When I attended the retreat at the Benedictine Mission House in Schuyler, Neb., last year, I, along with my fellow retreatants, ate midday and evening meals with monks in the monastery. The meals were served “family-style,” with one of the monks cooking and another serving the food. When I look back on the experience, I’m reminded of times I spent living communally—Boy Scout camp and the summers as a church camp counselor. In both cases, members of the group took turns setting the tables, serving the food, and cleaning up. At Camp Bashore, the scouts called this KP, kitchen patrol; it was part of one’s duty to the group. At Camp Kirchenwald, the times spent in the kitchen were seen as times spent practicing Christian service.

During the mad rush that fills our days, it is easy for meals to degenerate into fueling oneself. We eat on-the-go, perhaps in the car, maybe while working. But St. Benedict sees a greater purpose in meals beyond the restoration of our energies. As he describes the routines of “The Weekly Kitchen Servers,” he begins by noting, “The brothers should serve one another…for thus is merit increased and love built up” (RB 35:1-2). It seems to me that he is concerned not only with good order, but also with good ends. In fact, the handing off of duties occurs on Sunday mornings in the oratory (the sanctuary, literally the prayer-room) after Lauds (Morning Prayer, or Matins), when those finishing their week of service kneel and ask for the prayers of their brothers, while those beginning make the petition, with the psalmist, “God, come to my assistance; Lord, hasten to help me” (Psalm 69:2 in RB 35:17).

So, to make Luther’s famous catechetical turn, it’s worth asking, “What does this mean?” When I am living by the spirit of the Rule of St. Benedict, living out my commitment as an Oblate, I look at every part of my days through a special lens. This helps me to see that even the most routine, mundane parts of my day have a nobler, spiritual end to them. Wednesday is garbage day, for example, so Zeke and I walk the can from the house to the road in the morning. This fulfills the practical purpose of removing garbage from our house. But perhaps I might come to see this as a time to be reminded of God’s forgiveness.

But in addition to that, removing the garbage is an action that I can take as a way of showing love (caritas) for Anne. It’s nothing that would work well designed into a greeting card, but along with the many other actions, both small and great, that we take in our daily routines, we, just like the monks, “…serve one another in love” (RB 35:6). And that is a good and beautiful thing.

The challenge is to use this special lens to look at all of our encounters, relationships, and communities, and to ask ourselves how we can show love for others through our service. And so we pray, “God, come to my assistance; Lord, hasten to help me” (Psalm 69:2).

Ut in Omnibus Glorificetur Deus.