1. THE WEIGHING SCALE.
It is a Benedictine tradition that whenever a new monastery is to be found, the most important instrument that the monks take along with them is not a design for the monastery, nor for the chapel; not a crucifix nor even a bible, not dough for the host nor grapes for the wine. Definitely not a book on management or accounting, not even capital to start a community. My list can go on and on. What is most needed, St. Benedict says, is a weighing scale for food and the Holy Rule.
These two items represent the two important elements of the Apostolic Commission, given by Christ to His apostles for the work they were to begin up to the end of the world. In those two items can be found the whole theology of evangelization. Let us briefly review the four items in the Apostolic Commission, which contains the work of the Church, the work of every bishop, priest, nun and laymen worthy of the name Christian.
2. THE RULE OF ST. BENEDICT and the WEIGHING SCALE. (Summary of the Apostolic Commission.)
In the Apostolic Commission, Christ commanded His apostles to do four things, namely, to preach the Good News, to baptize, to teach all the commands of Christ and to teach how those commands must be observed. The first two, preaching the Good News and baptizing, have been sufficiently accomplished, but insufficient for salvation because many of those who have heard the Good News and were baptized have probably returned to a state of sin. The last two, teaching all My commands and how to observe them, is what makes us saints.
The Rule of St. Benedict summarizes the commands of Christ and teaches us how those commands must be observed. And the weighing scale helps us observe the commands of Christ. The Holy Rule and the weighing scale can make us saints.
If Pope Benedict is encouraging a return to St. Benedict’s monasticism, he is not giving a purely pietistic suggestion. He is encouraging a return to what is fundamental to Evangelical life. The last portion of the Apostolic Commission is a return to ascesis: “What must we do to have eternal life..?”
3. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RULE OF ST. BENEDICT.
The Method of learning the Catholic Religion is unlike the method of acquiring human knowledge. Human science is made by man and can be taught by man and learned by men. But the Catholic Religion is not made by man. It is made by God and as such cannot be taught by man nor learned by man. It can be acquired only if given by God. This knowledge is infused. And God gives it freely, as the Book of Wisdom keeps on insisting, to the humble.
This is the reason why the first lesson Christ gave us in Scriptures is to learn how to be “meek and humble” and to learn humility and everything else from Him. And this is also why the first Beatitude, without which no one can advance, states: “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” which is humility. Without humility we cannot learn the things of God.
The Holy Rule of St. Benedict teaches us how to be humble so we may deserve to receive this knowledge of the Catholic Truths. Did you notice how St. Therese of the Child Jesus knew so much, that she was declared a doctor of the Church? Where did she get all her knowledge? And where did the first apostle, who were mere fishermen, get all their knowledge which is unsurpassed today? This is infused knowledge that is given freely, as all graces are, to the deservingly humble. This knowledge, that leads to union with God and the salvation of our souls, is withheld from the proud.
A further clarification: we do not go about studying Morals, Dogma, Ecclesiology, Mariology, Canon Law or whatever. We study the humility of Christ, the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph and the saints and then practice it. That’s the third element, the theoretical aspect, of the Apostolic Commission.
HOW TO AVOID EVIL
4. Now putting into practice the fourth element of the Apostolic Commission is symbolized by the weighing scale. The command of God may be summarized into “Do good and avoid evil.” The good we must do is found in the Holy Rule, especially in the Chapter on the Instruments of Good Works. The way to avoid evil is symbolized by the weighing scale.
The desert Fathers were acquainted with the vices commonly known as Capital sins. They may be divided into two groups, the first are natural tendencies gone berserk while the other are unnatural. The natural tendencies are a.) the natural tendency to eat and drink. Uncontrolled it becomes gluttony. b.) The natural attraction to marry. Uncontrolled it becomes lust. c.) Anger which is the natural reaction to evil when uncontrolled becomes wrath. d.) The natural tendency to accumulate merits when it deteriorates becomes avarice for wealth. And e.) sadness that should be the natural reaction to sin when misplaced becomes loneliness.
Now this is how it works. If we do not discipline our eating and drinking, our eating develops into gluttony. Gluttony in itself is not a sin. But it becomes the source of sin, hence the description Capital sin. If gluttony is not remedied, our natural inclination to marry turns into lust. And lust becomes the root of countless sins in the soul. If lust is not remedied our natural angry reaction towards evil turns into wrath towards anything that displeases us. And so on.
Now comes Ascesis. If the natural desire for food and drink is disciplined then this desire does not deteriorate into gluttony and the subsequent vices. And because there is no gluttony, then the offshoots, namely, lust, avarice, anger, listlessness and loneliness do not develop. And since these Capital sins are the sources of sins, then we are able to avoid sin.
Some other evils come, however, from pride and vainglory. How do we overcome these evils? the Holy Rule states: through humility. Humility will cure the sinful tendencies of pride and vainglory.
HOW TO DO GOOD.
We have seen how we can avoid evil. But avoiding evil merely prevents us from going to hell. To go to heaven, we must do good. Therefore we must learn how to do Good. Doing good consists in doing things that will make us holy. And the way to holiness is through the development of virtues. To do good is to acquire virtues. And the first fundamental virtue is humility, which is considered the mother of all virtues because from her will be born all the other virtues including the theological virtues, faith, hope and charity: virtues that unite us to God.
So we have the weighing scale that help us avoid evil. And the Holy Rule that teaches our minds and wills to do good.
To be Holy, to save our souls, to be united with God: all we need is a pamphlet of the Holy Rule and a weighing scale for food and drink.
5. Evangelization of Europe.
When St. Gregory the Great begun the Evangelization of Europe, he started by sending St. Augustine to England with two potent weapon for the job: the Holy Rule of St. Benedict and a weighing scale. When St. Boniface evangelized Germany he brought a community of monks armed with the Holy Rule of St. Benedict and a weighing scale. St. Willibrod did the same in Frisia. St. Maurus, who became a monk as a child, patron of cripples and those who suffer rheumatism, is pictured with a scale and the Holy Rule which he brought to France.
Our era is ruled by the dictatorship of relativism, wherein we can eat whatever we want and as a consequence deteriorate into doing whatever we want. The weighing scale stops the deterioration. The Holy Rule propels us towards the perfection of the Love of God.
Pope Benedict XVI wants Europe to be re-evangelized in exactly the same way, in the tradition of St. Benedict whose most potent weapons were a small-size pamphlet called Holy Rule that contains the summary of the commandments of Christ as found in the New Testament and it also contains a summary of the interpretation of these commandments given by the Holy Spirit and written down by the Tradition of the Fathers of the Church….and a weighing scale for food and drink. That’s a light back- pack burden to carry on our way to eternal life. (Painting shows St. Benedict with Sts. Maurus and Placid who were offered to God in the monastery as children. St. Maurus is pictured in popular art as carrying the Rule and the Weighing scale to France. The painting is from Sacro Speco, Subiaco.)