Listen My Son. Dwight Longenecker

blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall; it was founded on rock.’ Thus the Lord concludes his reply, and daily expects us to respond through our dutiful actions to his holy precepts.

       Therefore in order that amends be made for sins, the days of our life are prolonged to give us a time in which to make our peace, as the Apostle says, ‘Do you realise that the patience of God is meant to lead you to repentance?’ For this loving Lord says, ‘I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should change his ways and live.’

      The Benedictine monk vows to pursue stability of life, and the need for stability is a constant theme throughout the Rule. Benedict himself lived in times of great upheaval. In the year 410 – just seventy years before Benedict's birth – the city of Rome fell to the invading hoards of barbarians, and by the middle of the century Huns were ravaging northern Italy. At the same time the Church was torn apart not only by the social and political chaos, but also by internal theological controversy.

      His times are similar to our own. We have lived in a century of unparalleled violence, social upheaval, and cataclysmic change. Nothing seems secure and our whole world sometimes seems built on quicksand. In the midst of this our own lives too often shudder with insecurity, uncertainty and the stress of rapid transition.

      So Benedict's injunction for us to build our house upon the rock is all the more timely (Matt. 7.25). Benedict teaches that the way to build sensibly on the rock is to obey the Lord's precepts and build carefully day by day – not attempting great things overnight, but constructing an edifice of faith which will withstand the tempests of life.

      One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is a stable home life. We usually think only in terms of financial stability, but that is perhaps the least of our worries; in many ways finances will look after themselves. What is most often neglected is spiritual and moral stability. Christian values were once strongly supported by society, education and the media. But increasingly the Christian values that provide a stable home for our family seem like an outdated counter-culture.

      Nevertheless, it is a strong and loving discipline of prayer, duty, and worship which provides not only the most stable environment for our homes, but also gives the surest foundation for our children to step out into the wider world with confidence.

      This domestic stability can only exist if it is first being built in our own lives. There are various practical ways of building stability. With the help of a spiritual director we can put together a rule of life which gives form and structure to our spiritual quest. In today's reading Benedict provides the other plank in the platform of a spiritually stable life. He encourages repentance because it is through an attitude of repentance that we continually correct and modify our straying path.

      January 6

      May 7

      September 6

      THE PROLOGUE (F)

       We have asked the Lord, my brothers, about the kind of man who dwells in his house, and we have heard what is required in order to do so. So let us fulfil the task of such a dweller. That means that we must make ready our hearts and bodies to engage in the warfare of holy obedience to his commands, and because our nature has not power to do this, we must ask God to send forth the help of his grace to our aid. And, if we wish to escape the punishment of hell and reach eternal life, then while there is still time, while we are still in this body and this life gives us the light to do all these things, we must hurry to do now what will profit us for ever.

      The Prologue to Benedict's Rule is full of loving encouragement and gentle enthusiasm. But it is also full of straight talking. In today's reading Benedict makes it clear that he is calling us to spiritual warfare and that we had better take him seriously if we wish to escape the pains of hell. The spiritual quest is not an option for people ‘who like that sort of thing’. Our soul's destiny is at stake and time is short.

      This is the uncompromising language of one who speaks with authority. We are unused to such language because the concept of authority has been eroded in our society. A cynical, questioning and rebellious attitude has become not only fashionable, but expected. The idea that we submit ourselves to a greater authority is shocking to most modern people, yet this is exactly what is required if we are to achieve stability and prosper spiritually. So Benedict makes no mistake when he likens his disciples to spiritual warriors. Like any soldier they must learn to take orders. And if a soldier must take orders, the commanding officer must take the greater responsibility of giving orders well.

      In our age fathers are experiencing a crisis because their traditionally authoritarian role has been undermined. If the wrong kind of authoritarianism has been eroded, that may be a creative step forward. However, for the family to be secure the father still needs to exercise authority in the right way.

      Christian authority is always shared in a vertical manner. Authority comes down from God through Christ to those with whom he shares his authority. In the Church his authority is shared with the successors of the apostles – the bishops. In the home God's authority is given to the parents since God has already shared with them the work and joy of the creative act. So as God gave Adam dominion over creation (Gen. 2.15), so God gives the man dominion within the family.

      As Benedict does in today's reading, the one who holds authority must sometimes speak and act with firmness. While there is no call for the abbot or father to be tyrannical there is also no room for him to be pusillanimous. There are surely some men who err on the side of being too strict and dictatorial, but many more make the mistake of being too weak, lazy and complacent. For our homes to prosper men need to take up their God-given authority as fathers. We need to do so with maturity and humility, with good humour and without apology.

      January 7

      May 8

      September 7

      THE PROLOGUE (G)

       We propose, therefore to establish a school of the Lord's service, and in setting it up we hope we shall lay down nothing that is harsh or hard to bear. But if for adequate reason, for the correction of faults or the preservation of charity, some degree of restraint is laid down, do not then and there be overcome with terror, and run away from the way of salvation, for its beginning must needs be difficult. On the contrary, through the continual practice of monastic observance and the life of faith, our hearts are opened wide, and the way of God's commandments is run in a sweetness of love that is beyond words. Let us then never withdraw from discipleship to him, but persevering in his teachings in the monastery till death, let us share the sufferings of Christ through patience, and so deserve also to share in his kingdom.

      If Benedict was firm in yesterday's reading, then in today's passage he shows his gentler nature. In fact, the stricter portions of the Rule are lifted from earlier monastic rules which served as Benedict's sources. Today's reading, with its surge of tenderness and joy, is Benedict's own. Here he shows how the authority of a Christian father is properly expressed.

      He does not wish to lay down anything ‘too harsh or burdensome’, and Benedict is even at pains to explain that the strict rules that do exist are there ‘for the correction of faults or the preservation of charity’. In the previous passage Benedict may have warned solemnly of the pains of hell, but here he uses a carrot, not a stick, to encourage his child in faith. If he perseveres he will ‘run in the way of God's commandments with a sweetness of love that is beyond expression’.

      So God's primary way of working is to draw us with the infinite delight of his love. Instead of the fear of hell, Benedict calls us to run in the way of God's commandments because that is what is best for us. Some discipline will be required, but that is because we are being summoned to grow up and become all that God intended, and to share in the highest and best