Chapter 62 is brief, but Benedict places before us a truth: no office, honor, or calling exempts us from the lifelong work of conversion.
A monk who is ordained priest does not rise above the community. He remains a brother under the Rule, bound to obedience, humility, and discipline. Benedict even insists that he must submit himself more and continue to make “more and more progress toward God.”
The altar is sacred, and priesthood is sacred, but office is not holiness. The danger lies in allowing a role of service to become a source of status. Benedict refuses that temptation. The priest’s place in the community is not secured by title, but by the goodness of his life.
This is not a lesson only for priests. Each of us carries titles, responsibilities, accomplishments, and identities that can quietly become things we stand upon. Benedict asks us instead to let them become places from which we bow down.
We are never finished. We are always beginners. Whatever honor or responsibility comes to us must lead us more deeply into humility, obedience, and love.
The true measure of any vocation is whether it helps us make more and more progress toward God.
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