Contrast: Benedict - 03

Augustinian Priory
Do-Shin-Ri, Korea

Especially when considered together, these two Rules were a signifgicant formative influence on the Church in Europe for over a thousand years.

The most famous section of the Benedictine Rule is Chapter 72: The Good Zeal of Monks. It is a summary statement of what Benedictine monastic life is all about.

"This then, is the good zeal which monks must foster with fervent love.

They should each try to be the first to show respect to the other, supporting with the greatest patience the weaknesses of others in health or behaviour, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another.

No one is to pursue what he judges better for himself, but instead, what he judges better for someone else.

To their fellow monks they show the pure love of brothers; to God, loving fear; to their Abbot, unfeigned and humble love. Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life."

Prior to the rise of the monastic way of life within the Christian religion, martyrdom was the greatest example of heroism in the early Church. Once the age of martyrs came to an end, some Christians looked for another way of radical commitment.

Just as the martyrs had given their lives to follow Christ, individual monks went out into the desert to "give their lives" to Christ as a witness against the evils of society.

Eventually as these monks began to cluster together, a conscious communitarian dimension became added to this.

By the time of Augustine in the fourth century, and the more so again by the time of Benedict in the sixth century, monastic life had an attraction to many people who did not also feel called to make a drastic "flight from the world" by moving out of society and by going to the desert.

The apostolic form of community life after the style of Augustine at Hippo made available a monastic living that was undertaken in a town while its members actively served the local church.

Even as a bishop, Augustine gave example of this lifestyle by living in community with the principles of community prayer and of all possessions being held in common.

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Contrast: Benedict - 03

Community: charism - 01

Community: charism - 02

Community: apostolate

Community: reality