III. The Abbot, Christ’s Representative

Summary. — The monk is to seek God by walking in Christ’s foot¬ steps ; he belongs to the cenobitical society, the authority of which is concentrated in the hands of the Abbot. — I. The Abbot, the representative of Christ, is to imitate Him as Pastor. — II. As Pontiff. — III. He is to be conspicuous for his discre¬ tion. — IV. For his kindness. — V. Attitude of the monk towards the Abbot : humble and sincere love. — VI. Docility of spirit. — VII. Obedience of action. o seek God by walking in Christ’s footsteps : such in a few words is the sublime vocation that St. Benedict assigns to his sons. When a secular wishes to be admitted into the Community, this question is put to him : “ What do you ask ? ” and the Church places upon his lips this reply exactly appropriate to the situation : “ The mercy of God and your fellowship ", Misericordiam Dei et vestram confraternitatem x.

Every vocation, even the simple Christian vocation, comes from God. Our Lord Himself says “No man can come to Me, except the Father draw him " : Nemo -potest venire ad me nisi Pater traxerit eum 2.

But it is God’s love for us — and as we are born miserable, it is His merciful love — which is the origin of this call : attraxi te miserans 3. This vocation is great, and this first loving glance cast upon us by God is the first link in the chain of graces which He bestows upon us throughout the course of our existence ; all the Divine mercies towards us have for their first principle this invitation to share, by adoption, in the Sonship of Christ Jesus.

The monastic vocation itself only aims at perfecting this adoption, at making it more extensive, by a deeper participa¬ tion in Christ’s grace, by a more finished imitation of the Divine Model. But it is also an act of mercy, and a signal mercy. Christ Jesus does not oblige all men to follow Him thus closely ; the counsel is given, but “ all men take not this word ” : Non omnes capiunt verbum istud 4. You know the call of Jesus to the rich young man : “ If thou wilt be perfect.. follow Me. ” You know too the refusal that tne Divine Master met with. Jesus had at first only pointed out the common way : “ If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments Si vis ad vitam ingredi, serva mandata 2. Then after the rejoinder of the young man: “All these- things I have kept from my youth, ” Jesus wished to show him a higher way, a way which leads to a more intimate degree of union, a more perfect beatitude. These successive and ascending calls had love only for their source : “ Jesus looking on him, loved him ” : Intuitus eum, dilexit eum 4. It is the love of God which draws us to the cloister, which invites us to serve Him in the cenobitical life, “ the fellowship of the brethren ” : Et vestram confraternitatem .¹

The monastery is the basis of a society. What is a society? It is an assembly of men whose wills conspire towards a determined end, under a recognised authority. In order to form a society it is not enough for men to be materially united, for example like a crowd of curious people grouped together in a public place : that would be simply an acciden¬ tal conglomeration without consistency ; men must have an identical aim to which all tend by common consent : this aim gives to the society its direction and specification. But as men are unstable, as discussions often arise among them, and as individual liberty has to be directed, it is especially necessary for the constituting and functioning of a society that there should be an authority maintaining the union of the members in pursuit of the social ends and keeping them united as to the means.

We at once see the importance of this latter element : without one supreme authority recognised as incontestable by all, any society, however nobly inspired we might otherwise suppose it to be, is fatally condemned to dissensions and ruin : “ Every kingdom divided against itself, " Christ has said, “ shall be brought to desolation ” : Regnum in seipsum divisum desolabitur. St. Benedict remarks this in one of his chapters, and we shall nowhere else see the Lawgiver of monks express himself with such warmth : he declares as “ absurd 6 ” the existence of an authority that would be, in any degree, independent, and consequently a rival of the supreme authority ; he heaps up terms depicting the disastrous consequences that would ensue. Dissensions inevitably follow disunion, and from these dissensions “ souls are endangered... and run to destruction ” : Necesse est sub hac dissensione animas fiericlitari... eunt in perditionem 1.²

I have pointed out the primal object that St. Benedict wishes us to pursue, namely, to seek God, to return to Him : Ut ad Eum redeas 8; I have shown how the great means that he places in our hands is courageously to follow Christ the true King; Domino Christo veto Regi militaturus 4. By its end, as well as by the means employed to attain this end, the monastery forms a supernatural society. But before studying the monastery from the cenobitical point of view, it is necessary first of all carefully to analyse the authority which is its mainstay : this authority is concentrated in the hands of the Abbot.

There is a striking analogy between the Church and the monastery, both envisaged as societies. Christ founded a society to continue among men His mission of redemption and sanctification. Now what means did He, Infinite Wisdom, take in order to constitute His society ? It is remarkable that the first time Christ speaks of His Church it is to indicate its foundation. Christ, the wise Architect 5, first of all lays the foundation ; this foundation is Peter. Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificaho Ecclesiam meam 6. Authority being once established, the rest is regulated without difficulty.

The great Patriarch, whose Roman genius and Christian spirit appear so clearly in the Rule, uses no other logic. After a preliminary chapter where he sets aside the different forms of religious life in order to retain only the cenobitical form, he at once and before all speaks of the Abbot ; Qualis debeat esse abbas 7. And tnis Abbot he defines frpm the opening of the chapter as the head of the monastery : A.hbas qui praeesse dignus est monasterio... St. Benedict, in this, imitates Our Lord. He first and foremost lays the foundation, the corner stone, upon which the edifice is to rest, and he devotes one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful chapter of his Rule, to detailing the qualities and mission of the head of the monastery.

Let us then say a few words as to the ideal that the great Patriarch forms of the head of the monastery : in this he has certainly traced — unknown to his humility, be it under¬ stood ! — his own portrait, for in St. Gregory’s words “ he did not ordain otherwise than he lived. "

The Abbot will appear to us, after the example of Christ³

Whom he represents, as Pastor, and as Pontiff ; we shall next see how he is to show forth his discretion and thus imitate the loving kindness of the supreme Pastor ; from these considerations will quite naturally follow the monk’s attitude towards the Abbot, an attitude which is summed up in love, docility of spirit and obedience of action.

I

If we want to understand the ideal that the lawgiver of monks forms of the head of the monastery, it is not enough to study the two chapters of the Rule treating ex professo of the Abbot 1 ; we must know the mind and spirit of the great Patriarch, such as they appear in the Rule taken as a whole, and in its thousand details, as well as in St. Benedict’s life itself. For our Blessed Father cannot propose to the Abbot any other ideal than that which he himself contem¬ plates in prayer, the principles of which he explains in his monastic code, and accomplishes in his own government.

