This tradition was primarily negative. “You had a lot of negative penances,” said Sister Van Galen, “very little sleep, very little to eat and beating yourself or rolling around in thorn bushes!” She described them as “spiritual gyms” whose purpose was to “toughen you up.”
    After three years here, Benedict sought a better way to relate to God, one more relational to others and that would be more in the spirit of the Gospel. “He knew,” she said, “that in order to have spiritual energy, the monks had to have physical energy and it had to be fueled by sleeping and eating.” As a result, Benedict devoted whole chapters in his rule to the necessary practicalities of sleeping, eating and the like.
    Referring to the Rule of St. Benedict as more of an attitude or way of life than a rule, Sister Van Galen commented on its flexibility, as it is liberally interspersed with “howevers.”
    There are guidelines — and chapters — on hospitality (welcoming guests as Christ would be welcomed), on the weak, on treatment of children and on the elderly. The rule served as a blueprint, making sure those in charge were persons of character and specifying that, when counsel was called for, all — from the youngest to the oldest — were to be involved.

     Ahead of his time, Benedict’s rule even touched on the need for clinical psychology. “He knew that the monks in his monastery were going to have psychological problems,” she said. “He knew there was going to be somebody emotionally unstable, unbalanced.” He therefore specified that “wise, emotionally stable people” be sent to such persons to talk with them.
    “Benedict’s rule, 1,500 years later, is still flexible,” said Sister Van Galen. “It’s very bendable.” She noted that no matter what your profession or vocation in life, this rule can serve as a guide. It is not only for those living in a monastic community.
    “Today,” she said, “many people in all walks of life are listening to that call presented by Benedict and are finding in the rule inspiration, a guide for their lives.”

    Sister Van Galen sees people today hungering for spirituality, with a desire to come closer to Christ through this Benedictine shared wisdom that has been accumulated over the centuries. “Benedict saw life in all its essentials,” she said, describing his vision of the present as an embryo that requires “birthing” throughout the centuries.
    “The wonderful thing about the Rule of Benedict is it’s not concerned with a single time,” she said. “It’s not concerned with a single place. It’s not concerned with a view of church. It’s not concerned with a set of devotions and it’s not concerned with a certain ministry. Benedictines are called to everything and anything.”

    As a religious community, Benedictines are monastic, rather than apostolic, but Benedict’s rule is also for the average person seeking spiritual development as well. Sister Van Galen noted its foundations are built on the essential law of the Gospel — to love God, your neighbor and yourself.
    “It’s listening with the ear of the heart,” she said. “It’s focused on God within, who calls and gifts and graces you to be gift and graces to other people.”
    Prayer is the center for Benedictine spirituality, she noted, with emphasis on the Liturgy of the Hours, which in Benedict’s time was said seven times a day, including midnight — something modern Benedictines, no longer confined to monastery life, have had to trim down.
    “Benedict doesn’t pretend to be original,” said Sister Van Galen, noting all 150 psalms are included in the Liturgy of the Hours and Scripture is quoted 126 times in the rule. The commandments, beatitudes and corporal works of mercy were also incorporated by Benedict.
    “Is it hard? You bet! You work on it all your life,” Sister Van Galen said, noting Benedict was writing a rule for beginners. “It’s going to be tough as you begin, but as you try more and more and practice more and more — whatever lives you have, whatever lifestyle you follow — it will become easier.”
    She added, “You don’t have to run to a monastery. You practice right where you are.”

APPLYING BENEDICTINE SPIRITUALITY
    Benedictine Oblate Anna Falkenberg, an administrative assistant and workshop presenter from the Omega Retreat Center, spoke on applying Benedictine Spirituality in one’s everyday life. Describing the Rule of St. Benedict as a guide for a balanced living, Falkenberg asked, “Don’t we all want balance? Balance is what gives us joy — balance between prayer, work, rest and relationships.”
    Referring to a hand-out which covered quotations from the Rule of St. Benedict on “living the good life,” she noted it was broken down into five sections: longing, prayer, rest, community and work.
    Longing here means wanting to move closer in our relationship with God. “In our lives,” Falkenberg said, “we’re struggling all the time. We struggle to find work that is fulfilling, productive and sufficient for our needs. We struggle to find rest — time apart, sustenance for our souls.”
    She noted that our yearning and desire is for God, but it is a constant struggle to make that happen, in view of the demands on us “in this very complicated world” — demands made by the various communities to which we belong, be they a monastic community or our families, neighborhoods, churches and the like.

