Idleness and Benedict's Rule

I've read the Rule of St. Benedict many times, and every time I notice new facets, new depth.

Tonight, I'm reading from John Chittister's commentary on the Rule. For class, we were asked to read just the rule, not her commentary, so maybe next week after reading her commentary I'll have a better reflection on it. But, I've enjoyed reading the rule again.

Of the many lines that have stuck out to me, one is his rule on idleness:

"Idleness if the enemy of the soul. Therefore, the community members should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for prayerful reading."

As I contemplate the motion of Holy Lingering, a distinction should be made between lingering and idleness, though they are often associated. To be idle, to dawdle, is to indulge in nothing, to avoid, to put off, or, if we look at automobiles, to run without going anywhere. To me, it connotes a lack of meaning or purpose, a lack of drive, a disinterest.

Holy Lingering, however, is purposeful, oriented and orienting: eyes wide open and bated breath. To linger with the Holy or to linger for the Holy is to take time and space to pay attention to the inner working of God in one's life, to seek revelation or realign insight without, to insight within. Yet, it is not individualistic, however solitary it may be. Holy lingering brings us out of ourselves, requiring us to pay attention to others, to "seek and serve Christ" in them.

This Holy Lingering may be made holy not as a search for a distant God, but in finding God within the relationships: our fellow pilgrims and the strangers we meet, or who meet us, along the way.