According to his custom, St. Benedict begins by laying down a supreme principle whence he deducts all his teaching, and that gives unity, cohesion and supernatural fecundity to the whole ordering of the society which he intends to found.

This principle is thus announced: Abbas... Christi agere vices in monasterio creditur 2. " The Abbot is believed to hold the place of Christ in the monastery. ” In this axiom is condensed the whole synthesis of the chapter of the Rule concerning the Abbot ; all the remainder is but development and application. Thus St. Benedict wishes the Abbot to be penetrated with this fundamental thought and to adapt himself to it in order to find the norm of his conduct and the rule of his life. “ Let the Abbot, since he is considered to represent the person of Christ, be called Lord and Father... out of reverence and love for Christ. Let him be mindful of this and show himself to be worthy of such an honour ” : Abbas quia vices Christi agere videtur, Domnus et Abbas vocetur... honor e et amore Christi. Ipse autem cogitet, et sic se exhibcat ut dignus sit tali honor e. In the mind of St. Benedict, the Abbot represents Cnrist in the midst of his i. S* Benedict devotes two chapters to the Abbot : in ch. 11 he describes the qualities that the head of the monastery ought to possess ; in the ch. lxiv (to be found in that section of the Rule concerning the order to be observed in the difierent elements of the monastic city) he first shows the mode of procedure to be followed in the election of the Abbot, and completes the advice given in Chapter n. Let us add that, in the course of the Rule, the great Patriarch constantly mentions the abbatial power. — 2. Rule, ch. 11. — 3. Ibid. ch. lx hi. monks; he ought therefore, in the measure possible to human frailty, to reproduce in his life and in his government the person and actions of Christ Jesus.

Now in the Church which is His Kingdom, His " family ” (that is the idea of St. Paul) \ Christ appears as Pastor, and as Pontiff.

The Apostle tells us that Christ, as Man, did not arrogate to Himself the honour of the Priesthood, but that He was called to this dignity by the Father. It is the same as regards Christ’s office of Pastor. God proclaims by His pro¬ phet Ezechiel that He will set up one Shepherd Who shall lead His flock : Sascitabo super eas Pastorem unwn qui pascat eas... et ipse erit eis in Pastorem 3. Jesus Himself declares that He is this Shepherd. In sublime words addressed to His Father at the Last Supper, He confesses that it is from His Father that He has received the guardianship of souls : T ui erant, et mihi eos dedisti *, “Thine they were; and to Me Thou gavest them. ”

This twofold office has conferred upon Jesus the fulness of all power ; Data est miki omnis potestas 6. He wills to share this power with certain men, whom He chooses, according to the designs of His eternal providence, to co-operate with Him in the charge and sanctification of souls, and to whom He distributes the measure of His gifts ; Secundum, mensuram donationis Christi 6. St. Paul writes that Christ appointed some as apostles, others as pastors, for the edifying of the Mystical Body.

It is a like mission that the Abbot has to fulfil : it is this twofold ideal he must strive to attain. Called to receive a participation in the dignity, office and grace of the universal Pontiff and supreme Pastor, the Abbot will find his greatness, his perfection and joy in the care wherewith he acquits him¬ self of this supernatural commission.

This is why St. Benedict encompasses the appointment of the Abbot with all that can guarantee the authenticity of the Divine call, in the first place as concerns the election itself. This election is to be made “ in the fear of God 7 ; ” it is an election that must be ratified by the supreme power, in the person of the Sovereign Pontiff, in order that he who is elected may be legitimately invested with the authority of the head of the monastery. St. Benedict likewise specifies the conditions as to aptitude for the office which the future Abbot must satisfy, and explains to the electors the qualities that they must look for in their head ; then he sets before the Abbotelect the principles he should follow in his government and the spirit that should inspire, him in the guidance of souls K⁴

From St. Benedict’s point of view the Abbot then appears first of all as pastor. The ideal corresponding to this word is one particularly dear to St. Benedict, familiarised as he is with Holy Writi. 2. It is to be remarked how often the terms “ pastor, ” “ flock, ” “ sheep ”, occur under his pen when he wishes to characterise the relations of the Abbot with the other members of the monastic society. “ Let him imitate the loving example of the Good Shepherd, ” Pastoris boni pium imitetur exemplum 4 *. It is the shepherd’s first duty to feed his flock : Nonne greges a pastoribus pascuntur 6. - And what is the food that he must give them ? God answers us by the mouth of the prophet : “ They shall feed you with knowledge and doctrine ”, Et pascent vos scientia et doctrina 6. Christ Jesus Himself declares: “Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God 7. ”

This is why St. Benedict so insistently requires of the Abbot the perfection of doctrine and the knowledge of the Divine law : Ergo cum aliquis suscipit nomen abbatis, duplici debet doctrina suis praeesse discipulis... oportet ergo eum esse doctum in lege divina.

The great Patriarch does not here mean the theoretic knowledge of philosophy and theology. A man may possess all the treasures of human knowledge, even in theological matters, and yet produce no fruit for souls. Hear how St. Paul insists on this subject : “ If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries and all knowledge... and have not charity, I am nothing ” : Si noverim mystcria omnia, et omnem scientiam... factus sum velut aes sonans aul cymbalum tinniens 9. He speaks elsewhere of those who spend their lives in learning without ever arriving at the profitable knowledge of the truth : Semper discentes, et nunquam ad scientiam veritatis pervenientes.

The knowledge of which Sl Benedict speaks and that he requires of the Abbot is a knowledge of God and holy things, i. Rule.ch.Lxiv. — 2. This image is frequent, especially in the Old Testament,

Israel having led the pastoral life. — 3. Rule, ch. xxvn and xxvm. — 4.

Ibid. ch. xxvii. — 5. Ezech. xxxiv, 2. — 6. Jerem. 111, 15. — 7. Matth. iv,

4, Luc. iv, 4. — 8. Rule, ch. 11 and lxiv. — 9. I Cor. xm, 1-2. — 10. II Tim. in, 7. obtained from the Scriptures, a knowledge enlightened by the rays of the Eternal Word and fructified by the Holy Spirit. Tnis Spirit tells us that the wisdom ot the Saints is true prudence: Scientia sanctorum prudentia. It is therefore a question here of a knowledge of holiness, gamed in prayer, assimilated and lived by the one who is to transmit it to souls. Such is the “ wisdom of doctrine, ” sapientia doctrina 2, wherein the Abbot ought to excel ; such is the treasury of knowledge whence he should unceasingly find the traditional maxims and also new lights for the directing of those who are at “ the school of the Lord's service 3 " : Ut sciat unde proferat nova et vetera 4. In the ritual for the blessing of the Abbot, the Church implores for him from God the thesaurum sapientiae ut sciat et habeat unde nova et vetera proferat.

