The Benedictine Rule is strictâits main theme being absolute obedience to the Abbot. Most people used to the freedoms and luxuries of life in the modern West would find it too demanding but in its historical context, it would not have been seen that way. Life in medieval Europe was incomparably poorer and more restricted than it is today: the life Benedict describes would be a step up for the poorest people and not much of a step down for the rest. Secondly, since St Antonyâs time monks had subjected themselves to increasingly incredible ordeals in their attempts to subdue the flesh. Benedictâs emphasis on obedience to a supervisor is intended on the one hand to stop monks from excesses, and on the other to spur on the less enthusiastic. And lastly, the monastery was envisaged not as a prison camp to punish offenders, but as a loving community where people come together to help each other in their chosen path, to submit their entire lives to the will of God.
Benedict created the rule at a time when the Roman Empire had collapsed in the West, and Europe was being overrun by barbarian tribes, most of them pagans. It looked like Christianity in Europe was finished. Benedictine monasteries, more than anything else, kept the faith alive, and their short, simple but comprehensive rulebook allowed them to clone themselves unstoppably. Later, the monasteries were encouraged by Charlemagne, and spread like wildfire. And since Benedict required monks to spend time in reading, they kept theology and culture alive through centuries when almost the entire continent was illiterate.
The numbered paragraphs below refer to sections in the Rule.
5. Obedience
The first step of humility is to obey without delay. This is proper for those who â because they have promised holy subjection, or because of the fear of hell, or the glory of life everlasting â hold nothing more precious than Christ. The moment the Abbot commands anything they obey instantly as if commanded by God Himself. As the Lord says, âAt the hearing of the ear he has obeyed meâ [Ps 17:45]. This obedience, though, will be acceptable to God and men, only if it is done without hesitation, delay, lukewarmness, grumbling or complaint, because the obedience which is given to Abbots is given to God. For he himself says to the teachers, âAnyone who hears you hears meâ [Lk. 10:16]. Disciples must obey with good will, âfor the Lord loves a cheerful giverâ [2 Cor. 9:7]. If they obey with ill will, and murmur with their lips and in their hearts, even if they fulfill the command, it is not acceptable to God, who sees the heart of the murmurer. Such action deserves punishment rather than reward.
Explanation: hope this helps I found this on a website (not my work)
