What Kind of Man the Abbot Ought to Be (VII:7)
O most blessed of men! * who, rejecting this world, bore the yoke of the Holy Rule from tender years so lovingly; and being made obedient even unto death, denied himself, that he might wholly cling to Christ his Master, alleluia. (Antiphon from the Office for the Feast of Saint Maurus)
• The antiphon that we sing today to commemorate the feast of Saint Maurus, the disciple of our father Saint Benedict, is a little compendium of monastic perfection. It sums up the essence of the monastic life in five points. The first of these is (as Beniamino Lucis so compellingly explains in his little book, Ci salverà il monachesimo) rejection of the world. Many find the very notion of rejection of the world shocking; it is, nonetheless, essential to the Christian life. It characterises the vows of baptism. It goes to the heart of martyrdom and, because of this, it goes to the heart of the monastic life. «Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him» (1 John 2:15).
• The second of these is loving submission to the yoke of the Holy Rule. The use of the word «yoke» identifies monastic observance as a response to the invitation of Our Lord: «Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light» (Matthew 11:29–30).
• The third point is obedience unto death, that is, obedience in imitation of Christ’s own obedience to the Father. «He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross» (Philippians 2:8).
• The fourth point is self–denial, according to the word of Our Lord, «And he said to all: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; for he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall save it» (Luke 9:23–24).
• The fifth point is the one towards which the others are ordered: union with Christ. This union is nothing other than the «abiding in» of which Our Lord speaks in the discourse of the Last Supper: «Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing» (John 15:4–5).
Passing to the daily reading of the Holy Rule, we conclude Chapter II, «On What Sort of Man the Abbot Ought to Be».
15 Jan. 16 May. 15 Sept.
Above all let him not, overlooking or under-valuing the salvation of the souls entrusted to him, be too solicitous for fleeting, earthly, and perishable things; but let him ever bear in mind that he hath undertaken the government of souls, of which he shall have to give an account. And that he may not complain for want of worldly substance, let him remember what is written: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.” And again: “Nothing is wanting to them that fear Him.”
The abbot, charged with the government of souls and responsible for them, must keep his gaze fixed on «the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth.» (Colossians 3:2). Saint Benedict gives the abbot two watchwords: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). And again: “Nothing is wanting to them that fear Him” (Psalm 33:11). The abbot who allows himself to be absorbed and preoccupied with worldly things risks becoming the ruin of the household over which he has been set. In contrast, the abbot who knows how to «lay aside all earthly cares in order to welcome the King of all, escorted invisibly by the angelic hosts» (Cherubic Hymn) will find that Christ the King provides for all that is needed. Thus does an abbot learn the truth of the psalm: «The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing. He hath set me in a place of pasture. He hath brought me up, on the water of refreshment: he hath converted my soul» (Psalm 22: 1–3).
The image of Christ the King looms large in the Holy Rule. On the very first page of the Prologue, Saint Benedict summons us to the service of “the Lord Christ, our true King». This is the Christ Pantocrator depicted in the apse of the cathedrals of Cefalù and of Monreale. Saint Benedict would have the abbot of the monastery live beneath the gaze of Christ the King, confident that He will provide with royal munificence for all who are vowed to His service.
As goes the abbot, so goes the monastery. If the abbot is worldly–minded, the whole household will be worldly–minded. If the abbot is heavenly–minded, the whole household will be heavenly–minded. It is altogether easy to become febrile about one’s work and so, little by little, to begin to prefer other things to the Work of God and, even, to the love of Christ. The principal duty of the abbot is to attend to what Our Lord Himself calls «the one thing necessary». «But one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her» (Luke 10:42). The abbot must give to his sons the example of choosing the best part. In so doing, he will, as Saint Benedict says today, «be cured of his own defects».
