Toward the end of the Rule of St Benedict, there is a short chapter that can easily go unnoticed, but which
is a perfect application of the Gospel: Assignment of impossible tasks to a brother (RB 68). Benedict knew well that if we want to follow the Gospel, sooner or later, we will be confronted with the fact that we are asked to do something that feels impossible to us.
Do you what to know if you are
really following Jesus and not a decaffeinated version of his message? You can
ask yourself this question: does being faithful to your Christian calling feel
impossible at times? If your answer is “yes,” you are on the right track because this is how it should feel—Peter trying to walk on water is a good
example.
St Bernard puts it very simply, As
long as a man is without experience in the spiritual combat, he thinks that
what is asked of him is easy (Sermons on Conversion 8). What then? Are we called to be Christian
superheroes? No, the path of the Gospel is for those who recognize their
weakness and learn to trust in Another, just as St Paul says, For when I am
weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:10). Being a Christian means learning to
lean on Christ, and when we truly learn is when we do impossible things for and
with him.
That’s the monastic approach
to holiness: you have to make the effort, set out to climb the mountain; dare to do the
impossible! But then you will truly experience that the Lord is with you. Lean
on him, He can be trusted! ‘Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord?’ If
anyone aspires to climb the summit of that mountain, that is the perfection of
virtue, he will know how hard the climb is, and how the attempt is doomed to
failure without the help of the Word. Happy the soul which causes the angels to
look at her with joy and wonder and hears them saying, ‘Who is this coming up
from the wilderness, rich in grace and beauty, leaning upon her beloved?’ (St Bernard, Sermons on the
Song of Songs, 85.5).
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