Their law is what they like to do, whatever strikes their fancy. Anything they believe in and choose, they call holy; anything they dislike, they consider forbidden (RB 1.8-9)
So . . . if you’re thinking that this is a description of our culture today, actually it’s not. This is Saint Benedict describing corrupt monks in the sixth century. The mentality that surrounds us now was already an option then.
The monks that St. Benedict does approve of are the coenobitarum, which is Latin for koinos bios, which is Greek for common life, which is English for what I aim to discuss here. Life in community is the focus of St. Benedict’s Rule. He invites us to choose community with our fellow human beings in this world, but it’s clear that the community depends on each individual’s commitment to follow Christ. St. Benedict’s Rule explicates the practical living out of “the communion of saints” of the Apostle’s Creed. This communion joins those on earth with those in heaven, but those on earth are the ones who need help trying to figure out how to live.
There is another kind of monk that St. Benedict refers to: the eremitarum, which is the Latin transliteration of the Greek eremitēs, which means “one who lives in the desert” and gives us the English word hermit. He himself lived as a hermit for three years. He describes the hermit as ready with God’s help to grapple single-handed with the vices of body and mind (RB 1.5).
When I first started to think of the housewife-mother as a domestic hermit, it was because of the sense of isolation I experienced. I faced many struggles that didn’t seem to be addressed by the Church. I don’t think my experience is unusual. I think that many people flee the domestic life exactly because of the combination of exterior harassment and interior aridity that afflicts people whose vocation is neither respected by the world nor adequately addressed by religious authorities.
My goal here is to provide some support for this double challenge of Christian families who are attempting both to sustain a personal spiritual vitality and also to create community within a materialistic, competitive culture. I’m going to write from the perspective of someone who finds Christian goodness difficult and not always attractive. If you don’t feel that you need help in this area, nothing I say will be of much interest. But if you’re hanging on by your fingernails and thinking of letting go, I have a few tips for how to claw your way to survival.
Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” John 14:6. But his way of life is one among many options, in the post-Christian West, and not the one that the cool people choose. Many nice people are rushing off along other paths, and they certainly don’t intend to destroy themselves. But Jesus insists that only his path leads to life: Matthew 7:13-14. If you’ve watched as dreadful consequences play out around you, it’s already clear that not all paths are equally good. But it’s not necessarily obvious either how to live out the life that Christ talks about.
If your desired destination is eternal community with those you love and with your Creator, then you’re in the company of St. Benedict. What follows will be my interpretation of some of the principles he wrote about.
