Saint Benedict

            I have always wondered how monks’ lives fits along what most people would consider a “Christian” lifestyle. I don’t have very much experience with them either, and I do not know much about what they actually believe. All that I knew prior to this reading was that I thought of them as people that were very devoted to a belief and isolated themselves completely in order to fully pursue that belief. Following the reading, I found that this is somewhat true, but I gained a new understanding of to what extent they went to achieve this.

            It was easily seen that those following St. Benedict’s Rule thought extremely highly of total humility. They would completely separate themselves from the world, resist speaking when possible, and assumed other postures of submission, and this sounded very extreme to me. The Rule obviously highlighted rules and guidelines for them, but there also seemed to be an unnecessary focus on them. Laws are clearly important, but they cross into hurtful when they take away from some of our most important goals. For those that spent their entire life away from others unlike them and spoke only when spoken to, it doesn’t seem to me like they are doing much in the way of furthering the Kingdom of God. While humility does stand out to others and shows a certain devotion, I do not think that many people are reached without being spoken to. Spreading the Word of God is necessary as a follower of Him, and I do not see how this could really be accomplished in this manner.

            Another thing that I found conflicts with was the Rule’s constant emphasis placed on the works that people do. On page 2, Benedict states that “If we desire to dwell in the tabernacle of His kingdom, we cannot reach it in any way, unless we run thither by good works”. In this statement and throughout the piece, works are claimed to determine one’s holiness. However, in the Bible Jesus states that He is the only way to get into heaven. Our faith is not determined by our actions, but rather our relationship with God. While this relationship will inevitably result in good works, I think that St. Benedict took this connection too far and traced the faith back to the deeds.

            While the Rule outlined by St. Benedict does seem like it has righteous intentions, I think that it misses the mark in some ways. It limits people from building relationships with others which often lead to the sharing of faith. Also, works are focused on as proving our worthiness to God, but we are not, in any way, worthy of Him without his grace.