Benedict, Jeremiah, or Gregory: Options for Living the Catholic Life

The "Benedict Option" is a phrase you might hear a lot in the near future. It was first coined by Rod Dreher several years ago, referring to “pioneering forms of dropping out of a barbaric mainstream culture that has grown hostile to our fundamental values.” And now he's got a book coming out which, as is Dreher's way, is controversial. So I thought I'd mention it ... along with my two cents, of course!

St. Benedict delivering his rule to the monks of his order,
Monastery of St. Gilles, Nimes, France, 1129

The Benedict referred to by Dreher is St. Benedict of Nursia who founded many monasteries and whose rule for living monastic  life is still the foundation of many monasteries today. The Benedictine monasteries are often credited with preserving Christianity, culture, and knowledge during the Middle Ages. Not surprisingly, St. Benedict is often called the father of western monasticism.

When he originally coined the phrase, Dreher wrote about literal flight from modern society. Many (including me) rolled their eyes. This is not the Christian way. What was that last command Jesus had for his followers?

He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)

These followers had something so good and true that they were on fire to share it with the world. The Benedictine monks weren't running away when they built their monasteries. They were spread all over because they were taking the gospel, the good news of Christ, to the ends of the earth. The fact that they took medicine, farming, engineering, art, and more with them was just because that's how they lived. And also how they made life better for those they went to help.

I forgot all about the Benedict Option until the Wall Street Journal ran an article about Christian creating their own small communities. It mentioned Dreher's term and that he'd written a book about it which is coming out next month.

I took to the internet to refresh my memory and discovered that Dreher had expanded his concept when questioned about the problem of isolationism as a Christian lifestyle.

If all the churches did what they were supposed to do, we wouldn’t need the Ben Op. Thing is, they don’t. The term “Benedict Option” symbolizes a historically conscious, antimodernist return to roots, an undertaking that occurs with the awareness that Christians have to cultivate a sense of separation, of living as what Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon call “resident aliens” in a “Christian colony,” in order to be faithful to our calling.

("If churches did what they were supposed to do." If the government just did what it was supposed to do. If the school did what it was supposed to do. And then there's my next door neighbor. And so on and so forth. Ok, let's ignore that attitude and move on.)

First of all — the church is made up of the people. Therefore, if we all just did what we were supposed to do — I'll say it — we might not have this big mess right now. But we didn't, so here we are. Now, how do we live as Christians in a fallen world? (Not so sure what is new about all this, by the way.)

I found Dreher's expanded FAQ unclear and somewhat muddled largely because, I think, that's part of the problem with living as a Christian anyway. You can't nail down a lot of things especially when it comes to how we become better, more devout Christians. However, what I've gleaned is that he wants us living intentional lives devoted to Christ, prayer, and others. With a Church that supports, teaches, and defends authentic faith.

Well, duh. That is how every serious Christian I know is living their lives already. Certainly every serious Catholic. And I know a lotta them. Again, I'm not sure what is so new about this.

It would be nice if more Christians did that. And knew their faith better. And so forth. Who's going to teach them? Oh, the church. That is to say — us. One more time, not sure what is so new about this. Read the Acts of the Apostles. This is the continual struggle. And it is almost always in a hostile environment from the secular world.

Musing over the matter this weekend I realized that our parish could be considered a direct descendent of those Benedictine monasteries in a lot of ways. It isn't perfect, because what in this world is, but it is a shining beacon in so many ways, beginning with the marriage enrichment retreat I was helping with while I was musing.

Twice a year, we invest considerable time, effort, and money into helping enrich marriages. We do it for the couples. But it also overflows into the church and the world, because marriages are the cornerstone of society. Which overflows into the children, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances of those who attend. It's how you change a society with moral decay — which is much how the 1st century Christians did it, come to think of it.

I can list many more of our parish's good works which include facilitating not only personal relationship with Jesus but the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. I won't subject you to the laundry list but you get the point. And there are plenty of other good parishes and churches around who are doing the same thing, beginning with the gospel women's prayer breakfast that was rocking the conference room next to ours on Saturday.

We all have to do our parts, but everything I read about Dreher's concept always left me with a sense of turning inward or retreating.

Gregory the Great dictating the Gregorian Chants

That's when I came across other commentary on the Benedict Option. Lots of other commentary. Most interesting to me were the other options people came up with. Because it is all about models of living, right?

