Thoughts on The Benedict

Option
The Benedict Option was published in March of this year. It was written by Rod
Dreher, who was a Catholic at one time, but now is Orthodox. He is appealing to all,
who call themselves Christians. He is calling for a reform similar to the reform in the
world around the time of Saint Benedict. In fact, he would like to see another Saint
Benedict arise. The New York Times says of this best selling book: One of these is my
friend Rod Dreher, whose new book, The Benedict Option, is already the most
discussed and most important religious book of the decade.
The Benedict Option, pages 50-1 reports the basis of the Benedictine way of life:
Benedict's Rule is a detailed set of instructions for how to organize and govern a
monastic community, in which monks (and separately, nuns) live together in poverty and
chastity. That is common to all monastic living, but Benedict's Rule adds three distinct
vows: obedience, stability (fidelity to the same monastic community until death), and
conversion of life, which means dedicating oneself to the lifelong work of deepening
repentance.

Evil Triumphs, When Good Men Do Nothing

The Benedict Option, page 98: Secede culturally from the mainstream. Turn off
the television. Put the smartphones away. Read books. Play games. Make music. Feast
with your neighbors. It is not enough to avoid what is bad; you must also embrace what
is good. Start a church, or a group within your church. Open a classical Christian school,
or join and stengthen one that exists. Plant a garden, and participate in a local farmer's
market. Teach kids how to play music, and start a band. Join the volunteer fire
department.
I would add, join the neighborhood improvement association. I joined three and a
half years ago, when I moved to the Oakland Neighborhood of Topeka. Without groups
like this, many things would not get done in our neighborhoods. And now, I was asked to
be president for two years.
Of course, I don't recommend starting a new church, but it is time that we
Catholics got busy in the Church. What are we doing to strenghthen our own faith and
the faith of others. Saint John Chrysostom says: He who is content with saving himself
and neglects the salvation of others cannot secure his own salvation. (Chapter 18 of
Matthew Sermon 60) Saint Thomas Aquinas writes: In cases of necessity where faith is
in danger, every one is bound to proclaim his faith to others, either to give good example
and encouragement to the rest of the faithful, or to check the attacks of unbelievers. (II-
II Q3 A2 reply 1)
The Benedict Option, page 118: The first Christians gained converts not because
their arguments were better than those of the pagans but because people saw in them and
their communities something good and beautiful and they wanted it. This led them to

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the Truth. Saint Gregory Nanzianzen says: We must first be purified and then purify
others; be filled with wisdom and make others wise; become light and give light; be near
to God and lead others to Him; be sanctified and sanctify; guide others by the hand and
counsel them with knowledge. We need to LIVE the Catholic way of life and preach
more by our way of life than we ever do by our words.
This book begins by pointing out what we have been doing wrong, which I will
summarize as I have mentioned before. We have gotten too focused on a few issues and
neglected to purify our own selves. And thus we are on the road to hell. How many have
spent decades fighting the abortion battle, and now we are being siphoned off into the gay
marriage fight. There is a paper published monthly here that published an article on the
problem of gay marriage. Shortly after the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage the
author pointed out that we lost this fight a half a century ago, when we did not fight no-
fault divorce.
What this book calls for is not to fight all of the many problems of neo-paganism,
which has taken over the world. We live in a world worse than pagan Rome. Rather we
need to undertake a reform of our own lives, our families and the Church much as Saint
Benedict did in his own time over a millennium ago. We need to be saints. In fact, some
have said that the greatest saints will live in these times, and each and every one of us are
called to be those saints. Think of that every time you look in the mirror, the person
staring back is called to be a SAINT. This is no time for half measures.
In Butler's Lives of the Saints, we read: The primitive Christians converted the
world by the sanctity of their example; and, by the spirit of every heroic and divine virtue
which their actions breathed, spread the good smell of Christ on all sides: but we, by a
monstrous inconsistency between our lives and our faith, scandalize the weak among the
faithful, strengthen obstinacy of infidels, and furnish them with weapons against that very
religion which we profess. "Either change thy faith, or change thy manners", said an
ancient father.

Practice What We Preach

The Benedict Option, pages 52-3: Right belief (orthodoxy) is essential, but
holding the correct doctrines in your mind does you little good if your heart the seat of
the will remains unconverted. That requires putting those right beliefs into action
through right practice (orthopraxy), which over time achieves the goal Paul set for
Timothy when he commanded him to 'discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.' (I
Timothy 4:7)
I Timothy 4:6-8: These things proposing to the brethren, thou shalt be a good
minister of Christ Jesus, nourished up in the words of faith, and of the good doctrine
which thou hast attained unto. [7] But avoid foolish and old wives' fables: and exercise
thyself unto godliness. [8] For bodily exercise is profitable to little: but godliness is
profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to
come. [9] A faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.

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 Make the Home a Little Monastery
The Benedict Option, page 15: In his Rule, Benedict described the monastery as
a 'school for the Lord's service.' On page 137 we read: Ultimately I want to provide
tools and resources for all Christian families to make their homes little monasteries.
And on page 230: If we don't treat our homes and schools as monasteries, strictly
limiting both the information that comes to our kids (for the sake of their own inner
formation), as well as their access to brain-altering technologies, we are forfeiting our
responsibilities as stewards of their souls-and our own.
Saint John Chrysostom calls the home a little church. Indeed this idea is quite
good as we will see moving forward. The home needs to be a place of prayer and work,
similar to a Benedictine monastery. There must be times set aside for quiet prayer, for
reading and for the children to play outside.

Limit The World

The Benedict Option, page 126: A monastery keeps outside its walls people and
things that are inimical to its purpose, which is to form its members in Christ. For
families, this means strictly limiting media, especially television and online media, both
to keep unsuitable content out and to prevent the dependence on electronic media. It is
also important for parents to do the same for themselves. True, adults should not be
expected to keep their movie and TV watching to the level of children, but neither should
they feel free to watch whatever they like. Too much exposure to morally compromising
material will, over time, dull one's moral instincts. Remember, life in monastic
community is for the Abbot's formation too.
This book is actually lax. We must not invite anything immoral into our homes, if
we are single. The married have a far greater duty in this regard. And how many
programs are per se (of themselves) immoral? One of the co-stars of a series over three
decades ago had the habit of using the Lord's Name in vain at least once in each episode.
That should be enough to ban the program right there. Take another, Law And Order
SVU. The main premise is investigating sexually based crimes. This program portrays
things we should not even know about. And consider that a book instructing confessors
tells us that the ballet is mortally sinful, because of the tight fitting costumes and
suggestive movements. It is easy to become lax with the television, and this has
corrupted us all. It is time to live differently. In fact, we may be tempted to haul the TV
to the curb.

Go Out From Her My People

II Corinthians 6:17-18: Wherefore, Go out from among them, and be ye separate,

saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing: And I will receive you; and I will be a
Father to you; and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. The
Douay refers us to Isaias 52:11: Depart, depart, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean
thing: go out of the midst of her, be ye clean, you that carry the vessels of the Lord. The
Vulgate refers us to Apocalypse 18:4: And I heard another voice from heaven, saying:

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Go out from her, my people; that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive
not of her plagues. (5) For her sins have reached unto heaven, and the Lord hath
remembered her iniquities.
Let us also consider the first two verses of the twelfth chapter of Romans: I
BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service. And be not conformed
to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is
the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God.
We are called to separate from the false ideals of the world.

Oremus
The Benedict Option, page 228: Stilling my mind for an hour of prayer was
incredibly difficult, but it eventually opened up a beachhead in which the Holy Spirit
would work to calm the stormy waters within.
In Characteristics of True Devotion we read: Prayer is rather God's work than
our own, but all devotion is comprised in the practice of prayer and mortification; and,
the more devoted one is, the more one progresses in both of these. There is a reciprocal
relationship between God and the soul which is devoted to Him; for God takes care of the
prayer, while the soul takes care of the mortification; not that He does not extend His
hand, and co-operate with the soul in one as well as with the other; but prayer is
principally the work of grace, and mortification the work of the will.
Basically we should organize our mortifications to remove all obstacles to prayer
and our work in our lives. This is why we set aside an hour, sixty minutes, of quiet time
for prayer. No TV, no smartphone, no tablet, etc. Just God and me should be the goal.
And yes, we need an hour each day. And the other twenty-three should find us in silence
as much as duty will allow in the spirit of prayer.

