piątek, maja 16, 2008
[1] Pray and work (“ora et labora”) is a rule attributed to St Benedict of Nursia (480-547). John Paul II called it the address calling for the liberation from the bondage of consumerism. At 1500th anniversary of St Benedict’s birthday (21March 1980) when The Pope was speaking in the Abbey at Monte Cassino he proposed (with reference to Gregory the Great’s dialogues) the broadened Benedictine rule: “Pray, work and don’t be sad”.
The rule of spirytual work - "Pray and work"
Special mission – looking for the candidate for Isaac’s wife(instead of an introduction there is a presentation).
In 24 chapter of Genesis a fascinating story is described. Aged Abraham, out of concern for his family, wanted to arrange his son Isaac’s marriage. Being the patriarch’s servant (it could have been Eliezer of Damascus: Ge15:2) and the steward of his estate, he was sworn to act as a matchmaker. His mission was to find a maiden from Nahor’s family (Nahor was patriarch’s brother living in Charan).
The first thing that causes the prickle of excitement is Abraham’s firm conviction that his plan is absolutely effective: “The Lord ,the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ’To your offspring I will give this land’ – he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.”[1](Ge24:7)
The messenger set off to Charan at the head of a small caravan. As soon as he arrived at his master’s homeland in Aram Naharaim he waited in a proper and symbolic place - near a well. It was outside the town in the evening. He had ten camels with gifts. The servant unsaddled the animals and waited. He knew, or rather: expected, that women would come to fetch water at exactly the same moment. ( We don’t know what kind of people he had to help him. He didn’t walk through the town with matrimonial plans and he didn’t visit all Nahor’s family. He behaved like a fisherman with an invisible fishing rod waiting for his take. His behaviour was both strange and effective. He just planned that the candidate would come to him on her own).
He began to pray: “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, ’Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ And she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’ – let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”(Ge24:12-14)
Before he finished praying Rebekah had come. She was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham. She was carrying a jar on her shoulder. Rebekah was very beautiful and she was a virgin. She came up to the spring and after filling her jar she was going back. At that moment a stranger barred her way but she wasn’t frightened too much. Instead, she stopped and waited. Then the servant said: ”Please give me a little water from your jar.” “Drink my lord, ”she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, ”I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking.”(Ge24:18-19) She quickly watered all the camels while the concentrated and surprised servant was observing everything in silence. He waited until all the camels were watered. This was a sign.
He took out a golden nose ring weighting half a shekel and put two golden bracelets on her hands. They weighted 10 shekels. Then he asked: ”Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?.”(Ge24:23) Rebekah told him: “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor”. And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.” So the servant fell on his knees and bowed down to the Lord saying: “Praise be to the Lord,the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master(…).”(Ge24:27)
Then the Chosen ran home and told her mother about everything that had happened. She had a brother named Laban who immediately hurried to this important and mysterious stranger near the spring outside the town. He came up to him and invited him in a special way: “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,” he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”(Ge24:31) Laban had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms and had heard what Rebekah said about the messenger.(I encourage all readers who are interested in the subject to read 24 Chapter of Genesis).
Immediately on the second day, after the evening feast and sleep Rebekah with her nurse and the retinue mounted the camels and together with Abraham’s servant they went away in haste. At the same time Isaac waited sadly in Negev (he was also at the well) when the caravan with the Chosen approached: “Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”(Ge24:67)
The events which were described are like a good screenplay which can be a model in many aspects. These are characteristic attitudes of believers: (1) believing in success (2)prayer (3) having a plan and entrusting it to God (4) waiting for confirmation of the plan by a sign (5) action (6) not relying on oneself or other people (7) thanking God through prayer.
It is noticeable that Abraham treated his son’s marriage as a priority of his responsibility. However, he trusted his steward and that is why he entrusted him with the most important function – to be a matchmaker. The official proxy was sworn. As a messenger he acted according to the rule: settle the matter and say goodbye (he wasn’t prolonging his delegation because he wanted to be a guest). We can underline here the two men’s commitment. The above Adventure is a peculiar introduction to the spiritual rule.
In order to gain more clarity and orderliness and to create the model of functionality in our thinking and action we are going to present the rule of spiritual work: “Pray and work” (which, in the other form, is also known as Benedictine rule of spiritual work) in the form of the following formula:
P1 -> P2 -> W
P1 – Prayer – spiritual work
(P1- this symbol means our wishes, desires and needs which initiate our thinking and action). Thus, spiritual work will be based on absolute honesty with God and oneself. In order to gain this we should examine our desires and needs and fulfil three conditions:
- Is it good? – we should examine the purity of our intentions to avoid evil.
