Included in the early principles that I learned while serving in the Pentagon was that planning for the complexities of life require two ingredients; acknowledgement of the real when contemplating the ideal – AND – incorporating flexibility into everything is key to success in anything. St. Benedict weaved both of those concepts into The Rule written over 1,500 years ago.
There are times when the monastic community is unable to gather for Opus Dei, the Work of God, which is practiced through the Daily Offices of prayer. Even communities within the walls of a monastery are unable to gather everyone together every time for the seven daily prayers outlined in The Rule. St. Benedict offered allowances for that reality. The allowance both provided flexibility for brothers and sisters away from their communities and offered means of sharing in communal prayer while not physically present. When traveling, simply pause when the community pauses and pray when the community prays, wherever you find yourself to be. How very simple.
This guiding principle is especially encouraging to those of us living in a dispersed Order. We seldom have the opportunity to physically gather together. We miss the sweetness of sitting in the chancel of the basilica, chanting the Psalms to one another, and praying together. We find it necessary to gather periodically through the telephone and over video conferences. On very rare occasions, we gather for retreat together. Forming community is challenging, but most important. We are not “armies of one,” but communities of parts. We are not equipped to live as hermits, on the forward edge of spiritual battle fronts. Yet, we feel the aloneness of living in our dispersion. Perhaps it is through the knowledge that we are pausing together, even if we are not gathered together, to share in the Work of God, the Opus Dei.
