Susan LaffertyBenedict of Nursia (480-547) first formed his Rule for the abbey he served in Monte Cassino, Italy.
Last year I grew curious about what this guide contained. And one particular practice caught my attention. It meant the monks of his monasteries lived on a steady diet of Psalms.
They repeated the entire book each week.
Crowds. Criss-crossing street intersections. Train stations. Shopping malls.
In multiple directions.
Pressing up escalators. Hiking staircases. Moving ever forward into trains. Onto sidewalks. Through subways.
Crowds. In your face. Up close. Yet often silent. Solitary.
Eyes on their phones.
Looking down. Or away. Staring off into the distance.
Some days, when it can’t get any worse, it does. Leading to a complicated grief.
This tangled story of deception is not ours alone.
No. All along the darkening path, we meet others who know. And understand.