Spiritual reading
The Benedict Option, page 105: We Christians today can create that new culture
based on returning in creative ways to that very old one. We are called to be a new and
quite different Saint Polycarp, Saint Irenaeus, Saint Augustine, and so forth. The best
way to do that is to immerse ourselves in the words and the world of the old saints.
What we need to do is to immerse ourselves in truth and ignore error as much as
possible. We need to spend a notable amount of time with Sacred Scripture. We need to
do the same with the writings of the saints, especially the Fathers of the Church. And we
need to take all of these things to heart.

Fasting
This book also recommends fasting, which for Catholics is already built into the
law. We begin with abstaining from meat on Fridays. Then we fast, during Lent. We
also fast on the other three sets of Ember Days, as well as on the Vigils of Christmas, All
Saints, Pentecost and the Immaculate Conception. Some also fast at other times

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voluntarily, such as on Saturdays in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And our fast
should not be limited to restricting the quality and quantity of food. This book
recommends fasting also from technology on occasion.
But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have
preached to others, I myself should become a castaway. (I Corinthians 9:27)

What Is Your Vocation?

The Benedict Option, page 177: In 1603, the early English Puritan theologian
William Perkins delivered a sermon in which he defined vocation as 'a certain kind of life
ordained and imposed on man by God for the common good.' Perkins explained that
every man king, pastor, soldier, husband, father, and so on has a God-given vocation.
He likened the symphony of vocations in society to the working of a clock, each gear
turning in harmony for the common purpose of keeping time.
Saint Paul says: (I Corinthians 12:26-31): And if one member suffer any thing,
all the members suffer with it; or if one member glory, all the members rejoice with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and members of member. And God indeed hath set
some in the church; first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly doctors; after that miracles;
then the graces of healing, helps, governments, kinds of tongues, interpretations of
speeches. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all doctors? Are all workers of
miracles? Have all the grace of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But
be zealous for the better gifts. And I shew unto you yet a more excellent way.
This is the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church. We all
have different functions. One is a finger, while another is a foot, etc. Just as the clock
cannot function if all of the parts are not also in their proper place and proper repair,
neither can the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church.

Charity
The Benedict Option, page 126: Hospitality is a central principle of the
Benedictine life, but I didn't learn it from the monks. I got it from my folks. My mother
and father had a well-deserved reputation for welcoming others to their hearth and table.
Hospitality is one aspect of charity, but an important one. It is a good idea to
spend some considerable time in meditating on the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians.
Saint Alphonsus wrote well on this, which has been reprinted as: Charity: A Commentary
on I Corinthians 13.

We Belong to God
The Benedict Option, page 201: The point, however, is that to the premodern
Christian imagination, sex was filled with cosmic meaning in a way it no longer is. Paul
admonished the Corinthians to 'flee spiritual immorality' (I Corinthians 6:18) because the
body was a 'temple of the Holy Spirit' and warned them that 'you are not your own.' (I
Corinthians 6:19) He was telling them that their bodies are sacred vessels that belong to
God, who, in Christ, 'all things hold together' (Colossians 1:17).

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 The main point here is that we are not our own, but the property of Almighty God
to do with as He pleases. We have lost sight of this most important point, which is why
we pursue pleasure as an end. We have not determined what our true end is and what
means we are to use in order to obtain our end. We have confused ends and means.
The Benedict Option, page 44 reports the attitude of many people today:
Following your own heart, no matter what society says, or the church, or anyone else.
This kind of thinking is devastating to every kind of social stability but especially the
church. The church, a community that authoritatively teaches and disciples (teaches) its
members, cannot withstand a revolution in which each member becomes, in effect, his
own pope.
Truth is one, error is many. It is our duty is to conform our lives to Truth, that is
Almighty God and to the Word of God. We cannot pick and choose. Once we reject one
truth, we cease to be Christian. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the
world. (Matthew 28:20) And after Jesus had given a hard saying to the people, what
did He do? Read the sixth chapter of Saint John from verse 56 to the end.
After this many of his disciples went back; and walked no more with him. Then
Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? (John 6:67-68) Instead of
compromising and running after the people, Jesus stood firm and turned to the Apostles
and asked them if they were going to leave too.
Let us return to our first point, we belong to God. We are His property to do with
as He pleases. He has pleased to give us a way of life through His Son, Who in turn
gives it to us through the Gospels.

