Ben of course is short for Benedict. And today is the feast of Benedict. Saint Benedict. The one with Benedict Options (see Rod Dreher if you want). The founder of monasticism, at least of the Western version (that means European, not Californian, in case you wondered). The Benedict who, legend has it, was nice to a raven once, and, unlike in real life, the raven later was nice to him. It's all there in books, or, if you must, in Wikipedia. You can look it up. While you are at it, check out some books on his sister, Scholastica. Read about her, because she was awesome too. But this is Benedict's day. Actually the memorial of the day he died (which also has some pretty great miracle stories attached to it). Whoa. Sorry. I guess that's a lot of stuff for you to look up.
Anyway or anyways, as some combination of friends and former friends like to say, that itself is reason enough for Ben Camino to crawl out of his bed of irony to meditate aloud for all friends, former friends, meat-eaters, and the folks out there hoarding sanitizer, toilet paper, and, oh yeah, COVID-19 TESTS. I'm looking at you, NBA. You too, Hollywood. You three, U.S. Military. And Fred down the street, you too, but for toilet paper not tests.
Well, I'm not going to bore you, in case you bore easily, with how great and crazy the readings were in my prayer book today (I use it, I don't have the copyright or anything): Benedictine Daily Prayer: A Short Breviary. Things like, "There [in a cave, if you want to know where there is], midst the nettles, painful thorns, and briars, /Bravely he conquered flaming youthful passions; /Then, for our guidance, wrote his Rule of wisdom, /Rule of discretion." That was from the hymn for Second Vespers. Don't ask, it's complicated (which is another way of saying, you can look that up too).
I know, I know, you're saying Ben (meaning me, I assume), you just said you wouldn't bore us with all the crazy stuff like nettles and flaming youthful passions, but there you went and done did it! You are correct. However, that is not really the point of the passage I quoted. In fact, if you are really curious, there is indeed crazier stuff than that in the prayers for today. At least you would think it's crazy. You can't really be sure that Ben Camino thinks so, can you? That's why they call me Ben Camino, ironic meditator.
Anyway(s), the point of the passage is THE RULE.
Sometime around 530 A.D., Benedict left his cave (where he had become a hermit, like yours truly). He was in the cave partly because as a young man he had visited Rome and was disgusted with the immorality he saw there. He thought (you can't be sure if I agree with him can you?) that it was going to take strong medicine, some harsh measures, some isolation to make a difference. So, the cave for him. People found him out, wanted to join him, and he said brilliant wise things (the kind of things his namesake says quite often, sometimes just muttering to himself, sometimes in ironic meditations). Things like: it's going to take strong medicine, some harsh measures, some isolation to make a difference. I know, I know. How boring. I'm sure all the fans were hoping that he'd say, why don't we all just sing We Are the World and see how that works?
He left the cave and founded a monastery. At Monte Cassino. They partied hard there in his honor today, as only monks can. I have no idea what that means. I don't know exactly what the monastery looked like in 529 A.D. but it was built a fortress on top of a mountain. A place intentionally "distanced." It wasn't a castle for a king; it was a fortress for an army. Chant after me: strong medicine, harsh measures, isolation. In fact, it's famous now as the site of major fighting during World War 2. To tell you the truth, if old Saint Benedict could slide down that same starry path he was said to have gone up on this day oh so many years ago, he would say that it has been the site of some damn fierce fighting since 529 A.D.
And we would say. Fighting? You're monks. You pray. You isolate. When you get really crazy, you chant. The same prayers OVER and OVER again. Or you work around the place. Copy manuscripts. Cooking the meals. Sleeping for a bit then doing it all again. Often alone. Often in silence. Obeying rules that some higher up insists are for the good of the community. Whatever that means.
Well, you'd be just about right if you described Benedict's idea of monasticism like that. I mean, there's a LOT more to it, but you wouldn't be too far off base. Home base.
We know that because, as I said IN ALL CAPS above, Benedict wrote THE RULE. He figured that some of the fans might not realize how serious this thing was unless they had a pattern. With The Rule, they could learn how to be by being the how. Of course, there are other rules for monks, and they are sometimes known by the supposed author's name. Augustine, for example. Another Rule is just known as "The Master's Rule." We think that Benedict read it. But he shortened it, he cut out a LOT of the preaching, and he focused on love. But maybe not the kind of love we are used to hearing about. Although we might be thinking more about a different kind of love in the days ahead. One that says, for example, I love you so much I'm going to stay away from you.
