Monastic life - the rule of St Benedict
Introduction
The Regula Benedicti (Rule of St Benedict) is the spiritual foundation for a life in the Benedictine tradition.
The sole purpose of the “Rule” is that of providing a practical form to living the lessons found in the Bible. Among the foremost central themes are prayer, getting along with other human beings, work (a sense of purpose or finding one’s calling) and wellness within the community.
Contents of the rule
The 73 chapters of the Benedictine Rule provide guidelines for one’s entire life. They can be divided up along the following areas:
- Communal Life within the Rule under the supervision of an Abbott
- The Art of the Spirit
- Communal prayer
- The Organisation of the monastery
- Daily Sustenance
- The Order of the Day
- The Relationship of the Monastery to the outside world
- Recruitment and integration of new member
- The Order of Service
- The Commonality - Community of Brotherly Love
Monastic life
The sense and purpose of life within the Benedictine order is to liberate oneself for the search for God, which is the focal point for this sort of life. St. Benedict’s Rule requires the monks to:
- remain in their original monastery
- retreat from a secular life
- strive for perfection
- obey the Abbott.
Central to the theme of monastic life according to the Rule is to participate in the communal prayer of the group which occurs several times each day, then in reading of the Bible or works of theological or spiritual authors and actively performing work. It is the principle of “ora et labora”, or “of prayer and work”.
The Benedictine Rule attempts to show a way a member of the Order can make the Evangelium (the Bible) become reality through a specific lifestyle, namely according to the teaching and example of Christ. Note that outside of the monastery, even when one has no part of the monastic life, a person can guide one’s own life following these principles.