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X-WR-CALDESC:<i>Above all\, they must not show too great a concern for the 
 fleeting and temporal things of this world\; neglecting or treating lightl
 y the welfare of those entrusted to them. Rather\, they should keep in min
 d that they have undertaken the care of souls for whom they must give an a
 ccount. That they may not plead lack of resources as an excuse\, they are 
 to remember what is written: 'Seek first the reign and justice of God\, an
 d all these things will be given you as well. (Mt 6:33)' and again\, 'Thos
 e who reverence the Holy One lack nothing (Ps 34:10).'</i>\n\nIn an age of
  great institutions and unending development campaigns\, Benedict makes a 
 statement in this paragraph that stretches the modern mind to the extremit
 y of disbelief. Benedict instructs the abbot and prioress to be more conce
 rned about the spiritual needs of the monastery than its physical ones. Yo
 u have to wonder how long a group will last like that. You also have to wo
 nder whether or not a monastery that is not like that should last at all. 
 The implications are profound.\n\nA monastery does not have to be wealthy\
 , Benedict implies\, a monastery does not have to be large\, a monastery d
 oes not have to be popular. What a monastery must be\, without doubt and w
 ithout fail\, is holy. The role of the abbot or prioress\, therefore\, is 
 not to concentrate on the physical development of the community\, on the '
 fleeting and temporal things of this world.' The role of the abbot or prio
 ress is to direct their energies to bringing the community to the white he
 at of the spiritual life\, after which no challenge is too great and no ef
 fort is too much because we know for certain that 'those who reverence the
  Holy One lack nothing.'\n\nIn monastic spirituality\, then\, leadership i
 s not intent on making things right\; leadership is intent on making life 
 right. The number of families who have succumbed to the notion that giving
  their children everything that money can buy assures their happiness need
  this insight from of monastic spirituality. The number of business people
  who have put their entire lives into developing their businesses instead 
 of their quality of life\, need this insight from monastic spirituality. T
 he number of young people who have learned to believe that success depends
  on having it all\, may need this monastic lesson in life. The Rule of Ben
 edict teaches us that nothing\, not even a monastery\, is worth the loss o
 f the development of the important things in life\, the spiritual things i
 n life.\n\nThe prioress and abbot must know that anyone undertaking the ch
 arge of souls must be ready to account for them. Whatever the number of me
 mbers they have in their care\, let them realize that on judgment day they
  will surely have to submit a reckoning to God for all their souls--and in
 deed for their own as well. In this way\, while always fearful of the futu
 re examination of the shepherd about the sheep entrusted to them and caref
 ul about the state of others' accounts\, they become concerned also about 
 their own\, and while helping others to amend by their warnings\, they ach
 ieve the amendment of their own faults.\n\nThe word here is clear: abbots 
 and prioresses are responsible for the community\, yes\, but they are resp
 onsible for the quality and integrity of their own lives as well. Being an
  abbot or prioress\, a president or corporate tycoon does not put people a
 bove the law or outside the law. On the contrary. It may instead create a 
 double burden. In being concerned for the spiritual well-being of others\,
  the caretaker will have to be alert to the demands it makes on her own li
 fe. Any leader knows the litany of emotional responses: anger with those w
 ho resist\, frustration with things that can't be changed\, disappointment
  with things that showed promise but never came to fruit\, hurt because of
  rejection by the people you tried to love\, grief over the failure of pro
 jects that you counted on to succeed--all tax the soul of a leader. 'Thoug
 ht breaks the heart\,' the Africans say. Thought also robs the leader of c
 onfidence and energy and trust. Despite it all\, though\, Benedict counsel
 s leaders against the sin of resignation\, despair\, depression and false 
 hope. Monastic spirituality teaches us that everything we want to do will 
 not succeed\, but monastic spirituality also teaches us that we are never 
 to stop trying. We are never to give in to the lesser in life. We are neve
 r to lose hope in God's mercy.\n\nPeople looking for a spirituality of lea
 dership have substance in this chapter for years of thought. Benedict's le
 aders are to birth souls of steel and light\; they are to lead the group b
 ut not drive it\; they are to live the life they lead\; they are to love i
 ndiscriminately\; they are to favor the good\, not to favor the favor the 
 favorites\; they are to call the community to the height and depth and bre
 adth of the spiritual life\; they are to remember and rejoice in their own
  weaknesses in order to deal tenderly with the weaknesses of others\; they
  are to attend more to the spiritual than to the physical aspects of commu
 nity life\; and\, finally\, they are to save their own souls in the proces
 s\, to be human beings themselves\, to grow in life themselves.\n\nIn this
  chapter\, monasteries become the image of a world where leadership exists
  for the people it leads and not for itself. It is a model for businesses 
 and families and institutions that would change the world. It is also a mo
 del for leaders who become so consumed in leadership that they themselves 
 forget what it means to live a rich and holy life.
