I’ve just started a study course following the Rule of St Benedict, and I’ll share with you from time to time some things that strike me about it.
The first unit we’ve looked at was Chapter 72 (On the Good Zeal Monks Ought to Have). I’ve learned that this chapter is often considered the heart of the Rule of St Benedict, and it contains some of his finest writing. You can read a translation of it here.
Praying this chapter at lectio divina, the word zeal kept jumping out at me.
You just don’t hear zeal a lot these days, do you? It isn’t the kind of word you drop into everyday conversation! And look at the dictionary definition above, some really old-fashioned words there to roll around on your tongue: earnestness, fervour, hearty.
There’s something about those words that’s uncompromising. And of course St Benedict was right to add the word good in front. Good zeal.
But how do we know when it’s right to be a zealot and when it is a terrible blindness?
There have been so many examples in history of religious zeal and fervour leading to evil: the Crusades, whose actions in the name of Christ were often barbarous; the religious fundamentalism of all stripes that we see today, resulting in widespread bloodshed.
That kind of zeal is, I believe, rooted in fear.
Which is why the context of what Benedict writes is so important. His encouragement is to be zealous in love, in patience, in unselfishness.
This sort of zeal crowds out hatred and fear, and the chapter demonstrates so well Benedict’s spiritual relevance today.
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june calender 07.29.08 at 8:39 pm
Tess, since ou left a note on my blog I came to see what you were writing about and I am really happy to read someone thinking seriously about matters like zeal. And the next entry about aging is wonderful, too. And the photo is super.
But back to zeal: in business today at least in the US one of the oft spoken buzz words is “passion” as in “The CEO has a passion for teamwork.” They haven’t discovered zeal, maybe because it doesn’t have that little edge of sexiness passion suggests. I’m going to bookmark you so I won’t forget to read future posts.
another Barbara 07.29.08 at 10:49 pm
Hi Tess,
How interesting!
I believe good zeal is a benefit to all, whether breathing beings or the natural world. Good zeal represents and honors the characteristics that we know of God: love, kindness, creativity, forgiveness, and an awesome celebration of diversity.
My thoughts about bad zeal is that it is shown by any fundamentalism. The voice of fundamentalism is rigid in screaming “OUR way is RIGHT, be different and die.” Sometimes the death they inflict is physical, sometimes professional, sometimes political, sometimes social. This mindset abhors diversity and cherishes the evil notion that “the ends justify the means.”
God save us from bad zealots!
Sunrise Sister 07.30.08 at 1:47 am
After being away for a couple of weeks, I’m happy to be back in my blogging environment - my own desk, etc. and pleased to see that your comments continue to be honest, rational, and inspirational.
Tess 07.30.08 at 10:00 am
June: thank you for your comment and welcome to my blog. Yes, in the UK we are also required to be ‘passionate’ about things like teamwork. It’s all BS. I think you’ve put your finger on it in saying that zeal is never likely to be popular because it isn’t remotely sexy. Sounds almost like hard work!
Barbara: God save us from bad zealots indeed!
SS: Glad to see you back, looking forward to catching up, and thank you for the compliment.
lucy 07.30.08 at 2:37 pm
“good” for you, tess both in taking on the course of st. benedict and passing it along to us here.
i think you nailed it on the head when speaking of zealousness often coming from fear (especially in the name of God.) i love the context of benedict:
“His encouragement is to be zealous in love, in patience, in unselfishness.”
if we truly check our hearts and our motives/intentions before acting and see whether it comes out of fear or love, i believe it is huge. we can love someone and still act out of fear!
i look forward to hearing more about your course of study & doing it vicariously with you
Barbara 07.31.08 at 2:49 am
Glad to read your insights into the Rule. It seems to me that Benedict was all about attitude. He was most insistent against murmuring and (inane, perhaps cruel) laughter and for this good zeal. What you do has less impact than the interior disposition with which you do it. Good zealots invigorate the soul by their enthusiasm for love, patience and unselfishness. Bad zealots send souls running for cover.
Abdur Rahman 07.31.08 at 1:09 pm
Peace Tess,
Welcome back!
Yes. Zeal for patience, zeal for love, zeal for mercy.
Sacred Suzie 07.31.08 at 1:32 pm
Interesting! Words like this when analyzed closely start to feel unreal usually but not with zeal. It just gets more interesting.
Here’s to letting go of guilt! It’s such a useless emotion most of the time. Bye bye guilt, hello stories.
Tess 07.31.08 at 4:44 pm
Lucy: happy to be your vicarious study partner!
Barbara: yes, if only we could sell Benedict against murmuring to the tabloid newspapers and those who buy them!
Abdur: ‘Mercy’ - there’s another good old-fashioned word and concept we don’t see enough of.
Sacred Suzie: Welcome to my blog and thanks for commenting. I think it’s partly because zeal starts with a big fat ‘z’ and is satisfying to say that it doesn’t feel unreal!
Miss Eagle 08.10.08 at 1:55 am
Am catching up on your posts. It’s been a busy time. When I read it I wondered if “passion” is a reasonable substitute or is there something extra that “zeal” brings? But I find june in that very first comment has beaten me to the punch. My other thought is that one of The Twelve was a Zealot - and I think they were freedom fighters (would they have been called terrorists to-day, perhaps?). Either way I think passion and zeal are sustaining energies. They carry us through in projects - and in love. We talk of Jesus’ last days on earth as His Passion - and I am not sure I properly understand that. Why can’t we just refer to His Suffering or His Trials. Mmmm…?
Blessings and bliss