     At the same time, we are bombarded constantly by new information (via computers, faxes, cell phones, multiple phones, etc.) to supposedly help us meet the demands. “But we only have one mind, one heart and one spirit and we have a limited amount of strength and a certain number of hours in the day and only two hands,” Falkenberg said. “That’s the reality.”
    The Rule of St. Benedict helps us balance these competing voices with our longing for God by helping us divide our lives into four areas, the above-mentioned prayer, work, rest and community. It also serves as a guidebook on three levels: first, as a guide for organizing a monastery; secondly, as a guide for the life of the spirit; and thirdly, as a way to follow the calling to live out the Gospel in our own lives.
    The first aspect examined was prayer and she noted, “Those of us who don’t have a bell and a monastery setting, we’re going to have to really learn to ring our own bells in our lives.” Joining us in communal prayer worldwide are millions who follow what St. Benedict called the “Opus Dei” (work of God), praying the Liturgy of the Hours.

    For lay persons, it has become the practice to pray four offices — morning prayer, noon prayer, evening prayer and night prayer. Included in these are psalms of praise, collective prayers, and prayers of petition, intercession and confession. “It’s a way of connecting our lives of prayer to the larger world of prayer,” said Falkenberg. “If you don’t already practice it, I think you will find it to be a rich part of your life.”
    Regarding the subject of rest, she noted that your “communities” will take up as much time as you are willing to give. “Time and attention are the currencies of our age,” she said, “and almost everything in our society is trying to get as much of both from you as they can get.”
     She added, “Sometimes even the good things, like our community life and our church work and our work life, are so full and rich and productive that we nearly die from it — and by our own hands!” It is important to remember at these times when we are sick at heart and depleted Benedict’s quote from Scripture, she said, “It is in returning and rest that we shall be saved.”

     Meditation and centering prayer are other names for this deeply connecting silence in the midst of our busy world that restores, refreshes and renews us. Part of the balance in the rule, Falkenberg noted, comes from its emphasis on community or relationships, stressing humility and love — something somewhat countercultural today. “Community in Benedict’s Rule is being Christ to others,” she said.
    “We are called to be Christ not only to our spouses or children or significant others,” she said, “but also to those who count on us everyday to say something helpful to them from time to time.” She added that this includes everyone who comes into your life in any way and is always a challenge. The rule also requires these persons be treated with humility, to which Benedict devotes a whole chapter.

    On the subject of work, Falkenberg pointed out this entails more than our jobs; it is work in the broadest sense. For monastic life, Benedict has written down the qualities called for in various positions, from the abbot (who heads the community) to the artisan (whose special art or craft contributes to community life), to the cellarer (who is the business manager).
    Falkenberg noted we have probably experienced all of these roles in our personal lives. “For Benedict and for us,” she said, “life is made up of a lot of good stuff and a lot of bad stuff and in between you have to clean your room!”
    She pointed out that the rule states that work never comes first, something we need to be aware of in a society where our work or career tends to define us as a person. “We have all had the experience,” she said, “of having our work life become larger than our lives in community. All of us have gone to work too early and stayed too late!”

     She pointed out that living this way wears down not only ourselves, but those persons who have been “given to us.” There are only so many hours in a day, and if too many are devoted to work — no matter how “good” that work might be — there are fewer hours to devote to our spiritual need for prayer, rest and community.
    Benedict also placed high regard on all utensils or tools of one’s work. “Everything is to be taken care of,” she said. “Nothing is to be neglected.” This includes housekeeping as well, going up to the level of environmental justice.
    “Summing up work and Benedict’s attitude toward it,” Falkenberg said, “is to remember that the work we do is not the center of the universe. The work that we do, whatever hat we’re wearing, is to be done in service to the center of the universe.”