In this as in all things, Christ, “ the Wisdom of God ”, Sapientia Dei, remains the Model. “ I am the Truth, ” Jesus has said. He came into this world to render testimony to the truth.

The Abbot is to remember that he has received a participa¬ tion in the dignity and mission of the Prince of Pastors ; he is to strive ever to contemplate in prayer the Divine law brought by Christ, and to be united with Him by faith. Then only will he be in his turn a beacon-light of truth enlightening the hearts of his monks with the pure rays of heavenly doctrine. For, to use another metaphor, his great duty is to infuse this divine truth into the minds of his disciples like the leaven which is to permeate every action : Ejus doctrina fermentum divinae justitiae in disci pulorum mentibus consper gatur 5.

Hence the necessity of perfect orthodoxy in the doctrine taught. Christ, in making Peter the shepherd of the sheep and lambs, gave him the privilege of never erring in the faith ; this privilege is not granted to the Abbot, hence the necessity of his taking constant care to assure the perfect orthodoxy and purity of his doctrine, not only that he may feed his flock, but also defend it against enemies who would give poisoned food to the sheep. The Abbot must be ever vigilant lest error or dangerous opinions find their way into the sheepfold. If St. Benedict so emphatically requires that the Abbot be learned in the law of God, ” doctum in lege divina 6, it is in order that he may discern errors and pitilessly condemn them. Listen to the grave warning wherewith the holy Patriarch shows how great is the responsibility that lX’ IO- ~ 2- ch- LXIV- — 3- Prologue.— 4. Rule, ch. lxiv ; cf. Matth. xiii, 52. — 5. Ibid. ch. 11. — 6. Ibid. ch. lxiv. lies with the head of the monastery : “ The Abbot ought not (God forbid !) to teach, or ordain, or command anything contrary to the ljiw^of the Lord. Let the Abbot be ever mindful that at* the dreadful judgment of God, an account will have to be given both of his own teaching and of the obedience of his disciples. And let him know that to the fault of the shepherd shall be imputed any detriment, how¬ ever small it be, which the Father of the household may find that His sheep have suffered...1” For the reading before Compline the Abbot must allow only the canonical Scriptures or the writings of the Fathers who are acknowledged as orthodox and “ Catholic. 2 " In the divine worship he is to be inspired by the traditions of the Roman Church, Sicut psallit Ecclesia romana.

You see the constant solicitude that appears throughout the Rule ; as shepherd, the Abbot is to keep in continual contact with Him in Whose place he stands so as to guide the flock, entrusted to his care, into fertile pastures “ even to the mountain of God ” : Usque ad montem Dei*.

This is a redoubtable responsibility upon which St. Bene¬ dict, in several passages, insists with more than ordinary force. Let the Abbot, he says, hold it of indubitable truth that it is not only for his own soul, but for the souls of all his disciples that he will have to give a strict account on the Judgment Day. This wholesome fear of God's inevitable judgments, adds the holy Lawgiver, will make the Abbot attentive, and in the care he must take in directing Christ’s sheep, he will find the occasion of keeping himself pure and stainless in God's sight.

It is on this condition alone that St. Benedict guarantees to him that heavenly bliss promised by God to the faithful steward who in due season distributes to his fellow servants the bread of revealed doctrine, the wheat of divine wisdom : Dum bene minisiravit, audiat a Domino quod servus bonus, qui erogavit triiicum conservis suis in tempore suo: amen dico vo bis, ait, super omnia bona constituet eum 6.

II

To the ideal frequently evoked in the Rule by the word pastor, the Church, in her ceremonial for the blessing of the Abbot, joins that of pontiff.

By the formulas of her- invocations, her rites, the exterior insignia wherewith she invests tb£ one elected, the Bride of Christ signifies in the eyes of all, the quality of pontiff which she attaches to the function of the head of the monastery blessed by her.⁵

In this again, the Abbot represents Christ ; he is to seek, in the measure of his weakness, to attain this lofty ideal by the holiness of his life. This is what St. Benedict requires of him ; at the same time as “ the wisdom of doctrine, ” the abbot is to possess moral merit : vitae meritum K

Personal holiness is indeed necessary to a Pontiff. Every high priest, says St. Paul, is an intermediary between God and man; it is through him that the people's petitions are offered to God, and that God’s gifts are communicated to souls. He cannot draw near to God and effectually plead the cause of the people unless he is, by reason of his purity, pleasing to God.

Chrfet, called by the Father to be the unique High Priest, by His own right, is “ holy, innocent, unde filed, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens 3 ” being the very Son of God, He is the object of God’s delight. This is why He can efficaciously plead our cause. To the grace of personal holiness is added, in Jesus, the gratia capitis, which makes of Him “ our Head ” an all-powerful Mediator, Whose life and sanctity are communicated to His whole Mystical Body. Each action of Jesus is at once a homage of supreme love for His Father and a source of grace for mankind.

As far as human frailty allows, something analogous ought to be the case with the head of the monastery. As soon as the Abbot is canonically appointed, the Church beseeches God to communicate to him “ the spirit of the grace of salvation ; ” she prays that it may please God to pour upon him the dew of abundant blessings. " The Bishop, extending his hands over the head of the one elected, prays that he who is made Abbot by the laying on of hands may ever be “ the Lord's elect, worthy of being sanctified by Him. ”

From this moment, the Abbot has to endeavour to live and to become holy, no longer for himself alone, but for his brethren. He should be able to say, like the Supreme High Priest, Whose ‘legitimate representative he henceforward is ;

For them do I sanctify myself " ; Et ego pro eis sanctifico meipsum 4. As well as glorifying God by his personal perfection, he has, after the abbatial blessing of the Church, to procure God's glory by the holiness and fruitfulness of souls confided to him, “ that the people who serve the Lord may increase in merit and in number ” : Et merito et numero populus tlbi serviens augeatur.⁶

Each degree of the union of his soul with God, each step that he takes in the path of holiness, will render him more powerful with God, more fruitful in his supernatural action on minds and hearts.

This it is that gives such vast importance to the personal holiness that St. Benedict requires of the Abbot.

The Abbot is constantly to remember, says St. Benedict, that he has to bring souls to God. Now in a supernatural society, the head is to be the pattern of his flock : Forma gregis ex animo 3.