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DESCRIPTION:<i>Above all\, they must not show too great a concern for the f
 leeting and temporal things of this world\; neglecting or treating lightly
  the welfare of those entrusted to them. Rather\, they should keep in mind
  that they have undertaken the care of souls for whom they must give an ac
 count. That they may not plead lack of resources as an excuse\, they are t
 o remember what is written: 'Seek first the reign and justice of God\, and
  all these things will be given you as well. (Mt 6:33)' and again\, 'Those
  who reverence the Holy One lack nothing (Ps 34:10).'</i>\n\nIn an age of 
 great institutions and unending development campaigns\, Benedict makes a s
 tatement in this paragraph that stretches the modern mind to the extremity
  of disbelief. Benedict instructs the abbot and prioress to be more concer
 ned about the spiritual needs of the monastery than its physical ones. You
  have to wonder how long a group will last like that. You also have to won
 der whether or not a monastery that is not like that should last at all. T
 he implications are profound.\n\nA monastery does not have to be wealthy\,
  Benedict implies\, a monastery does not have to be large\, a monastery do
 es not have to be popular. What a monastery must be\, without doubt and wi
 thout fail\, is holy. The role of the abbot or prioress\, therefore\, is n
 ot to concentrate on the physical development of the community\, on the 'f
 leeting and temporal things of this world.' The role of the abbot or prior
 ess is to direct their energies to bringing the community to the white hea
 t of the spiritual life\, after which no challenge is too great and no eff
 ort is too much because we know for certain that 'those who reverence the 
 Holy One lack nothing.'\n\nIn monastic spirituality\, then\, leadership is
  not intent on making things right\; leadership is intent on making life r
 ight. The number of families who have succumbed to the notion that giving 
 their children everything that money can buy assures their happiness need 
 this insight from of monastic spirituality. The number of business people 
 who have put their entire lives into developing their businesses instead o
 f their quality of life\, need this insight from monastic spirituality. Th
 e number of young people who have learned to believe that success depends 
 on having it all\, may need this monastic lesson in life. The Rule of Bene
 dict teaches us that nothing\, not even a monastery\, is worth the loss of
  the development of the important things in life\, the spiritual things in
  life.\n\nThe prioress and abbot must know that anyone undertaking the cha
 rge of souls must be ready to account for them. Whatever the number of mem
 bers they have in their care\, let them realize that on judgment day they 
 will surely have to submit a reckoning to God for all their souls--and ind
 eed for their own as well. In this way\, while always fearful of the futur
 e examination of the shepherd about the sheep entrusted to them and carefu
 l about the state of others' accounts\, they become concerned also about t
 heir own\, and while helping others to amend by their warnings\, they achi
 eve the amendment of their own faults.\n\nThe word here is clear: abbots a
 nd prioresses are responsible for the community\, yes\, but they are respo
 nsible for the quality and integrity of their own lives as well. Being an 
 abbot or prioress\, a president or corporate tycoon does not put people ab
 ove the law or outside the law. On the contrary. It may instead create a d
 ouble burden. In being concerned for the spiritual well-being of others\, 
 the caretaker will have to be alert to the demands it makes on her own lif
 e. Any leader knows the litany of emotional responses: anger with those wh
 o resist\, frustration with things that can't be changed\, disappointment 
 with things that showed promise but never came to fruit\, hurt because of 
 rejection by the people you tried to love\, grief over the failure of proj
 ects that you counted on to succeed--all tax the soul of a leader. 'Though
 t breaks the heart\,' the Africans say. Thought also robs the leader of co
 nfidence and energy and trust. Despite it all\, though\, Benedict counsels
  leaders against the sin of resignation\, despair\, depression and false h
 ope. Monastic spirituality teaches us that everything we want to do will n
 ot succeed\, but monastic spirituality also teaches us that we are never t
 o stop trying. We are never to give in to the lesser in life. We are never
  to lose hope in God's mercy.\n\nPeople looking for a spirituality of lead
 ership have substance in this chapter for years of thought. Benedict's lea
 ders are to birth souls of steel and light\; they are to lead the group bu
 t not drive it\; they are to live the life they lead\; they are to love in
 discriminately\; they are to favor the good\, not to favor the favor the f
 avorites\; they are to call the community to the height and depth and brea
 dth of the spiritual life\; they are to remember and rejoice in their own 
 weaknesses in order to deal tenderly with the weaknesses of others\; they 
 are to attend more to the spiritual than to the physical aspects of commun
 ity life\; and\, finally\, they are to save their own souls in the process
 \, to be human beings themselves\, to grow in life themselves.\n\nIn this 
 chapter\, monasteries become the image of a world where leadership exists 
 for the people it leads and not for itself. It is a model for businesses a
 nd families and institutions that would change the world. It is also a mod
 el for leaders who become so consumed in leadership that they themselves f
 orget what it means to live a rich and holy life.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260516T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260516T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 2
SUMMARY:Qualities of the Abbot or Prioress
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