From the fact that John Main and Laurence Freeman are Benedictine monks, it is understandable that their doctrine was influenced by the way emphasized by the Order of St. Benedict. Of the original three Benedictine vows, which also form the background of the Oblate way of life – obedience, conversion and stability – it is precisely obedience that causes initial doubt for our Western civilization. Especially since the two world wars, it is characteristic that we do not trust authority, and with that comes obedience. Authority has been found to have shortcomings, and this has consequences in our great caution against the obedience of authorities, whether ecclesiastical or state. However, St. Benedict says in chapter 71 of his order: “Obedience is a blessing to be shown to all, not only to the prior and to the abbot, but also to one another, because we know that we are going to God in this way of obedience.”
When we read this chapter of the order, we usually run it in a hurry. If so, we are missing one important point. Already in the preface to the order begins St. Benedict emphasizing obedience. However, it is translated there from Latin in its original meaning, namely as ‘listening’. “Listen carefully to my instructions, my child, and watch them with the ear of your heart … the effort of obedience will bring you back to God.”
It is obedience in the sense of truly listening ‘through the ear of your heart’ that transforms the overall impact of this teaching. True listening not only to the prince and the abbot, but also to each other, is the foundation of communion. As a result, our true attention to one another becomes a precious gift that we can give to each other. Simone Weil reminds us, “Those who are unhappy need nothing in this world but people who can pay attention to them.” We are the guardian of our brother and sister.
If we really listen, we connect from essence to essence – we respect each other. By truly listening to the doctrine, we worship our teachers. Meditation is also a way of obedience, of truly listening to the inner voice through the ear of your heart – listening to the Spirit. Thus we are introduced to the mystery of God, which opens St. Paul: “Christ is in you, the hope of glory to come.” It is also a fundamental message of John Main in Word into Silence: “The mystery that meditation introduces us to is a personal mystery, a mystery of our own personality, found fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. This is what gives our meditation a uniquely Christian color.
But that’s not the end – we are drawn into the mystery of God further. “All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in it.” The consequence of this attraction to the mystery of God is the integrity of being. Our center progresses from the ego to our true center, our self, the center of our complete being, conscious and unconscious.
Thus, our integrity does not depend on blindly listening to authority and its need to control, it does not lie in following superficial rules and regulations, but in fact lies in our deep listening to the voice of natural authority and the moral nature of rules and regulations.
Kim Nataraja
(translation by Jindřich Kotvrda)