My favorite is the Gregorian option. To be fair, it's kind of how I roll already. But these are all worth reading and pondering.

• The Benedict Option: What Does It Really Mean? — briefly explains main points of Benedictine Rule for the modern world, from a Benedictine monk
  
  
• What Would Jeremiah Do? — lessons from Jeremiah and the Babylonian exile for modern life in a hostile environment. "The piety that God encourages, therefore, can be practiced by ordinary people living ordinary lives under difficult circumstances. God enjoins the captives not only to live in Babylon, but also to live in partnership with Babylon. Without assimilating, they are to lay down roots, multiply, and contribute to the good of the greater society."
  
  
• The Benedict Option or the Gregorian Option? — Take the bull by the horns, charge into that morally bankrupt void and claim it for Christ. Who knows? You might wind up with a new calendar, musical form, or economic model ... and change the world.
  
  
• The Other Benedict Option — Bad Catholic comments and holds up the example of the other Benedict, Pope Benedict XVI
  
  
• Strangers in a Strange Land by Charles J. Chaput — Chaput wrote one of my favorite books about Catholicism and politics in America (Render Unto Caesar). This one will be out soon and I can't wait. A vivid critique of American life today and a guide to how Christians―and particularly Catholics--can live their faith vigorously, and even with hope, in a post-Christian public square.

Supreme Court Decisions and Living the Christian Life

I was surprised at how hard  the decision hit me. I was really hoping they'd go for truth and wouldn't let popular opinion sway them. I was surprised at how fervently I began praying for my country, which I was surprised to realize I love so much, in the midst of its folly.

So — I was surprised by a lot of things. And left feeling adrift, shaken, devastated.

What helped me was two things.

I share them with you in case you're also struggling.

First, I continued my reading of The Everlasting Man, G. K. Chesterton's look at the spiritual journey of humanity through history. After an hour, I switched over to a history of Catholicism from The Teaching Company. I didn't intentionally select these to help my mood. I was just casting around for listening material.

History was the perfect corrective to remind me that this isn't the first time a country has gone off the rails. And the faith persists, because the believers continue to testify to the Truth wherever they are.

Secondly, we had dinner with a young couple that night. When our talk finally lighted on the topic, both said they were dreading having to turn down invitations for gay friends' weddings. The man said that he'd been wrestling all day with how hard this all was.

I'm condensing our conversation here, but in essence he said, "I realized it should be hard. Christianity began as a humble, downtrodden religion. If we fit in too well then something is wrong. We shouldn't be too comfortable."

Those words have come back to me again and again in the days since.

"It should be hard."

That works on a lot of levels.

What hits me in terms of regular life is how hard it is when things become personal rather than an ideal to argue about.

I imagine gay people whose invitations are turned down may think it is because of harsh judgment or bigotry. I'd bet that much more frequently these are reluctant decisions made because the dictates of conscience and faith must be followed no matter how much we love those friends and family.

I always thought of Jesus' words in Matthew 10:34-38 as those for new converts with disapproving relatives. I see that these timeless words apply right now to our society in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision.

Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man "against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household."

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.

Do we love them less?

No. But we love Jesus Christ, the ultimate truth, more. So eventually we are driven to choose.

In other words, "It should be hard."

That's how much we should love and pray for those who put us in the position of choosing.

Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul
Chattanooga, TN

Finally, John C. Wright wrote a fine piece about what helped him begin to be able to pray for the conversion and salvation of those who have so wounded us.

It begins in a church. It ends with some of his thoughts. No one can be more inspiring when he gets going. Here's a bit.

In one hundred years, when this ruling is only an historical curio, like the Dred Scott Decision ... the One, True, Apostolic and Catholic Church will still be in business, still preaching and teaching the same truths that she has always taught.

And the Church will still speaking the language of sacrifice and self-denying love to a race of fallen beings ... who are so selfish and self-centered that this language is folly and a stumbling block to them.

Selfishness cannot understand selflessness. The darkness cannot comprehend the light, cannot surround and cannot besiege it, cannot defeat it, even in their hour of victory.

Because when we pray for the souls of our deadly enemy, our prayers are answered.

I'd forgotten the Dred Scott decision.

The outrage we feel now must be the same way people felt back then. Not all of them, of course. But over time we have all come to realize the obvious injustice. Which has been corrected.

That's the third thing.

Let us pray.