Do you want to inherit eternal life by way of living a life of holiness? Do you want to stand in front of Christ’s throne in his Kingdom (Revelation 7:9-17)? Then, you can find a great inspiration in Jesus’ words in the Gospel Reading of the Memorial Feast of St. Benedict of Nursia (Matthew 19:27-29) and the life of St. Benedict, as well as, his Rule (Regula Sancti Benedicti).
In fact, the Gospel Reading (Matthew 19:27-29)
captures why Benedict chose a monastic life and mastered it, as it is about
inheriting eternal life and standing in front of the throne of Christ. To understand
this, we need to recognize that Jesus taught on inheriting eternal life and
standing in front of his throne in contrast to the rich young man’s inability
to detach himself from his earthly wealth. And the way Benedict pursued a
monastic life reflects this teaching of Jesus.
A rich young man, who asked Jesus what good deeds to
do to have eternal life, decided not to follow and turned away from him,
because of he could not liquidate all his assets for the poor, as Jesus asked
(Matthew 19:16-22), and Jesus preached how attachment to wealth become an
obstacle to salvation and the necessity to keep faith in God in order to
overcome hindrances to salvation (Matthew 19:23-26).
Then, Peter said to Jesus:
We
have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?
(Matthew 19:27)
In reply, Jesus said:
Amen,
I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man
is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or
brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my
name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. But many
who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
(Matthew 19:28-30).
In the above statement of Jesus, “new age” (v.28) in
the original Greek text is παλινγενεσίᾳ(palingenesia), which means
“being reborn” or “being renewed”, namely. This rather means being born from
above (γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν (gennethe anothen)), namely, born again
with the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-8; cf. Matthew 3:11). This way, we can overcome obstacles
to inherit eternal life, because these arise from our carnal desires (Romans
8:1-17).
To be born again with the Holy Spirit, though we still
may be in the flesh, we must detach ourselves from the flesh. Otherwise, we
would not be able to overcome obstacles to salvation, resulting from falling to
temptation to carnal pleasures and greed for earthly wealth.
At first, Benedict was studying in Rome. But he found
that this great city of the world’s greatest empire of that time was plagued
with what carnal desires brought, though it was where Pope resided. As St.
Augustine of Hippo expressed his concerns for Rome in his De Civitate Dei
(The City of God), it was infested with pagan spirit, being far from the City
of God. And young Benedict, whose heart was burning with his desire to follow
Jesus to his throne in what Augustine described in De Civitate Dei,
realized that Rome was not the place for him. So, he left this great city and chose
to live in a cave in Subiaco as a hermit. It was where Benedict met St. Romanus
of Subiaco, a monk, and Benedict was guided by this experienced monk to learn
to live as a hermit for three years.
It seems that his three years of life in the cave
contributed to Benedict’s rebirth with the Holy Spirit – to enter into the new
age – to be more fitting to hear God’s Word clearly and follow Jesus to his
throne in the Kingdom, detaching himself from all worldly matters.
These three years in the cave not only led to a renewal of his life with the Holy Spirit, transforming his life into a life in the Spirit, but also drew some men to Benedict. And this prompted him to come out of the cave and form monastic communities, in each of which has twelve men, as to reflect the twelve disciples of Jesus or the twelve tribes of Israel. These monastic communities were the proto-Benedictine order. As he made sure that all of these monastic community serve as vehicle for monks to be born with the Holy Spirit, to be born again into a life in the Spirit, to inherit eternal life and to be worthy to stand in front of Christ’s throne in his Kingdom, Benedict naturally became the abbot for them. So, the Order of St. Benedict were being formed. Then, as the abbot, Benedict wrote the order for this newly formed monastic community.
Basically, all the rules are for the love of Christ,
as striving to live a life in the Spirit also means to live a Christ-centered
life. For this reason, those who desire to live a monastic life, as St.
Benedict did and as a Benedictine monk, must observe the rule. Anyone who seeks
to be born again with the Holy Spirit and life a life free from worldly
destructions, for eternal life and the Kingdom of God must adopt the rule to
his or her life, even though not living as a monk.
The rule of St. Benedict is not about striving for
perfect asceticism just because to be born with the Holy Spirit to overcome the
flesh. The rule is about moderation with discipline. To make sure the
discipline is maintained, the rule seeks the divine providence, as there is
nothing impossible in overcoming any obstacles to seek holiness. And the
Benedictine monastic life is not about spending all waking hours of day for
prayer. It seeks a fine balance between prayer and work (ora et labora),
while the spirit of the rule is humility.
In light of the First Reading of St. Benedict’s
memorial feast (Proverbs 2:1-9), the rule is a reference for monks to guard
their monastic life with God’s wise counsel against vices of the world. This
way, living a life as St. Benedict did, can let seekers of eternal life and
Christ’s eternal Kingdom enjoy the goodness and blessing of the Lord, as
reflected in these words from the Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34, which was composed by David while he sought a refuge in
Gustate et videte, quoniam suavis est
Dominus: beatus vir qui sperat in eo…taste and see the sweet goodness of the Lord,
blessed is the man who hopes in the Lord (Psalm 34:9/33:8 in Latin Vulgate).
So, the choice is yours. Do you like to enjoy a life
of earthly wealth and power as the rich young man did by forfeiting the inheritance
of eternal life from the Lord? Or would you let go of earthly stuff and seek to
be born from the above to life a life of holiness, a life of the Spirit, to
enjoy the sweet goodness of the Lord and his blessing, leading to eternal life
and his Kingdom, as St. Benedict did?
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