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UID:93a69a8a-5f4f-478a-bff3-5a8a5df66170
X-WR-CALDESC:<i>If the community is rather large\, some chosen for their go
 od repute and holy life should be made deans. They will take care of their
  groups of ten\, managing all affairs according to the commandments of God
  and the orders of their prioress or abbot. Anyone selected as a dean shou
 ld be the kind of person with whom the prioress or abbot can confidently s
 hare the burdens of office. They are to be chosen for virtuous living and 
 wise teaching\, not for their rank.</i>\n\nIn one simple paragraph Benedic
 t does away with the notion of absolute hierarchy and the divine right to 
 anything. The abbot and prioress are to be the last word in a Benedictine 
 community but they are not to be its only word. They are to 'share the bur
 dens of their office\,' not simply delegate them\, with those members of t
 he community who themselves are models of the monastic life. The age of a 
 person or the number of years they've been in the monastery has nothing to
  do with the decision to give one person rather than another a position of
  responsibility or authority in the group. What counts is the quality of t
 heir community life\, the prayerfulness of their lives\, their commitment 
 to Benedictine values.\n\nWhoever the leaders\, the central thesis of the 
 chapter remains: the community belongs to the community. Its sanctity and 
 success does not rise and fall on the shoulders of one leader alone. It ri
 ses and falls on the shoulders of its members. What they are the community
  shall be.\n\nIt is an important concept in a culture that calls itself cl
 assless but which relies heavily on connections and prestige and money to 
 define its centers of power and so overlooks the values and voices of many
 .\n\n<i>If perhaps one of these deans is found to be puffed up with any pr
 ide\, and so deserving of censure\, they are to be reproved once\, twice a
 nd even a third time. Should they refuse to amend\, they must be removed f
 rom office and replaced by another who is worthy. We prescribe the same co
 urse of action in regard to the subprioress or prior.</i>\n\nTo share auth
 ority is not the same as to give it away. To share authority means that th
 ose who are responsible for the group must arrive at common decisions\, sh
 are a common wisdom\, come to a common commitment and then teach it togeth
 er in such a way that the community is united\, not divided\, by the peopl
 e chosen to lead it. To give authority away is to abdicate it\, to leave t
 he group open to division\, disunity and destruction.\n\nThe government of
  a Benedictine community is to come out of a common vision\, a common hear
 t. There is one interpreter of the Rule in every Benedictine monastery\, t
 he abbot or prioress\, who themselves are immersed in scripture and who ha
 ve listened to the experience of the community and bring those elements to
  bear on every present situation. The unity of the community depends on th
 e centrality of that teaching. To divide a group into factions until the u
 nity of the teaching pales\, to tear at its center until its fabric frays 
 and rends\, to refuse to give focus to its focus is to strike at the very 
 heart of Benedictine spirituality. It is not possible to form a group when
  the group is being divided over the very items on which it should be bein
 g developed.\n\nWhat Benedict is inveighing against\, then\, is the spirit
  of the coup d'etat\, that war that is waged against authority by the very
  people named by the authority to uphold it. The person with a Benedictine
  mindset goes into the parish council or the union office or the hospital 
 board to cooperate with the leadership\, to carry the group\, not to tug i
 t to pieces over inconsequential matters for some gain of personal aggrand
 izement and ego satisfaction. A Benedictine family does not draw and quart
 er the children with two different sets of expectations. Benedictine spiri
 tuality uses authority to weld a group\, not to fracture it.
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DTSTAMP:20260429T083447Z
DESCRIPTION:<i>If the community is rather large\, some chosen for their goo
 d repute and holy life should be made deans. They will take care of their 
 groups of ten\, managing all affairs according to the commandments of God 
 and the orders of their prioress or abbot. Anyone selected as a dean shoul
 d be the kind of person with whom the prioress or abbot can confidently sh
 are the burdens of office. They are to be chosen for virtuous living and w
 ise teaching\, not for their rank.</i>\n\nIn one simple paragraph Benedict
  does away with the notion of absolute hierarchy and the divine right to a
 nything. The abbot and prioress are to be the last word in a Benedictine c
 ommunity but they are not to be its only word. They are to 'share the burd
 ens of their office\,' not simply delegate them\, with those members of th
 e community who themselves are models of the monastic life. The age of a p
 erson or the number of years they've been in the monastery has nothing to 
 do with the decision to give one person rather than another a position of 
 responsibility or authority in the group. What counts is the quality of th
 eir community life\, the prayerfulness of their lives\, their commitment t
 o Benedictine values.\n\nWhoever the leaders\, the central thesis of the c
 hapter remains: the community belongs to the community. Its sanctity and s
 uccess does not rise and fall on the shoulders of one leader alone. It ris
 es and falls on the shoulders of its members. What they are the community 
 shall be.\n\nIt is an important concept in a culture that calls itself cla
 ssless but which relies heavily on connections and prestige and money to d
 efine its centers of power and so overlooks the values and voices of many.
 \n\n<i>If perhaps one of these deans is found to be puffed up with any pri
 de\, and so deserving of censure\, they are to be reproved once\, twice an
 d even a third time. Should they refuse to amend\, they must be removed fr
 om office and replaced by another who is worthy. We prescribe the same cou
 rse of action in regard to the subprioress or prior.</i>\n\nTo share autho
 rity is not the same as to give it away. To share authority means that tho
 se who are responsible for the group must arrive at common decisions\, sha
 re a common wisdom\, come to a common commitment and then teach it togethe
 r in such a way that the community is united\, not divided\, by the people
  chosen to lead it. To give authority away is to abdicate it\, to leave th
 e group open to division\, disunity and destruction.\n\nThe government of 
 a Benedictine community is to come out of a common vision\, a common heart
 . There is one interpreter of the Rule in every Benedictine monastery\, th
 e abbot or prioress\, who themselves are immersed in scripture and who hav
 e listened to the experience of the community and bring those elements to 
 bear on every present situation. The unity of the community depends on the
  centrality of that teaching. To divide a group into factions until the un
 ity of the teaching pales\, to tear at its center until its fabric frays a
 nd rends\, to refuse to give focus to its focus is to strike at the very h
 eart of Benedictine spirituality. It is not possible to form a group when 
 the group is being divided over the very items on which it should be being
  developed.\n\nWhat Benedict is inveighing against\, then\, is the spirit 
 of the coup d'etat\, that war that is waged against authority by the very 
 people named by the authority to uphold it. The person with a Benedictine 
 mindset goes into the parish council or the union office or the hospital b
 oard to cooperate with the leadership\, to carry the group\, not to tug it
  to pieces over inconsequential matters for some gain of personal aggrandi
 zement and ego satisfaction. A Benedictine family does not draw and quarte
 r the children with two different sets of expectations. Benedictine spirit
 uality uses authority to weld a group\, not to fracture it.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260628T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260628T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 21
SUMMARY:The Deans of the Monastery
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR