Table Wisdom from St. Benedict

In the Holy Rule Chapter 43 St. Benedict writes:

Anyone who does not come to table before the verse,
so that all together may say the verse and the oration
and all sit down to table at the same time–
anyone who
through his own carelessness or bad habit
does not come on time
shall be corrected for this up to the second time.
If then he does not amend,
he shall not be allowed to share in the common table,
but shall be separated from the company of all
and made to eat alone,
and his portion of wine shall be taken away from him,
until he has made satisfaction and has amended.
And let him suffer a like penalty who is not present
at the verse said after the meal.
But if anyone is offered something by the Superior
and refuses to take it,
then when the time comes
that he desires what he formerly refused
or something else,
let him receive nothing whatever
until he has made proper satisfaction.

To which our response might be: ‘Wow that’s harsh – thank God I’m not a monk.’ Well … Perhaps us non-monk folk can learn a lesson here nonetheless. Joan Chittister OSB wrote a very insightful comment on precisely this passage:

Ina  world of fast food drive-in restaurants, multiple family schedules, the family meal has taken a decided second place in the spiritual and social formation of the culture. In Benedictine spirituality, however, the sacramental value of a meal is that the human concern we promise daily at the altar is demonstrated in the dining room where we prepare and serve and clean up after one another. The rule is at least as firm on presence at meals as it is about presence at prayer. No one is to be late. No one is to eat before or after meals, or on her own, or on the run because monastic spirituality doesn’t revolve around food, either having it or not having it. Monastic spirituality revolves around becoming a contributing part of a people of faith, living with them, learning with them, bearing their burdens, sharing their lives. The meal becomes the sanctifying center that reminds us, day in and day out, that unless we go on building the community around us, participating in it and and bearing its burdens, the the words “family” and “humanity” become a sham, no matter how good our work at the office, no matter how important our work in the world around us.

The Sufi tell a story. To a group of disciples whose hearts were set on a pilgrimage, the elder said: “Take this bitter gourd along. Make sure you dip it into all the holy rivers and bring it to into all the holy shrines.” When the disciples returned the bitter gourd was cooked and served. “Strange,” said the elder slyly after they had tasted it, “the holy water and the shrines have failed to sweeten it.” All the prayer in the world, Benedict knows, is fruitless and futile if it does not translate into a life of human community made richer and sweeter by the efforts of us all. Both community and prayer, therefore, are essential elements of Benedictine spirituality, and we may not neglect either (The Rule of Benedict Insights for the Ages, 126-127).

I will make a serious effort never to treat mealtime as a mere opportunity to re-fuel again.

Fr. Gregory +