Humble Holiness in the Monastery:
the Demand for Obedience in Benedict's Rule
By Nathaniel Binzen, November 8, 1999
There are many parallels between the order proposed in the Rule of Benedict and the structure of a military unit, so it's no surprise that Benedict himself applies the analogy of "waging war" in his very first paragraph. His vision of war is combat against the devil, on behalf of the Lord, and the stakes are life-and-death. Obviously there are many other lenses, not so dark, through which we could view Benedict's version of the monastic life - among others, there are strong devotional, meditative, intellectual and service aspects to his program. In this paper, however, a brief look at the martial mind of Benedict will bring us to the realization that the military analogy is important not only because of its prominence, but also because it points to its own undermining by one important set of limits: we'll see that there's also a force at work here that contradicts and transcends the power of anything like an army command structure. We'll see that Benedict is aware of a God-directedness operating in and through his foot-soldiers, forcing, among other things, the humility of the leadership. This upwelling force is an important clue to Benedict's vision of holiness, that is, humility built on a foundation of obedience. So we'll examine his notion of holiness, then we'll finish by looking at how his rules of group discipline are, in any case, necessitated by the radical orientation that monastery life demands.
Casting the monks' work as that of engagement in a state of war serves to emphasize solidarity and esprit de corps, no doubt essential to maintaining the intense togetherness of the monastic community. Benedict makes several explicitly militaristic references, but what I wish to note here is how consistently the atmosphere of the barracks appears in his rules. In Chapter 55, he discusses the issuing of common uniforms; in Chapter 63, he speaks of ranks (assigned by date of entry of by merit) and of mandatory titles by which the monks shall address superiors and inferiors. Chapter 2, "The qualities of the abbot," brings to mind the psychology employed by a commander leading a squad of soldiers: he speaks of mixing "encouragement with reproof," and of the need to cope with the individuality of "many different characters." The failures of the troop are the failures of the commander. Finally, there are, of course, the punishments, which admittedly have a flavor all their own: solitary meals, stony silence, whippings, prostration.
Yet, other aspects of the monastic life are decidedly unmilitary. In Chapter 3, "The counsel of the brothers," Benedict lays down that whenever an important matter is to be undertaken, the abbot should call the entire community together to hear their opinions (it's notable that this is one of the very few invitations offered to monks to speak outside of liturgical or recitational offices). He notes that, in these meetings, the abbot should consider the opinions of all, for "the Lord often reveals the best course to a younger monk." Further, in Chapter 65, he sets out that the abbot is to be elected by the monks. Obviously there's a kind of empowerment going on here - and this is because Benedict trusts the brothers to subsume their own interests so that God will act through them. This is a crucial sustaining power within the community that must be tapped. Indeed, nurturing and harnessing this power - which flows from God, through the brothers, into the community - may be seen as the very purpose of the community, in a functional sense.
But the purposes of monastic life which Benedict concentrates on are the pursuit of virtue and the progress towards individual and collective holiness or perfection - and this brings us to the question, what is holiness in Benedict's eyes? I think that humility and obedience are his keys to holiness. In Chapter 2, he asserts that "Only if we are found to excel in good works and humility are we preferred in the eyes of God as individuals." Humility is the effort to stamp out self-exaltation. Essential to achieving humility is that "We are forbidden to do our own will," so "that [the Lord's] will may be done in us" (Chapter 7). Helpfully, Benedict offers a twelve-step program for attaining humility, which I would consider a reasonable program of self-denial (for monks, anyway), at least until the sixth and seventh steps, which call upon the monk to "think himself a poor and worthless workman" and to believe "in the depths of his heart" that "he is an inferior and common wretch." Really, I cannot see anything productive in such an attitude!
In any case, the way to attain superior humility, he specifies in Chapter 5: "The first degree of humility is prompt obedience." Obedience is the right attitude of those who have sworn "holy servitude" to "Christ above all else" (Chapter 5). Do not doubt how important obedience is to Benedict: "No one shall be loved more than others, except those who are found more obedient…in his faith" (Chapter 2). Obedience, then, is the holy path to perfection. Obedience to the abbot is obedience to God (Chapter 5). It's crucial that obedience be carried out without any grudge: "Work done in…a dispirited manner will go without reward; in fact, unless [the monk] makes amends, he will suffer the punishment meted out to gripers" (Chapter 5). So, no murmuring! In fact, in Chapter 72, Benedict counsels monks to contest zealously "to outdo each other in obedience." Obedience to authority, of course, is a good martial virtue.
Generally, I find the discipline and self-denial of the Rule to be over the top. A case in point is the effort of the Rule to control the voices of the brothers. My speculation is that, in Benedict's mind, if you control the voice, you control the mind, though a case could be made as well that his strategy is based on the need to maintain a quiet, stable, meditative environment. In any case, voices are channeled into activities like liturgy, reading scripture and devotional works, and reciting blessings, psalms, prayers and the like. Oratory errors are an occasion for discipline. Small talk is out of the question. And one is never to tell of one's experiences outside the monastery walls.
Yet, in the end, more so than in any boot camp, there are strong practical reasons for the order that the Rule promotes. A formula is needed that can bind a small group of men together in a tiny place for a lifetime. Obviously, a radical reorientation of life is required. To this end, Benedict promotes a program of holiness that is aimed at achieving both the bonds and the inspiration necessary to sustain monastic life.
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