Holy Rule for December 25
8 views
Skip to first unread message
St. Mary's Monastery
Dec 24, 2025, 5:12:32 PM12/24/25
to holyrule
+PAX
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
April 25, August 25, December 25
Chapter 67: On Brethren Who Are Sent on a Journey
Let the brethren who are sent on a journey commend themselves to the prayers of all the brethren and of the Abbot; and always at the last prayer of the Work of God let a commemoration be made of all absent brethren. When brethren return from a journey, at the end of each canonical Hour of the Work of God on the day they return, let them lie prostrate on the floor of the oratory and beg the prayers of all on account of any faults that may have surprised them on the road, through the seeing or hearing of something evil, or through idle talk. And let no one presume to tell another whatever he may have seen or heard outside of the monastery, because this causes very great harm. But if anyone presumes to do so, let him undergo the punishment of the Rule. And let him be punished likewise who would presume to leave the enclosure of the monastery and go anywhere or do anything, however small, without an order from the Abbot.
REFLECTION
Rare is the person who can manage to stay employed without at least a slightly different persona at work. We are one thing there, because we have to be, but when we clock out, much, if not all of the work persona is shed. In fact, we usually have a whole repertoire of different selves, being one thing with our grandmother and quite another with a childhood friend we have known all our lives, one thing with the promising new date and quite another with the spouse of many years!
Secular society has enlarged upon this tendency to its own ends. Because the tendency is so deeply rooted in us, we may fail to see its dangers when carried to extremes. Thanks to a society often glaringly unassisted by revelation, we have the unhappy concept of different umbrellas, different sets of ethics to cover different areas of life. "Hey, religion is fine if you want it, but this is BUSINESS!" or "I may be a Christian, but this is public service. I was elected by a constituency that expected me to leave some of that Gospel stuff at the door." Well, folks, such notions do not wash well. In fact, they really don't wash at all. The message of the Holy Rule and of the Gospel is that there is one umbrella, period. There is one persona, period. Granted, in the latter, shades and gradations may last throughout most of our struggling lives, but the goal is clear. All monastic, all Christian, all the time. One heart, one umbrella, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
That work persona that we drop when we clock out, the totally free and other person we are on days off or on trips away can be an OK notion in relation to work. Wouldn't we find someone who was a salesperson or teacher or secretary or manager ALL the time to be a dreadful drip? The concept fails, however, when it is applied to vocations, to any vocation at all. One does not take a vacation from being married or a parent or ordained or a monastic.
Do I hear loud screams in cyber-space as I mention BALANCE again? Sorry, but it is true. There is a balanced way to be under one umbrella all the time that we must strive to achieve. Yes, I am different with different friends, we all are, we have to be; charity demands that. But there is a commonality between all the threads of our behavior. We are monastics. We are freer within defined limits. It is to the balance of those defined limits that this chapter refers.
At Petersham, we still follow this custom of prayer for one who will be away overnight. The prayers are said in the refectory, after grace. One is blessed leaving and returning, while kneeling in the center of the ref. It's just a way of saying, as a community, that we all know that maintaining that one umbrella can be tough, especially when one is away alone. We want to support each other with our prayers; we want our brother to know that our hearts are with him all the way.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
April 25, August 25, December 25
Chapter 67: On Brethren Who Are Sent on a Journey
Let the brethren who are sent on a journey commend themselves to the prayers of all the brethren and of the Abbot; and always at the last prayer of the Work of God let a commemoration be made of all absent brethren. When brethren return from a journey, at the end of each canonical Hour of the Work of God on the day they return, let them lie prostrate on the floor of the oratory and beg the prayers of all on account of any faults that may have surprised them on the road, through the seeing or hearing of something evil, or through idle talk. And let no one presume to tell another whatever he may have seen or heard outside of the monastery, because this causes very great harm. But if anyone presumes to do so, let him undergo the punishment of the Rule. And let him be punished likewise who would presume to leave the enclosure of the monastery and go anywhere or do anything, however small, without an order from the Abbot.
REFLECTION
Rare is the person who can manage to stay employed without at least a slightly different persona at work. We are one thing there, because we have to be, but when we clock out, much, if not all of the work persona is shed. In fact, we usually have a whole repertoire of different selves, being one thing with our grandmother and quite another with a childhood friend we have known all our lives, one thing with the promising new date and quite another with the spouse of many years!
Secular society has enlarged upon this tendency to its own ends. Because the tendency is so deeply rooted in us, we may fail to see its dangers when carried to extremes. Thanks to a society often glaringly unassisted by revelation, we have the unhappy concept of different umbrellas, different sets of ethics to cover different areas of life. "Hey, religion is fine if you want it, but this is BUSINESS!" or "I may be a Christian, but this is public service. I was elected by a constituency that expected me to leave some of that Gospel stuff at the door." Well, folks, such notions do not wash well. In fact, they really don't wash at all. The message of the Holy Rule and of the Gospel is that there is one umbrella, period. There is one persona, period. Granted, in the latter, shades and gradations may last throughout most of our struggling lives, but the goal is clear. All monastic, all Christian, all the time. One heart, one umbrella, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
That work persona that we drop when we clock out, the totally free and other person we are on days off or on trips away can be an OK notion in relation to work. Wouldn't we find someone who was a salesperson or teacher or secretary or manager ALL the time to be a dreadful drip? The concept fails, however, when it is applied to vocations, to any vocation at all. One does not take a vacation from being married or a parent or ordained or a monastic.
Do I hear loud screams in cyber-space as I mention BALANCE again? Sorry, but it is true. There is a balanced way to be under one umbrella all the time that we must strive to achieve. Yes, I am different with different friends, we all are, we have to be; charity demands that. But there is a commonality between all the threads of our behavior. We are monastics. We are freer within defined limits. It is to the balance of those defined limits that this chapter refers.
At Petersham, we still follow this custom of prayer for one who will be away overnight. The prayers are said in the refectory, after grace. One is blessed leaving and returning, while kneeling in the center of the ref. It's just a way of saying, as a community, that we all know that maintaining that one umbrella can be tough, especially when one is away alone. We want to support each other with our prayers; we want our brother to know that our hearts are with him all the way.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages