Jesus said: “But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. 9 And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father-- the one in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah”. (Mat 23:8 NRS)
B. From the Epistle of St. Paul to Romans:
8 9But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.(…) 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God (…) 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to God. (Rom 8:9-27 NRS)
For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. (Rom 12:4 NRS)
15 14I myself feel confident about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. (Rom 15:14 NRS)
C. From the First Epistle of St. Paul to Corinthians
2:1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. 6 Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. 7 But we speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him"-- 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God's except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13 And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. 14 Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else's scrutiny. 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
3:1 And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4 For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely human? 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. (1Corinthians 2:1 – 3:7 NRS)
D. From the Sayings of the Desert Fathers
1. It was said of Abba Silvanus that at Scetis he had a disciple called Mark whose obedience was great. He was a scribe. The old man loved him because of his obedience. He had eleven other disciples who were hurt because he loved him more than them. When they knew this, the elders were sorry about it and they came one day to him to reproach him about it. Taking them with him, he went to knock at each cell, saying, 'Brother so and so, come here; I need you,' but none of them came immediately. Coming to Mark's cell, he knocked and said, 'Mark.' Hearing the old man's voice, he jumped up immediately and the old man sent him off to serve and said to the elders, 'Fathers, where are the other brothers?' Then he went into Mark's cell and picked up his book and noticed that he had begun to write the letter 'omega' ["ω"] but when he had heard the old man, he had not finished writing it. Then the elders said, 'Truly, Abba, he whom you love, we love too and God loves him.'
2. The old men used to say, "If someone has faith in another and hands himself over to him in complete submission, he does not need to pay attention to God's commandments but he can entrust his whole will to his father. He will suffer no reproach from God, for God looks for nothing from beginners so much as renunciation through obedience."
3. It was said of Abba John the Dwarf, that one day he said to his elder brother, 'I should like to be free of all care, like the angels, who do not work, but ceaselessly offer worship to God.' So he took off his cloak and went away into the desert. After a week he came back to his brother. When he knocked on the door, he heard his brother say, before he opened it 'Who are you?' He said, 'I am John, your brother.' But he replied, 'John has become an angel, and henceforth he is no longer among men.' Then the other begged him saying. 'It is I.' However, his brother did not let him in, but left him there in distress until morning. Then, opening the door, he said to him, 'You are a man and you must once again work in order to eat.' Then John made a prostration before him, saying, 'Forgive me.'
4. They said of Abba Macarius the Great that he became, as it is written, a god upon earth, because, just as God protects the world, so Abba Macarius would cover the faults which he saw, as though he did not see them; and those which he heard, as though he did not hear them.
5. A brother in Scetis committed a fault. A council was called to which abba Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to him, saying, "Come, for everyone is waiting for you". So he got up and went. He took a leaking jug and filled it with water and carried it with him. The others came out to meet him and said, " what is this, father?" The old man said to them, "My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the errors of another." When they heard that, they said no more to the brother but forgave him.
6. Some of the monks who are called Euchites went to Enaton to see Abba Lucius. The old man asked them, 'What is your manual work?' They said , 'We do not touch manual work but as the Apostle says, we pray without ceasing.' The old man asked them if they did not eat and they replied they did. So he said to them "'When you are eating, who prays for you then?' Again he asked them if they did not sleep and they replied they did. And he said to them, 'When you are asleep, who prays for you then?' They could not find any answer to give him. He said to them, 'Forgive me, but you do not act as you speak. I will show you how, while doing my manual work, I pray without interruption. I sit down with God, soaking my reeds and plaiting my ropes, and I say "God, have mercy on me, according to your great goodness and according to the multitude of your mercies, save me from my sins." ' So he asked them if this were not prayer and they replied it was. Then he said to them, 'So when I have spend the whole day working and praying, making thirteen pieces of money more or less, I put two pieces of money outside the door and I pay for my food with the rest of the money. He who takes the two pieces of money prays for me when I am eating and when I am sleeping; so , by the grace of God, I fulfil the precept to pray without ceasing.'
