Over at Crisis Magazine, Austin Ruse has written a nice piece about the “Escriva Option.” I get Ruse’s weekly Letter from the UN Front, but their tone is so hyper that I usually ignore them. This article, however, is worth a read: he urges that one way to pursue Dreher’s “Benedict Option” is by following St. Josemaria Escriva. The more ways we can get of describing and approaching what is needful in our times, the better.
But there is one point where I want to take issue with the article. He makes a big deal of saying that laypeople should not look to religious orders for the way to live the lay state:
The question becomes: is St. Benedict a proper model for the laity? Whether there is withdrawal to the mountains or not, the implication of the Benedict Option is that laymen can somehow follow a monastic model. Certainly there are third order Benedictines, there are even third order Trappists, though I suspect they are chattier than those behind the walls. But, laymen need not ape the practices of those we may think are spiritual athletes to live out our vocation as laymen.
Continue reading “No need to drop “Benedict” from the “Benedict Option””
