Introduction and Outline

Introduction

The Goal:

The purpose of this domestic rule is to help couples who are raising children. If you’re looking for quick fixes or flattery, you’re in the wrong place.  But if you’re looking for resources to help you develop the strength to face your own situation, I do my best to adapt a very old approach to a 21st century lifestyle.  If I’m presumptuous in doing so, it’s with the characteristic boldness that emerges from Christian faith: that God knows and loves individuals; that God gives us our freedom for good or evil; that God calls us to work with him and with each other toward the good.  And we place our hope in his promises to bring our efforts to fruition.

The Method:

Saint Benedict begins his Rule with the interior challenges of character formation, and then he moves outward to the mundane problems of managing a Christian community.  I have not attempted to follow his Rule step by step but rather have attempted to address intricacies of character and community in a contemporary Western context, basing my own reflections on specific quotes from his Rule. Because a great deal of what he wrote was his personal response to a passage of Scripture, this project tends to feature me reflecting on St. Benedict reflecting on the Bible.  While this approach may seem eccentric today, it is a centuries-old technique.  “From the very earliest accounts of monastic practice–dating back to the fourth century … a form of reading called lectio divina (“divine” or “spiritual reading”) was essential to any deliberate spiritual life. …  It is … a meditative approach….” (Introduction to The Rule of St. Benedict).  The beginning of most of the posts features a quote from Saint Benedict’s Rule, indicated in bold, using the RB 1980 versification system.  Bold and italics together show where Saint Benedict was quoting from Scripture.  

The Genre:

From a literary standpoint, this project has a precedent in Samuel Johnson‘s “The Rambler,” launched Tuesday, 20 March 1750.  Nearly three centuries later, Dr. Johnson remains a wise and witty companion, an oasis of sanity in a mad world.  Similarly, I hope to “be numbered among the writers who have given ardour to virtue, and confidence to truth” (Rambler No. 208). Each post has had to find its own form. Each has emerged with an image that functions as a visual metaphor to aid in conveying the concept, evoking the mood, or illustrating the topic.  

Outline

Prologue:

  1. The Motivation
  2. The Challenge
  3. The Call

The Ultimate Choice:

Choose Your Destination

Prerequisites:

  1. Father and Mother: Titles Worth Wearing
  2. Be A Good Model
  3. Reckon With The Day Of Reckoning
  4. Cultivate Fairness
  5. Discipline Within
  6. Punish Patiently

Taking Counsel:

  1. Communicate Artfully
  2. Contend Courteously

The Tools For Good Works:

  1. Refrain From Adultery
  2. Help The Troubled
  3. Rid Yourself Of Anger
  4. Let Go Of Your Grudge
  5. Hallow Your Speech Or Hollow Your Home
  6. Bear Injuries Patiently
  7. Love Your Enemies
  8. Bless Those Who Blast You
  9. Endure Persecution For The Sake Of Justice
  10. Hold Yourself Together
  11. Redemption
  12. Friendly Faces Feel
  13. Human Reefs Need Saving Too
  14. Trick Or Treat
  15. Wholly Holy And Hale
  16. Fix The Physical
  17. Housewife Manifesto

Obedience:

  1. King Once And King To Be
  2. Trust And Obey

Restraint Of Speech:

  1. Zip It
  2. Silent Night, Holy Dawn

Humility:

  1. Fear Of The Lord
  2. Yield Your Imagination
  3. Align Your Will With God’s Will
  4. Beware Fatal Attraction
  5. Curb Your Urge
  6. Eat Your Vegetables
  7. Wise Up
  8. Persevere
  9. Forbear
  10. A Message From The Dawn
  11. Hold Your Peace

Night:

The Lord Is My Shepherd

Concern For The Excommunicated:

Comfort the Wayward

Qualifications Of The Chef:

  1. Character of the Chef
  2. Good Taste
  3. Helpers For The Chef

Habits:

Drink Moderately

Recollection:

Cultivate Silence

When At Fault:

Say Sorry

Prayer:

Worthy Oratory

Other Resources:

St. Thomas Aquinas