You may have heard of the Rule of Saint Benedict, but if you’re ready for a refresher, Father Dave welcomes Manolito Jaldon Jr. to help us apply it to our daily lives — even if you aren’t in a monastery! Manolito Jaldon Jr. is an oblate of Mount Angel Abbey and the author of, “The Upside-Down Kingdom: Living in Holiness and Sanity Through the Wisdom of Saint Benedict.”
Manolito explains how he first was drawn to Benedictine life in 2006. “I was discerning my vocation by trying out the seminary at Mount Angel Abbey, which is the heart of their apostolate. [However], it would be much later on in life when I would find ‘The Rule’ on my shelf when I wanted more,” he says. “I was moving from being an extrovert to more introverted, and I just wanted to slow down a bit…That’s the interesting thing about the Rule of Saint Benedict or monastic values; It’s not something that you put as a poster at the parish. You have to seek out silence and a Benedictine way.”
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They discuss how the Rule of Saint Benedict is a model for those living in a monastic community. “It’s a vision of life for these men or women who gather together behind closed doors to preserve love,” he says, noting that he does not live at the monastery now as an oblate, but is spiritually connected to the order. “At the heart of Benedictine life is the Liturgy of the Hours, the praying of the Psalms, and Lectio Divina. So we need these rules so we can [live into] the life of prayer well.”
Manolito shares how we can apply a monastic approach to our own communities. “I hear a lot [about attending an event] if you’re available to build community. If we flip that upside down, Benedict offers something very different. He says it’s not about just showing up for people when it’s convenient, but showing up consistently — finding that rhythm where I’m showing up for you out of love to serve you,” he says.
“Benedict talks a lot about how the elder must listen to the younger because God speaks to the young. He talks about caring for the sick,” Manolito continues. “In a spiritual community, we take the values of monastic life, transpose it to our everyday life. We can see the world upside down and see that there’s great value in showing up constantly for the other.”
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He offers another lesson that Saint Benedict can teach us. “The first word of ‘the Rule’ is listen, and not in the sense of processing information…but rather, listen with the ears of the heart. I love that because it is inviting us to sit down with the other, not to get anything out of them, but to simply listen to their concern,” Manolito says.
“When we listen with the ears of the heart, we see what people are really trying to say. Benedict says we should esteem silence and only speak when there’s something that’s worthy to speak,” he continues. “So for anybody who’s at a meeting all day, every day — you don’t always have to say something. It’s something Benedict has really taught me.”
