(3) Outreach

"Human development continues to the extent that the person
learns to deal creatively with a greater and greater diversity of
stimuli and to take initiatives according to a system of values,
which is personal, even if it is but a modification of the value
system of the social structure. These values include anticipations
of the future that have their roots deep in the past but are also
the expression of our own tastes."
[Rene Dubos, CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE, McGraw Hill, 1981, p. 72.]

Comment: The late Rene Dubos was a scientist and professor
at Rockefeller University as well as the founder of his Center for
Human Environments. He was also a Benedictine Oblate--a
secular member of the Benedictine Order, who lives and works
out in the world.

With Dubos we have a conscious effort to accommodate the
challenges of the modern world with the ethics and history found
in the Benedictine Tradition. In his book he does not announce
that he is connected with a particular religious tradition, rather
he straightway plunges into new approaches to old problems
that draw upon ancient wisdom.

This kind of effort is easier said than done, however. When I was
still young and foolish, full of spirited dreams about spreading
Benedictine wisdom, I have to admit that I oft made a mess of
things. Trying too hard, too fast, usually goes nowhere much at
all. I guess we have to wait patiently as the Benedictine value
system permeates your soul and starts percolating naturally.

But there's also the "other side" of this coin--that is being keenly
aware of your own experience, how you interface with the world in
which you live.

There's often the tendency on the part of immaturity to romp out
onto the streets and declare that you have "got it," the ultimate
Truth. Soon there's no one attending to your soap-box. So
beyond learning well, literally over a life-time the wisdom of the
Benedictines, one must blend such with your experience in the
world. And this is not done in isolation.

In the past there had been the tendency to isolate one's self,
often passing off "gazing at one's navel" as spiritual or religious.
However, contemplative practices need be connected with the
living of life. Oozing into a Greater All, never touching the
Ground, just doesn't do it anymore.

Over their history the Benedictines stressed a harmony that
blended the prayerful pursuit of God with that of working for
the world, enhancing Life. This is reflected in their lifestyle,
their emphasis and sharing of knowledge, their work in their
schools, their work in many professions outside the monastery.
And, now, with lay Benedictine Oblates they have an "Arm" that
carries on their Tradition out in the world.

I guess where I am trying to go with this is that, yes, it is proper
to follow the contemplative practices of monasticism--but it is
also necessary to practice outreach in the world, employing the
special elements that built the Benedictine infrastructure. It's
about Obedience, the call of the Spirit for most, it's about Stability,
serving as an anchor in community, and it's about *Conversio
Morum," evolving the Christ Life in yourself and in steady ways
for the development of society.

The Benedictine Way applies to both the inner and outer world,
which altogether is one!