The practice of obedience is about much more than the observance of clearly expressed orders and precepts by a superior.
Newsroom (11/19/2022 18:00, Gaudium Press) Many of us admire the stories we hear of the monks of days long gone, regarding the virtue of obedience
It was known that a disciple of Abbot Paul, whose name was John, never refused any order given to him, however arduous the task might be. Thus, on one occasion, when the Abbot entrusted him with a task in a neighbouring village, John prepared himself to obey, but warned his superior:
“My father and lord, I have heard that a ferocious lioness prowls in those parts.”
“If the lioness attacks you, stop her and bring her back with you“, replied the old Abbot jokingly.
In fact, the lioness did attack him as night fell. Then the incredible happened: the beast became prey and the monk became the hunter, because in obedience to the order given by his Superior, John attempted to subdue the animal, but she escaped. Then he pursued her, shouting:
“The Abbot has ordered me to arrest you and bring you to him!”
At these words, the beast stopped immediately. John seized it and took the road back to the monastery, where the Abbot was grieving and worried for his spiritual son who was so late returning. On seeing him coming back, dragging the lioness with him, the Abbot was filled with admiration and gave thanks to God. Filled with the joy of the obedient, the disciple said to him,
“Behold, Father, the lioness you sent me to bring.”
For the good of John’s soul, and to prevent him from becoming conceited, the Abbot ordered him to let the beast go. The story soon became known among the monks, who then praised God for the prodigy performed, to extol the value of obedience.
What does obedience mean?
From the Latin ob-audire – to listen attentively – obedience is “a moral virtue that makes the will ready to carry out the precepts of the Superior“. And the more perfect it will be, “the more quickly it goes ahead to execute what is understood to be the will of the Superior, even before he has manifested it.”
Therefore, the practice of obedience is not restricted to the compliance of orders and precepts clearly expressed by the one who gives the orders. Whoever aims to practice it to an excellent degree must assume the posture of a good son in relation to his father; that is, to be extremely attentive to what the Superior wants.
For “obedience is first of all a filial attitude. It is that particular kind of listening that only a son can do for his father, because he is enlightened by the certainty that the father can only have good things to say and give to his son.”
This is immeasurably truer with regard to God. In fact, we reach our fullness only to the extent that we enter into the plan which He has conceived for us in His Fatherly love.
Only for priests and religious?
Obviously, the virtue of obedience belongs above all to clerics and to members of religious institutes, each of whom is bound by profession of vows to his or her respective Superior. It constitutes, moreover, the most important element of religious life, as the Angelic Doctor has shown, and as Fr. Royo Marin reminds us: “the religious state, by virtue principally of the vow of obedience, is a true holocaust offered to God.”
As St. Gregory the Great says: “Obedience is rightly opposed to sacrifices, since by means of the victims (of sacrifice), one immolates the flesh of others, while by obedience one immolates one’s own will.”
Nevertheless, although the virtue of obedience concerns in a special way clerics and members of religious institutes, it embraces a much wider range of persons.
In the Epistle to the Ephesians, after encouraging all to be “subject to one another in the fear of Christ” (Eph 5:21), St. Paul shows, basing himself on very elevated arguments, how obedience must be practiced in every sphere of human relationships, even in the temporal order. Thus, for example, he exhorts children to obey their parents, reminding them that by keeping the commandment to honour their father and mother, they will be happy (cf. Eph 6:1-3). He does not fail, however, to warn the latter (parents) not to provoke the children to anger in the exercise of their authority, but to bring them up in the discipline and instructions of the Lord (cf. Eph 6:4).
And St. Peter affirms that we must be subject “to every human authority” (1 Pet 2:13); therefore, not only to those we judge to be good and just. St. Paul is also clear on this point: “Let everyone be subject to the authorities in authority; for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are appointed by God” (Rom 13:1).
Immediately afterwards, the Apostle Paul warns of the harm of insubordination: “Whoever resists the authority opposes the order established by God; and those who oppose it bring upon themselves condemnation” (Rom 13:2).
A fundamental principle for daily life
How do we obey a Superior whose defects are obvious? The problem is complex and unfortunately frequent… However, there is a fundamental principle that should always be applied in concrete cases: we should try to see God in the Superior with the eyes of faith, remembering that in religious life, he represents Our Lord Jesus Christ.
An example of the application of this principle to everyday life is given by St. Thomas Aquinas in a little-known episode. When it was his turn to read in the refectory, the one presiding at table at one point signaled to him to place an accent on a syllable other than the correct one. Although St. Thomas’ pronunciation was correct, he immediately corrected it, complying with the Superior’s wishes.
At recreation, his brothers remarked that he should not have done so, since he was obviously right. But St. Thomas replied, “It is of little importance to pronounce a word in this or that way, but it is always important for a religious to exercise obedience and humility.”
Obedience, hierarchy, and authority are indispensable pillars for a well-constituted society. And the concept of freedom, in its true moral sense, does not consist in the ability to always do one’s own will (even being able to choose evil), but in doing good, fulfilling the will of God, even at the cost of sacrifices, renunciations and abnegation. In this obedience, full of freedom, man frees himself from the slavery of licentiousness. Only thus will he have authentic and lasting happiness, for sin brings no joy and peace, but only passing enjoyment.
Through Mary Most Holy, then, let us ask for the grace to practise supremely this holy virtue of obedience in order to enjoy the infinite happiness that is reserved for us by Jesus Christ in eternity.
Text taken, with adaptations, from the magazine Heralds of the Gospel, n.143, November 2013.
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
