Rule of St. Benedict | The Reception of Guests

This last quotation is a famous passage from the Rule of St. Benedict about the Reception of Guests:

“All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matt 25:35). Proper honor must be shown to all, especially to those who share the faith (Gal 6:10) and to pilgrims.

Once a guess has been announced, the superior and the brothers are to meet him 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.

All humility should be shown in addressing a guest on arrival or departure. By a bow of the head or by complete prostration of the body, Christ is to be adored because he is indeed welcomed in them. After the guests have been received, they should be invited to pray; then the superior or an appointed brother will sit with them. The divine law is read to the guest for his instruction, and after that every kindness is shown to him. The superior may break his fast for the sake of the guest, unless it is a day of special fast which cannot be broken. The brothers, however, observe the usual fast. The abbot shall pour water on the hands of the guests, and the abbot with the entire community shall wash their feet. After the washing they will recite this verse: God, we have received your mercy in the midst of your temple (Ps 47[48]:10).

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

The kitchen for the abbot and guests ought to be separate, so that guests – and monasteries are never without them – need not disturb the brothers when they present themselves at unpredictable hours. Each year, two brothers who can do the work competently are to be assigned to this kitchen. Additional help should be available when needed so that they can perform this service without grumbling. On the other hand, when the work slackens, they are to go wherever other duties are assigned them. This consideration is not for them alone, but applies to all duties in the monastery; the brothers are to be given help when it is needed, and whenever they are free, they work wherever they are assigned.

The guest quarters are to be entrusted to a God-fearing brother. Adequate bedding should be available there. The house of God should be in the care of wise men who will manage it wisely.

No one is to speak or associate with guests unless he is bidden; however, if a brother meets or sees a guest, he is to greet him humbly, as we have said. He asks for a blessing and continues on his way, explaining that he is not allowed to speak with a guest.”

Guests were to be received as if they were Christ himself. Hospitality was (and is) core to Christian monasticism, and as this passage says: “monasteries are never without [guests].” I was once shown hospitality as I was traveling in Colorado by the monastery associated with Thomas Keating with a stay in a hermitage free of charge. There was something about even just being on the premises of the monastery that was edifying to me.

The Rule of St. Benedict has had a tremendous impact on Christian monasticism and is still used to inform how these communities are structured today.

Rule of St. Benedict | Daily Manual Labor

“Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore, the brothers should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for prayerful reading.

We believe that the times for both may be arranged as follows: From Easter to the first of October, they will spend their mornings after Prime till about the fourth hour at whatever work needs to be done. From the fourth hour until the time of Sext, they will devote themselves to reading. But after Sext and their meal, they may rest on their beds in complete silence; should a brother wish to read privately, let him do so, but without disturbing the others. They should say None a little early, about midway through the eighth hour, and then until Vespers they are to return to whatever work is necessary. They must not become distressed if local conditions or their poverty should force them to do the harvesting themselves. When they live by the labor of their hands, as our fathers and the apostles did, then they are really monks.”

Idleness was the enemy of the soul and manual labor was always part of the monk’s day. Usually manual labor in monasteries was repetitive work. The Desert Fathers were known for rope-tying. Often the results of the work would go towards supporting the monastery.

Thomas Merton once said that if he had a job in the world it would be as a janitor.

Rule of St. Benedict | Monks and Private Ownership

“Above all, this evil practice must be uprooted and removed from the monastery. We mean that without an order from the abbot, no one may presume to give, receive or retain anything as his own, nothing at all – not a book, writing tablets or stylus – in short, not a single item, especially since monks may not have the free disposal of even their own bodies and wills. For their needs, they are to look to the father of the monastery, and are not allowed anything which the abbot has not given or permitted. All things should be the common possession of all, as it is written, so that no one presumes to call anything his own (Acts 4:32).”

Rule of St. Benedict | Excommunication

“If a brother is found to be stubborn or disobedient or proud, if he grumbles or in any way despises the holy rule and defies the orders of his seniors, he should be warned twice privately by the seniors in accord with out Lord’s injunction (Matt 18:15-16). If he does not amend, he must be rebuked publicly in the presence of everyone. But if even then he does not reform, let him be excommunicated, provided that he understand the nature of this punishment. If however he lacks understanding, let him undergo corporal punishment.”

The Rule goes on to discuss the rules for excommunication for several chapters. The abbot was supposed to do everything in his power to save the brother, and excommunication was a last resort to save the rest of the community from the influence of the wayward monk. Corporal punishment was also practiced in the Rule.

