a co
mmunity that is led\, but not driven.\n\nThe concept is clear: people are
not acquitted of the responsibility for their own souls. Personal decision
s are still decisions\, personal judgments are still judgments\, free will
is still free will. Being in a family does not relieve a child of the res
ponsibility to grow up. The function of twenty-one year olds is not to do
life's tasks as their parents told them to do it when they were six years
old. The function of twenty-one year olds is simply to do the same tasks w
ell and to take accountability themselves for having done it.\n\nPerhaps t
he most important result of a model of authority like this is the environm
ent it creates. The monastery is not a royal court\, a military barracks\,
or a detention home. The role of leadership is not to make lackeys\, or f
oot soldiers or broken children out of adult Christians.\n\nThe purpose of
Benedictine spirituality is to gather equally committed adults for a jour
ney through earthen darkness to the dazzling light that already flames in
each of us\, but in a hidden place left to each of us to find.\n\nThe Rule
's model of leadership and authority\, then\, is a paradigm for any relati
onship\, husband and wife\, parent and child\, supervisor and employee. Th
e function of authority is not to control the other\; it is to guide and t
o challenge and to enable the other. Benedictine authority is a commitment
to that\, a promise of that.\n\nA midrash on Genesis points out: 'God pre
fers your deeds to your ancestors' virtues.' We are not here simply to fol
low someone else. Being part of something good does not automatically make
us good. What we do with our own lives is the measure of their value. We
are here to learn to take ourselves in hand.
X-WR-RELCALID:fd1914c410fef1b4e428c81aeaab0b53
X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T020000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
RDATE:20261101T020000
RDATE:20271107T020000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20260308T020000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
RDATE:20270314T020000
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:135142bf-ad97-4b25-994c-62febfc98e26
DTSTAMP:20260405T120223Z
DESCRIPTION:Let the prioress and abbot always remember that at the judgm
ent of God\, not only their teaching but also the community's obedience wi
ll come under scrutiny. The prioress and abbot must\, therefore\, be aware
that the shepherd will bear the blame wherever the owner of the household
finds that the sheep have yielded no profit. Still\, if they have faithfu
lly shepherded a restive and disobedient flock\, always striving to cure t
heir unhealthy ways\, it will be otherwise: the shepherd will be acquitted
at God's judgment. Then\, like the prophet\, they may say to God: 'I have
not hidden your justice in my heart\; I have proclaimed your truth and yo
ur salvation (Ps 40:11) but they spurned and rejected me (Is 1:2\; Ez 20:2
7).' Then at last the sheep that have rebelled against their care will be
punished by the overwhelming power of death.\n\nBenedict puts a great
deal of responsibility on the shoulders of people in authority\, but not a
ll of it. Abbots and prioresses are to teach\, to proclaim\, but the commu
nity's responsibility is to listen and to respond.\n\nBenedict wants a com
munity that is led\, but not driven.\n\nThe concept is clear: people are n
ot acquitted of the responsibility for their own souls. Personal decisions
are still decisions\, personal judgments are still judgments\, free will
is still free will. Being in a family does not relieve a child of the resp
onsibility to grow up. The function of twenty-one year olds is not to do l
ife's tasks as their parents told them to do it when they were six years o
ld. The function of twenty-one year olds is simply to do the same tasks we
ll and to take accountability themselves for having done it.\n\nPerhaps th
e most important result of a model of authority like this is the environme
nt it creates. The monastery is not a royal court\, a military barracks\,
or a detention home. The role of leadership is not to make lackeys\, or fo
ot soldiers or broken children out of adult Christians.\n\nThe purpose of
Benedictine spirituality is to gather equally committed adults for a journ
ey through earthen darkness to the dazzling light that already flames in e
ach of us\, but in a hidden place left to each of us to find.\n\nThe Rule'
s model of leadership and authority\, then\, is a paradigm for any relatio
nship\, husband and wife\, parent and child\, supervisor and employee. The
function of authority is not to control the other\; it is to guide and to
challenge and to enable the other. Benedictine authority is a commitment
to that\, a promise of that.\n\nA midrash on Genesis points out: 'God pref
ers your deeds to your ancestors' virtues.' We are not here simply to foll
ow someone else. Being part of something good does not automatically make
us good. What we do with our own lives is the measure of their value. We a
re here to learn to take ourselves in hand.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260511T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260511T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 2
SUMMARY:Qualities of the Abbot or Prioress
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR