Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 4, 2009

April 4, August 4, December 4

Chapter 53: On the Reception of Guests

Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ,
for He is going to say,
"I came as a guest, and you received Me" (Matt. 25:35).
And to all let due honor be shown,
especially to the domestics of the faith and to pilgrims.

As soon as a guest is announced, therefore,
let the Superior or the brethren meet him
with all charitable service.
And first of all let them pray together,
and then exchange the kiss of peace.
For the kiss of peace should not be offered
until after the prayers have been said,
on account of the devil's deceptions.

In the salutation of all guests, whether arriving or departing,
let all humility be shown.
Let the head be bowed
or the whole body prostrated on the ground
in adoration of Christ, who indeed is received in their persons.

After the guests have been received and taken to prayer,
let the Superior or someone appointed by him sit with them.
Let the divine law be read before the guest for his edification,
and then let all kindness be shown him.
The Superior shall break his fast for the sake of a guest,
unless it happens to be a principal fast day
which may not be violated.
The brethren, however, shall observe the customary fasts.
Let the Abbot give the guests water for their hands;
and let both Abbot and community wash the feet of all guests.
After the washing of the feet let them say this verse:
"We have received Your mercy, O God,
in the midst of Your temple" (Ps. 47[48]:10).

In the reception of the poor and of pilgrims
the greatest care and solicitude should be shown,
because it is especially in them that Christ is received;
for as far as the rich are concerned,
the very fear which they inspire
wins respect for them.


Some thoughts:

Please forgive me in advance. What I write below has been pressing on my heart for some time. I feel very much as if the Rule of St Benedict has formed the ideas I present below.

Ever since General Convention 2006 (of the Episcopal Church) I've been thinking about Holy Hospitality. I can't help but think that if there was a whole lot more emphasis upon Holy Hospitality with no strings attached as Benedict taught,

The model the world wide Anglican Communion should be using is that of Holy Hospitality. We must remember that when we entertain guests, we entertain Christ. We in the USA claim that Holy Hospitality is our charism what with all those signs saying "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You." Except that not every Episcopalian welcomes every other Episcopalian or every other person. Welcoming another does not require that we agree with them, only that we look for Christ in them. That is our sacred obligation.

The practice of Holy Hospitality requires Christians to demonstrate to the world our gut wrenching conviction that all persons are created in the image and likeness of God. That every single Christian is called to only one vocation: to love God with all that we are and have and to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is only the details of living that vocation that differ. Sadly what we Christians all too often demonstrate is that we fail to love ourselves. We can see this in our failure to love our neighbors. Scripture teaches us that every single human being, even those yet to be born, are our neighbors.

The crisis of the Anglican Communion is a failure to love. Oh, I am sure there is a chorus of "hey wait a minute, what about". And yes, we do many good and wonderful things. But we do not do enough. Somehow we have failed to communicate to our parishes that it is not solely what we do that is important, it is how we love others that is important.

To badly paraphrase Evelyn Underhill, if we truly love God and truly experience God's love for us, that love cannot be contained within the bounds of a human body but must fling out our arms to embrace the world and the love of God must overflow our bodies, streaming form our very pores, to love and serve God's creation, every human being, every bit of creation.

It is a joyous but also frightening thing to love like this. It requires us to face up to the lack of love we give to ourselves, to admit how much we may be ruled by fear of what might happen if we let go of control. We are so busy discussing (or arguing!!) over this or that and the best way to accomplish such and such. What about if we just dispense with all that and ask ourselves instead "What is the most radical way to love my fellow bits of creation? What will benefit others, first and foremost?"

Can we find the courage to step beyond the tried and true and go further in and higher up in God's call to each of us to fully embrace and welcome all as though they were Jesus?

