Words to live by

admin
Thu, 08 Mar 2012 03:44:12 +0000
Uncategorized, abbey, Norbertine, Rule, St. Augustine, text

For an upcoming seminar, one of a series on the college’s Catholic and Norbertine roots, I have been charged with reading the Rule of St. Augustine. Always ready to engage with any piece of text, I tend to embark on such assignments in an eager, can-do spirit: okey-dokey, let’s roll up our sleeves, block out some time – a couple of Saturdays should take care of it – and we’ll just get ‘er done. Or at least, most of the heavy lifting.

So here I find myself with this seminal document before me – words that reach across 16 centuries to shape the lives of my colleagues from St. Norbert Abbey, who live under this Rule today. All 3,437 of them – words, I mean, not Norbertines. 3,437! That’s about the length of a Time magazine feature. This is not a long work. It does find room to cover pride and prayer; quarreling and forgiveness; moths, baths and the appropriate hour to borrow a book; oneness of mind and heart. 3,437 words. Remarkable. Who knew?