I'm tired, and out of ironic practice. So I need to wrap this up. I intend to write a number of isolation meditations in the days and weeks and [?] ahead. They won't all be about Benedict or the Rule or the new monasticism to which we have been called or into which we have been forced (choose your prepositional phrase). Sort of like the X-Files, some will be on the "mytharc." In this case, that will be our new monasticism, not human/alien hybrids and an international conspiracy involving a cigerette-smoking man to suppress the truth "out there." At least I think it will be different. Other meditations will be on other aspects of what we are living through and facing and fighting and all that. And about learning how to love in this weird (it's a good Anglo-Saxon word, you can look it up too) time. Look at me, giving you "distanced" learning.
I have a rule now, not exactly Benedictine, but certainly influenced by The Rule and by the friend of ravens we honor today. I get up and put on the coffee. I take a shower and pray. I make a little something to eat (one egg or a bowl of cereal). Uh-oh, wait, I forgot to say I get dressed. That was supposed to be before "pray." All bets are off on how I come down to make the coffee. Anyway(s), then I get dressed in a monk's uniform. I don't have a monk's robe really, but I get dressed for work. Maybe even a little more dressed than I usually do/did. NO pjs. No sweatshirts. Even dress shoes most of the time. Then I work till lunch. I have something maybe to eat. If it's nice out, I take a short walk. I try to pray, but I sometimes don't get that done in the afternoon. Working on it. Then I work till 5 or 6. Then I change out of my uniform and into some sweats or something. Then I work around the house or play music or talk to my kids or my sister on the phone. Then I make a meal (and they are small and beautiful). Then I go on a loooong walk if the weather permits (3-5 miles). I see nobody. At least I don't get within 20 feet of anybody. I return home, exercise a bit more, take a hot shower, do evening prayer (Vespers, you can look it up), read and worry about COVID-19, especially the fact that the Midwest has had no basically no tests yet, play my guitar(s), try to write something.
I'd probably have a little drink in there somewhere. At least a glass of wine. But, before I knew I was going to become a neo-hermit, I just knew it was Lent. And I've got so few things to give up, so I gave up my occasional sip. In truth, some evenings when I'm worried, I'd like to have one. It will wait. I do have a hard time falling asleep though. I keep taking my temp. So far, so good.
I know, I know, Benedict doesn't say to get dressed up in your "office" clothes. But he does say this, in chapter 19 of The Rule. Talking about singing psalms, something monks do A LOT, he writes, "Let us consider, then, how we ought to behave in the presence of God and his angels, and let us stand to sing the psalms in such a way that our minds are in harmony with our voices." I take that to mean NOT just think about how you pray, but think about how to harmonize your mind and body with your work. And, for the monk, prayer is what they call "the work of God." They also call it, "the divine office." So, I just think, Ben, are you really going to do your best focused work today in your pjs and the old ripped record store t-shirt that you love so much? And I have to answer honestly, no Ben (meaning myself), I guess not. By the way, I'm not judging. It's hard, and we've all got to find our way (unless of course you'd like a new Ben to impose order on all the monks?). I've learned a lot from some parents who have an army of little monks in the house. The same lessons that we all need to learn: easy does it and take it slow. But do it. And take it.
I'm just saying with any wisdom I have, and much of that gleaned from Saint Benedict, I think imposing some order on this chaotic, scary time can be a good thing. It's going to take some isolation. But isolation is not a vacation. Think of how hard we have to work to find ways to love through physical distancing. Think of how hard it will be just to work hard with focus if we don't set up rules about how much of the day we will live in "silence" away from our phones or our computer email/messenger/etc.
We're all monks now. It's not an option. And those who are not cloistered -- because they are needed on the front lines in hospitals and many other places -- need us to BE cloistered. We are helping them. Serving them. Loving them. By physical distancing and, if possible, isolation. And they need our prayers. And they need us to be completely serious about doing our best, because that is what we expect of them.
Anyway(s), Peace pilgrims. Pray for me.
The Monastery at Monte Cassino during World War 2.
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