A homely Rule

Daily Reading for July 10

The Rule of St. Benedict has a special way of viewing the patterns and dynamics of Christian life. The whole orientation of the Rule is to the principle that God is everywhere, all the time, and thus every element of our ordinary day is potentially holy. Very few of us believe that and/or act on it. Benedict urges us both so to believe and so to act. It is an enormous challenge, involving life-long response, and yet it is very simple and can be begun at this moment. Because the Rule is so “homely”, so oriented to the opportunities of daily life as grist for the mill of Christian consecration, it has a great deal to say which is directly helpful to a Christian lay person, struggling to live the Christian life even in our contemporary, secular world.

From Preferring Christ: A Devotional Commentary and Workbook on the Rule of St. Benedict by Norvene Vest (Source Books, 1990).

Posted by Vicki K. Black on July 10, 2007 4:00 AM | |
Comments (3)

I agree that God pervades the whole of our lives from the lofty to the mundane. It's the practice in keeping this in mind that is difficult.

One of my most beloved books is The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence. He worked in the kitchen of the monastery, and he said that he experienced God's presence no less in the performance of his duties in the kitchen than in the keeping of the hours in the chapel.

He was a simple man, who was wise in the ways of the Lord.

June Butler

Posted by GrandmèreMimi [TypeKey Profile Page] | July 11, 2007 1:45 PM

Grandmere, I think you would really like "The Conversion of Brother Lawrence" by Denise Levertov. It was orginally published in her book Sands of the Well, and then republished in The Stream and The Sapphire.

Posted by Jim Naughton [TypeKey Profile Page] | July 11, 2007 1:52 PM

Thanks, Jim. I'll look into that.

June Butler

Posted by GrandmèreMimi [TypeKey Profile Page] | July 11, 2007 2:57 PM

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