Whenever Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister writes or says something, I pay attention. Chittister has been a spiritual witness and prophet in our midst for decades. A member of the Benedictine community in Erie, she has lived the life. St Benedict lived in the sixth century, so his founding of monasteries began a fifteen-century experiment. But Chittister has never been stuck in a little monastery in the countryside oblivious to what is going on in the world. Benedictine monks aren’t like that. Other kinds of monks do tend to withdraw from the world and get on with their agenda with God.
I have spent a little time at her monastery. I even spoke there one time to a nice crowd, but I don’t think the good Sister bothered to come that night! She probably was doing something more important to make the world a better place. It did not matter to me. I love being with the Benedictines and experiencing their hospitality. It was evident in my stay there that the Spirit of God also resides there.
Recently, Chittister has written an insightful commentary on the state of our world today and what the Benedictine spirit has to say to this situation. The title of her piece frames it nicely. She really asks a question: “Benedictine Options: an escape or an experience of essence?” Her opening line sets the direction of her analysis. “Great cultural change — the kind that upends our social givens — always spawns division. More times than not, the changes create fissures among us that can lead to whole new contests of social interpretation.”
She cites a recent book by Rod Dreher, The Benedictine Option, which basically argues for contemporary folks to see the Benedictine option as an escape from a crazy world. I have read this book and find the approach intriguing, but not one that made sense to me. Dreher comes from a more traditional conservative place which sees our contemporary society with suspicion and, like the Amish, thinks we are better off if we avoid where the world is heading. I was not surprised to see Chittister offering the same kind of critique. She notes that Dreher sees community as a “retreat from society.”
Rightly, Chittister thinks this misreads the nature of the Benedictine spirit. Instead she turned to another book by Patrick Henry, which is forthcoming. It is also called Benedictine Options. Obviously, I have not read that one. Chittister tells us that the author, whom she knows, always gets at the essence of things. I follow her own line of thought because it is such a rich way to think about our world and how we choose to be involved.
She begins by noting, “Benedictinism, you see, is of the substance of every now. It takes life as it is and gives it goals to achieve from one culture to the next.” I know some of the history and believe she is correct when she offers some detail. She says, “Benedictinism goes on, not to reject the world around it, but to address the needs of the age.” This is core to the spirit of the Benedictine mission. It is why I am a Benedictine oblate---that is, a person who is affiliated with the group, but not an actual monk.
Chittister continues her analysis by suggesting that the Benedictine spirit “is a tonic against the infections of the present. It is a sign of the possible. It is a beacon of life at its regular, quiet, productive best.” I like the image of a monk as a tonic against an infection. But it really is not limited to monks and nuns. I think it implies---or should imply---that anyone of us in the Spirit is just such a tonic. Our job is to avoid being sucked in by a sick culture and be healers, instead of hurters, in a world that is so vulnerable.
Like the Benedictines, we can be signs of the possible. That is what Jesus was. He signaled an option to despair, emptiness and futility. He shined a light into the darkness and so must we. As Quakers claim, we all have an inner light. Our job is to be translucent---to shine brightly. If we do this, we must stay engaged. We follow Chittister counsel when she tells us, “Benedictinism does not run away from life; it provides a pattern for the achievable, however off-balance the present may have become. It leavens it.” I agree that our world seems off-balance. Let’s not run away; let’s be patterns for a better world.
And we don’t have to do it alone. We form and join communities of spiritual people. We multiply our potentialities. Community is key for Benedictines and for me. I appreciate how Chittister talks about community. Community “is not a synonym for conformity, not a recipe for perfection, but a lifeline to the better.” That is another great image---a lifeline to the better. I want to hold on to that lifeline. It will help me be able to help the world. For it is to community, as Chittister says, “to go beyond our self-centeredness to the gift of self-giving and immersion in the presence of God.”
Any person of the spirit wants to be able to give of self and be immersed in the presence of God. Grab hold of the lifeline and go forward.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/religious-life/column/where-i-stand/benedictine-options-escape-or-experience-essence
Those of us who have read theology or, perhaps, those who are people of faith and are old enough might well recognize this title as a reminder of the late Jewish philosopher and theologian, Martin Buber. I remember reading Buber’s book, I and Thou , when I was in college in the 1960s. It was already a famous book by then. I am not sure I fully understood it, but that would not be the last time I read it. It has been a while since I looked at the book. Buber came up in a conversation with a friend who asked if I had seen the recent article by David Brooks? I had not seen it, but when I was told about it, I knew I would quickly locate and read that piece. I very much like what Brooks decides to write about and what he contributes to societal conversation. I wish more people read him and took him seriously. Brooks’ article focused on the 2016 contentious election. He provocatively suggests, “Read Buber, Not the Polls!” I think Brooks puts
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