Good Zeal—Peter & Paul

           A tentmaker and a fisherman. One struck blind for his arrogance; the other humiliated by his infidelity. The pillars of the Church, Peter & Paul. Through them God demonstrates the power of grace in human lives when it is welcomed and allowed to work. Zealous for the work of God, both were conscious that they held the treasure in clay jars. 

            At the end of his Rule, St. Benedict exhorts the monks to good zeal “which monks must foster with fervent love”. Like Peter and Paul, the acknowledgement of human weakness precedes Benedict’s exhortation to further virtue. The monks should outdo one another in showing honor, “supporting with the greatest patience one another’s weaknesses of body or behavior…” 

            St. Aelred comments, “…these men were to be physicians who would heal the weak. But they would be unable to pity the weaknesses of others unless they had first experienced their own weakness.” Aware that we hold the treasure of God’s grace in clay vessels, may we welcome this gift and allow it to work in us. 

                                                        Sr. Christa Kreinbrink, OSB