A Simple Benedictine Life
Benedictine life is perfectly simple--it is the Gospel pure and simple--it liberates us from ourselves by enabling us to give ourselves entirely to God.
I give myself completely to God. He draws me more and more to that. I cannot know what lies ahead for me, for us, but more and more I realize God wants me to put myself in His hands, and let Him take me through the things that are to come, and I must learn to trust Him without fear, or questions, or hesitations, or withdrawal.
Yesterday, in the infirmary, old Brother Gregory lay dying.
And today it was very beautiful, warmish with the sun out and little neat clouds high up in the sky and the brown dirt piled high on top of Brother Gregory, who turns out to have been Swiss. And one day here a bull got playful and tossed him over a stone wall and that was why he always limped.
I asked Reverend Father what made Brother so saintly, and he said, "He was always working, never idle. When he was out tending the cows in the pasture, he would come back with a bucket of blackberries. He couldn't be idle." I might have known what kind of answer I would get!
December 14, 16, and 18, 1947, II.145-47
Lord, give me the desire to keep it simple!
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