A Warning
The Benedict Option, page 129: 'My parents were very paranoid people. They're
conspiracy theorists. They're afraid that if they exposed their children to the outside
world, we were going to be corrupted, because they see the world as this filthy, filthy
place,' she told me. 'That total sheltering is very damaging, and cutting yourself off from
the world like that is exactly the kind of environment you need to develop a cult.'
Jesus said (Matthew 5:13-15): You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its
savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out,
and to be trodden on by men. You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain
cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a
candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house.
And yet many of us are happy to put our light under a bushel. But this is a fire
hazard, a spiritual fire hazard. As we quoted Saint John Chrysostom above: He who is
content with saving himself and neglects the salvation of others cannot secure his own
salvation.
But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every
one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you. (I Peter 3:15) Maybe our
problem is that we have no hope in us.
We have become so mesmerized with what we see wrong in the world and the
fruitlessness of our frontal attacks, that we have lost sight of what is truly important, and
thus lost hope.

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 But one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be
taken away from her. (Luke 10:42) Unfortunately we have abandoned the one thing
necessary in favor of endless and fruitless debates and battles.
Have you noticed that we are always offered two options: capitalism or
communism, right and left, liberal and conservative, Republican and Democrat. It is
presumed that since one is wrong, the other must be right. However, possibly both sides
are wrong and we need to seek a third option. We must not compromise and accept the
lesser of two evils. We are supposed to be seeking good.
There is a saying: When you are up to your backside in alligators, it is hard to
remember that your original intention was to drain the swamp. We have been trying to
drain the swamp for a half a century, while the alligators have multiplied. It is time to
move to higher ground, because only God can drain this swamp.
We need to go to higher ground spiritually. We have become lukewarm and
satisfied with mediocrity. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I
will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. (Apocalypse 3:16) Instead of the Church
Militant, we have become the Church Comfortable; comfortable with the niche we have
carved our for ourself. We need to live as the early Christians did. They were ready for
martyrdom, which we may soon see ourselves. We prepare for martyrdom, by dying to
self and living for Christ every day. And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me. And
that I live now in the flesh: I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and
delivered himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
The lukewarm will become the lapsi, when put to the test of martyrdom. These
were called lapsi, because they lapsed from the faith and sacrificed to false gods.
Martyrdom is a grace given to those, who have already surrendered their life completely
to Almighty God without any reservation.
And yes, there are those, who held something back from God, who lost the grace
of martyrdom and died in their sins. There is the case of two men, who had a dispute.
One repented and asked the forgiveness of the other. The second man refused to forgive.
The second man was apprehended. The first came one last time to beg forgiveness, but
the second again refused. Soon the second lapsed from the Faith, while the first was
taken in his place and died a glorious martyrdom.
Then there is the case of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, who were condemned to
freeze to death on a frozen lake. They sang through the night: O Lord, forty of us have
begun to run in the race, grant that all forty may receive the crown, let not one be wanting
at the last. One guard was watching and admiring their constancy. Towards morning
one jumped into the warm bath that had been prepared to tempt them. The guard joined
the forty and the forty went to heaven in a glorious martyrdom. The one in the bath
warmed up and soon breathed his last.
A lax life is not crowned with martyrdom, only a fervent thoroughly Christian life
is crowned.

Moving Forward
Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. It is time to stop
fighting losing battles and begin spiritual warfare, which starts with our own selves. It is
time to dig out the roots of the Great Apostasy living in our own souls. And yes, they are

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there. The Benedict Option traces wrong thinking back three centuries further than I
have. It goes back eight centuries, possibly further. Living in a neo-pagan, modernist,
liberal world, it is difficult not to be influenced by the wrong thinking all around us. This
is why we spend much time in the timeless truths of the Faith in order to purify our
minds.
Saint Gregory Nanzianzen, a Father of the Church, gives us some sage advice:
We must first be purified and then purify others; be filled with wisdom and make others
wise; become light and give light; be near to God and lead others to Him; be sanctified
and sanctify; guide others by the hand and counsel them with knowledge.
And let our speech be spiritual, encouraging and influencing others for good.
It is time for us to become the Saints God is calling each and every one of us to
be.

Link for The Benedict Option http://amzn.to/2wYuz2a

Link for The Benedict Option Companion http://amzn.to/2evF3OS