- Win spiritual support (word of God, Promises, will of God, prayer)
- ‘eliminate’ evil thoughts (evil thoughts mean evil projects)
P2 – precise project (idea, conception, plan, scale model, description, ‘prototype)
W – work (precisely according to the project); it means work in the ‘material’ sense)
Justification - the friend of God: Ge24, Pr20:5, Jas1:17-18, Jas4:3, 1Jn5:13-14, Mt6:33, Lk10:27, Mt7:12(+Lk6:31), Pr3:9-10, Ps37:4-5, Jer29:11 (the step of faith – application), Isa55:9-10.
St Benedict of Nursia, the founder of the community and the monastery at Monte Cassino, created ‘The Rule’ of life where he explained that: “We wrote this rule to obey it in monasteries and to show decency and the beginning of monastic life”. The rule rejects slavery and demands prayer and work. “Laziness is the enemy of soul. That is why brothers should be occupied with manual work during some hours and with religious reading during other hours”. It is worth remembering that Benedictines from Tyniec prepared Polish translation of the Bible – the Millennium Bible.
The source and justification (the rules of spiritual work): by thorough analysis of the Bible we assume that we should seek the example and inspiration to solve our problems in the Bible, with the help of God. St Paul justified this attitude: “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”.(2Ti3:16-17) We will use the chosen fragments of the Bible and we will base the truthfulness and effectiveness of our formula on them. In order to be clearer we will omit a lot of details. The selection of quotations creates a composition similar to a stained-glass window. The light filters through it and only then you can understand the whole. It conveys the conception but it does not say everything.
“The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out”(Pr20:5). “The more we plan our action the more we are affected by coincidence”. F. Dürrenmatt – ‘Physicists’. We can reach the conclusion that each event has got two variants. That is why today’s planners approach a problem cautiously. They prepare plan A and in case of a failure plan B. There is an old saying: time will tell.
When we look at this issue through our formula (prayer àproject àwork) we will notice that a person who started planning during making a project began from ‘the middle’ and a person who acts according to the plan finishes their work. Thus, “a man of understanding” from the Book of Proverbs draws from the deep waters of his plans in his heart for a good beginning and a good start. “He will have no fear of bad news; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord”(Ps112:7). This man acts according to his conscience, he agrees with God and asks God for advice[2].
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created”.(Jas1:17-19) John the Apostle can tell us that before ‘a man of understanding’ starts his work he answers the question: ‘Is it good?’ by examining his desires and needs. He (or she) does not take action if he is not sure about the positive answer to this question. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on pleasures”.(Jas4:3) Unfortunately, in these or similar circumstances our plans are elusive.
Winning spiritual support means trusting God and being sure that God is on our side. John the Apostle assures us: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.”(1Jn5:14-15)
”But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [that you need in life]will be given to you as well.”(Mt6:33) When Jesus tells us about the priority of our attempts he shows us how to confirm our relationship and friendship with God. He does not neglect our needs. The good news is that all our needful goods will be given ‘in addition’ because our Father knows what we need.
The key to build The Kingdom is love and acting according to ‘the golden rule of behaviour’.
“He answered: ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ ”(Lk10:27)
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”(Mt7:12) “Do to others as you would have them do to you”(Lk6:31) The golden rule of behaviour which is described here grants us the privilege of deciding how people should treat us. The good news is: ‘good beginning’ means that ‘I make the first move’ – I am in my own way an individual lawmaker. I do not need the support of a parliamentary majority or any other group. I do not need it because in this meaning I am ‘sui iuris’[3]. I establish my own heaven or hell and my own social code by ‘how’ and ‘in what way’ I treat people!
Hospitality and dedication are the opposites of consumerism. These virtues guarantee us the support of those who are grateful to us: “Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine”.(Pr3:9-10) “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this.” (Ps37:4-5)
In 24 chapter of Genesis a fascinating story is described. Aged Abraham, out of concern for his family, wanted to arrange his son Isaac’s marriage. Being the patriarch’s servant (it could have been Eliezer of Damascus: Ge15:2) and the steward of his estate, he was sworn to act as a matchmaker. His mission was to find a maiden from Nahor’s family (Nahor was patriarch’s brother living in Charan).
