So, brothers and sisters, we have asked the
Lord who is to dwell in His tent, and we have heard His
commands to anyone who would dwell there; it remains for us to
fulfill those duties.
Therefore we must prepare our hearts and our
bodies to do battle under the holy obedience of His commands; and let
us ask God that He be pleased to give us the help of His grace for
anything which our nature finds hardly possible.
And if we want to escape the pains of hell and
attain life everlasting, then, while there is still time, while we
are still in the body and are able to fulfill all these things by the
light of this life, we must hasten to do now what will profit us for
eternity.
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In these
paragraphs, Benedict speaks for himself using his own words in an exhortation
to take up the challenge of being one chosen to dwell in his tent. This is not
just any struggle but it is a literal battle we engage in and we are urged to
prepare our hearts and are bodies to do battle. The battle is not just
spiritual but it would seem to be physical as well. There is a final plea for God's grace to
carry us when we cannot carry ourselves any further.
Finally,
we are to do so with all due speed - "we
must hasten to do now what will profit us for eternity." There
it is again. We are supposed to be quick about what we are supposed to be
doing.
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