Community and Fellowship: The Rule of Benedict: Life in Common

Benedict of Nursia designed his Rule not for solitary hermits but for communities of ordinary believers living together. He wrote: "We intend to establish a school for the Lord's service. In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome." The genius of Benedictine community is its realism -- it assumes that people are imperfect, easily discouraged, and prone to conflict, and it builds structures to sustain community despite these realities.…