Holy Rule for February 1
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St. Mary's Monastery
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Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
February 1, June 2, October 2
Chapter 7: On Humility (35-43)
The fourth degree of humility is that he hold fast to patience with a silent mind when in this obedience he meets with difficulties and contradictions and even any kind of injustice, enduring all without growing weary or running away. For the Scripture says, "The one who perseveres to the end, is the one who shall be saved" (Matt.10:22); and again "Let your heart take courage, and wait for the Lord" (Ps. 26:14)!
And to show how those who are faithful ought to endure all things, however contrary, for the Lord, the Scripture says in the person of the suffering, "For Your sake we are put to death all the day long; we are considered as sheep marked for slaughter" (Ps. 43:22; Rom.8:36).
Then, secure in their hope of a divine recompense, they go on with joy to declare, "But in all these trials we conquer, through Him who has granted us His love" (Rom.8:37). Again, in another place the Scripture says, "You have tested us, O God; You have tried us a silver is tried, by fire; You have brought us into a snare; You have laid afflictions on our back" (Matt. 5:39-41). And to show that we ought to be under a Superior, it goes on to say, "You have set men over our heads" (Ps. 65:12).
Moreover, by their patience those faithful ones fulfill the Lord's command in adversities and injuries: when struck on one cheek, they offer the other; when deprived of their tunic, they surrender also their cloak; when forced to go a mile, they go two; with the Apostle Paul they bear with false brethren (2 Cor. 11:26) and bless those who curse them (1 Cor. 4:12).
REFLECTION
The awful trip here is the part about holding "fast to patience with a silent mind." How on earth does one begin to do that? The trend in consumerist Western society is pretty much to form people - no, let's call them what consumerism does: "consumers" - in a mold that ALWAYS listens to very noisy minds. That, after all, is the root of desire and consumption (clever play on words there!) and profit. Nothing else matters much to a consumerist society.
It's not surprising that living, moving and having our being in such waters, we more or less acquire consumerist gills in order to breathe. However, the Gospel itself and the Holy Rule tell us that we must adopt a view which contradicts that of the secular world. Learning to do this is neither easy nor fast.
The really hard thing here is that sometimes, even when we are right, we have to put up and shut up, so to speak. The Rule speaks of bearing injustice and false brethren. There are no qualifiers here that say: "You may think it is unjust, but the truth is otherwise."
No, sometimes we must actually endure stuff that really is unjust; endure people that truly are false. As one very wise old monk of Pluscarden once said "Some things will only be fixed by a cross in the cemetery." That is frighteningly true. Some people, some dysfunctions will go unchecked and there are only two things one can do about it: leave or endure.
This may feel like denial to us. It isn't. That's not what's asked of us. I may feel very clearly that a person or situation is wrong, nearly know it, but what is asked of me is to react in a particularly controlled fashion, "with a silent mind."
Non-judging also enters in here. We must have silent minds because, generally speaking, we cannot be sure what is going on! Someone we may think is at fault for giving us the silent treatment may be in such pain, mental or physical, that they have all they can do to bear that. It may have nothing to do with us at all. We are obliged to think the best of others.
Jesus did say, after all, that He is the Truth. He is not calling us to stupidity or denial, but to trust Him. He can well afford to call us to silent endurance. The briefest look at Jesus in His Passion can affirm His rights there. There was never a greater injustice done than that, nor was there ever a victim so innocent and completely undeserving of all that brutality.
Why is the "silent mind" such a big deal; because you cannot get anywhere spiritually without one. Your focus will be shattered. The messy bit here is that your focus can be shattered by things apparently worthwhile-the devil, after all is no fool.
