Transformed through Community

Benedict’s Rule is a masterpiece of insight into human nature. It was written for monks in monasteries, but as Anthony Rosselli illustrates in his post from November 1st, 2024, wise advice for a monk can be applied to anyone. 

In the first chapter of the Rule, Benedict discusses the four kinds of monks and the characteristics that compose each type. Two types live alone: the anchorite, who lives in stable solitude; and the gyrovague, who wanders about without any stable community membership. Two types live in community: the cenobite, who lives under the guidance of an abbot and a rule; and the sarabite, who lives in community, but without any ruling authority. 

For Benedict, the sarabites fail in two important ways. First, they are not obedient to the authority of an abbot; and second, they are not faithful to a rule that orders their common life. Instead, they follow “whatever strikes their fancy”(1:8) and fail to develop good character. As a result, Benedict considers them “detestable” (1:6). They may live in community, but they have the mind and heart of a lone wolf. 

Why is living in a community with an authority and a rule important? Aren’t those the two main reasons we leave home for the first time and go to college: to gain freedom from our parents and the restrictions they place on us? But consider: our parents guide us and give us structure because they love us. They know the consequences of behavior; they’ve experienced it in their own lives. Left to our own devices, we form habits of our immature self: selfishness, pride, gluttony, and self-obsession. Sinful nature can take over, and we lose our way. In a community, under an authority and a rule that gives my life order, I become capable of living well and becoming the best version of myself. 

Our need for authority and regulation persists into adulthood. We still need someone like an abbot, an experienced guide, and a rule, a regulating tool that orders our daily life. They keep us on course for a happy and fulfilling life. For Benedict, becoming a mature monk requires experience and testing. Experience teaches the monk how to fight against the vices of mind and body. The abbot and the Rule test the monk against the regulation of the community’s common life. 

Benedict’s wisdom illuminates the importance of being attentive to our need for community, including our need for authority figures and for some kind of rule to guide our common life. Take athletics, for example. A team must learn from its coach, the experienced authority figure, and be faithful to the regulations that order the competition. If each player listens to the coach and follows the rules, they form a team working toward a collective goal. They are no longer a group of individuals following “whatever strikes their fancy,” but a community of people helping each other become strong.

Benedict’s Rule can guide any community composed of members who desire to live a better life. By committing to a community with an experienced leader(s) and a rule to give order to the team and the work they do, not only do we experience our own transformation, but we also contribute to the transformation of others in the community.