The first thing that causes the prickle of excitement is Abraham’s firm conviction that his plan is absolutely effective: “The Lord ,the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ’To your offspring I will give this land’ – he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.”[1](Ge24:7)
The messenger set off to Charan at the head of a small caravan. As soon as he arrived at his master’s homeland in Aram Naharaim he waited in a proper and symbolic place - near a well. It was outside the town in the evening. He had ten camels with gifts. The servant unsaddled the animals and waited. He knew, or rather: expected, that women would come to fetch water at exactly the same moment. ( We don’t know what kind of people he had to help him. He didn’t walk through the town with matrimonial plans and he didn’t visit all Nahor’s family. He behaved like a fisherman with an invisible fishing rod waiting for his take. His behaviour was both strange and effective. He just planned that the candidate would come to him on her own).
He began to pray: “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, ’Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ And she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’ – let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”(Ge24:12-14)
Before he finished praying Rebekah had come. She was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham. She was carrying a jar on her shoulder. Rebekah was very beautiful and she was a virgin. She came up to the spring and after filling her jar she was going back. At that moment a stranger barred her way but she wasn’t frightened too much. Instead, she stopped and waited. Then the servant said: ”Please give me a little water from your jar.” “Drink my lord, ”she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, ”I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking.”(Ge24:18-19) She quickly watered all the camels while the concentrated and surprised servant was observing everything in silence. He waited until all the camels were watered. This was a sign.
He took out a golden nose ring weighting half a shekel and put two golden bracelets on her hands. They weighted 10 shekels. Then he asked: ”Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?.”(Ge24:23) Rebekah told him: “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor”. And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.” So the servant fell on his knees and bowed down to the Lord saying: “Praise be to the Lord,the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master(…).”(Ge24:27)
Then the Chosen ran home and told her mother about everything that had happened. She had a brother named Laban who immediately hurried to this important and mysterious stranger near the spring outside the town. He came up to him and invited him in a special way: “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,” he said. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”(Ge24:31) Laban had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms and had heard what Rebekah said about the messenger.(I encourage all readers who are interested in the subject to read 24 Chapter of Genesis).
Immediately on the second day, after the evening feast and sleep Rebekah with her nurse and the retinue mounted the camels and together with Abraham’s servant they went away in haste. At the same time Isaac waited sadly in Negev (he was also at the well) when the caravan with the Chosen approached: “Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”(Ge24:67)
The events which were described are like a good screenplay which can be a model in many aspects. These are characteristic attitudes of believers: (1) believing in success (2)prayer (3) having a plan and entrusting it to God (4) waiting for confirmation of the plan by a sign (5) action (6) not relying on oneself or other people (7) thanking God through prayer.
It is noticeable that Abraham treated his son’s marriage as a priority of his responsibility. However, he trusted his steward and that is why he entrusted him with the most important function – to be a matchmaker. The official proxy was sworn. As a messenger he acted according to the rule: settle the matter and say goodbye (he wasn’t prolonging his delegation because he wanted to be a guest). We can underline here the two men’s commitment. The above Adventure is a peculiar introduction to the spiritual rule.
In order to gain more clarity and orderliness and to create the model of functionality in our thinking and action we are going to present the rule of spiritual work: “Pray and work” (which, in the other form, is also known as Benedictine rule of spiritual work) in the form of the following formula:
P1 -> P2 -> W
P1 – Prayer – spiritual work
(P1- this symbol means our wishes, desires and needs which initiate our thinking and action). Thus, spiritual work will be based on absolute honesty with God and oneself. In order to gain this we should examine our desires and needs and fulfil three conditions:
- Is it good? – we should examine the purity of our intentions to avoid evil.
- Win spiritual support (word of God, Promises, will of God, prayer)
- ‘eliminate’ evil thoughts (evil thoughts mean evil projects)
P2 – precise project (idea, conception, plan, scale model, description, ‘prototype)
W – work (precisely according to the project); it means work in the ‘material’ sense)
Justification - the friend of God: Ge24, Pr20:5, Jas1:17-18, Jas4:3, 1Jn5:13-14, Mt6:33, Lk10:27, Mt7:12(+Lk6:31), Pr3:9-10, Ps37:4-5, Jer29:11 (the step of faith – application), Isa55:9-10.
St Benedict of Nursia, the founder of the community and the monastery at Monte Cassino, created ‘The Rule’ of life where he explained that: “We wrote this rule to obey it in monasteries and to show decency and the beginning of monastic life”. The rule rejects slavery and demands prayer and work. “Laziness is the enemy of soul. That is why brothers should be occupied with manual work during some hours and with religious reading during other hours”. It is worth remembering that Benedictines from Tyniec prepared Polish translation of the Bible – the Millennium Bible.