Reading for Dec 5, 2007

Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/

April 5, August 5, December 5
Chapter 53: On the Reception of Guests

Let there be a separate kitchen for the Abbot and guests,
that the brethren may not be disturbed when guests,
who are never lacking in a monastery,
arrive at irregular hours.
Let two brethren capable of filling the office well
be appointed for a year to have charge of this kitchen.
Let them be given such help as they need,
that they may serve without murmuring.
And on the other hand,
when they have less to occupy them,
let them go out to whatever work is assigned them.

And not only in their case
but in all the offices of the monastery
let this arrangement be observed,
that when help is needed it be supplied,
and again when the workers are unoccupied
they do whatever they are bidden.

The guest house also shall be assigned to a brother
whose soul is possessed by the fear of God.
Let there be a sufficient number of beds made up in it;
and let the house of God be managed by prudent men
and in a prudent manner.

On no account shall anyone who is not so ordered
associate or converse with guests.
But if he should meet them or see them,
let him greet them humbly, as we have said,
ask their blessing and pass on,
saying that he is not allowed to converse with a guest.


Some thoughts:

Guests are very well provided for, are they not? Even a separate kitchen so that they may be sure of a meal no matter what time they arrive. It is in these chapters on receiving guests that we find the origin of the hotel industry. Somewhere someone decided to cash in on what Benedictine monasteries had offered for free. But I digress.

In yesterday's reading, the emphasis was upon the guest. In today's reading the emphasis is on the monks and the monastery. The silence of the monastery is protected. Monks, while greeting any guests they meet courteously, also graciously excuse themselves from conversation in order to continue in silence.

There are 2 things Benedict stresses: one is that the guest master be one whose sights are fixed on the Lord and that this person also be prudent. At a guess, I'd say the former requirement defines one who understands boundaries and will not get sucked up into the lives of the guests or distracted by their requests (or demands!) but who will remained focused on God. As for prudence... well, that person is being entrusted with the use of the monastery's stuff and so needs to know how to use it appropriately.

Seems to me I can well use constant reminders of the appropriate use of my time and goods. All too easy to be sucked into something good only to find out later that as good a good as it might be, it is not a good where the Lord would have me participate. have you hjad this experience?

The other thing that is stressed here is the necessity of asking for help. Benedict mentions it twice. We are not supposed to wait for someone to notice we need help or to wait so long that we have harsh feelings in our hearts that no one has volunteered. We are to ask right up front at the beginning. Benedict wants us to know, recognize and **honor** our limits. There is no shame in this because we are a Body, a community and we are all here for the health of the Body and to serve the Lord.

I must admit, I fall into the heresy of self-sufficiency frequently. Self-sufficiency of the individual Christian was outed as a wrong over 1600 years ago when Pelagius postulated it. ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagius )

Have you also been sucked into the notion that you must do it all yourself, that it won't get done if you don't do it? Do you continue to say "yes" when you are exhausted? Do you have trouble asking for help?



Insight for the Ages: A Commentary by Sr Joan Chittister
http://www.eriebenedictines.org/Pages/INSPIRATION/insights.html


With the fall of the Roman Empire, travel through Europe on unguarded and unkept roads through hostile territory and at the prey of marauding bands became both difficult and dangerous. Benedictine monasteries became the hospice system of Europe. There, anyone was received at any time. Rich and poor alike were accepted as equals and given the same service: food, bedding, immediate attention day or night. Yet, so that the monastery could remain a monastery in the midst of a steadily growing need for this monastic service, a special kitchen and special workers were assigned to provide the necessary care. It's an important addition to a chapter that could otherwise be read to mean that the monastic life itself was at the mercy of meandering peasants. The fact is that we all have to learn to provide for others while maintaining the values and structures, the balance and depth, of our own lives. The community that is to greet the guest is not to barter its own identity in the name of the guest. On the contrary, if we become less than we must be then we will be no gift for the guest at all. Parents must parent and all the good work in the world will not substitute for that. Wives and husbands must be present to the other and all the needs in the world will not forgive that. Balance and order and prayer in the life of those who practice Benedictine spirituality is key to being a genuine support in the lives of others. Somehow we must take on the needs of the world with a humble heart. As Hale said, "I cannot do everything but I can do something and what I can do I will do, so help me God."

