{"id":1567,"date":"2007-07-11T06:55:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-11T06:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/07\/listen.html"},"modified":"2007-07-11T06:55:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-11T06:55:00","slug":"listen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/07\/listen.html","title":{"rendered":"“Listen…”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>With that one simple word, St. Benedict began his famous Rule, and what followed transformed Western monasticism and, in fact, the Western world. <\/p>\n

It’s no secret that monks the faith alive during some of the darkest times in history. But the values and ideas in the Rule of St. Benedict<\/a> seeped into the rest of the world, too. There are wonderful lessons in the Rule about work, about community, about moderation and hospitality. It contains lessons in humility and obedience — and how to get back to basics. (Monastery living is no picnic — and all the problems we encounter in the world are the same ones monks encounter in the cloister: moodiness, bitterness, jealousy, stress. Not insignificantly, of course, they also encounter joy. The Rule addresses them all, succinctly and wisely.) <\/p>\n

Today, there are monasteries in England that host workshops<\/a> on how to bring the Rule into the workplace, and books have been written that find new meaning in its pages. Over at Deacon Tony’s Place<\/a>, Tony has spotlighted ways to bring Benedict’s values into the business world<\/a>. It’s all about prayer and work — Ora et Labora<\/i>, as the Benedictines call it. <\/p>\n

Benedict’s short, straightforward Rule has always intrigued me. And one of my happiest memories is of visiting the place where it was written, the monastery of Monte Cassino<\/a>, high atop a winding hill in Italy. The monastery was all but destroyed by allied bombers during World War II, then meticulously rebuilt in the 1950s. It’s a stunning reconstruction. You’d never imagine that this sprawling, beautifully designed place, full of priceless art, was just 50 years old. But to enter, under a soaring arch proclaiming the word Pax<\/i>, “Peace,” is to enter another time and place and to feel part of something historic and holy. <\/p>\n

Today, the feast of St. Benedict, is a good time to remember what the man from Monte Cassino gave to the world — and what can learn from him still, beginning with the first words of his Rule: <\/p>\n

“Listen, my son, to the master’s voice, and attend with the ear of the heart…”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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