In all punishment, the abbot was to “exercise the utmost care and concern for wayward brothers, because it is not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick.”

Rule of St. Benedict | Let Us At Least Agree To Drink Moderately

“We read that monks should not drink wine at all, but since the monks of our day cannot be convinced of this, let us at least agree to drink moderately, and not to the point of excess…”

“…the monks of our day cannot be convinced of this.” I found this funny. Every once in a while you get little peeks into the humanity of the Desert Fathers and early monks. Apparently abbots couldn’t convince at least some of their monks to give up wine. Some modern monasteries are now even famously known for their production of beer and wines. It also reminds me of St. Anthony’s saying about Bending a Bow So Much.

Rule of St. Benedict | The Divine Office, Liturgy of the Hours

In Benedictine Monasticism, a typical day is structured around The Divine Office or the “Liturgy of the Hours.” In Chapter 16 of the Rule, Benedict lists 7 periods during the day when monks gather for spiritual practice. Vigil is a nighttime gathering, which makes 8 total gatherings per 24 hour period.

“The Prophet says: Seven times a day have I praised you (Ps 118[119]: 164). We will fulfill this sacred number of seven if we satisfy our obligations of service at Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline, for it was of these hours during the day that he said: Seven times a day I have praised you (Ps 119[119]: 164). Concerning Vigils, the same Prophet says: At midnight I arose to give you praise (Ps 118[119]: 62). Therefore, we should praise our Creator for his just judgments at these times: Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline; and let us arise at night to give him praise (Ps 118[119]: 164,62).

The exact time of day of each of the “hours” seems to have changed with the season, but generally speaking they were as follows:

Lauds: Dawn or 5am.
Prime: Early Morning or 6am.
Terce: Mid-Morning or 9am.
Sext: Midday or 12 noon.
None: Mid-Afternoon or 3pm.
Vespers: Evening or 6 pm.
Compline: Night or 7pm.

Vigil: Middle of the Night or 2am.

I try to keep my own “hours” for my personal situation and practice of Centering Prayer. I am at generally at my best when I have a routine, and spiritual practice is no exception. I have also experimented with Monk Days which may put me close to a typical Benedictine schedule on those days.

Rule of St. Benedict | Psalmody

Singing and the recitation of various Psalms has a special place in Benedictine spirituality. In Chapter Nine of the Rule, St. Benedict describes a typical “Vigil” (nighttime gathering of the monks):

“During the winter season, Vigils begin with the verse: Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall proclaim your praise (Ps 50[51]:17). After this has been said three times, the following order is observed: Psalm 3 with “Glory be to the Father”; Psalm 94 with a refrain, or at least chanted; an Abrosian hymn; then six psalms with refrain.

After the psalmody, a versicle is said and the abbot gives a blessing. When all are seated on the benches, the brothers in turn read three selections from the book on the lectern. After each reading a responsory is sung. “Glory be to the Father” is not sung after the first two responsories, but only after the third reading. As soon as a the cantor begins to sing “Glory be to the Father,” let all the monks rise from their seats in honor and reverence for the Holy Trinity. Besides the inspired books of the Old and New Testaments, the works read at Vigils should include explanations of Scripture by reputable and orthodox catholic Fathers.

When these three readings and their responsories have been finished, the remaining six psalms are sung with an “alleluia” refrain. This ended, there follows a reading from the Apostle recited by heart, a versicle and the litany, that is, “Lord have mercy." And so Vigils are concluded.”

This vigil makes use of 15 Psalms.

Day By Day Remind Yourself That You Are Going To Die

“Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die.”

The repeated theme of being ever-conscious of your own mortality stands out after reading the Desert Fathers and then the Rule of St. Benedict.

We hide death in our culture. It sounds grotesque to “remind yourself day by day that you are going to die.” But doing so could also potentially change how we live for the better. Several week ago, I was driving through a part of town I had never been. In this area, there were many roads constructed to drive through a public cemetery. This cemetery was filled with fresh flowers among the gravestones. It was clearly often visited, and did not strike me as a sad place to be. I thought about things like legacy, how I wanted to live in light of the transitoriness of life, and honoring those who had come before me.

This is part of the wisdom of the early Christian monastic tradition.

