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I live in a complex, consumer society, which exploits both people and the earth itself. St Benedict would tell me that I can live simply and with respect and reverence, for people, for material things, for the environment. I can live with concern, responsibility, stewardship.

I live in a highly competitive and individualistic society, and one that is constantly mobile and changing. I can refuse to live under pressure like that. I can try to be stable, not only in my innermost self, but in my relations to those around me, and in my continuous search for God.

I live in a world of injustice and exploitation, where people are denied the right to live with honour and dignity, a world divided by race, colour, class. I can refuse to live by divisions like this, for I try to find the face of Christ in all I see.

I live in a world in which the churches are split and torn apart. The Rule of St Benedict comes from the undivided Church of the past, and it points me on to the undivided Church of the future, and I must try to play my part in helping that search for unity to grow in my own lifetime, while still remaining faithful to my own tradition.

I live in a world of battering noise, insistent media claims for attention, and endless words of confrontation, constant talk and ceaseless chatter. I can try instead to become a listening person, listening to those around me, and listening above all to God.

I live in a world that is angry, fear-ridden, distracted. I can try instead to carry a heart of stillness, an awareness of God’s presence and his gaze upon me. So that I hold on to the contemplative vision even in the midst of the most busy and active daily life.

     Esther de Waal, Living With Contradiction

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