Reaching Humility Will Bring You To Heaven
St Benedict lived from 480 A.D. to 547 A.D. He founded the first monestary in Monte Casino. He developed a detailed plan for monastic communities, called The Rule of St. Benedict. The rules for the monestary were completely derived from the bible. "For what page or word of the Bible is not a perfect rule for temperal life? What book of the Fathers does not proclaim that be a straight path we shall find God?" (The Rule of St. Benedict, 56) He believed that the people that follow God and wish to enter into His kingdom after death must be humble in order to be raised in honor and allowed into heaven. "Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted." St. Benedict forms twelve steps of humilty, where after having climbed the last step, you will be closer to God. After being humbled, you will be given the gift of heaven, where there will no longer be evil and where there is a universal understanding of the plight of man. "When a monk has climbed all twelve steps, he will find that perfect love of God which casts out fear, by means of which everything he had observed anxiously before will now appear simple and natural."
When one is humbled, everything will seem simple and natural. When one is close to God, and on their way to heaven they will see the plight of man. One's vision of the world is blurred when corrupted by earthly things. We can not see this while we are in the middle of it. It is not until a monk is in the monestary with only what he needs, is he able to devote himself to God. When a monk is humble he will see why this is true because he will be free of material things. After reaching all twelve steps of humility, the monk will no longer be afraid of god, but will love him because he will be forgiven. "He [monk] will no longer act out of the fear of Hell, but for the love of Christ, out of good habits and with a pleasure derived of virtue. The Lord, through the Holy Spirit, will show this to His servant, cleansed of sin and vice" (The Rule of St. Benedict, 54).
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Approximate Word count = 1175
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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