It is incontestable that the Abbot leaves his own impression on the monastery, and casts upon it his own reflection. It is exact to say : as the Abbot, so is the monastery. If you read monastic history, you will see how this truth is verified. The first Abbots of Cluny : Odo, Odilo, Majolus, Hugh, are four great admirable Saints whom the Church has placed on her altars. Such glory did their holiness shed on the celebrated Abbey that it was called “ the court of Angels ” : Deambulator turn angelorum 4. And as each one of them had a long reign, the history of the two first centuries of Cluny reads like a fairy tale of holiness. After them came an Abbot who was far from possessing the holiness of his predecessors; Cluny visibly fell away from the path of perfection ; to bring it back, the efforts of a new Saint, Peter the Venerable, were needed.

This example among a thousand others proves that the Abbot is truly the living Rule, fashioning to his own image the monastery that he governs.

Again personal holiness is necessary to the Abbot in order that he may be enabled to fulfil his office of mediator. St. Gregory says somewhere in his writings that if an am¬ bassador is not persona grata with the sovereign to whom he is sent, far from promoting the cause he is charged to plead, he risks compromising it. He says further that the pontiff cannot effectually intercede for his flock unless he is, by the sanctity of his life, a familiar friend of God. It is not sufficient, therefore, that a conduct pure and beyond reproach should be required from the Abbot so that he may, i. Collect super populum for Tuesday in Passion Week. — 2. Rule, ch. n. — 3. I Petr, v, 3. — 4. Vita S. Hugon. aucl. Hildeberto, Migne, P. L. t. 159, 885. — 5. Qua mente apud Deum intercession is locum pro populo arripit qut familiar em se ejus gratiae esse per vitae meritum nescit ? Reg. Past. 1, 10. Lex levitarum by Bishop Hedley. Under the pen of the great Pope are to be remarked the terms vitae meritum employed by S* Benedict.

5o by his example, draw his sons after him in the way of holi¬ ness ; he must be conspicuous for “ the merit of his life ”, vitae meritum, in order the more effectually to plead the cause of his flock with God. We here touch on the highest condition of vital radiation that the head can exert on the members of the monastic society. Do we not often see, in the Old Testament, the heads of Israel, such as Moses, obtain Divine favours for the people because they were, by their holiness, the friends of God ?

Was not Moses in this an anticipated figure of Christ, the one Mediator, Who was to appease the Father's justice, restore the heritage to us, and bring us all' heavenly gifts ? But why did our Divine Pontiff say that He was always heard by the Father, if not because being “ holy, innocent, undefiled... and made higher than the heavens, ” He is, essentially, “ the Son of His love ? ”

If then the Abbot wishes to fulfil worthily his mission of head of the monastic society, he must strive unceasingly to remain united to the Godhead. In Christ Jesus, the Human¬ ity was united hypos tatically to the Divine Word, and, through this union, obtained floods of graces which overflow¬ ed from the Sacred Humanity upon souls. By analogy, in the measure which his lowly condition as man permits, the Abbot should live united to the Word that he may draw from His “ treasures of wisdom and knowledge " the graces he is to shed upon his flock.

He will only attain to this fruitful union by a life of prayer. Like Moses upon the mountain, he must remain on terms of familiarity with God, that he may be able to communicate to his brethren the Lord’s commandments, and the lights received in assiduous intercourse with the Father of Lights from Whom comes down “ every perfect gift 4. ”

III

We shall have but an imperfect idea of the mission that St. Benedict assigns to the Abbot if we do not bring forward two dominant qualities which the Lawgiver of monks em¬ phatically declares to be necessary to him. These are discre¬ tion and kindness.

Discretion is one of the characteristics of St. Benedict's Rule, as St. Gregory remarks in contrasting it with the other ascetical Rules of Christian antiquity. But this quality shines out especially in the chapter concerning the Abbot. In the guidance of souls, St. Benedict wills the Abbot to exercise discretion “ the mother of virtues 1. " What are we to understand by discretion ?⁷

It is the supernatural art of discerning and measuring all things in view of the end ; of adapting every means, each according to its nature and circumstances, to the obtaining of the end. This end is to bring souls to God : Ut animae salventur. And to bring them in such a manner that the monks may fulfil their task willingly. Therefore, says the holy Legislator, the Abbot must “ well temper all things ” : Omnia temper et 3 ; and explaining his thought more fully, he summarises from this point of view, the work of the Abbot in a very precise and significant formula : He is “ to accom¬ modate himself to the diversity of characters ” : Multorum servire moribus 4.

Such is the golden Rule laid down for the practical conduct of the Abbot towards his brethren ; such is the noble device which, if well observed, will make him successful in the delicate and arduous art — St. Gregory calls it “ the art of arts 5 " — of ruling souls : Set at quam difficilem et arduam rem suscipit regere animas 6.

In this domain, St. Benedict requires of the Abbot a combination of contrasting qualities : strength linked with gentleness, authority tempered by love. See with what perfect tact he selects the terms designed to characterise the exercise of the aforesaid virtue of discretion. He wishes the Abbot to be zealous without anxiety, prudent without timidity 7, ever seeking “ the Kingdom of God and His justice,8” and yet in nowise neglecting the material care of the monastery which he has to administer wisely, with prudence and justice; “loving the brethren but hating sin 10 ; ” using prudence even in correction for fear lest “ in seeking too eagerly to scrape off the rust, the vessel be bro¬ ken 11 the Abbot is to vary his conduct with great pliability, according to the circumstances and dispositions of each : one is of an open character, another is reserved ; in one the intellect predominates, in another sensibility ; here he finds docility, there self-will ; he must adapt himself to every temperament : Miscens temporibus tempora terroribus blandimenta 12 ; showing the severity of a master to the disobedient disciple : Dirum magistri ; to the upright soul seeking God, the tenderness of a father : Pium patris ostendat affectum *. To the well-endowed souls, eager to find God, it suffices for the Abbot to set before them the heavenly doctrine : Capacibus discipulis mandata Domini verbis proponat; to those of simpler minds or of a more difficult temperament, the pastor will point out the way by his own example : Duris vero corde et simpllcioribus factts suis divina praecepta demonstret. One he must win by kindness, another by reproofs, yet another by persuasion and force of reasoning : Et alium quidem blandimentis, alium vero increpationibus, alium suasionibus. It is only at this price that “ far from having to suffer any detriment in the flock committed to his care he will be able to rejoice in its increase in goodness. ”⁸

In summing up this magnificent teaching on discretion, the holy Lawgiver gives us finally this lapidary formula dictated by his great experience of souls and his distinctly Roman genius, so skilful in the management of men : “ Let the Abbot so temper all things that strong souls may give rein to their holy ambition, and the weak need not be discouraged " : Sic omnia temper et ut sit et fortes quod cupiant et infirmi non refugiant 6.

IV

Is discretion the sole dominant virtue that St. Benedict requires of the Abbot ? No, he furthermore wishes him to add love thereto ; or rather it is to be the love of souls which will make his supernatural tact more delicate. It is because he loves souls well and individually that he will have it at heart to bring them to Christ, according to their talents and aptitudes, their weaknesses, needs and aspirations.

Let us raise our gaze for an instant towards the Adorable Trinity. There we contemplate the Word Who, with the Father, is the principle of the Spirit of Love : V erbum spirans Amorem. Christ, the Word Incarnate, has become the Good Shepherd Who gives His life for His sheep 6 and thereby gives testimony to the greatest love of all : Major em hac dilectionem nemo habet\ And St. Paul explicitly tells us that Christ took upon Himself in His Human Nature all our infirmities, sin excepted, in order to become a compassionate High Priest Who knows how to be merciful to human weakness : ut misericors fieret 8.

St. Benedict, so full of the spirit of the Gospel, lets this

}' 2> 3 and 4. Rule, ch. 11. — 5. Ibid. ch. lxiv. — 6. Joan, x, 11 and 15. — 7. Ibid, xv, 13. — 8. Hebr. n, 17. spirit of mercy abound throughout his Rule. See with what goodness he will have the Abbot or the officials who replace him, treat children, old men, the brothers in delicate health 8, pilgrims , the poor 5 ; what humanity full of noble delicacy he shows to guests and strangers 6; what attentive solicitude he requires towards the sick 7 : how the chapters he consecrates to Christ’s suffering members reveal the great Patriarch’s tenderness !

But it is especially in the chapter on the Abbot that St. Benedict gives a precept of love to the Father of the monastery : Dili gat fratres 8. The Abbot is to love the monks, and love them deeply, with equal love for all : Non unus plus ametur quam alius 9, because, adds St. Benedict, “ we are all one in Christ ; and in Christ there is neither bond nor free ; ” for all are called to the same grace of adoption, and to be partakers of the same heavenly inheritance.

However, in the same way as God looks with more com¬ placency on those who most bear in themselves the features of His Son Jesus — since that is the ideal of our predestina¬ tion — so the Abbot may evince more love towards those who most nearly approach this Divine Model by their good deeds and obedience : Nisi quern in bonis actibus aut obedientia invenerit meliorem.

St. Benedict insists much on this love that the Abbot ought to have for his sons. He wishes the Abbot “ to study to be loved rather than feared : ” that is to say his government ought to be free from any tyranny, Studeat plus amari quam timerin. And this love of the Abbot for his monks ought to go to the utmost extent. Read the chapter where St. Bene¬ dict sets forth in detail the solicitude that the Abbot should show to those who fall into any fault : Omni sollicitudine curam gerat abbas circa delinquentes fratres. And the Legislator of monks recalls the example of the Good Shepherd Who leaves the ninety nine faithful sheep to go after the one that is lost.

This kindness is in nowise to degenerate into culpable weakness. Look at Jesus Christ. Full as He is of love and pity for souls, He is equally full of hatred for evil. He forgives Magdalen, and the woman taken in adultery ; He bears, with how much goodness ! the shortcomings of His disciples ; but what severity he shows to vice, above all to Pharisaical pride !

So the Abbot, holding the place of Christ, ought to strive.⁹

— however " difficult and arduous the task ” : difficilcm et arcluam rem — to imitate in this, the Divine Model : “ Let him love the brethren but hate vice " : Dili gat fratres, oderit vitia. If a monk has to be corrected in anything, the Abbot should rebuke him with great charity and fatherly love. It is certain that a too severe Superior can do much harm to souls ; it is no less true that fervour will suffer in a monastery where an easy-going Abbot does not correct faults, and never refuses anything to anyone. However, in all this matter, it is charity that must be the motive power of his conduct. It may happen that during a long time a monk does not give what is rightly to be expected of him. What is to be done in this case ? Is the Abbot to cease to concern himself about this soul ? On the contrary, he will with great patience await the hour of grace. He will remember too that all souls are not called to the same degree of perfection, and he will show more indulgence towards those whose ascent is slower and more painful.

But what is the Abbot to do when he has to deal with one who has a truly bad spirit ? St. Benedict wishes him to use severity, “ the sword of separation ” : f err uni abscissionis, “ lest ” he says, “ one diseased sheep should infect the whole flock. " However, as long as he does not meet with incorrigible obstinacy, the Abbot is to “ abound in mercy, ” after Jesus Christ’s example : Superexaltet misericordiam judicio, so that, as Christ has promised in the Beatitudes, he may benefit by a like indulgence, Ut idem ipse consequatur 2 , for " he ought ever to remember his own frailty ” : suamque fragilitatem semper suspectus sit.

The beautiful words uttered bj' the Patriarch in reference to the administration of the cellarer are first to be verified in the government of the Abbot : “ Let no one in the mo¬ nastery, which is " the house, ” “ the family, " of God, be troubled or grieved ” : Ut nemo perturbetur neque contristetur in domo Dei 4. In simple and upright hearts, sincerely seeking God and living by His grace, joy should superabound, and, with joy, “ the peace that passeth all understanding. 6 ”

V

We have seen that at the very beginning of the chapter concerning the Abbot, St. Benedict lays down this fundamen¬ tal principle : in the monastery the Abbot holds the place of Christ; this we must believe : Abbas Christi agere vices in monasterio creditur. This principle may also serve cor¬ rectively to characterise the attitude of monks faithful to their vocation.¹⁰

This is a thought of capital importance to us, because the monastery constitutes a supernatural society where we live by faith : Justus metis ex fide vivit. Notice the word cre¬ ditur. It is an eminent act of faith that is to illumine all our conduct and make all our deeds fruitful. Either you believe or you believe not. If you do not believe with a firm faith, then you will, little by little, insensibly but infallibly, end by detaching yourself from the Superior, from his person and his teaching. But at the same time, and to the same extent you will separate yourself from the principle of grace, for we must know, says St. Benedict, that it is by this path of obedience that we come to God : Scientes se per hanc obedientiae viam ituros ad Deum 2.

If you believe that the Abbot represents Christ, your attitude towards him will be ruled by this belief. This attitude will be composed of love, docility of mind, obedience of action.

The Abbot, as the name which St. Benedict wishes to retain for him, itself denotes, is “Father”: Abba Pater. And the holy Lawgiver requires that his monks shall have “ a sincere and humble affection for their Abbot " : Abbatem suum sincera et humili caritate diligant 3.

It is in nowise requisite to have a sensible love or one of enthusiasm ; it would be childishness to claim this ; but it must be a supernatural love given to God, Who is seen by faith in the person of the head of the monastery.

St. Benedict wishes that this love be “ sincere and humble, ” sincere because humble. The whole list of qualities that he requires in the Abbot is so complete and so remarkable, that it is almost impossible to find it perfectly realised in one man. Few Superiors combine in themselves that har¬ monious sum of diverse perfections which the great Patriarch has gathered together in one full sheaf. The Abbot has certainly graces of state, but these do not essentially modify his nature ; and every man, with the best will in the world remains inferior to his ideal.

What are we then to do in presence of the deficiencies, failings and imperfections which may be discovered in the

1. Hebr. x, 38. — 2. Rule, ch. lxxi. S* Benedict uses these words in refe¬ rence to the obedience that the brethren are to have one to the other. But this mutual obedience supposes obedience to the Superior, and what is said of the spiritual fruits of the first applies a fortiori to the latter, — 3, Rule, ch. LXX1I.

Abbot, our Abbot, says St. Benedict, he who, for us, represents Christ ? Are we going to bring up these shortcomings, analyse or discuss them with others in order to criticise or censure them ? Such a way of acting would destroy the spirit of faith, and be far from that “ humble and sincere affection ”, sincera et humili caritate, desired by the holy Legislator. Nothing would do more harm to a soul because nothing is more contrary to the letter and spirit of our religious profession.

Let us know how to abstain with the greatest care from these criticisms and recriminations. And if a brother should come to us to complain of the Superior in a critical spirit, the greatest charity we could show him would be to recall to him his Profession and bring him back to the spirit of generous donation and humble submission vowed on that day. Let us throw a cloak of love over the imperfections of the Superior, following the example of two of Noe’s sons : far from imitating their brother in his mockeries, they covered their father’s nakedness with a mantle. You know how they were blessed for doing so, and what a curse the unhappy Cham brought upon himself x. All the murmurings and criticisms, not to speak of railleries, against the Superior do nothing to change the situation that one may think blameworthy or open to disapproval ; they often only embitter it, casting trouble into souls, and thereby depriving them of peace and joy and diminishing their intimate union with God : such things draw down upon those who thus separate themselves from the Superior, the malediction fallen upon Cham.

It is a like chastisement that St. Benedict himself, full as he is of compassionate loving kindness, calls down upon the turbulent and disobedient who, despising or making light of the advice given to them, still rebel against their Pastor’s care : death itself, having the last word, shall be their punishment : Paena sit eis praevalens ipsa mors 2.

Do we not find the equivalent of a malediction in the grave words one day addressed by Our Lord Himself to St. Margaret Mary on this subject ? We cannot read them without trembling. Listen attentively to these words falling from the lips of Truth itself : “ All religious who are not united to their Superiors may look upon themselves as vessels of reprobation — in which good liquors are corrupted ; on whose souls the shining of the Divine Sun of Justice has but the same effect as the sun shining on the slime of the earth. These souls are so far removed from My Heart that the more they strive to approach me by means of the Sacraments, prayer and other pious exercises, the further I withdraw Myself in horror from them. They will go from one hell to another, for it is this disunion which has been the loss of so many, and which will be the ruin of so many yet to come, because every Superior, whether he be good or bad holds My place. That is why the inferior, thinking to harm the Superior, inflicts so many, and such mortal wounds on his own soul. After all, it is in vain for him to sigh at the gates of mercy — he will not be heard if I do not hear the voice of the Superior. ”¹¹

VI

This humble and sincere love for the Abbot is to be mani¬ fested by a great docility of mind to his teaching and a generous obedience to his commands. Here again faith is the true light.

God, Who does all things with wisdom, adapts His action to our nature. He speaks to the intellect in order to touch the will, light becomes the source of action. Therefore, says the Apostle, “It pleased God, by the foolishness of our preach¬ ing, to save them that believe ” : placuit Deo per stultitiam praedicationis salvos facer e credentes 1. This good pleasure of God, like all His ways, is adorable. Remark that Christ did not ordain His Apostles to write, but to preach, and by this means, God has renewed the face of the earth. It is the Word Who sanctifies souls, but to reach them He took a human and tangible form. This same Word likewise takes a sensible form by preaching. While the word from the lips of men strikes the bodily ears, the internal Word reaches the mind and is instilled sweetly and mightily into the will : Fides ex auditu 2.

But, continues the Apostle, how are men to believe unless preachers are sent ? Quomodo credent nisi mittantur? Christ has provided for that : “ Behold I send you... Go preach to every creature ” : Ecce mitto vos: ite, praedicate Evangelium omni creaturae 4. And those sent by Christ do not speak in their own name but in His : “ He that heareth you heareth Me ; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me ” : Qui vos audit me audit, qui vos spernit me spernit 5. God exhorts through these ambassadors of Christ : Pro i. I Cor. I, 21. — 2. Rom. x, 17. — 3. Ibid. — 4. Luc. x, 3 ; Marc, xvi, 15.¹²

Christo legatione fungimur tamquam Deo exhortante per nos. Hence the word they speak is not “ as the word of men, but (as it is indeed) the word of God. ” For do you not know, says St. Paul again, it is " Christ that speaketh in me ” : In me loquitur Christus 3 ?

Thus the obligation that all lawful pastors have of dis¬ tributing the bread of doctrine to their flock cannot suffer dispensation. This obligation reaches the Abbot who, as we have seen, according to the will of St. Benedict, and in virtue of his appointment, is missus, that is to say established by the Church over a portion of Christ’s flock.

But the word of the Abbot, like that of each one sent by Christ, like that of Christ Himself, does not always produce the same effects. What was said of the Humanity of Jesus, namely, that it was “ set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many ” : Ecce positus est hie in ruinam et in resurrectionem multorum 4, is true of every evangelical word. It is a seed of life, fyit it only bears fruit, as the Word declares, in well disposed hearts 6. Christ is the Son of God, Eternal Wisdom ; all His teaching, full of the unction of the Holy Ghost, is, as He Himself declares, “ spirit and life 6. ” And yet during the years of His ministry what did those men say who listened to Him while their, hearts were not right with God, those who tried to entrap Him in His speech ? “ This saying is hard ; and who can hear it ? ” Durus est hie sermo, et quis potest eum audire ? Were these hearers, these disciples, lacking in intelligence ? No, but their hearts resisted. And the result of this inward attitude was that they left Jesus to their own great loss “ and walked no more with Him " : Et jam non cum illo amhulabant 8. Consider the behaviour of the Apostles under these same circumstances. They hear the same Jesus pronounce the same words, but, for these simple upright hearts, they are the words of salvation : “Will you also go away ? ” asks the Master. And they answer : “ Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life 9. ” Whence arises the difference be¬ tween these two groups of souls ? From the dispositions of the heart.

