Greed or Glory: Our Choice!

by Sr. Espy OSB-F

Cellarer of the Feline Cloister. Sr. Espy is a brand new Cloister author. Favorite time of day? Meal times.

Hi! Sr. Espy here. I have an instruction for you –

Will all who are greedy, please stand up!

What? Not one of us is standing? Not even me!

Let’s take a look at this…

Sr Espy loves telling everyone what to do

St. Benedict on Greed

Benedict hits greed head on in the Rule because greed is a real danger to the spiritual life. He prohibits private ownership (RB 33) and asks his monastics to not grumble if someone gets more than they do (RB 34). Personally, I hiss at that one. It’s not fair! He also says that a monastic must give the superior any gift that they receive so that the superior may give the gift to whomever she or he wills. What?!? Hiss!

In Chapter 57 – The Artisans of the Monastery Benedict addresses setting the price of goods sold by the monastery.

“The evil of avarice must have no part in establishing prices, which should, therefore, always be a little lower than people outside the monastery are able to set, so that in all things God may be glorified”
(1 Pet 4:11). RB 57.7, 8

Greed is Around Us 24/7 and Comes in Many Forms

Now some of us may make things to price and sell. But this caution against greed isn’t just about money. We live in a culture soaked with greed of many kinds. Greed even ekes into the Feline Cloister.

Greed takes many guises, some of which we may not initially think of as greed. Here are a few that I thought of.

Little Mollie I. Wantmore
will not share her dolls
with her friends

We all need affirmation
but we can get greedy for it

Multivarious Forms of Greed

greed for “stuff,” greed for the latest technology, for security, for comforts like the softest bed

greed for food delectables – cat treats, cookies, wine, nibbles…

greed for self-indulgent activities, for the good opinion of others, and greed for that snazzy sweater or pair of shoes that we just must have (humans only here)

greed for recognition for the super-fabulous things we can do, for doing things that make us look good, and greed for the chorus of “Isn’t she wonderful” or “You’re the best!”

greed for telling everyone else what to do, for having everything under control,

greed for having the longest to-do list, and greed for completing everything on that list, greed for having a big cushion of cash in the bank,

and for, etc., etc, and puff, puff.

Are there any that you could add to my list?

A plate to satisfy
“Cookie Greed”
(Amma says, “Yum!”)

Becky I. Candomore trumpets,
“Look at how busy I am!”

Espy’s Personal Confession of Greed

In her book Monastic Wisdom For Happiness, the feline Benedictine scholar Maria Benedicta Ramos, OSB-F, writes, “…we tend to see greed as a quality in other people rather than in ourselves…Greed,” she mews, “is a thought that exists on a spectrum from weak to strong, but it affects us all.” [1]

To be honest I must ask myself, “Where am I bitten by the greed bug?”

The Greed Bug

As cellarer of the Feline Cloister I’m not to be greedy and snitch from the Cloister stores because I want more cat treats or toys or extra food. Benedict is really clear on this. You should heed his instructions even if you aren’t a cellarer.

“As cellarer of the monastery, there should be chosen from the community someone who is wise, mature in conduct, temperate, not an excessive eater, not proud, excitable, offensive, dilatory or wasteful, but God-fearing, and like a parent to the whole community.” RB 31.1-2

Amma underlined those qualities in my copy of the Rule that she felt that I needed to work on the most to be a “more-in-line-with-the-Rule” cellarer.

Truth is, I am greedy, not only about food but about everything in our residence. Everything belongs to me and there is not enough to satisfy me. The three soft beds are mine, the water dishes, too. And the rocker, the ottoman, and any new box that makes its way into the cloister. But my mantra is always “Mine and More!”

But I’m not the only one bitten by this bug. Amma will rewrite an article until it’s “perfect.” She declares this is “so that people will be helped and inspired by it.” Or does Amma really mean, “…so that people will acknowledge me as a good and knowledgeable writer?” Hmmmm….

Against my better judgment I include a short video of myself before meals. Do you ever feellike this inside?

I’m not the only one bitten by this bug. Amma will rewrite an article until it’s “perfect.” She declares this is “so that people will be helped and inspired by it.” Or does Amma really mean, “…so that people will acknowledge me as a good and knowledgeable writer?” Hmmmm….

A Pause for Your Consideration

Let’s pause for a moment to reflect.

Where are you smitten by the “greed bug?” (Surely, not I, Lord?”)

This is hard. Maybe you and I need to step it down a bit to “What do I always really, really want? This avoids the “G” word.

Please take a few moments to consider where you might harbor the Greed Bug.

Sr Espy before meals.

She eats in a big cage so she doesn’t eat the food
of her confreres.

Living to the Glory of God

Let’s take a look at the “greed verse” again.

What I notice here is that Benedict names the flip side of greed – to glorify God.

If we are intent on following Benedict and his Gospel-focused path, we must set aside as best we can ANY and ALL forms of greed, “so that in all things God may be glorified.” RB 57.7-9

When you and I are motivated by greed of whatever kind it is, our motivations and our actions come from ourselves and point to ourselves. Even if these actions seem harmless, they keep us enclosed in our own narrow world as we busily arrange things to pump up our glory. We shut ourselves off from the presence of grace, beauty, and glory of God around us.

Living to the glory of God is offering all we do to God. It is acknowledging that all we do is with God and for God. We can hold ourselves lightly and point to God instead of to ourselves in all we do and all we are.

What it Means to Live to the Glory of God

Sr Nikki, OSB-F,
Cloister Porter

I asked our cloister Porter, Sr. Nikki, what she thought doing everything to glorify God meant. “That’s easy, Espy,” She mewed. “You do everything with the love of God in your heart – your love for God and God’s love for you.”

Our Resident Novice Scholar Little Jenny offered Brother Lawrence as a model for us.

“[Brother Lawrence] was pleased when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking him only, and nothing else, not even his gifts.” [2]

Amma shared with me that at the end of his compositions eighteenth-century Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach wrote this

Soli Deo Gloria – To God Alone the Glory

And he really meant that!

Let’s stamp out greed!

Novice Scholar
Little Jenny boning up on Brother Lawrence

Replace Greed with the Glory of God Every Day

Bottom line, we can set aside our self-focus and do ALL we do for the glory of God.

Amma shared her thoughts with me. “Can I cook the meal, write, clean the litter pans, make the bed, make a decision, shovel the driveway, solve a problem, be patient in this contentious situation, have a conversation with my husband…ALL for the glory of God?” Good question. It takes intention.

Might we try doing a task or two each day for the love and glory of God?

And then expand this approach to more and more tasks and responsibilities.

What happens when we practice this spiritual discipline?

We experience gratitude and a greater ability to live in the present moment. That’s because we focus on God and not on ourselves. We have the love of God in our hearts. I think what we experience will be different for all of us, yet a common thread among us is that we draw closer to God.