If you have ever read the Rule of St. Benedict, you have come across some words that, at first glance, sound like diseases or prehistoric creatures: Cenobites, Anchorites, Sarabaites, and Gyrovagues (Troglodytes or Trilobites anyone?). They can be found in Chapter 1, “The Kinds of Monks.” Benedict is speaking only about monks here, but I think we can extend his insights to the kinds of characters we might find throughout the human race.
Benedict lists the Cenobites first because they are his favorites, but he puts off describing them until the end. So, let’s look at the Anchorites first. They are people who need no guidance or support in order to live well. They know what kind of person they want to be and what values they want to live by. They put these values into practice. I think we all know that this kind of person is very rare. In fact, Benedict says that the guidance and support they have had from years of living with others has given them the strength to go it alone.
Second are the Sarabaites, people who need guidance and support but choose only to be guided by whatever they want or desire, whatever gives them pleasure. I don’t know about you, but it would be all too easy for me to go this route. I have to choose not to every day, with the support of my Sisters and the guidance of the rule of life that I have chosen to live by.
The next group, the Gyrovagues, is a variation on the same theme as the Sarabaites. Like the Sarabaites, they live by their desires, but when these are not met in one place, they move to another to get what they want.
Benedict’s favorite group and those for whom he wrote his Rule are the Cenobites. They are people who have the same wants/desires as above but wish to live by something more. They know they need guidance and the support of others.
Everyone has wants or desires. We all enjoy pleasure and creature comforts, but many people realize that seeking only these things will not bring them true happiness or joy – at least not long-term. Probably, the majority of people’s wants and desires are tempered by their circumstances, i.e., not enough money, family demands, job, etc. Living with others and being responsible for or accountable to them sets guidelines for our lives, but we don’t have to wait until we have a family or join a community to set our own parameters and choose the values we want to live by and then commit to it. At first, it may seem that this makes us less free, but in reality, it breaks the shackles of our whims and desires that tie us down.
By Sister Karen Ann Lortscher, OSB