Reflection on Pastoral Rule, Irish Penitentials, and
Shepherd of Hermas
Rules challenge
contemporary ideals of individualism and independence, especially rules with
punishments. An alternative vision of the texts selected for this week, sees how
written parameters may prevent even worse abuses of power, one that can be
referenced if harsher punishments are suggested, one that suggests repentance
is possible and actually preferred by God. These texts provide a way to insist
upon compassion during a time when those in authority could take away your life
and your salvation. As the monastic rules evolves, the practice of humility
reflects a value for compassionate thought, encourages contemplative living,
and expresses itself not only through works of charity and service, but through
exquisite pastoral care.
My experience
practicing and contemplating the Benedictine rule informs my reading of these
early pastoral texts. In Heart of Flesh:
A Feminist Spirituality for Women and Men, Joan Chittister, OSB, reveals
how radical self-acceptance is not only a feminist concept but also one of contemplative
life. Because of the focus on humility and obedience in Benedict’s rule,
Chittister has contemplated and written extensively on this thread of Christian
tradition. In Illuminated Life, Chittister
narrows the contemplative life of monasticism down to four dimensions of
humility:
1.
Recognize
the presence of God in our lives
2.
Accept the gifts of others (wisdom, experience,
direction)
3.
Let go of false expectations in daily life
4.
Receive others kindly.
While
there is much to deconstruct and challenge within our readings of Gregory the
Great, Hermas, and the Irish monks, there also is the thread Chittister speaks
of within them. Attached to this email is an essay from Chittister’s Heart of Flesh, reprinted in 2009 in her
regular column with the National Catholic Reporter. In it, she says, “Pride is
patriarchy played out in a democratic world to remind its underlings who’s
really in charge. Humility brings us, instead, to the presence of God, the
wisdom of others, the authenticity of the self, and the esteem of the other that
make life, the world, a good and gracious space.” Chittister convincingly argues throughout her
work that such texts actually prevented further abuses of power, by codifying
not only compassion from leaders, but also possibilities for repentance and absolution
for sinners. This does not detract from the grave consequences of the
oppositional binaries of pure/good and sin/evil, not the least of which is the
deprecation of women and sexuality.
However,
as Chittister spoke of Benedict as having a feminist soul within the most
misogynistic macho of worlds, so to do the writers of these missives appear to
strive towards restricting the absolute authority of a few humans in power and
opening (previously shut) doors for redemption. Without the years learning from the nuns
at Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas, this anti-establishment Gen-Xer
may have never reconciled the difference between the teachings of humiliation
from my fundamentalist upbringing with the teachings of humility as a spiritual
practice, humility not as diminishing or degrading, but as connectedness, relationship,
and mutuality, aspects that inform my chaplain ministry daily.
For
my practice, humility is the cornerstone of pastoral care as well as social
justice. Chittister also challenges the stereotype of monastic life being
isolated and removed. Humility leads to compassion and compassion leads to
action. In this way, justice is as important to contemplative life as humility
is. She writes, “From contemplation comes not only the consciousness of the
universal connectedness of life but the courage to model it as well.” Reading
her words again after seminary and years in ministry, I see how she challenges
patriarchy and colonialism by encouraging practices of compassion and care. So
to, weaved within the directives and prescriptions for punishments, there is a
thread of compassion and care within the Pastoral Rule, Irish Penitentials, and
visions of Hermas.
Works
referenced:
Chittister, Joan. 1998. Heart of flesh : a feminist spirituality
for women and men. [S.l.]: William B Eerdmans, 1998.
Chittister, Joan D.
2000. Illuminated life : monastic wisdom
for seekers of light. [S.l.]: Orbis Books, 2000.
Chittister, Joan D.
1992. The rule of Benedict : insights for
the ages. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1992.
Chittister, Joan D.
1990. Wisdom distilled from the daily :
living the rule of Saint Benedict today. [S.l]: Harper, 1990.
