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Grace and Grumbles

There's a sentence in today's section of the Rule (which you can listen to here) which always seems harsh: "if a disciple obeys with bad grace and grumbles, not only out loud but even in his heart, then, even if he does comply with what is asked, his action will not find acceptance with God." (RB 5.17, 18) That is a stern reminder that it is not only what we do but how we do it that counts. For those of us who take comfort from the elder brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, it is rather bleak to be told it is not enough to obey. We must obey cheerfully.

Perhaps what Benedict is driving at is the importance of uniting our will with God's. It is not that Benedict is censorious of less than perfect obedience as such, rather he sees the possibilities of our vocation as children of God. Amazingly, we can become like him, but the choice is ours to make.