Holy Rule for August 21
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St. Mary's Monastery
Aug 20, 2026, 5:14:12 PMAug 20
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Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
April 21, August 21, December 21
Chapter 64: On Constituting an Abbess (7-22)
Once she has been constituted, let the Abbess always bear in mind what a burden she has undertaken and to whom she will have to give an account of her stewardship, and let her know that her duty is rather to profit her sisters than to preside over them. She must therefore be learned in the divine law, that she may have a treasure of knowledge from which to bring forth new things and old. She must be chaste, sober and merciful. Let her exalt mercy above judgment, that she herself may obtain mercy. She should hate vices; she should love the sisterhood.
In administering correction she should act prudently and not go to excess, lest in seeking too eagerly to scrape off the rust she break the vessel. Let her keep her own frailty ever before her eyes and remember that the bruised reed must not be broken. By this we do not mean that she should allow vices to grow; on the contrary, as we have already said, she should eradicate them prudently and with charity, in the way which may seem best in each case. Let her study rather to be loved than to be feared.
Let her not be excitable and worried, nor exacting and headstrong, nor jealous and over-suspicious; for then she is never at rest. In her commands let her be prudent and considerate; and whether the work which she enjoins concerns God or the world, let her be discreet and moderate, bearing in mind the discretion of holy Jacob, who said, "If I cause my flocks to be overdriven, they will all die in one day." Taking this, then, and other examples of discretion, the mother of virtues, let her so temper all things that the strong may have something to strive after, and the weak may not fall back in dismay.
And especially let her keep this Rule in all its details, so that after a good ministry she may hear from the Lord what the good servant heard who gave the fellow-servants wheat in due season: "Indeed, I tell you, he will set that one over all his goods" (Matt. 24:27).
REFLECTION
<Very tongue in cheek tone here!>
"Man, these chapters are a joy to read! Not a better way to call to mind every slightest flaw in one's superior. They just do not measure up to St. Benedict's ideal. No doubt, if we had people in authority who did all this, we should all be better... " Ya-da, ya-da, ya-da...Maybe yes, maybe no.
OK, now here's the real news, and I am afraid it is neither pretty nor consoling: re-read the chapter and substitute "monastic" for every time the word "abbess" occurs. Less than thrilling, right?
Make it worse, substitute any noun that refers to yourself or your vocation. Try parent or teacher or nurse or supervisor. Whoops! The whole process becomes stunningly less pleasant, doesn't it?
This one, like so many chapters on officials, is for all of us, not just the Abbot. Nobody will ever measure up to this loftiness without grace. While we are waiting for that grace to work, it may be useful to remember how different people are. There will always be areas in which you excel that another doesn't, there will always be those who do better, those who do worse. What's the common thread? No one is perfect, no one can even come close without God's love and unfathomable Mercy.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
April 21, August 21, December 21
Chapter 64: On Constituting an Abbess (7-22)
Once she has been constituted, let the Abbess always bear in mind what a burden she has undertaken and to whom she will have to give an account of her stewardship, and let her know that her duty is rather to profit her sisters than to preside over them. She must therefore be learned in the divine law, that she may have a treasure of knowledge from which to bring forth new things and old. She must be chaste, sober and merciful. Let her exalt mercy above judgment, that she herself may obtain mercy. She should hate vices; she should love the sisterhood.
In administering correction she should act prudently and not go to excess, lest in seeking too eagerly to scrape off the rust she break the vessel. Let her keep her own frailty ever before her eyes and remember that the bruised reed must not be broken. By this we do not mean that she should allow vices to grow; on the contrary, as we have already said, she should eradicate them prudently and with charity, in the way which may seem best in each case. Let her study rather to be loved than to be feared.
Let her not be excitable and worried, nor exacting and headstrong, nor jealous and over-suspicious; for then she is never at rest. In her commands let her be prudent and considerate; and whether the work which she enjoins concerns God or the world, let her be discreet and moderate, bearing in mind the discretion of holy Jacob, who said, "If I cause my flocks to be overdriven, they will all die in one day." Taking this, then, and other examples of discretion, the mother of virtues, let her so temper all things that the strong may have something to strive after, and the weak may not fall back in dismay.
And especially let her keep this Rule in all its details, so that after a good ministry she may hear from the Lord what the good servant heard who gave the fellow-servants wheat in due season: "Indeed, I tell you, he will set that one over all his goods" (Matt. 24:27).
REFLECTION
<Very tongue in cheek tone here!>
"Man, these chapters are a joy to read! Not a better way to call to mind every slightest flaw in one's superior. They just do not measure up to St. Benedict's ideal. No doubt, if we had people in authority who did all this, we should all be better... " Ya-da, ya-da, ya-da...Maybe yes, maybe no.
OK, now here's the real news, and I am afraid it is neither pretty nor consoling: re-read the chapter and substitute "monastic" for every time the word "abbess" occurs. Less than thrilling, right?
Make it worse, substitute any noun that refers to yourself or your vocation. Try parent or teacher or nurse or supervisor. Whoops! The whole process becomes stunningly less pleasant, doesn't it?
This one, like so many chapters on officials, is for all of us, not just the Abbot. Nobody will ever measure up to this loftiness without grace. While we are waiting for that grace to work, it may be useful to remember how different people are. There will always be areas in which you excel that another doesn't, there will always be those who do better, those who do worse. What's the common thread? No one is perfect, no one can even come close without God's love and unfathomable Mercy.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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