St. Benedict
One
Today is the Feast of St. Benedict.
As a young man, Benedict moved to Rome around 500 to further his education. There, he observed that people were fearful, angry, lacking purpose, and unhappy. Seeking a more meaningful life, he left Rome for Subiaco, dedicating himself to work and prayer.
Monks from a nearby monastery, having lost their abbot, invited Benedict to lead them due to his holy life and wisdom. Although initially reluctant, Benedict agreed, aware that his disciplined lifestyle might not be well-received by the distracted monks.
As abbot, Benedict instituted a balanced and ordered way of life, which the monks resisted. They resented the demands of a disciplined life and plotted to poison him. When they offered him a poisoned chalice of wine, Benedict made the sign of the cross, causing it to shatter and spill the poisoned wine harmlessly.
Recognizing their failure, the monks felt fear and guilt. Benedict, perceiving their intentions, left the monastery without holding a grudge and returned to Subiaco. Many, attracted by his peaceful and balanced life, sought his guidance. He established twelve communities in Subiaco, offering a simple lifestyle aimed at achieving peace and happiness.
Do you seek a simpler, happier life?
Two
A Recipe for Happiness
Everyone wants to be happy. Happiness is to possess the good things that fulfill our nature. St. Benedict realized that, in general, God designed the human person to need specific things to be happy, fulfilled, fully alive.
Let me ask you, what do you want to be happy?
Union with God in Jesus Christ, which means receiving the life of Jesus by the frequent reception of the Sacraments and daily mental prayer.
We want good physical and emotional health. That comes from sleep, nutrition and hydration, exercise, hygiene, shelter, clothing, stability and variety, order and surprise.
And don’t we want good relationships with family and friends? Meaningful work in which we do some good for others and for the world? We need knowledge and truth. Our intellect needs to be fed by reality in the form of truth and our emotions/passions need to be nourished by reality in the form of beauty.
These are the ingredients for happiness. So, this is the recipe for happiness.
Money, time, and power, these are not goods in themselves, just means to goods. Their only point is that they have the potential to get something else. In fact, if we had all the good things, we need we would not need money, time, or power
Three
We need a way to organize our lives to reach happiness and holiness.
St. Pachomius (+348); Basil (+379) and finally, St. Benedict (+547) whom we celebrate today suggest a rule of life. We call it a recipe of life.
We need the right ingredients in our life in the right order and in the right proportion to receive God.
A recipe of life means
Friendship with Christ (30 minutes per day in mental prayer through the Rosary and Lectio Divina.
Frequent reception of the Eucharist and Reconciliation
Physical and Emotional Needs
Sleep
Personal hygiene
Nourishment and hydration - meals
Exercise
Time for relationship with your family and friends
Meaningful work in the home or outside of it
Knowledge about God and the good world he created
Experience beauty in its many forms
Four
Structure and Flexibility
These are the six ingredients to a recipe for happiness. They fulfill the way God designed us.
There needs to be an order to the way we pursue them. For example: we are not much good at anything without sleep or at least rest, so we go to bed on time and get up on time. The most important ingredient is God, so time in prayer is the priority – so it should come first.
As C.S. Lewis writes, “put first things first and we get the second things thrown in; put second things first and we lose both first and second things.”
We need the goods, but we must keep them in order. Love the lesser things less, love the greater things more, for virtue is rightly ordered love.
And we must be flexible in our pursuit of these. Some days more work is required than others, other days we have more opportunities for relationships and friendships. Some days the pursuit of knowledge and beauty only gets a little bit.
We should be creative in combining two or more of these at once, walking and talking with a spouse or friend at sunset This gets you friendship, exercise, and beauty
Five
Cut out the wrong Ingredients and you’ll have time for the right ones
People object, “There is no way I can get all those ingredients in every day – that’s impossible.” Or, “This is just too overwhelming to change everything at once.”
So let’s go step by step. First, track where your time is actually going/ For seven days keep track of where you spend your time every thirty minutes. Then cut out all the bad ingredients from your life - especially the distraction that comes from unnecessary busyness, news, entertainment and your phone. Then you will have time for the right ingredients.