If you are looking for the beginning of the study of The Rule of St. Benedict then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!
Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)
Shame, Hospitality, Prudence
Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)
What was a brother supposed to do if he came late to the “Work of God” at Vigils?
What discipline might a brother face who “does not come to table before verse so that all may say the verse and pray and sit down at table together?”
If a brother is excommunicated “from the oratory and from the table” what was necessary to do in order to be restored to full fellowship?
What would happen if a brother made a “mistake in a psalm, responsory, refrain or reading” but didn’t humble himself and make “satisfaction?”
What was a brother supposed to do if he committed “a fault while at any work” in the monastery?
What did Benedict refer to as “the enemy of the soul?”
What were the brothers supposed to do during Lent concerning reading?
What were the brothers supposed to “add to the usual measure of [their] service” during Lent?
How did travel affect what Benedictine monks were supposed to do?
How were guests to be received in the monastery?
What were monks “in no circumstances” allowed to receive “unless the Abbot says he may?”
Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)
Why would Benedict instruct the brothers to recite Psalm 94 “deliberately and slowly” in light of what he is talking about?
Given the context of Ch. 43, why might a monk at first refuse what he is offered by a superior but then later decide that he would like it after all?
Why should this change of mind require making “amends?”
What is communicated by prostrating oneself before others?
In the case of refusing to humble oneself after making a mistake in the recitation of “a psalm, responsory, refrain or reading” why did Benedict think children should be “whipped for such a fault?”
Why would a brother in the monastery be liable to “a more severe correction” if his fault “is made known through another?”
What did Benedict mean when he referred to certain causes of sin lying “hidden” in the “conscience” and why is this to be revealed “to the Abbot or to one of the spiritual elders?”
Why would Benedict say what he did about “idleness?”
What should we make of the fact that Benedict spoke of working in the harvest fields and reading books in the same section about manual labor?
What did Benedict mean by saying, “The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent?”
Why were monks not supposed to eat outside of the monastery if he expected to “return to the monastery that same day?”
What does it mean to welcome a guest “as Christ?”
Why would monks not be allowed to receive letters or gifts?
Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)
Benedict suggested the use of shame in order to correct undesirable behavior in the monastery. What place does shame have in a society? Is shame a good or a bad thing? Should we ever take it upon ourselves to make someone else feel ashamed? Should we ourselves feel shame at various points in our life? Explain your thoughts on the role of shame, for good or ill, in our lives.
The early church (as well as many ancient cultures) placed a strong emphasis on the practice of hospitality as can be seen in Ch. 53 of our present text. Define the term hospitality. Why is hospitality important? Do you think there has been a decline in showing true hospitality in the modern age? What kinds of things might play into a reduction of hospitality in the modern age? Finally, should the church seek to return to the practice of hospitality? Why or why not?
Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)
Read Matthew 25:31-46, Hebrews 13:1-3 and 1 Peter 4:9. How do these texts impact your thinking on the importance of Hospitality in the Christian life?
Read Genesis 2:24-25, 2 Kings 2:15-18, and Ezra 9. In light of these texts, when should we and when should we not feel ashamed?