7. A brother went to Abba Matoes and said to him, 'How is it that the monks of Scetis did more than the Scriptures required in loving their enemies more than themselves?' Abba Matoes said to him, 'As for me I have not yet managed to love those who love me as I love myself.'
8. One day when Abba John the Dwarf was sitting in front of the church, the brethren were consulting him about their thoughts. One of the old men who saw it became a prey to jealousy and said to him, 'John, your vessel is full of poison.' Abba John said to him, 'That is very true, Abba; and you have said that when you only see the outside, but if you were able to see the inside, too, what would you say then?'
9. Some brethren came one day to test Abba John the Dwarf to see whether he would let his thoughts get dissipated and speak of the things of this world. They said to him 'We give thanks to God that this year there has been much rain and the palm trees have been able to drink, and their shoots have grown, and the brethren have found manual work.' Abba John said to them, 'So it is when the Holy Spirit descends into the hearts of men; they are renewed and they put forth leaves in the fear of God.'
10. It was said of Abba Ammoes that when he went to church, he did not allow his disciple to walk beside him but only at a certain distance; and if the latter came to ask him about his thoughts, he would move away from him as soon as he had replied, saying to him, 'It is for fear that, after edifying words, irrelevant conversation should slip in, that I do not keep you with me.'
11. A brother asked abba Poemen, "How should I behave in my cell in the place where I am living?" He replied, "Behave as if you were a stranger, and wherever you are, do not expect your words to have an influence and you will be at peace."
12. The amma Theodora said that a teacher ought to be a stranger to the desire for domination, vain-glory, and pride; one should not be able to fool him by flattery, nor blind him by gifts, nor conquer him by the stomach, nor dominate him by anger; but he should be patient, gentle and humble as far as possible; he must be tested and without partisanship, full of concern, and a lover of souls.
Lesson by Piotr Sikora
Lesson Summary
The third lesson was led by Piotr Sikora and concerned Christian perspective on teacher-disciple relationship.
In the first part of the meeting the presenter explained the New Testament view of the teacher –disciple relationship. According to this main Christian sources it is only risen Christ who can be regarded as THE teacher. All Christians should conceive themselves as co-disciples who may help each other on their way to God, but no one should neither regard her/himself as master nor should be attached to a particular human person as her/his only master. It is not any particular human teacher, but rather the whole community – which is spoken of as the body of Christ – that is the medium and transmitter of salvific power and wisdom. Personal connections that are modeled as teacher – disciple relationships should not create any divisions within community.
The discussion following the presentation concerned mainly the problem of the difference between risen Christ and the Spirit of God, and the role of history (historical Jesus) for Christians. It turned out that there are different strands in Christian tradition – the one for which the historical life and teaching of Jesus are of crucial importance and those downplaying the role of history and focused primarily on the living presence of the risen Christ within every human person and the whole community.
The second part of the session was focused on the Desert Fathers – the strand of Christian tradition for which teacher – disciple relationship was of crucial importance. One can find some ambiguity in that tradition. On one hand it values almost absolute trust and obedience to the teacher/Father-Abba, on the other hand the greatest Desert Fathers played his role of masters/Fathers mainly by his way of life and by listening to the disciples – an act enabling the disciple to recognize his true state of soul and proper way of life.
The main outcome of the discussion that followed that part of presentation was the clearer understanding of the similarities and differences between Christianity and Indic traditions. What turned out was that – on theological level at least – the role of the guru in Hindu and especially Sikh traditions resembles rather the role of Christ in Christianity than the role of Christian human teachers. The other conclusion of the discussion was that what deserves more our attention is the link between the question of knowledge/wisdom and the question of merging with the Infinite and with the guru/teacher.
4.C.2 Notes for Dialogue on the Airways - The Rule of Benedict
Christian Contribution by Timothy Wright
NOTES FOR DIALOGUE ON THE AIRWAYS - THE RULE OF BENEDICT
Preliminary Guidance, provided by Timothy Wright.
