Unhesitating Obedience

The first step of humility is unhesitating obedience, which comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all. RB80.5.1-2

The three vows which all monastics make at the time of profession are stability, conversion to the monastic way of life and obedience. Of the three, obedience has probably the one that has helped me grow the most in self-awareness over the years. Obedience is also the only one of the vows to which Benedict devotes an entire chapter.

At first glance, obedience does not seem to hold much appeal. In my early understanding, it was pretty simple--I was told to do something and I would (or should) do it without thought or question. That was definitely not an appealing concept, especially since I had grown up questioning anything and everything in sight. My obedience was more of a dialogue based obedience, if any.

In reading Chapter 5 of the Rule I was intrigued by the sense of immediacy that seemed to be attached to the virtue of obedience. Words like "unhesitating," "as soon as," "immediately," and "leaving the task unfinished" jumped out of the text at me and made me stop and consider what would cause such a spontaneous response.

In reading the first two verses of Chapter 5 I found my response this action comes "naturally to those who cherish Christ above all." Is this what I want for myself in life? Do I truly long to have Christ be the center and goal of my life? If so, then I need to open myself up to opportunities of self-sacrificing obedience daily to prepare myself to meet my goal.

What am I doing today to show unhesitating obedience today?

Sr. Catherine, OSB