RB Reflection: 7 May 2008

Each day's RB Reflection is available on my RB Reflection blog.

Prologue 39-44
Brothers, now that we have asked the Lord who will dwell in his tent, we have heard the instruction for dwelling in it, but only if we fulfill the obligations of those who live there. We must, must, then prepare our hearts and bodies for the battle of holy obedience to his instructions. What is not possible to us by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply by the help of his grace. If we wish to reach eternal life, even as we avoid the torments of hell, then -- while there is still time, while we are in this body and have time to accomplish all these things by the light of life -- we must run and do now what will profit us forever.

We are now packed for the trip. Benedict is already in the car and it's time to go, the Prior is rushing us out of the house, still sleepy. Then we wake up in a new world where we learn that it is not a vacation, that life under the Rule is a life stripped, striped, and rich.. Benedict has been preparing us for several passages now, trying to convince us why we ought to do it. So the car is packed, and now before we cast off into the last passage of the Prologue tomorrow, Benedict gives a speech almost entirely in his own words. We Know:
1. We asked God how to live in his tent, or place, and found out only by fulfilling our obligations. See past posts for those obligations.
2. I find the next phrase a bit scary.

We must then prepare our heart and bodies for the battle of holy obedience to his instructions. What is not possible to us by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply by the help of his grace.

If we are told to prepare for battle, then we should expect at some point to go into battle; the battle "of holy obedience to his instructions." Any mention of battles upsets most people. We have televised news 24 hours a day showing us live battles in Iraq; drive by shootings, hostage situations, so the last thing we want to have in our Holy Rule is an all-but-promise of a battle to come!

Yet, "what is not possible to us by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply by the help of his grace." The battle of the Cistercian life is the battle within the mind, the meeting of yourself, and even though you thought you knew who you were and who God is, you find out that you know nothing, and are an arrogant fool to have thought so.

That is why we'll let Benedict drive and "we will run and do now what will profit us forever."