Commitment to communities

On November 1, the Universal Church will celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. In preparation for this unique feast day, we approached a few people to tell us about their favourite saint. Deonarine Jaggernauth shares on St Benedict.

On October 12, I received a call from Fr David Khan indicating that he would not be able to conduct the Confirmation class that afternoon and asked if I could conduct the lecture. I quickly began to review the life and teachings of the Patron Saint of the church, St Benedict. While I was conducting the research, I realised that this Patron Saint delved into humility and suggested that we can be humble in many ways.

I have grown in humility while in university and at work here in Trinidad. I viewed church as an assembly of many communities as referenced by St Benedict. Attending Mass on a Sunday morning has been my routine, and even though I was on call duty for work, I made it my responsibility to know the times of Masses at various Catholic churches so that I can find no excuse to miss Service except the times I was ill or on a job offshore.

My colleagues, who attended conferences with me, will relate to you that the first thing I do after checking into the hotel, was to find out where was the nearest Catholic church and how to get there.

Another way to be humble according to St Benedict is the desire to obey God. It is not surprising that I find time to reflect on the teachings of the scriptures like when Jesus Christ responds to a question, informing His followers not to do like the Pharisees and Sadducees who stood in the marketplace to show all they were praying, but instead go to your room and have that conversation with God.

Another one of St Benedict’s teachings which I adopted from my early childhood was to persevere when given an assignment that may seem to be difficult at first. The rewards of success are greater when you complete the assignment. Today my journey would not have been possible without the values St Benedict taught me. My activities in various organisations have never ceased.

I wish all young Catholics take a page out of his teachings and later in life they will be able to see the rewards. Indeed, St Benedict also faced tribulations like the two occasions they tried to poison the wine he had in the chalice and contaminated the bread he was about to eat. But the power of God came to his rescue and on both occasions the enemy was defeated.

He even invoked strict guidelines for monks and nuns as they were noted for hopping from one monastery to another. He requested that they maintain only one and serve that monastery to the best of their ability.

St Benedict also suggested that we develop a routine that will take us through the day, and along the daily path we find time to spend with God. Let us live and pray in community as spirituality emphasises stability and lifelong commitment. Let us be mindful of the teachings of St Benedict as we go about our daily life.