The source and justification (the rules of spiritual work): by thorough analysis of the Bible we assume that we should seek the example and inspiration to solve our problems in the Bible, with the help of God. St Paul justified this attitude: “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”.(2Ti3:16-17) We will use the chosen fragments of the Bible and we will base the truthfulness and effectiveness of our formula on them. In order to be clearer we will omit a lot of details. The selection of quotations creates a composition similar to a stained-glass window. The light filters through it and only then you can understand the whole. It conveys the conception but it does not say everything.
“The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out”(Pr20:5). “The more we plan our action the more we are affected by coincidence”. F. Dürrenmatt – ‘Physicists’. We can reach the conclusion that each event has got two variants. That is why today’s planners approach a problem cautiously. They prepare plan A and in case of a failure plan B. There is an old saying: time will tell.
When we look at this issue through our formula (prayer àproject àwork) we will notice that a person who started planning during making a project began from ‘the middle’ and a person who acts according to the plan finishes their work. Thus, “a man of understanding” from the Book of Proverbs draws from the deep waters of his plans in his heart for a good beginning and a good start. “He will have no fear of bad news; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord”(Ps112:7). This man acts according to his conscience, he agrees with God and asks God for advice[2].
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created”.(Jas1:17-19) John the Apostle can tell us that before ‘a man of understanding’ starts his work he answers the question: ‘Is it good?’ by examining his desires and needs. He (or she) does not take action if he is not sure about the positive answer to this question. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on pleasures”.(Jas4:3) Unfortunately, in these or similar circumstances our plans are elusive.
Winning spiritual support means trusting God and being sure that God is on our side. John the Apostle assures us: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.”(1Jn5:14-15)
”But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [that you need in life]will be given to you as well.”(Mt6:33) When Jesus tells us about the priority of our attempts he shows us how to confirm our relationship and friendship with God. He does not neglect our needs. The good news is that all our needful goods will be given ‘in addition’ because our Father knows what we need.
The key to build The Kingdom is love and acting according to ‘the golden rule of behaviour’.
“He answered: ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ ”(Lk10:27)
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”(Mt7:12) “Do to others as you would have them do to you”(Lk6:31) The golden rule of behaviour which is described here grants us the privilege of deciding how people should treat us. The good news is: ‘good beginning’ means that ‘I make the first move’ – I am in my own way an individual lawmaker. I do not need the support of a parliamentary majority or any other group. I do not need it because in this meaning I am ‘sui iuris’[3]. I establish my own heaven or hell and my own social code by ‘how’ and ‘in what way’ I treat people!
Hospitality and dedication are the opposites of consumerism. These virtues guarantee us the support of those who are grateful to us: “Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine”.(Pr3:9-10) “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this.” (Ps37:4-5)
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The prophet Jeremiah encourages us to pray and think about the future with hope. He assures us that we have spiritual support as if ‘in blanco’. We decide about our future ourselves as soon as our attitude is absolutely sincere: “For I know the plans I have for you ,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”(Jer29:11-13)
The prophet Isaiah assures us that it is worthy to know the Promises of God and to believe in the power and effectiveness of Word of God: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”.(Isa55:10-11)
Do you want to be the friend of God like Abraham? - There is such a possibility – Check: Jn15:15-16
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Our lecture about the above rule is not complete. So called ‘intellectual work’ and ‘physical work’, which are denoted by P2 and W, have a matter-of-fact description in methodology of work in different jobs and fields. Without undermining the competence of experts we can only make it clear that work that is done heartlessly does not bear fruit. Moreover, a sad worker weary expends energy and ruin their health and do not have any satisfaction.
If our Readers want to treat the above disquisition with understanding, I hope we will fulfil the creative conception of the better Designer. He invites not only monks from monasteries but also us to participate in the community, the adventure of a fruitful life and the brand – Benedictine quality of work.
(Translation: Agata Wojnicz)
[1] The author of the letter to Hebrews captures the role of angels in an interesting way: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”(Heb1:14) We can say that it applies to us, too if we accept it on faith.
[2] Like David who was praying: ”Search me, O Lord, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”.(Ps139:23-24)
[3] A man has autonomy; it means he(or she) has the right to take action, he is his own master; he does not come under paternal authority (in Roman law)
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