…we must run and do now what will profit us forever. (Prologue 35-38)
We can’t loiter in the monastic life, we must run. We run to repent, led by the patience of God; we run to obey, guided by the instructions from God. We must run in this process of accepting that I am a sinner and am imperfect, and in accepting my sisters as they are with their sinfulness and imperfections. And we must run to the Holy Spirit asking Him to change my life, to transform me, to help me love myself and my sisters.
When we accept our own sinfulness, we cannot condemn anyone else; we are all imperfect. Sometimes we set ourselves up as gods who must cast out the sinners from the monastery. But a wise “abba” once reminded his flock that we carry our sins hidden behind our backs. It is as if we carried a bag of sand with a hole in it, and as we walked along the sand left a trail behind us. How could we cast out sinners from our midst, when we perhaps were the greatest sinners.
We must run to cast out our laziness, our likes and dislikes for this and that, our desire to change everyone else, but not myself. We must carry our bag of sand in front.
Sr. Veronica, OSB
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