Reading for Dec 4, 2007

Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/

April 4, August 4, December 4
Chapter 53: On the Reception of Guests

Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ,
for He is going to say,
"I came as a guest, and you received Me" (Matt. 25:35).
And to all let due honor be shown,
especially to the domestics of the faith and to pilgrims.

As soon as a guest is announced, therefore,
let the Superior or the brethren meet him
with all charitable service.
And first of all let them pray together,
and then exchange the kiss of peace.
For the kiss of peace should not be offered
until after the prayers have been said,
on account of the devil's deceptions.

In the salutation of all guests, whether arriving or departing,
let all humility be shown.
Let the head be bowed
or the whole body prostrated on the ground
in adoration of Christ, who indeed is received in their persons.

After the guests have been received and taken to prayer,
let the Superior or someone appointed by him sit with them.
Let the divine law be read before the guest for his edification,
and then let all kindness be shown him.
The Superior shall break his fast for the sake of a guest,
unless it happens to be a principal fast day
which may not be violated.
The brethren, however, shall observe the customary fasts.
Let the Abbot give the guests water for their hands;
and let both Abbot and community wash the feet of all guests.
After the washing of the feet let them say this verse:
"We have received Your mercy, O God,
in the midst of Your temple" (Ps.47:10).

In the reception of the poor and of pilgrims
the greatest care and solicitude should be shown,
because it is especially in them that Christ is received;
for as far as the rich are concerned,
the very fear which they inspire
wins respect for them.

Some thoughts:

How important is the guest to Benedict? How is the guest to be welcomed? As far back as Abraham it has been the Judaeo-Christian teaching, even if not always practiced, that the guest is sacred.

Is the guest sacred today? Do we even stop to think this way about our guests? Do we even have guests in our homes any more? If we were to view the guest as sacred, how would our hospitality change?

Sr Joan has a lot to say about this portion of the Rule. Many books have been written about hospitality in the RB. For me, though, the importance of this chapter and everywhere else where Father Benedict speaks of the treatment of the guest, is summed up by something I read in _Reaching Out_ by Henri Nouwen. The ultimate hospitality is the entertainment of God in our bodies, minds, souls and spirits. Evelyn Underhill wrote of it differently: We can know we truly love God because the love we have for God is so great it comes out of our very pores and is extended to others.

It's Advent, possibly the most hospitable season of the year, when we are more likely than ever to have guests in our home. More than that, though, we prepare for the arrival of the most important guest of all. A good time maybe to reflect on the true meaning of hospitality.


Insight for the Ages: A Commentary by Sr Joan Chittister
http://www.eriebenedictines.org/Pages/INSPIRATION/insights.html

CHAPTER 53. THE RECEPTION OF GUESTS

Apr. 4 - Aug. 4 - Dec. 4

All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, who said: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Mt 25:35)." Proper honor must be shown "to all, especially to those who share our faith (Gal 6:10)" and to pilgrims.

Once guests have been announced, the prioress or abbot and the community are to meet them with all the courtesy of love. First of all, they are to pray together and thus be united in peace, but prayer must always precede the kiss of peace because of the delusions of the devil.

Stereotypes come hard in the Benedictine tradition. Is this a spirituality that centers on prayer or work? Does it recommend fleeing the world or embracing it? Does it set out to create a world unto itself or to leaven the wider one? The difficulty with understanding Benedictine spirituality comes in reading some sections of the Rule without reading the entire document. The fact is that Benedictine spirituality is not based in dualism, in the notion that things of the world are bad for us and things of the spirit are good. We are not to pray too long but we are to pray always. Self-discipline is a given but wine and food and the creature comforts of a bed with bedding are also considered necessary. The Rule is for everyone, including the abbot or prioress, and yet everyone is a potential exception to it.

