Listen - fulfil!

Listen. Benedict deliberately chose this word as the beginning of his Rule. It also is the first word that strikes us when the Rule is read on January 1; and it stands as a kind of theme for every year. Benedict starts without preliminaries and addresses the person directly. The last word of this sentence forms an inclusion together with the first word: 'Listen - fulfil!' The entire verse describes this listening with its fullest sense.

Aquinata Böckmann OSB quoted in The Monastic Way, Canterbury Press ISBN 1853117579. Now follow the monastic way to Columns of plainsong soaring upwards.
Aquinata Böckmann is a member of the Benedictine Missionary Sisters of Tutzing, Germany. Image of Saint Benedict (detail of Crucifixion) by Fra Angelico, 1441-42, from Convento di San Marco, Florence. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

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