Holy Rule for March 24
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St. Mary's Monastery
Mar 23, 2026, 5:47:54 PM (12 days ago) Mar 23
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Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
March 24, July 24, November 23
Chapter 44: How the Excommunicated Are to Make Satisfaction
One who for serious faults is excommunicated from oratory and table shall make satisfaction as follows. At the hour when the celebration of the Work of God is concluded in the oratory, let her lie prostrate before the door of the oratory, saying nothing, but only lying prone with her face to the ground at the feet of all as they come out of the oratory. And let her continue to do this until the Abbess judges that satisfaction has been made. Then, when she has come at the Abbess's bidding, let her cast herself first at the Abbess's feet and then at the feet of all, that they may pray for her. And next, if the Abbess so orders, let her be received into the choir, to the place which the Abbess appoints, but with the provision that she shall not presume to intone Psalm or lesson or anything else in the oratory without a further order from the Abbess. Moreover, at every Hour, when the Work of God is ended, let her cast herself on the ground in the place where she stands. And let her continue to satisfy in this way until the Abbess again orders her finally to cease from this satisfaction. But those who for slight faults are excommunicated only from table shall make satisfaction in the oratory, and continue in it till an order from the Abbess, until she blesses them and says, "It is enough."
REFLECTION
No matter how we came by it, one nasty little bit of baggage that a lot of us carry is the inability to say: "It is enough." For some of us, forgiving ourselves or believing we have been forgiven or even sensing that we have made all the reparation possible or necessary is all but completely impossible. (Any other obsessive/compulsive disorders out there reading this? Welcome to the club, I pray for us all daily!)
There is great blessing for such people to have an Abbot. Even there, tremendous trust and obedience are required, because the Evil One would very much prefer that our upset and lack of faith continue! An Abbot can put an end to many matters, if only we allow that to happen. Abbots can offer resolution to many situations and the Holy Rule confirms them in this power again and again. The buck really stops there!
If we let it stop there... That can be so hard. However, even though most of us reading this do NOT live with Abbots, we all live with God, with Christ. He can use His ministers to help us. He knows all too well the extremes of self-damage we can go to without His intervention and He does intervene, if only we have the faith to allow Him, to listen, trust and believe. We all ought to seek regular confessors who can also help us in this regard. Either a confessor or an Abbot can set many, many cares to rest! Christ can and does use confessors and Abbots to help us.
I am finding lately, much to the relief of my obsessive/compulsive heart and soul, that I really can achieve vastly greater amounts of inner serenity and peace by putting an affair in my superior's hands and accepting his judgement. There is the key to the value of this: inner peace and serenity. We badly need those aids to spiritual growth. Anything which increases their strength is a chance we ought never to miss!
The Divine Mercy of God is His greatest attribute, linked inseparably to His love. We could never for an instant imagine the full extent of that Mercy's grandeur. We do Christ a terrible disservice and discourtesy when we refuse to believe that His riches are for us, that only others can be forgiven, but we must struggle on and "save ourselves" with Pelagian bootstraps firmly in hand! What a sneaky inverse pride there is in such feelings: I am so special (even so specially wicked!) that I cannot be like the rest of them!
Mercy, mercy and always mercy! If you do not have a superior to live with, please learn to accept that mercy from a confessor, or from God, if you belong to a tradition that doesn’t have Confession. If you do have a superior, learn to accept God's mercy through that channel. If you *ARE* a superior or parent or teacher, strive to be that channel.
Mercy, mercy, always mercy!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
March 24, July 24, November 23
Chapter 44: How the Excommunicated Are to Make Satisfaction
One who for serious faults is excommunicated from oratory and table shall make satisfaction as follows. At the hour when the celebration of the Work of God is concluded in the oratory, let her lie prostrate before the door of the oratory, saying nothing, but only lying prone with her face to the ground at the feet of all as they come out of the oratory. And let her continue to do this until the Abbess judges that satisfaction has been made. Then, when she has come at the Abbess's bidding, let her cast herself first at the Abbess's feet and then at the feet of all, that they may pray for her. And next, if the Abbess so orders, let her be received into the choir, to the place which the Abbess appoints, but with the provision that she shall not presume to intone Psalm or lesson or anything else in the oratory without a further order from the Abbess. Moreover, at every Hour, when the Work of God is ended, let her cast herself on the ground in the place where she stands. And let her continue to satisfy in this way until the Abbess again orders her finally to cease from this satisfaction. But those who for slight faults are excommunicated only from table shall make satisfaction in the oratory, and continue in it till an order from the Abbess, until she blesses them and says, "It is enough."
REFLECTION
No matter how we came by it, one nasty little bit of baggage that a lot of us carry is the inability to say: "It is enough." For some of us, forgiving ourselves or believing we have been forgiven or even sensing that we have made all the reparation possible or necessary is all but completely impossible. (Any other obsessive/compulsive disorders out there reading this? Welcome to the club, I pray for us all daily!)
There is great blessing for such people to have an Abbot. Even there, tremendous trust and obedience are required, because the Evil One would very much prefer that our upset and lack of faith continue! An Abbot can put an end to many matters, if only we allow that to happen. Abbots can offer resolution to many situations and the Holy Rule confirms them in this power again and again. The buck really stops there!
If we let it stop there... That can be so hard. However, even though most of us reading this do NOT live with Abbots, we all live with God, with Christ. He can use His ministers to help us. He knows all too well the extremes of self-damage we can go to without His intervention and He does intervene, if only we have the faith to allow Him, to listen, trust and believe. We all ought to seek regular confessors who can also help us in this regard. Either a confessor or an Abbot can set many, many cares to rest! Christ can and does use confessors and Abbots to help us.
I am finding lately, much to the relief of my obsessive/compulsive heart and soul, that I really can achieve vastly greater amounts of inner serenity and peace by putting an affair in my superior's hands and accepting his judgement. There is the key to the value of this: inner peace and serenity. We badly need those aids to spiritual growth. Anything which increases their strength is a chance we ought never to miss!
The Divine Mercy of God is His greatest attribute, linked inseparably to His love. We could never for an instant imagine the full extent of that Mercy's grandeur. We do Christ a terrible disservice and discourtesy when we refuse to believe that His riches are for us, that only others can be forgiven, but we must struggle on and "save ourselves" with Pelagian bootstraps firmly in hand! What a sneaky inverse pride there is in such feelings: I am so special (even so specially wicked!) that I cannot be like the rest of them!
Mercy, mercy and always mercy! If you do not have a superior to live with, please learn to accept that mercy from a confessor, or from God, if you belong to a tradition that doesn’t have Confession. If you do have a superior, learn to accept God's mercy through that channel. If you *ARE* a superior or parent or teacher, strive to be that channel.
Mercy, mercy, always mercy!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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