1. I am a Benedictine monk and have been so for some half a century. The Rule by which I live was put together, edited, by a man called Benedict of Nursia, an Italian who abandoned his university education in Rome in the late 5th century ce, and sought solitude and prayer in caves in the hills behind Rome, at a place called Subiaco. Later he was called out of his solitude to be the spiritual leader of a community of monks, probably not more than 20, at Monte Cassino, some 50km away.
2. There around 500ce he wrote the now famous Benedictine Rule. It was a guide for him and his monks in that monastery on that hill.
3. There were already several monastic rules circulating in Egypt, Middle East, Turkey and in parts of Italy. Benedict knew of them and composed his own based on the insights of others, but bringing with it his own humanity and common sense which have enabled his Rule to endure to this day.
4. It was not till the 10th Century ce that there was a demand that monasteries should follow the same Rule and Benedict’s was chosen. The word ‘Benedictine’ means one who followers that Rule.
5. It is not a long document, the version I use below is about 100 pages A5 paper. The longevity of the Rule is due to its flexibility and the responsibility it puts on the superior, Abbot/Abbess, to decide how to interpret it for the needs of his/her community.
6. Fundamentally it is not about ‘what Benedictines should do’ but ‘who Benedictines should become’. It is a document of formation within a community, made up of men or women of diverse age, temperaments and skills, but animated by the same desire: to get ever closer to God.
7. Over the centuries a great variety of Benedictine communities have been founded, they manage schools, hospitals, pastoral centres or parishes; some are farmers or live self-supporting lives within their ‘enclosure’ or property. They focus on their obligation to pray and form community. At particular moments this life lost its ‘rigour’ and needed reform. One such in the 13th Century ce were the Cistercians who sought a stricter, rural life. They are distinctive in their habit in contrast to the Benedictine habit which is black.
8. Each community is self-supporting and elects its own superior, either for a limited period – 8 or 10 years, or for life, which usually now means 75 years of age. In the monastery the Abbot/Abbess is the key person, he/she controls the life of the community and the roles of individuals.
9. The following notes to which I will speak give an outline of some of the main elements in the formation of a Benedictine community, a formation which has one purpose, ever closer intimacy with God Who Is Love. The work of the community is secondary, however important it might be as the means by which the community earns its living and as a contribution to the life of the Christians in their area.
10. Today there are Benedictine communities in every continent: Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North and South America. There are about 5,000 male monks, 11,000 female nuns or sisters, and about 23,000 lay oblates attached to Abbeys, who seek guidance for their life ‘in the world’ from the Rule.
11. The Benedictines are found in the Latin Roman Catholic Church; Eastern or Orthodox Churches have their own forms of monastic life. There are some followers of the Rule in Reformation Churches.
ABBOT/ABBESS AS GUIDE AND FORMATOR IN A BENEDICTINE COMMUNITY
Translation Patrick Barry 1997 (Ampleforth Abbey Trustees)
PROLOGUE
Listen, child of God, to the guidance of your teacher. Attend to the message you hear and make sure that it pierces to your heart, so that you may accept with willing freedom and fulfil by the way you live the directions that come from your loving Father. It is not easy to accept and persevere in obedience but it is the way to return to Christ, when you have strayed through the laxity and carelessness of disobedience.
...This, then, is the beginning of my advice: make prayer the first step in anything worthwhile that you attempt. Persevere and do not weaken in that prayer. Pray with confidence, because God, in his love and forgiveness, has counted us as his own sons and daughters. Surely we should not by our evil acts heartlessly reject that love. At every moment of our lives, as we use the good things he has given us, we can respond to his love only by seeking to obey his will for us.
... He calls to us in another way in the psalm when he says: Who is there with a love of true life and a longing for days of real fulfilment. If you should hear that call and answer: ‘I’. This is the answer you will receive from God: If you wish to have the true life that lasts for ever, then keep your tongue from evil; let your lips speak no deceit; turn away from wrongdoing: seek out peace and pursuit. If you do that, he says, I shall look on you with such love and my ears will be so alert o your prayer, that, before you so much as call on me, I shall say to you: here I am. What gentler encouragement could we have, my dear brothers and sisters, than that word from the Lord calling us to himself in such a way!
