As often as anything important is to be done in the monastery, the abbot shall call the whole community together and himself explain what the business is; and after hearing the advice of the brothers, let him ponder it and follow what he judges the wiser course. The reason why we have said all should be called for counsel is that the Lord often reveals what is better to the younger. The brothers, for their part, are to express their opinions with all humility, and not presume to defend their own views obstinately. The decision is rather the abbot's to make, so that when he has determined what is more prudent, all may obey. Nevertheless, just as it is proper for disciples to obey their master, so it is becoming for the master on his part to settle everything with foresight and fairness.

Accordingly in every instance, all are to follow the teaching of the rule, and no one shall rashly deviate from it. In the monastery no one is to follow his own heart's desire, nor shall anyone presume to contend with his abbot defiantly, or outside the monastery. Should anyone presume to do so, let him be subjected to the discipline of the rule. Moreover, the abbot himself must fear God and keep the rule in everything he does; he can be sure beyond any doubt that he will have to give an account of all his judgments to God, the most just of judges.

If less important business of the monastery is to be transacted, he shall take counsel with the seniors only, as it is written: Do everything with counsel and you will not be sorry afterward (Sir 32:24). 

Comment

Adapted from Esther de Waal's A Life-Giving Way:

Chapter 2 showed that there must be a balance between the abbot and the Rule. Here we learn that that balance must take into account the living community Benedict has been describing.

The abbot is shaping that community so that it too becomes a bearer of the spirit to which the abbot must listen. Now there must be a very delicate balancing between the superior and his personal gifts, the insights of the living community and the Rule that is the bearer of the accumulated wisdom of tradition. It is as if on the institutional level Benedict is already showing me what is so central to his whole way of life, and that is the vital necessity of holding differing things in balance. . . It is a warning against going to extremes or allowing polarization in any shape or form. Any balancing act must be a delicate operation, and I enjoy seeing the delicacy with which Benedict handles it in this chapter.

Discernment is much talked about today, particularly in Jesuit circles. In fact, it goes back well beyond Benedict to the Desert Fathers. It was a key qualification for the abba, father. . . . In this chapter discernment is being exercised in a corporate situation, in the context of community. The purpose of consultation and consensus is to open the heart and mind so that the Holy Spirit may reach us in whatever way it may come. This is an exercise in listening. For Benedict that means listening with a total openness. God is no respecter of persons. He may choose to reveal truth to the youngest.

If we have really taken seriously the expectation to respect the value of each individual member of the community, . . . it is now being put to the test. It is only too easy when policy is being made, when a vision is being created, for the articulate and the astute to dominate, and for the weak, the shy, the marginal to be forgotten or put to one side. But if there is to be a communal vision that is truly a shared vision, then it is up to the abbot to make that accessible to all by finding a way to broaden the participation of all. I like to think of it in these terms as a reminder that mere intellectual understanding is not the point; rather, it is the focus of the ideal, the goal of the shared journey.

"The Lord reveals" is the key phrase here. Openness to the working of the Spirit in both individual and in community is vital, life-giving. Without it there will be a closed-up person, a closed-up community, lacking the growth that Benedict holds out so urgently in the prologue. God chooses many different ways to reveal himself – in a blinding flash on the road; in a still, small voice; in human form; through another. There is nothing neat or predictable in any of this. It is a reminder that without attentiveness at that moment or on that occasion, the gift of God will pass by me ignored. Benedict wants all of us to be open, alert, attentive. The daily saying of "Today if you will hear my voice" is a constant, daily reminder of this responsibility that I must learn to listen to the will of God. If I live daily, hourly in this way it will predispose me to be ready for those times when it becomes particularly urgent to discover what God's will means for me, and for others.

Response