There is an important word at the beginning of the Pro¬ logue. The great Patriarch invites us to receive his teaching “ with joy ”, libenter, and teils us to incline the ear of our heart towards his word that we may the better put it into practice. Inclina anrem cordis tui 1. If the mind alone hears without the heart’s co-operation, God’s word does not bring forth all its fruit. If you do not listen to the word of him, who holds the place of Christ towards you, with faith, humility and in a childlike spirit, as St. Benedict desires ( admonitionem patris) 2, but in a spirit of ciiticism or simply with a closed heart, this word, even if it came from a saint, would remain barren and might even be hurtful 3. And on the day of judgment w’e shall be asked to give an account of all the teachings by which we have not chosen to profit. Therefore the Psalmist exclaims : “ Today if you shall hear [the Lord’s] voice, harden not your hearts ” : Hodie si vocem eius audieritis, nolite obdurare CORDA vestra 4. And how do we harden our hearts ? By pride of spirit.¹³

“ Yea rather, Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it, ” even when they are, or think themselves, more learned than the one who speaks : Beati qui audiunt verbum Dei. Receiving this word (it is still the same idea) with “ a good and perfect heart ” : corde bono et optimo, they will bring forth at the heavenly harvest that “ hundredfold ” that “ very much fruit ” which alone rejoices our Heavenly Father because in this is He glorified : In hoc clarificatus est Pater meus, ut fructum plurimum afferatis 6.

VII

To docility of mind, St. Benedict wishes the monk to ojin obedience of action and “ for the love of God to submit himself to his superior in all obedience ” : Pro Dei amore omni obedientia se subdat majori 7. But as the great Patriarch devotes a special and important chapter to this virtue, we will treat of it further on. What is to be noted here is a twofold aspect very characteristic of St. Benedict’s teaching. On the one hand there is a rare width of view in the material organisation of the monastic life ; on the other hand, an almost boundless fidelity to the least details of the observance, when once established by authority, is required.

Far removed from all parti-pris, from all formalism, the Lawgiver of monks leaves the regulation of many details, i. St Gregory likewise employs this expression more than once : Si ipse verba Dei audit qui ex Deo est, et audire verba ejus non potest quisquis de illo non est, interroget se unusquisque si verba Dei in aure cordis percipit ; et intelliget unde sit. Homilia 18 in Evang. — 2. Prologue of the Rule, — 3- S Paul speaks of the enlightening of the eyes of the heart as necessary for knowing the truth. (Eph. i, 18.) — 4. Ps. xciv, 8. — 5. Luc. xi, 28. — 6. Joan, xv, 8. — 7. Rule, ch. vii.

6o sometimes even points of consequence, to the Abbot's power of discretion. Thus in the matter of food, he refrains from fixing the quantity or quality with too much precision, for “ everyone has his proper gift from God 1 ” in what regards corporal necessities ; in case of illness or delicate health, he allows “ the use of meat, and more generally a moderate use of wine 3 ; when the labour of the monks is harder than usual, the Abbot has the faculty of increasing the customary portion”. St. Benedict leaves a like latitude in what concerns the quality of the clothing : the Abbot is to decide according to the requirements of the climate and other considerations 5. In the matter of penances and punishments for faults committed, much is left again to the Abbot’s judgment : Culparum modus in abbatis pendet ar bitrio 8 ; we find the same discretion, — and this seems astonishing — relatively to the distribution of psalms in the Divine Office : in proposing an order to be adopted in the psalmody, the holy Legislator adds that he does not wish to impose this order ; if any Abbot finds a better arrangement, he is free to adopt it 7.

The extent of the Abbot's authority is, in some ways, indefinite. All, from the prior and cellarer down to the last of the brethren, must submit to the decision of the Abbot ; In abbatis pendeat arbitrio, ut quod salubrius esse judicaverit, et cuncti obediant ; every action done knowingly without the Abbot’s authorisation is imputed to presumption and, however slight a matter it may be, its author will be subjected to a penance : V indictae regulari subjaceat qui praesumpserit... quippiam quamvis parvum sine abbatis jussione facer e. This entire submission naturally extends to the use of material objects : “ It is not licit to have anything whatsoever that the Abbot has not given, or authorised to receive ” : Nec quidquam liceat habere quod Abbas non dederit aut per miser it. St. Benedict goes still further; even the supererogatory acts of mortification that the monks wish to undertake are accounted by him presumption and vainglory, and as unworthy of reward, if the Abbot has not been consulted in this respect and if they have not had the blessing of his consent and of his prayers. “ Let everything then be done with the approval of the Abbot ” : Ergo cum voluntate abbatis omnia agenda sunt.

How are we to explain these apparently contradictory

Rule> ch- XL- — 2. Ibid. ch. xxxvi and xxxix. — 3. Ibid. ch. xl _ ±

Ibid. Ch xxxix. — 5. Ibid ch LV. — 6. Ibid. ch. XXIV. — 7. Ibid. ch. xvnt

8. Ibid. ch. hi. — 9. Ibid. ch. lxvii. — 10. Ibid. ch. xxxm. — u. Ibid ch. XLIX. attitudes ? How reconcile these extreme requirements with these broad views ? St. Benedict had too enlightened a mind to place monastic perfection in such or such a detail of the common life taken in itself : it would have been a Pharisaical tendency repugnant to his great soul. These details un¬ doubtedly have their importance, but they do not constitute the matter of perfection. The form of perfection is some¬ thing far higher. It is the absolute tradition of the monk to God’s Will by a loving and generous obedience. This is why St. Benedict shows himself so exacting once this Will is manifested, “ for the obedience which is given to supe¬ riors is given to God ” : Obedientia quae majoribus praebetur, Deo exhibetur. Therefore, he adds, “ Those who burn with love of eternal life... desire to have an Abbot over them. " Our holy Father St. Benedict does not say that they " sup¬ port ” the authority of the head of the monastery, but that they "desire” it : Abbatem sibi praeesse desiderant. So true is it that the holy Legislator sees in the obedience given through love the very path that leads us to God : Scientes se per hanc viam ituros ad Deum 3.