.... Well then, brothers and sisters, we have questioned the Lord about who can dwell with him in his holy place and we have heard the demands he makes on such a one; we can be united with him there, only if we fulfil those demands. We must therefore prepare our hearts and bodies to serve him under the guidance of holy obedience.
...With this in mind what we mean to establish is a school for the Lord’s service. In the guidance we lay down to achieve this we hope to impose nothing harsh or burdensome. If, however, you find in it anything which seems rather strict, but which is demanded reasonably for the correction of vice or the preservation of love, do not let that frighten you into fleeing from the way of salvation; it is a way which is bound to seem narrow to start with. But, as we progress in this monastic way of life and in faith, our hearts will warm to its vision and with eager love and delight that defies expression we shall go forward on the way of God’s commandments. Then we shall never think of deserting his guidance; we shall persevere in fidelity to his teaching in the monastery until death so that through our patience we may be granted some part in Christ’s own passion and thus in the end receive a share in his kingdom. Amen
CHAPTER 2: GIFTS NEEDED BY AN ABBOT OR ABBESS
.....It is the place of Christ that the superior is understood to hold in the monastery by having a name which belongs to Christ, as St Paul suggests when he writes: You have received the spirit of adopted children whereby we cry abba, Father. That means that the abbot or abbess should never teach anything nor make any arrangement nor give any order which is against the teaching of the Lord.
.... They (Abbots/Abbesses) should not select for special treatment any indiviaul in the monastery. They should not love one more than another unless it is for good observance of the Rule and obedience.
... They (Abbots/Abbesses) should reflect on what a difficult and demanding task they have accepted, namely that of guiding souls and serving the needs of so many different characters: gentle encouragement will be needed for one, strong rebukes for another, rational persuasion for another, according to the character and intelligence of each.
.... However many the souls for whom they are responsible all superiors maybe sure that they will be called to account before the Lord for each one of them and after that for their own souls as well.
CHAPTER 3: CALLING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER FOR CONSULTATION
When any business of importance is to be considered in the monastery, the abbot or abbess should summon the whole community together and personally explain to them the agenda that lies before them. After hearing the advice of the community the superior should consider it carefully in private and only then make a judgement about what is the best decision. We have insisted that all the community should be summoned for such consultation, because it often happens that the Lord makes the best course clear to one of the youngest. The community themselves should be careful to offer their advice with due deference and respect , avoiding an obstinate defence of their own convictions. It is for the abbot or abbess in the end to make the decision and everyone else should obey what the superior judges to be best. To get the balance right it should be remembered that, whereas it is right for subordinates to obey their superior, it is just as important for the superior to be far-sighted and fair in administration.
CHAPTER 4 GUIDELINES FOR CHRISTIAN AND MONASTIC GOOD PRACTICE
...Renounce your own desires and ambitions so as to be free to follow Christ, Control your body with self-discipline; don’t give yourself to unrestrained pleasure; learn to value the self-restraint of fasting...
....the way to become holy is faithfully to fulfil God’s commandments every day ...... by praying in the love of Christ for those who are hostile to us, be seeking reconciliation and peace before the sun goes down whenever we have a quarrel with another, and finally by never despairing of the mercy of God.
CHAPTER 5 MONASTIC OBEDIENCE
The first step on the way to humility is to obey an order without delaying for a moment. That is a response which comes easily to those who hold nothing dearer than Christ himself.
... No one can doubt that they have as their model that saying o the Lord: I came not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
.... obedience must be given with genuine good will, because God loves a cheerful giver.
CHAPTER 6 CHERISHING SILENCE IN THE MONASTERY
... So important is it to cultivate silence, even about matters concerning sacred values and spiritual instruction, that permission to speak should be granted only rarely to monks and nuns although they may themselves have achieved a high standard of monastic observance.