In this chapter on guests and hospitality, the wholism out of which it emerges is startlingly plain: This is a monastery and guests are to be received. As Christ. "Hospitality is one form of worship," the rabbis wrote. Benedictine spirituality takes it seriously. The welcome at the door is not only loving--a telephone operator at a jail can do that. It is total, as well. Both the community and the abbot receive the guest. The message to the stranger is clear: Come right in and disturb our perfect lives. You are the Christ for us today.

And to assure us all, guest and monastic alike, that this hospitality is an act of God which we are undertaking, the community and the guest pray together first and then extend the kiss of welcome so that it is understood that our welcome is not based on human measurements alone: we like you, we're impressed with you, you look like our kind, you're clean and scrubbed and minty-breathed and worthy of our attention.

Hospitality in a culture of violence and strangers and anonymity has become the art of making good connections at good cocktail parties. We don't talk in elevators, we don't know the security guard's name, we don't invite even the neighbors in to the sanctuary of our selves. Their children get sick and their parents die and all we do is watch the comings and goings from behind heavy blinds. Benedict wants us to let down the barriers of our hearts so that this generation does not miss accompanying the innocent to Calvary as the last one did. Benedict wants us to let down the barriers of our souls so that the God of the unexpected can come in.

All humility should be shown in addressing a guest on arrival or departure. By a bow of the head or by a complete prostration of the body, Christ is to be adored and welcomed in them. After the guests have been received, they should be invited to pray; then the abbot or prioress or an appointed member will sit with them. The divine law is read to all guests for their instruction, and after that every kindness is shown to them. The prioress or abbot may break their fast for the sake of a guest, unless it is a day of special fast which cannot be broken. The members, however, observe the usual fast. The abbot or prioress shall pour water on the hands of the guest, and the abbot or prioress with the entire community shall wash their feet. After washing they will recite this verse: "God, we have received your mercy in the midst of your temple (Ps 48:10)."

"In India," Ram Dass writes, "when people meet and part they often say, 'Namaste,' which means: I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides; I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us....'Namaste'." In Benedictine spirituality, too, hospitality is clearly meant to be more than an open door. It is an acknowledgement of the gifts the stranger brings. "By a bow of the head or by a complete prostration....Christ is to be adored and welcomed in them." But Benedictine hospitality is also a return of gifts. The stranger is shown both presence and service. After a trip through hard terrain and hot sun, the guest is given physical comfort and a good meal, spiritual instruction and human support. Not even a fast day is counted as important as eating with a guest. Not even asceticism is counted as holy as care for the other. Obviously, from the point of view of the Rule of Benedict, it isn't so much what we do for those curious others in our lives, the strange, the needy, the unscrubbed, as it is the way we do it. We can give people charity or we can give them attention. We can give them the necessities of life or we can give them its joys. Benedictine hospitality is the gift of one human being to another.

Benedictine hospitality is not simply bed and bath; it is home and family.

Great care and concern are to be shown in receiving poor people and pilgrims, because in them more particularly Christ is received; our very awe of the rich guarantees them special respect.

"It's a barren prayer," St. Cyprian wrote, "that does not go hand in hand with alms." For the Benedictine heart the reception of the poor is an essential part of going to God. We cannot be too busy, too professional, too removed from the world of the poor to receive the poor and sustain the poor. Anything else, Benedict warns in a society that is by nature class structured, is not hospitality. It is at best more protocol than piety. Those who can buy their comforts or demand their rights are simply receiving what they can get, with us or without us. Those who have been thrown upon the mercy of the world are the gauge of our open hearts.

It is an important distinction in a culture in which strangers are ignored and self-sufficiency is considered a sign of virtue and poverty is a synonym for failure. Hospitality for us may as much involve a change of attitudes and perspectives as it does a handout. To practice hospitality in our world, it may be necessary to evaluate all the laws and all the promotions and all the invitation lists of corporate and political society from the point of view of the people who never make the lists. Then hospitality may demand that we work to change things.