Rule of St. Benedict | Restraint of Speech

“Let us follow the Prophet’s counsel: I said, I have resolved to keep watch over my ways that I may never sin with my tongue. I have put a guard on my mouth. I was silent and was humbled, and I refrained even from good words (Ps 38[39]:2-3). Here the prophet indicates that there are times when good words are to be left unsaid out of esteem for silence. For all the more reason, then, should evil speech be curbed so that punishment for sin may be avoided. Indeed, so important is silence that permission to speak should seldom be granted even to mature disciples, no matter how good or holy or constructive their talk…”

Restraint of speech and the importance of keeping silence is emphasized throughout the Rule of St. Benedict.

Rule of St. Benedict | As Though Naturally

The rule of St. Benedict, and monastic traditions in general, often give the vibe of military type training. At first, the soldier may despise discipline. His commanding officer may be severe and the initially soft individual must become strong. After his training, the soldier can look back and appreciate the discipline imposed on him by his commander. The soldier is a new kind of person, and he owes it to the training.

In Christian monasticism, the disciple is training to perfect the soul. He is training to develop purity of heart and to become the kind of person who does the Good – serves the will of God – naturally.

“Now, therefore, after ascending all these steps of humility, the monk will quickly arrive at that perfect love of God which casts out fear. Through this love, all that he once performed with dread, he will now begin to observe without effort, as though naturally, from habit, no longer out of fear of hell, but out of love for Christ, good habit and delight in virtue. All this the Lord will by the Holy Spirit graciously manifest in his workman now cleansed of vices and sins.”

Fear of hell is specifically mentioned several times as a motivator for behavior in the Rule of St. Benedict (as it is in the New Testament), but is also relativized by texts such as these.

When the monk is further down the road to perfection, love becomes the primary motivator and his purified actions come naturally.

Rule of St. Benedict | The Tools of the Spiritual Craft

Chapter 4 of the Rule of St. Benedict contains what is sometimes referred to as a “virtue list.” Here Benedict refers to the list of virtues for monks – most of which are based on selections from the Christian scriptures – as the Tools of the Spiritual Craft, continuing his emphasis on forming one’s own character through the labor of moral development. Italicized texts are in the English translation and are used when Benedict references scripture.

“First of all, love the Lord God with your whole heart, your whole soul and all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:37-39; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27). Then the following: You are not to kill, not to commit adultery; you are not to steal not covet (Rom 13:9); you are not to bear false witness (Matt 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20). You must honor everyone (1 Peter 2:17), and never do to another what you do not want done to yourself (Tob 4:16; Matt 7:12; Luke 6:31).

Renounce yourself in order to follow Christ (Matt 16:24; Luke 9:23); discipline your body (1 Cor 9:27); do not pamper yourself, but love fasting. You must relieve the lot of the poor, clothe the naked, visit the sick (Matt 25:36), and bury the dead. Go to help the troubled and console the sorrowing.

Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way; the love of Christ must come before all else. You are not to act in anger or nurse a grudge. Rid your heart of all deceit. Never give a hollow greeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love. Bind yourself to no oath lest it prove false, but speak the truth with heart and tongue.

Do not repay one bad turn with another (1 Thess 5:15, 1 Pet 3:9). Do not injure anyone, but bear injuries patiently. Love your enemies (Matt 5:44; Luke 6:27). If people curse you, do not curse them back but bless them instead. Endure persecution for the sake of justice (Matt 5:10).

You must not be proud, nor be given to wine (Titus 1:7; 1 Tim 3:3). Refrain from too much eating or sleeping, and from laziness (Rom 12:11). Do not grumble or speak ill of others.

Place your hope in God alone. If you notice something good in yourself, give credit to God, not to yourself, but be certain that the evil you commit is always your own and yours to acknowledge.

Live in fear of judgment day and have a great horror of hell. Yearn for everlasting life with holy desire. Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die. Hour by hour keep careful watch over all you do, aware that God’s gaze is upon you, wherever you may be. As soon as wrongful thoughts come into your heart, dash them against Christ and disclose them to your spiritual father. Guard your lips from harmful or deceptive speech. Prefer moderation in speech and speak no foolish chatter, nothing just to provoke laughter; do not love immoderate or boisterous laughter.

Listen readily to holy reading, and devote yourself often to prayer. Every day with tears and sighs confess your past sins to God in prayer and change from these evil ways in the future.

Do not gratify the promptings of the flesh (Gal 5:16); hate the urgings of self-will. Obey the orders of the abbot unreservedly, even if his own conduct – which God forbid – be at odds with what he says. Remember the teaching of the Lord: Do what they say, not what they do (Matt 23:3).

Do not aspire to be called holy before you really are, but first be holy that you may more truly be called so. Live by God’s commandments every day; treasure chastity, harbor neither hatred not jealousy of anyone, and do nothing out of envy. Do not love quarreling; shun arrogance. Respect the elders and love the young. Pray for your enemies out of love for Christ. If you have a dispute with someone, make peace with him before the sun goes down.