CHAPTER 19 OUR APPROACH TO PRAYER
God is present everywhere – present to the good and to the evil as well, so that nothing anyone does escapes his notice; that is the firm conviction of our faith. Let us be very sure, however, without a moment’s doubt that his presence to us is never so strong as while we are celebrating the word of God in the oratory.
CHAPTER 20 THE IDEAL OF TRUE REVERENCE IN PRAYER
.... Our prayer should, therefore, be free from all other preoccupations and it should normally be short, although we may well on occasions be inspired to stay longer in prayer through the gift of God’s grace working within us. Our prayer together in community, on the other hand, should always be moderate in length.
CHAPTER 27 THE SUPERIOR’S CARE FOR THE EXCOMMUNICATED
... The Abbot or abbess..... should be well aware that they have undertaken an office which is more like the care of the sick than the exercise of power over the healthy.... They should follow the loving example of the Good Shepherd who left ninety-nine of his flock on the mountains and went off to look for the one sheep who had strayed.
CHAPTER 33 PERSONAL POSSESSIONS IN THE MONASTERY
....Those in monastic vows should not claim any property as their own exclusive possession – absolutely nothing at all, not even books and writing materials.
CHAPTER 34 FAIR PROVISION FOR THE NEEEDS OF ALL
...Above all the evil of murmuring must not for any reason at all be shown by any word or gesture. Anyone found indulging in such a fault must be subjected to really severe discipline.
CHAPTER 48 DAILY MANUAL LABOUR
Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore all the community must be occupied at definite times in manual labour and at other times in ‘lectio divina’.
CHAPTER 58 THE RECEPTION OF CANDIDATES FOR THE MONASTERY
The entry of postulants into the monastic life should not be made too easy, but we should follow St John’s precept to make trial of the spirits to see if they are from God. If, then, a new comer goes on knocking at the door and after four or five days has given sufficient evidence of patient perseverance and does not waver from the request for entry, but accepts the rebuffs and difficulties put in the way, then let a postulant with that strength of purpose be received and given accommodation in the guest quarters for a few days.
.... When the decision is made that novices are to be accepted, then they come before the whole community in the oratory to make solemn promise of stability, fidelity to monastic life and obedience.
CHAPTER 64 THE ELECTION OF AN ABBOT OR ABBESS
... While they must hate all vice, they must lover their brothers or sisters. In correcting faults they must act with prudence being conscious of the danger of breaking the vessel itself by attacking the rust too vigorously. They should always bear their own frailty in mind and remember not to crush the bruised reed.
CHAPTER 66 THE PORTER OR PORTRESS OF THE MONASTERY
At the entrance to the monastery there should be a wise senior who is too mature in stability to think of wandering about and who can deal with enquiries and give whatever help is required....
CHAPTER 72 THE GOOD SPIRIT WHICH SHOULD INSPIRE MONASTIC LIFE
... there is a good spirit which frees us from evil ways and brings us closer to God and eternal life. It is this latter spirit that all who follow the monastic way of life should strive to cultivate, spurred on by fervent love. By following this path they try to be first to show respect to one another with the greatest patience in tolerating weaknesses of body or character. They should even be ready to outdo each other in mutual obedience so that no one in the monastery aims at personal advantage but is rather concerned for the good of others. Thus the pure love of one another as of one family should be their ideal. As for God, they should have a profound and loving reverence for him. They should love their abbot or abbess with sincere and unassuming affection They should value nothing whatever above Christ himself and may he bring us all together to eternal life.
CHAPTER 73 THIS RULE IS ONLY A BEGINNING
The purpose for which we have written this Rule is to make it clear that by observing it in our monasteries we can at least achieve the first steps in virtue and good monastic practice. Anyone, however, who wishes to press on towards the highest standards of monastic life may turn to the teachings of the holy Fathers, which can lead those who follow them to the very heights of perfection. .... We, however, can only blush with shame when we reflect on the negligence and inadequacy of the monastic lives we lead. Whoever you may be, then, in your eagerness to reach your Father’s home in heaven, be faithful with Christ’s help to this small Rule which is only a beginning. Starting from there you may in the end aim at the greater heights of monastic teaching and virtue in the works which we have mentioned above and with God’s help you will then be able to reach those heights yourself.
