Day Thirty-Five – Gaps and Grace

Question: The Rule sets a very high standard for life together whether that’s in a monastery or in some other form of Christian life. Is there a gap between the life the Rule describes and the one that the Community actually lives?

Br. Curtis Almquist:  Yes, and it changes on a daily basis! We worked hard to come up with a document that was both prescriptive for our life together and descriptive of our lived experience. Because of that, we knew we would end of with a Rule that functioned on multiple levels, not unlike the way the Gospel according to John does.  We live with the knowledge that none of us will ever fully live up to the demands the Rule and, by God’s grace, we are better men for trying.