We can be tricked into spinning our wheels and expending all our emotional and spiritual energy on dead ends that look noble, or on things that truly are noble, but should not absorb all of our efforts or attention. We can distort our necessary caring and charity into anger and rage at injustice that does nothing other than perpetrate anger and rage in more religious attire. Big mistake there!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
February 1, June 2, October 2
Chapter 7: On Humility (35-43)
The fourth degree of humility is that he hold fast to patience with a silent mind when in this obedience he meets with difficulties and contradictions and even any kind of injustice, enduring all without growing weary or running away. For the Scripture says, "The one who perseveres to the end, is the one who shall be saved" (Matt.10:22); and again "Let your heart take courage, and wait for the Lord" (Ps. 26:14)!
And to show how those who are faithful ought to endure all things, however contrary, for the Lord, the Scripture says in the person of the suffering, "For Your sake we are put to death all the day long; we are considered as sheep marked for slaughter" (Ps. 43:22; Rom.8:36).
Then, secure in their hope of a divine recompense, they go on with joy to declare, "But in all these trials we conquer, through Him who has granted us His love" (Rom.8:37). Again, in another place the Scripture says, "You have tested us, O God; You have tried us a silver is tried, by fire; You have brought us into a snare; You have laid afflictions on our back" (Matt. 5:39-41). And to show that we ought to be under a Superior, it goes on to say, "You have set men over our heads" (Ps. 65:12).
Moreover, by their patience those faithful ones fulfill the Lord's command in adversities and injuries: when struck on one cheek, they offer the other; when deprived of their tunic, they surrender also their cloak; when forced to go a mile, they go two; with the Apostle Paul they bear with false brethren (2 Cor. 11:26) and bless those who curse them (1 Cor. 4:12).
REFLECTION
The awful trip here is the part about holding "fast to patience with a silent mind." How on earth does one begin to do that? The trend in consumerist Western society is pretty much to form people - no, let's call them what consumerism does: "consumers" - in a mold that ALWAYS listens to very noisy minds. That, after all, is the root of desire and consumption (clever play on words there!) and profit. Nothing else matters much to a consumerist society.
It's not surprising that living, moving and having our being in such waters, we more or less acquire consumerist gills in order to breathe. However, the Gospel itself and the Holy Rule tell us that we must adopt a view which contradicts that of the secular world. Learning to do this is neither easy nor fast.
The really hard thing here is that sometimes, even when we are right, we have to put up and shut up, so to speak. The Rule speaks of bearing injustice and false brethren. There are no qualifiers here that say: "You may think it is unjust, but the truth is otherwise."
No, sometimes we must actually endure stuff that really is unjust; endure people that truly are false. As one very wise old monk of Pluscarden once said "Some things will only be fixed by a cross in the cemetery." That is frighteningly true. Some people, some dysfunctions will go unchecked and there are only two things one can do about it: leave or endure.
This may feel like denial to us. It isn't. That's not what's asked of us. I may feel very clearly that a person or situation is wrong, nearly know it, but what is asked of me is to react in a particularly controlled fashion, "with a silent mind."
Non-judging also enters in here. We must have silent minds because, generally speaking, we cannot be sure what is going on! Someone we may think is at fault for giving us the silent treatment may be in such pain, mental or physical, that they have all they can do to bear that. It may have nothing to do with us at all. We are obliged to think the best of others.
Jesus did say, after all, that He is the Truth. He is not calling us to stupidity or denial, but to trust Him. He can well afford to call us to silent endurance. The briefest look at Jesus in His Passion can affirm His rights there. There was never a greater injustice done than that, nor was there ever a victim so innocent and completely undeserving of all that brutality.
Why is the "silent mind" such a big deal; because you cannot get anywhere spiritually without one. Your focus will be shattered. The messy bit here is that your focus can be shattered by things apparently worthwhile-the devil, after all is no fool.
We can be tricked into spinning our wheels and expending all our emotional and spiritual energy on dead ends that look noble, or on things that truly are noble, but should not absorb all of our efforts or attention. We can distort our necessary caring and charity into anger and rage at injustice that does nothing other than perpetrate anger and rage in more religious attire. Big mistake there!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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