And finally, never lose hope in God’s mercy.

These, then, are the tools of the spiritual craft. When we have used them without ceasing day and night and have returned them on judgment day, our wages will be the reward the Lord has promised: What the eye has not seen nor the ear heard, God has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor 2:9).

The workshop where we are to toil faithfully at all these tasks is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in the community.”

Rule of St. Benedict | The Abbot

“To be worthy of the task of governing a monastery, the abbot must always remember what his title signifies and act as a superior should. He is believed to hold the place of Christ in the monastery, since he is addressed by the title of Christ, as the Apostle indicates: You have received the spirit of adoption of sons by which we exclaim, abba, father (Rom 8:15). Therefore, the abbot must never teach or decree or command anything that would deviate from the Lord’s instructions. On the contrary, everything he teaches and commands should, like the leaven of divine justice, permeate the minds of his disciples. Let the abbot always remember that at the fearful judgment of God, not only his teaching but also his disciples’ obedience will come under scrutiny. The abbot must, therefore, be aware that the shepherd will bear the blame wherever the father of the household finds that the sheep have yielded no profit. Still, if he has faithfully shepherded a restive and disobedient flock, always striving to cure their unhealthy ways, it will be otherwise: the shepherd will be acquitted at the Lord’s judgment. Then, like the Prophet, he may say to the Lord: I have not hidden your justice in my heart; I have proclaimed your truth and your salvation (Ps 39:11), but they spurned and rejected me (Isa 1:2; Ezek 20:27). Then at last the sheep that have rebelled against his care will be punished by the overwhelming power of death.

Furthermore, anyone who receives the name of abbot is to lead his disciples by a twofold teaching: he must point out to them all that is good and holy more by example than by words, proposing the commandments of the Lord to receptive disciples with words, but demonstrating God’s instructions to the stubborn and the dull by living example. Again, if he teaches his disciples that something is not to be done, then neither must he do it, lest after preaching to others, he himself be found reprobate (1 Cor 9:27) and God some day call him in his sin: How is it that you repeat my just commands and mouth my covenant when you hate discipline and toss my words behind you (Ps 49:16-17)? And also this: How is it that you can see a splinter in your brother’s eye, and never notice the plank in your own (Matt 7:3)?

The abbot should avoid all favoritism in the monastery. He is not to love one more than another unless he finds someone better in good actions and obedience. A man born free is not to be given a higher rank than a slave who becomes a monk, except for some other good reason. But the abbot is free, if he sees fit, to change anyone’s rank as justice demands. Ordinarily, everyone is to keep his regular place, because whether slave or free, we are all one in Christ (Gal 3:28; Eph 6:8) and share alike in bearing arms in the service of the one Lord, for God shows no partiality among persons (Rom 2:11). Only in this are we distinguished in his sight: if we are found better than others in good works and humility. Therefore, the abbot is to show equal love to everyone and apply the same discipline to all according to their merits.

In his teaching, the abbot should always observe the Apostle’s recommendation, in which he says: Use argument, appeal, reproof (2 Tim 4:2). This means that he must vary with circumstances, threatening and coaxing by turns, stern as a taskmaster, devoted and tender as only a father can be. With the undisciplined and restless, he will use firm argument; with the obedient and docile and patient, he will appeal for greater virtue; but as for the negligent and disdainful, we charge him to use reproof and rebuke. He should not gloss over the sins of those who err, but cut them out while he can, as soon as they begin to sprout, remembering the fate of Eli, priest of Shiloh (1 Sam 2:11-4:18). For upright and perceptive men, his first and second warnings should be verbal; but those who are evil or stubborn, arrogant or disobedient, he can curb only by blows or some other physical punishment at the first offense. It is written, The fool cannot be corrected with words (Prov 29:19); and again Strike your son with a rod and you will free his soul from death (Prov 23:14).

The abbot must always remember what he is and remember what he is called, aware that more will be expected of a man to whom more has been entrusted. He must know what a difficult and demanding burden he has undertaken: directing souls and serving a variety of temperaments, coaxing, reproving and encouraging them as appropriate. He must so accommodate and adapt himself to each one’s character and intelligence that he will not only keep the flock entrusted to his care from dwindling, but will rejoice in the increase of a good flock. Above all, he must not show too great concern for the fleeting and temporal things of this world, neglecting or treating lightly the welfare of those entrusted to him. Rather, he should keep in mind that he has undertaken the care of souls for whom he must give an account. That he may not plead lack of resources as an excuse, he is to remember what is written: Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matt 6:33), and again, Those who fear him lack nothing (Ps 33:10).

