”I
will listen to what God the Lord says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—
but let them not turn to folly.” (Psalm 85:8)
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—
but let them not turn to folly.” (Psalm 85:8)
The Holy Benedict’s rules established in
the sixth century included the Monastery School.
The School dealt with how one could become a more faithful servant of Jesus
Christ in one’s secular life. A foundational belief in the School is service
for Christ. It is only when we serve Christ that the self is freed from the
fallen nature. This freedom is won through obedience.
Obedience
is therefore a key word in the School. Another key word is to listen. It is only through listening
that we can come into a life in God’s service. To be able to truly listen we
must dare enter into the silence,
which becomes the third key word in the School. In Benedict’s reference to
silence he isn’t referring to the noise level surrounding us, but rather the
inner noise, the constant disturbance in our inner being. He speaks about the
self-will as
”The noise which consists of an ongoing internal monologue, a constant
preoccupation with ourselves, our restless and uncertain nature, irritations,
needs to assert itself, a sudden whim; need for approval ... self-pity ... fear
... grumbling ... discontent, remorse, envy and resentment”.
In order to reach the true inner silence we
must avoid the self-will and always return
to Christ. We take a deep breath where we in prayer and inner silence enter
into protection of God’s love and in Christ’s work of reconciliation. This is
our departure place to which we must regularly return, and it’s there where we
find our true peace.
Prayer
Jesus, thank You that I can always return to
You. I want to hear what You say today. Help me to seek the inner silence, in
order that I can truly listen and obey.
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