Yesterday I shared some thoughts from Sister Joan Chittister’s recent reflections on the twelfth stop of humility found in St. Benedict’s Rule. Chittister is a Benedictine nun who has followed the Rule offered by the Benedictine founder all the way back to the sixth century. I am a Benedictine oblate, which means I am a kind of lay member of this religious order. It means that I try to follow the Benedictine way of life---insofar as it makes sense given my own life and situation.
Humility is clearly a hallmark of this way of life. It sounds simple, but even for Chittister and her religious sisters, it is not always a piece of cake. After all, we are humans. St. Benedict begins his admonition to the humble way of life in a fairly easy way, but by the time we reach the twelfth step, it is clear humility is supposed to be a way of life. As I remarked yesterday, I like how Chittister offered her modern rendition of this twelfth step. She suggests this reading: “The twelfth step of humility is that we always manifest humility in our bearing no less than in our hearts, so that it is evident ... whether sitting walking or standing." (italics are hers)
I would like to share a few more thoughts from Chittister, because they are so pertinent to the way we are called to live spiritually our lives. In effect, she says if you don’t get it, you are probably a spiritual dunce. This is her take on it. “The directions are achingly pure: Be what you say you are. Do not lie, even to yourself. Don't live two lives — loving parent/missing parent, honest employee/cheating employee, devoted public servant/self-absorbed public celebrity.” This is clear, but the call is to be pure. I find it still a real challenge!
In our culture, humility is not easy. And that is to say, purity is not easy. I would like to think I am pure, but this doubtlessly would be a lie to myself. My motives and methods are not always clear. I can be selfish and egotistical. Of course, I don’t see myself that way, so in my eyes I am not on the hook. But I cannot pretend to be humble---at least the way St. Benedict lays it out.
I think about how much I want to make out of the importance of community and Chittister helps me see how crucial humility is to building community. For example, she notes about egotism, “The truth is that egotism is the bane of community-building. It presents itself as what it is not, lives only for itself, and presumes it is heir to its universe. It is a false and baseless claim to superiority. No one can build anything that lasts when the materials are bogus.” If I am even mildly egotistical, then real community is not possible. I see this as a powerful argument for humility. Finally, we cannot go it alone in this world and have it work out well---either for ourselves or our world.
Chittister continues to deal with some real life examples. She talks about how we present ourselves in public, the clothes we choose to wear, etc. She is not arguing for a nun’s outfit---even she does usually look like a traditional nun---whatever that means these days. But she is arguing for decency. Maybe I am too old, but the world of fashion seems to be a good example of the ego-trap. Humility is not the same thing as a choice for ugliness, but I do think it is a challenge to what the fashion world offers and what our participation in that fashion world says about our self-presentation.
My favorite line from Chittister’s article links humility with authenticity. She says, “Certainly, another word for humility is authenticity, the grace of being who we say we are.” The word, authenticity, has been an important word for me. The opposite of authenticity is fake. Inauthentic people are deceptive folks. They are not dealing in truth: their own truth or the truth they represent. They threaten community by destroying trust which is the necessary building block of any community.
Chittister puts it well when she links authenticity to grace. And then she elaborates. It is the grace of being who we say we are. If we can do this, we cannot be fakes. If we can do this, we are not dealing in lies. I think she is insightful to say authenticity is a kind of grace. At one level, we are gifted to be able to do this---to live authentically and humbly. This is because it goes against the grain of our cultural lures.
Culture tells us to be someone we are not. Wear these clothes; pretend to be this person; bend the truth to get what you want; you are more important than anyone else. You are #1. And so goes the cultural markers of our time. It is difficult not to be influenced and taken in. That is where grace comes into the picture.
With the help of grace, we can be authentic and, thereby, humble.
Humility is clearly a hallmark of this way of life. It sounds simple, but even for Chittister and her religious sisters, it is not always a piece of cake. After all, we are humans. St. Benedict begins his admonition to the humble way of life in a fairly easy way, but by the time we reach the twelfth step, it is clear humility is supposed to be a way of life. As I remarked yesterday, I like how Chittister offered her modern rendition of this twelfth step. She suggests this reading: “The twelfth step of humility is that we always manifest humility in our bearing no less than in our hearts, so that it is evident ... whether sitting walking or standing." (italics are hers)
I would like to share a few more thoughts from Chittister, because they are so pertinent to the way we are called to live spiritually our lives. In effect, she says if you don’t get it, you are probably a spiritual dunce. This is her take on it. “The directions are achingly pure: Be what you say you are. Do not lie, even to yourself. Don't live two lives — loving parent/missing parent, honest employee/cheating employee, devoted public servant/self-absorbed public celebrity.” This is clear, but the call is to be pure. I find it still a real challenge!
In our culture, humility is not easy. And that is to say, purity is not easy. I would like to think I am pure, but this doubtlessly would be a lie to myself. My motives and methods are not always clear. I can be selfish and egotistical. Of course, I don’t see myself that way, so in my eyes I am not on the hook. But I cannot pretend to be humble---at least the way St. Benedict lays it out.
I think about how much I want to make out of the importance of community and Chittister helps me see how crucial humility is to building community. For example, she notes about egotism, “The truth is that egotism is the bane of community-building. It presents itself as what it is not, lives only for itself, and presumes it is heir to its universe. It is a false and baseless claim to superiority. No one can build anything that lasts when the materials are bogus.” If I am even mildly egotistical, then real community is not possible. I see this as a powerful argument for humility. Finally, we cannot go it alone in this world and have it work out well---either for ourselves or our world.
Chittister continues to deal with some real life examples. She talks about how we present ourselves in public, the clothes we choose to wear, etc. She is not arguing for a nun’s outfit---even she does usually look like a traditional nun---whatever that means these days. But she is arguing for decency. Maybe I am too old, but the world of fashion seems to be a good example of the ego-trap. Humility is not the same thing as a choice for ugliness, but I do think it is a challenge to what the fashion world offers and what our participation in that fashion world says about our self-presentation.
My favorite line from Chittister’s article links humility with authenticity. She says, “Certainly, another word for humility is authenticity, the grace of being who we say we are.” The word, authenticity, has been an important word for me. The opposite of authenticity is fake. Inauthentic people are deceptive folks. They are not dealing in truth: their own truth or the truth they represent. They threaten community by destroying trust which is the necessary building block of any community.
Chittister puts it well when she links authenticity to grace. And then she elaborates. It is the grace of being who we say we are. If we can do this, we cannot be fakes. If we can do this, we are not dealing in lies. I think she is insightful to say authenticity is a kind of grace. At one level, we are gifted to be able to do this---to live authentically and humbly. This is because it goes against the grain of our cultural lures.
Culture tells us to be someone we are not. Wear these clothes; pretend to be this person; bend the truth to get what you want; you are more important than anyone else. You are #1. And so goes the cultural markers of our time. It is difficult not to be influenced and taken in. That is where grace comes into the picture.
With the help of grace, we can be authentic and, thereby, humble.
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