Holy Rule for April 24
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St. Mary's Monastery
Apr 23, 2026, 5:56:29 PM (7 days ago) Apr 23
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Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
April 24, August 24, December 24
Chapter 66: On the Porters of the Monastery
At the gate of the monastery let there be placed a wise old woman, who knows how to receive and to give a message, and whose maturity will prevent her from straying about. This porter should have a room near the gate, so that those who come may always find someone at hand to attend to their business. And as soon as anyone knocks or a poor person hails her, let her answer "Thanks be to God" or "A blessing!" Then let her attend to them promptly, with all the meekness inspired by the fear of God and with the warmth of charity.
Should the porter need help, let her have one of the younger sisters. If it can be done, the monastery should be so established that all the necessary things, such as water, mill, garden and various workshops may be within the enclosure, so that there is no necessity for the sisters to go about outside of it, since that is not at all profitable for their souls. We desire that this Rule be read often in the community, so that none of the sisters may excuse herself on the ground of ignorance.
REFLECTION
Modern monasteries in our Order rarely have gatehouses, let alone porters waiting at them. In one way, that's too bad, because one often sees visitors come to a monastery without a clue as to where to go first, or how to contact someone. On the other hand, it would wasteful to employ one person full-time at such an endeavor in our smaller communities of today, since whole days may go by in many places with few or none needing assistance.
What we have today is the phone, and phone manners are how this best translates into modern life for both Oblates and professed. It is a terrible thing whenever monks have answered the phone with an attitude that clearly said: "You've got some nerve putting me out like this, disturbing me, etc." with little concern for the person on the other end of the line.
One certainly wouldn't want to call such a monastery twice. If one had never called one before, it is unlikely that one would want to try another, to go for 2 out of 3, just in case. See the great responsibility we have?
When a phone or doorbell rings, whether in a great Benedictine abbey or an urban Benedictine apartment, we have the opportunity to practice the hospitable grace that the Holy Rule requires of all. Dorothy Day's friend and mentor, Father Hugo, used to say that we love God as much as the one we love the least. That would readily translate here. I LOVE to see certain guests arrive, look forward to it as soon as I hear they are coming. Those are not the receptions on which I should judge my hospitality. The difficult ones are.
The point here is that we ARE Benedictines, whether our answering style makes that evident or not. All of us are bound by something Benedictine within us to be kind and gracious to all who call or visit.
Someone who calls the guesthouse or monastery for the first can be driven away or attracted by the way they are dealt with on the phone. To risk alienating someone because of our own moods might mean that we cheat someone out of a spiritual friendship they sorely need. I can't tell you how many people who just called us out of nowhere over the years have become real members of our family, greatly beneficial to themselves and to us. Anyone of those first experiences could have been irreparably soured by a cranky phone manner. Look at what all of us would have lost had that happened.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
April 24, August 24, December 24
Chapter 66: On the Porters of the Monastery
At the gate of the monastery let there be placed a wise old woman, who knows how to receive and to give a message, and whose maturity will prevent her from straying about. This porter should have a room near the gate, so that those who come may always find someone at hand to attend to their business. And as soon as anyone knocks or a poor person hails her, let her answer "Thanks be to God" or "A blessing!" Then let her attend to them promptly, with all the meekness inspired by the fear of God and with the warmth of charity.
Should the porter need help, let her have one of the younger sisters. If it can be done, the monastery should be so established that all the necessary things, such as water, mill, garden and various workshops may be within the enclosure, so that there is no necessity for the sisters to go about outside of it, since that is not at all profitable for their souls. We desire that this Rule be read often in the community, so that none of the sisters may excuse herself on the ground of ignorance.
REFLECTION
Modern monasteries in our Order rarely have gatehouses, let alone porters waiting at them. In one way, that's too bad, because one often sees visitors come to a monastery without a clue as to where to go first, or how to contact someone. On the other hand, it would wasteful to employ one person full-time at such an endeavor in our smaller communities of today, since whole days may go by in many places with few or none needing assistance.
What we have today is the phone, and phone manners are how this best translates into modern life for both Oblates and professed. It is a terrible thing whenever monks have answered the phone with an attitude that clearly said: "You've got some nerve putting me out like this, disturbing me, etc." with little concern for the person on the other end of the line.
One certainly wouldn't want to call such a monastery twice. If one had never called one before, it is unlikely that one would want to try another, to go for 2 out of 3, just in case. See the great responsibility we have?
When a phone or doorbell rings, whether in a great Benedictine abbey or an urban Benedictine apartment, we have the opportunity to practice the hospitable grace that the Holy Rule requires of all. Dorothy Day's friend and mentor, Father Hugo, used to say that we love God as much as the one we love the least. That would readily translate here. I LOVE to see certain guests arrive, look forward to it as soon as I hear they are coming. Those are not the receptions on which I should judge my hospitality. The difficult ones are.
The point here is that we ARE Benedictines, whether our answering style makes that evident or not. All of us are bound by something Benedictine within us to be kind and gracious to all who call or visit.
Someone who calls the guesthouse or monastery for the first can be driven away or attracted by the way they are dealt with on the phone. To risk alienating someone because of our own moods might mean that we cheat someone out of a spiritual friendship they sorely need. I can't tell you how many people who just called us out of nowhere over the years have become real members of our family, greatly beneficial to themselves and to us. Anyone of those first experiences could have been irreparably soured by a cranky phone manner. Look at what all of us would have lost had that happened.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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