Reflection on the Rule of St. Benedict by: Mother Rebecca
Verses 29-30 of the Prologue: “Those who fear the
Lord are not elated by their good observance, but consider that the good things
in them cannot have come about from themselves but are from the Lord. And so
they magnify the Lord working in them, saying with the prophet: ‘Not to us,
Lord, not to us, but to your name give the glory. ”
In Give Us This Day awhile back there was a
write up on Johann Sebastian Bach. The
summary said that at the end of each of his compositions he would put the
initials “S.D.G.” “Soli Deo Gloria” or “to God alone the glory”! He seemed to have gotten this precept of St
Benedict down pat.
However my tendency in good works is to initial
them, of course with “SDG”, but I like to add “RS” too! At times I like to take some credit too. But is my good work really my work or only a measure of my openness
to God working within me?! This attitude
develops only from a healthy relationship with God through prayer.
Another
person who captured this stance well was M Teresa. There is a funny story of Pope John Paul II
giving M Teresa’s nuns some space to build a home for the elderly right up
against the walls of the papal audience chamber. A senior Vatican archbishop came to preach at
the ceremony of its inauguration, attended by M Teresa. The Archbishop spoke for about 2 minutes of
the kindness and generosity of John Paul who gave the land and buildings to
her. But suddenly there was an
interruption from the front row. M
Teresa smiled and pointed her finger up in the air and said “We must thank the
Lord first!” The archbishop was
embarrassed, smiled, and then continued his prepared homily but M Teresa kept
pointing her finger straight up into the air whispering “The Lord…The Lord
first!” I love that story and her bold
yet simple truth – she also got this precept of St Benedict down pat.
To be
congratulated or acknowledged for our good deeds is a way in which we can build
up our self-esteem, but this can be dangerous.
What if the affirmation and gratitude doesn’t come? Then we will be depressed at not being
appreciated and will begin feeling badly about our self. The reason is because we did not quite
understand this precept of St Benedict.
The desire and energy behind a good work is so that God can be
recognized in our midst – to bring the kingdom of God into the world. To do this I must be transparent and other
centered. However, we learn as children
if we do good, we win the love of parents and significant others and we feel
good about ourselves. So it is an easy
trap to fall into. But we need to
unlearn this dynamic in order to be steady and persevere in our good
works. St Bernard said if the gift is
not for God’s glory then there is no glory at all!
Our
Constitutions state “Only if the sister prefer nothing whatever to Christ will
she be happy to persevere in a life that is ordinary, hidden, and
laborious”. Our prayers for peace in the
world, healing for the sick, comfort for the lonely…are the hidden works of our
cloistered life. But also the hidden
acts of charity throughout the day – removing bread crumbs from the counter,
fidelity to our studies, a smile, cleaning the sink for the next person – all
these can give God glory. Br Lawrence
says even picking up a piece of straw in His name (or a dust ball in the
cloister) can become a hidden work for God.
It is so simple - if we are mindful…if our hearts are full of love. Opportunities are plentiful – even
infinite! Yet we are lucky sometimes if
we recognize 1 or 2 in our day. We have
to work to train our mind and our eyes to see these hidden invitations to love.
So today’s
verse is a call to reflect on why I desire to do loving deeds and practice good
observance. This answer will determine
my motives but also give me the strength to persevere in love and good works. Today our mantra can be just what Benedict is
telling us: “Not to us, Lord, not to us,
but to your name give the glory.”
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