Ever faithful to his essentially Christian method, the great Patriarch places before the eyes of his sons the One Example of all perfection : Christ Jesus. By obedience to their Abbot, they will imitate Him Who said : “ I came not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me. ”

Never let us lose sight of this essential principle placed by St. Benedict at the very head of his Rule ; it perfectly synthetises our whole life ; it lights us all along our path like a luminous and kindly beacon. The Abbot holds the place of Christ. He is the head of the monastic society, the high priest and pastor. The monks should show him a humble and sincere affection, great docility of spirit and perfect obedience.

A Benedictine community animated by such sentiments becomes veritably the palace of the King, a Paradise where Justice and Peace give one another the kiss of union. From such souls who are “ truly seeking God ” goes up the inward, silent cry : " Father, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven ” : Pater, fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra ! By humble prayer, constant dependence on Eternal Wisdom, and close union with the Prince of Pastors, the Abbot will endeavour to know this Divine will and set it before his brethren ; it is for them to do it with generous obedience inspired by love.¹⁴

And when (again to take up St. Benedict’s words) 1, the Lord looks down to see if there be any who seek Him, He will find, in such a Community, hearts that are pleasing to Him because they imitate the Son of His love ; He will behold the realisation, as it were, of that ideal whereof He Himself speaks by His Spirit in the Scriptures : “ This is the genera¬ tion of them that seek Him, of them that seek the face of the God of Jacob ” : Haec est generatio quacrentium Euvn, quaerenthim faciem Dei Jacob.

Nothing more vividly translates all this admirable and fruit¬ ful supernatural doctrine than the conventual Mass celebrated by the Abbot surrounded by his sons. Vested in the insignia of his dignity, the head of the monastery offers the Sacred Victim to God, or rather, through his ministry, Christ, the Supreme High Priest and universal Mediator, offers Himself to the Father. The Abbot offers up to Heaven the homage, the vows, the very hearts of his monks, whence arises a perfume of sacrifice and of love, which the Father receives, through Christ, in the odour of sweetness : in odorem suavitatis 3.

In this solemn moment of the holy Oblation, when voices are blended in one and the same praise, hearts uplifted in the same spirit of adoration and love towards God, the Abbot worthy of the name can repeat the words uttered in the presence of His Disciples by the Divine Pastor, when He was about to give His life for His sheep : “ Father, Thine they were, and to me Thou gavest them... I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from evil... ” May they be one among themselves and with me, as Thy Son is One with Thee... may Thy love abide in them, and to all may it one day be given to contemplate the glory of Thy Christ, and to be partakers of Thy blessed fellowship with Thy beloved Son and the Holy Spirit. i. Prologue, — 2. Ps. xxiii, 6. — 3. Exod. xxix, 41.

Footnotes

1. 1. Riluale monasticum. — 2. Joan, vi, 44. — 3. Jerem. xxxi, 3. See also S* Paul, Tit. in, 5, 7. — 4. Matth. xix, 11.
   ↩
2. 1. Matth. xix, 21 ; Marc, x, 21 ; Luc. xviii, 22. — 2. Matth. xix, 17. — 3 Ibid. 20. — 4. Marc, x, 21. — 5. Luc. xi, 17 ; cf. Matth. xii, 25 ; Marc, m, 24. — 6. Rule, ch. lxv.
   ↩
3. 1. Rule, ch. lxv. — 2. Ibid. ch. lxviii. — 3. Prologue of the Rule. — 4. Ibid. — 5. Prov. ix, 1. — 6. Matth. xvi, 18. — 7. Rule, ch. 11. — 8. Dialog. lib. 11, c. xxxvi.
   ↩
4. 1. Ephes. ii, 19. — 2. Hebr. v, 5-6. — 3. Ezech. xxxiv, 23. — 4. Joan, xvii, 6. — 5. Matth. xxviii, 18. — 6. Eph. iv, 7. — 7. Rule, ch. lxiv.
   ↩
5. 1. Rule, eh. II. — 2. Cf. ix, and lxxiii. — 3. Ibid. ch. xm. — 4. Cf. hi. Reg. xix, 8. — 5. Rule, ch. 11. — 6. Ibid. ch. lxiv ; cf. Matth. xxiv, 47.
   ↩
6. 1. Rule, ch. lxiv.— 2. Cf. Hebr. v, 1. — 3. Ibid, vn, 26. — 4. Joan, xvii, 19
   ↩
7. 1. Rule, ch. lxiv. — 2. Hebr. vxi, 26. — 3. Col. i, 13. — 4. Jac. 1, 17. — 5. Dialog. Lib. 11, c. xxxvx.
   ↩
8. 1. Rule, ch. lxiv. — 2. Ibid. cb. xli. — 3. Ibid. ch. lxiv. — 4. Ibid. ch. 11. — 5. Regula pasioralis, I, i. — 6. Rule, ch. n. — 7- Ibid. ch. lxiv. — 8. Ibid. ch. ii. — 9. Ibid. ch. iii and passim. — io and n. Ibid. ch. lxiv. — 12. Ibid. ch. ii.
   ↩
9. 1. Rule, ch. xxxvii. — 2. Ibid. — 3. Ibid. ch. xxxvi. — 4. Ibid. ch. urn. — 5 and 6. Ibid. — 7. Ibid. ch. xxxvi. — 8. Ibid. ch. lxiv. — 9 4nd jo. Ibid. ch. 11 — ii. Ibid. ch. lxiv. — 12. Ibid. ch. xxvn.
   ↩
10. 1. Rule, ch. xxvm. — 2 and 3. Ibid. ch. lxiv. — 4 Ibid. ch. xxxi. 5. — Philip, iv, 7.
    ↩
11. 1. Gen. ix, 21, 25. — 2. Rule, ch. n.
    ↩
12. 5. Luc. x, 16.
    ↩
13. 1. II Cor. v, 20. — 2. Cum accepissetis a nobis verbum auditus Dei, accepistis iliud non ut verbum hominum, sed sicut est vere Verbum Dei, qui operatur in vobis qui credidistis. I Thess. ii, 13. — 3. II Cor. xm, 3. — 4. Luc. n, 34. — 5. Ibid, viii, 15. — 6. Joan, vi, 64. — 7. Ibid. 61. — 8. Ibid. 67. — 9. Ibid, vi, 68-69.
    ↩

14. i and 2. Rule, ch. v. — 3. Ibid. ch. lxxi. — 4. Ibid. ch. vii ; cf. Joan, vi, 38. — 5. Ps. LXXXIV, 11. ↩