The community as envisaged by Benedict does not operate according to the standards of this age . . . . Benedict resists any tendency which would lead his monks to do any of the following:
- to be more concerned about “transitory earthly trifles” than the kingdom (Rule of St. Benedict [RB] 2:33-36)
- to become protective of private property (RB 33:1-8, 55: 16-18)
- to be pleased to receive gifts (RB54:1-5)
- to be responsive to hospitality when traveling (RB 51:1-2)
- to be happy to make extra profit from their work (RB 57:7-8)
- to be hopeful for an inheritance (RB 59:6)
- to pay attention to worldly rank (RB 2:18)
- to insist on clerical privilege (RB 60:5-7)
- to be prejudiced in favor of blood relatives (RB 69:2)
- to claim the right to grumble when things go against them (RB 5:17-18, 34:6-7, 40:9)
- to remain enthralled in self-congratulation (elatio: RB 4:69)
- to engage in self-promotion (exaltatio: RB 7:2, 7:7)
- to keep their options open (RB 58:15-16)
- to indulge in laughter (RB 6:8, 7:59)
- to exercise initiative (RB 31:4, 49:9, 67:7)
- to eat more than sparingly (RB 39:7-10) and
- to want to bathe frequently (RB 36:8)
Most of these actions would be considered normal behavior in secular society — and, indeed, they may seem harmless enough. . . . Such provisions are not mere archaism to be explained away and abandoned without regret. They are indications that Benedict’s community lives according to norms different from those typical of “this age.”
Michael Casey, OCSO
Strangers to the City, pp. 11-13
