All of us here have left our families and we have come to follow Jesus. The first commitment we made was that we would be zealous for the work of God, that we would be eager for trial as Benedict says for the novice. Then Benedict tells us that we as our normal spiritual life would do all the good works in Chapter 4. If we did these things then we would begin the experience the blessings of our consecrated life.

The problem we have in religious life, it seems to me, is that we don= t take seriously the battle we= re in and the place where the battle is happening. The battle is in our hearts. In my heart. What do we find in our hearts? We find the things that Chapter 4 talks about. We find a tendency to gluttony. We find the tendencies to pride. We find anger. We find self pity. We find vain glory, etc. But if we had the vision that Jesus gave us and already accomplished for us we should also find the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who is stronger than these tendencies and these realities. The same Spirit that formed Jesus in the womb of the Blessed Mother is in you. The same Spirit whom the Lord gave us, in each of us, formed Christ in us.

So the real issue is, first of all, our faith in the belief that we have the power of the Holy Spirit with us, in us and to call upon the Spirit to transform us. If we use scripture against scripture then we understand that to follow Jesus means what Jesus asks the disciples in John= s gospel, A what are you looking for?@ What exactly shapes your life and your desires? Surprisingly the disciples in John= s gospel

in the first meeting with Jesus say they want to know where he lives. Then they abide with Jesus, John says, meaning that their life is now pretty much in accompaniment with Jesus. With his thoughts, his words, his actions, his desires, his accomplishments and above all his place of rest, the Father. So they begin to be transformed.

Even though the Lord have given us tremendous amounts of blessings in the gift of St. Benedict and the Rule, and a way of life that enables us to really become integrated and to receive many blessings and then when we die, to help the Lord finish the work of judgment, be part of the thrones over Israel. The question is how are we utilizing these? Because the Lord= s dream for us is precisely that the blessings we see in Benedict would be ours. So we see in the gift of the Spirit and in the battle that is ours we have the opportunity to grow in deep intimacy with God and to walk even in this life in the abiding presence. But that means we have to reflect on what have we done with the call already of the novice, be eager for trails, to be zealous for the work of God, and to take seriously Chapter 4 that major occupation of our life.

Here is Chapter 4, if we= re really honest we would spend a lot of time with the very first instrument of good works, to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul and all your strength. This is not for us although it remains a Commandment, for us it should be the truth of things. The only reality worthy of our total dedication is this incomprehensible goodness, this love that has embraced our life from the beginning and has never abandoned us has given us the opportunity to live a consecrated life under the Rule of Benedict that has proved to be an instrument to transform thousands of monks and nuns for centuries. So we are grateful today for the gift of Benedict and his Rule and we are also aware that we really need to take seriously the gift we have and allow the Holy Spirit to take hold of our life and transform us into the likeness of Christ.