Every morning, I try to read a passage from St. Benedict Rule as well as a commentary on it, like the one offered by the Benedictine of Saint Cecilia’s Abbey, in Ryde in South Wales, Australia: Enlarging the Heart: Daily readings from the Rule of Saint Benedict. I often find their insights arresting, like today’s:
Sometimes we have a notion of the holiness we would like to attain. We genuinely feel that it would be admirable in God’s eyes as well as our own. But God’s idea of holiness might be quite different. We might ask to be relieved of such and such a fault – and this is surely right – but time and again we have to continue bearing the burden of our weakness. And really it is not being without the fault which makes us holy but the humility brought to birth by our need to rely wholly on God’s mercy.
Holiness lies less in being resplendent in obvious virtues than in our love for His will, demonstrated by our loving acceptance of whatever God permits. And He permits weakness. If it is God’s will to keep us small in our own eyes and in those of others, then to embrace that will is to advance in holiness.
Grace and peace,
Mark
[Image: Claudio-Duart-Designer]
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.