As we approach the feast day of Saint Benedict of Nursia on July 11, we look ahead to the jubilee year 2029 that marks the 1500th anniversary of the Rule of Saint Benedict. Saint Benedict’s Rule, shaped by his experience at Monte Casino, has endured throughout human history because it is rooted in practical and attainable wisdom. In today’s hyper-sensational, fast-paced world—one where meaning is often elusive amid the rise of artificial intelligence—the enduring values of monastic life are especially relevant. This article argues that the Benedictine practice of stability can guide modern Christians in finding deeper meaning. There are three vignettes we may draw out from this notion of stability: the heart, the community, and the place.
Turning first to the stability of the heart. In our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, we hear the bold promise of blessedness, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). In reflecting on this beatitude, Pope Francis said, “This Beatitude speaks of those whose hearts are simple, pure and undefiled, for a heart capable of love admits nothing that might harm, weaken or endanger that love.” (Gaudete et exultate 83). Stability of heart is the interior and persistent work of seeking God through love of neighbor and care for the self. God sees the hiddenness of our work and the intention rooted in every action. God lives in our hearts and calls us to holiness by serving others from the heart and not from ego.
The stability of the heart also helps us navigate life in the digital age. As humans, we make mistakes, and life teaches us lessons from them. A heart deeply rooted in Christ helps us be open to others and not lean on a life saturated with machine data. Pope Leo XVI said, “We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendor of which no machine can ever replace. True progress always stems from a heart open to others, an intelligence willing to listen and a will that seeks what unites rather than what separates” (Magnifica Humanitas 15). To be fully human is the biblical recognition that we are created out of sheer love in God’s image, and that God calls us into communion with himself, with others, and with creation (Magnifica Humanitas 50). The stability of the heart roots us in our humanity, and we will make it through every storm of life, trusting that our Lord will lead us through it with his unwavering love.
Next, we consider the stability of the community. A monastery is more than a place. A monastery is a community of monks who follow a rule of life with stability as the rooted principle. Today, the contemporary Christian can drop in on ‘optional’ workplace events. The world calls it community building—the idea of dropping in fosters fluid, convenient relationships. The Benedictine vision proposes the key ingredient for a lasting community, which is surprisingly at odds with this idea.
The Liturgy of the Hours is the key ingredient to lasting community. We should model our lives after the monastic, for their life has priorities worth living. Determine a time to pray daily with a group of people. Let the psalms form your heart. Be patient. In time, a genuine community will form and give root to your spiritual life. Even when you miss a day of meeting together in person or on Zoom, you can still pray alone. Yet we are never alone when praying the Divine Office. It is only through this regular rhythm and commitment to time, space, and prayer that vulnerability and renewed spirits are formed. If there is anything I have learned as a young Benedictine Oblate, it is that the love of community grows through daily practice; it does not grow out of preference.
Another key to community is the untranslated expression in the Rule of Saint Benedict: conversatio morum. It is often understood as conversion of life or fidelity to the monastic way. It can also be understood as a conversation. In monastic life, the monk is called to enter into conversation with the other; therefore, they are called to live with people of different customs while also sharing common ownership and a commitment to celibacy. The monastics speak well together in prayer as their voices blend in the Work of God, singing divine praises in the choir stalls, and in conversation, speaking when necessary, valuing peace, and welcoming the guest with food and conversation, as Christ himself. For the monastic, the art of conversation is rooted deeply in the idea of knowing when to speak and when to be silent. This value sustains the community. From the value of the human community, stability also teaches us the importance of a place.
Stability of place is perhaps the most obvious vignette of stability. We give names to particular places and buildings. Benedictine monasteries serve a particular chapter in human history; some prosper for generations, while others fade into memory. We can find monasteries in a variety of places, in the heart of metropolitan cities and in the quiet of the countryside. We are attracted to a place; hence, we often retreat there to leave the busy world and find God and a renewed spirit within its walls.
What is the point? I have spent my young adult life searching the world for a spirituality that resonates with my heart. I have found such a wealth of spiritual riches in the Benedictine charism, especially in the timeless value of stability. The stability of heart, community, and place teaches the contemporary Christian to find God. God is in our hearts and in every place we find ourselves, both physically and emotionally. Stability reminds us we are never apart from God’s presence.
