The Rule of Saint Benedict

The Rule of Saint Benedict expresses a discipline and wisdom for living in this world of sin and distraction and suffering and death. Saint Benedict shares the belief of James, who expressed the idea that faith is not so much a mental agreement with some idea. Instead, it is more of a commitment to live and be a certain way, regardless of the challenges one faces. It is a faith that does, and by doing, understands what it believes. A Rule is not only a set of rules serving as a constitution for monastics living cloistered lives behind the walls of a monastery. It is also the minimum standard and expression of Christian living and activity for those of us living in a busy, chaotic, and dangerous world outside the monastery walls. The Rule of Saint Benedict is an attempt at ordering life, but it does so by ordering the self so that genuine monastery is possible. The monastery is not merely a group of individuals who dwell in close proximity. It is a group of individuals who develop a sense of “oneness” who live together “with unity.” The fostering of such unity is Saint Benedict’s goal. The Rule of Saint Benedict is the minimum standard of individual Christian life so that we may live together in maximum monastery and relationship with others and with God.