Lesson by Timothy Wright
Lesson Summary
Continuing our series of the teacher-discipline relationship, Abbot Timothy Wright shared with us his personal experience as a monk and Abbot in the Benedictine tradition. After introducing us to the tradition by providing background material covering the history and key terms connected with the Benedictine monastic tradition and lifestyle, he led us through a reading of extracts from the Rule of Benedict, which governs life in hundreds of communities around the world.
The lesson began with a section from the prologue focusing on the reasons why a person may seek a monastic life and what their key attitudes should be: listening to God, prayer and discipline. We then proceeded to some of the qualities of the Abbot or Abbess and his or her relationship to the community s/he leads.
Themes touched upon included the gifts needed by an abbot or abbess: the ability to love all members of the community, the ability to ‘become Jesus’, the ability to sustain their own spiritual life while serving to guide that of others. Other themes were about good practice in the community, especially the role of the community in decision-making, discipline and proper attitude in prayer, obedience to the community norms, the place of silence, renunciation of personal property and the need to avoid idleness.
In speaking of the role of the Abbot or abbess, we learnt that s/he ‘should be well aware that they have undertaken an office which is more like the care of the sick than the exercise of power over the healthy’ and the need to be able to minister to those who have strayed spiritually. While the Abbot or Abbess is a spiritual guide to all in the monastery, each member will have their own spiritual guide.
Another important role for the community is the Porter. S/he mediates between life inside the monastery and outside it. The person holding such a role is ‘a wise senior who is too mature in stability to think of wandering about and who can deal with enquiries and give whatever help is required’.
The Benedictine rule is only a framework for the path to spiritual fulfilment. For some this search for personal spiritual fulfilment may take them out of the community to seek God alone, always with a guide they consult from time to time.
A fascinating question-answer session followed in which Timothy drew strongly on his personal experience.
He was asked by Alon to consider how the role of the Abbot or Abbess was actually ‘mentor’ or ‘teacher’ like the models we have been examining and Timothy recognised that there were some limitations to the parallel. First, the role of the Abbot/Abbess will include administrative functions alongside their function as ‘teacher’; second, the fact that those who enter the monastery are obliged to have their own spiritual guide, based on their individual needs. Nevertheless, the Abbot/Abbess has the final say on the direction of the community’s life and the role of each individual within it.
Piotr made a pertinent point suggesting that the entire community, as community, was both ‘formator’ and ‘mentor’ to each member both by living the norms of the community (each will have important but often subtle differences) and by inspiring one another to remain faithful to the life.
In response to Peta’s question, Timothy also explained that each person, not just the Abbot, aims to be transformed into ‘Jesus’, following the ways laid down in the Gospels and living them within a contemplative community. Indeed this is the ideal of each Christian following Jesus’ teaching in daily life. It enables each Christian to recognise the Jesus in their fellow human beings, whatever their faith or philosophy of living.
Timothy was asked by Haviva about diversity in the Benedictine communities, relating to a point he had made in his presentation about choice and expectation of different paths for members. After outlining various models of Benedictine life, some being purely contemplative, others engaged in active work, education, farming, hospitality, hospitals and parishes, alongside their community life together with its silence and prayer. The Benedictine seeks God, is formed in a tradition, but also remains the unique person s/he is.
Further in the discussion, Timothy reflected on the responsibilities of the Abbot. the larger the community the greater the stress and the importance of good management, involving access to much lay expertise. A large community such as his own, requires considerable care and in organisation, adapting to the needs of a variety of personalities, both members of the Community and those lay people who assist in the smooth running of affairs. With these responsibility he must also not neglect his own spiritual life and growth; he listens carefully to his personal adviser. In that way, serving the community which elected him as best he can, while ensuring he becomes an ever-more appropriate model for its members. As the Rule indicates, in accepting the office of Abbot/Abbess s/he knows the eye of God is watching and an account will have to be given in God’s time.