The abbot must know that anyone undertaking the charge of souls must be ready to account for them. Whatever the number of brothers he has in his care, let him realize that on judgment day he will surely have to submit a reckoning to the Lord for all their souls – and indeed for his own as well. In this way, while always fearful of the future examination of the shepherd about the sheep entrusted to him and careful about the state of others’ accounts, he becomes concerned also about his own, and while helping others to amend by his warnings, he achieves the amendment of his own faults.”

The abbot has undertaken the serious charge of directing souls under his care to perfection – leading by word and example. He must accommodate himself to those in his community, dealing with each member in a unique way fitting to their spiritual state. The abbot, taking “the place of Christ,” is envisioned as presenting the souls under his direction to the Lord on judgment day.

It was, and is, a serious responsibility to become an abbot, and as Benedict reminds: “more will be expected of a man to whom more has been entrusted.”

Rule of St. Benedict | Prologue: The Labor of Obedience

“Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice. The labor of obedience will bring you back to him from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience. This message of mine is for you, then, if you are ready to give up your own will, once and for all, and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord.

First of all, every time you begin a good work, you must pray to him most earnestly to bring it to perfection. In his goodness, he has already counted us as his sons, and therefore we should never grieve him by our evil actions. With his good gifts which are in us, we must obey him at all times that he may never become the angry father who disinherits his sons, nor the dread lord, enraged by our sins, who punishes us forever as worthless servants for refusing to follow him to glory.

Let us get up then, at long last, for the Scriptures rouse us when they say: It is high time for us to arise from sleep (Rom 13:11). Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God, and our ears to the voice from heaven that every day calls out this charge: If you hear his voice today, do not harden your hearts (Ps. 94 [95]:8). And again: You that have ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev 2:7). And what does he say? Come and listen to me, sons; I will teach you the fear of the Lord (Ps. 33[34]:13). Run while you have the light of life, that the darkness of death may not overtake you (John 12:35)…

…Brothers, now that we have asked the Lord who will dwell in his tent, we have heard the instruction for dwelling in it, but only if we fulfill the obligations of those who live there. We must, then, prepare our hearts and bodies for the battle of holy obedience to his instructions. What is not possible to us by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply by the help of his grace. If we wish to reach eternal life, even as we avoid the torments of hell, then – while there is still time, while we are in this body and have time to accomplish all these things by the light of life – we must run and do now what will profit us forever.

Therefore we intend to establish a school for the Lord’s service. In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. The good of all concerned, however, may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love. Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love. Never swerving from his instructions, then, but faithfully observing his teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in his kingdom. Amen.”

Much of the official Christian monastic life is about the Labor of Obedience. Forming one’s own soul through hard work. Official types of meditative practice, especially passive prayer practices, do develop as the tradition moves forward, but the focus is still often on active obedience to one’s own conscience before God with the ultimate goal being purity of heart – complete dedication to the Will of God. In the contemplative traditions there is always a tension between forming yourself and being formed. Sometimes the focus in on your own labor. Sometimes the focus is on passive transformation through the experience of God/The Ultimate. In the earliest parts of the Christian tradition, the focus seems to be more on the former.

Rule of St. Benedict | Intro

As part of my work on the site, I recently spent time researching the history of the Christian monastic tradition from the Desert Fathers to present day. This series on the Rule of St. Benedict stems from that research. For a broad overview of the Christian contemplative tradition, see this page. In the post–”Fathers” period, the Rule of St. Benedict stands out as an important document which shaped how Christian monasticism would develop. The Rule is still used by many monasteries today as a broad starting point for what monastic life should look like.

Very little is known about St. Benedict. Our primary biographical information about him comes from a single source – St. Gregory the Great (Pope 590-604). From this source we gather that Benedict lived in sixth-Century Italy, became a renowned holy man, and eventually established a large group of monastic communities. His Rule describes an orderly way of life – a “school for the Lord’s service” – the community being led by an Abbot, who stands in the place of Christ as overseer of souls. The Rule is practical, describing how to welcome visitors, hours of spiritual practice, performance of manual labor, and discipline for wayward monks. While specific enough to establish an actual community, the Rule is also general enough to be adapted as various monastic communities would develop in different contexts. You can pick up a copy of the Rule of St. Benedict in English for a couple bucks.