A Benedictine Day

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Benedict of Nursia.  St. Benedict’s most enduring legacy is his rule of life, which has recently been paraphrased beautifully by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove.  Central to Benedict’s wisdom is living in moderation and balance as we pursue Christlikeness.  For Benedict this includes a daily rhythm of prayer, community life, and work.

In honor of St. Benedict’s feast, try to incorporate a Benedictine rhythm into your day.  Wake up, pray (include others if possible), spend some time in the study of scripture, then work, take a moment for a short reading of Psalm 1 at lunch, work again, read Luke 14:27-33, and then close the evening with a service of compline.

After the experience of this day of rhythm ask how you might create a daily rhythm of life that you can maintain for a week or month.