Holy Rule for April 6
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St. Mary's Monastery
Apr 5, 2026, 6:09:25 PMApr 5
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Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
April 6, August 6, December 6
Chapter 54: Whether a Monastic Should Receive Letters or Anything Else
On no account shall a monastic be allowed to receive letters, blessed tokens or any little gift whatsoever from parents or anyone else, or from her sisters, or to give the same, without the Abbess' permission. But if anything is sent her even by her parents, let her not presume to take it before it has been shown to the Abbess. And it shall be in the Abbess's power to decide to whom it shall be given, if she allows it to be received; and the sister to whom it was sent should not be grieved, lest occasion be given to the devil. Should anyone presume to act otherwise, let her undergo the discipline of the Rule.
REFLECTION
*[I come down rather hard on the ownership of things. I don't deny that folks can own things, I just affirm that all goods are from God and given to us with an eye to the common good of all. Private ownership is not an absolute right: it comes with responsibilities to others.]
At first glance, it might seem that there is little or nothing for Oblates in the world in this chapter. Not so! However, we shall have to look a bit deeper and pick about a bit...
OK, remember the Abbot holds the place of Christ in the community. Now look again. The monastic is to rely on and look to no one but Christ, and to receive nothing more or less than what is needed, unless the Abbot, in Christ's place grants it. Remember the chapter about no monastic defending another, taking another into their special protection? One can easily see that this is covered here, too. No one should ever be able to say: "I am well-off and secure because Sister X. is my ally." Sister X. takes care of zero. God takes care of all!
We can have such a distorted of view of our own income and property. We can think we have "earned" what we have and can therefore use it any way we please with impunity. Not so, and not Christian teaching, either. All goods are held with stewardship for the common good of all. No ownership is outright and exclusive, except for the sad ownership of our sins.
No matter what our skills or gifts or how we have developed them, no matter if we were born with inherited comfort, no matter at all! ALL of that came from God, every bit. We are literally nothing at all but beneficiaries. All that we have or hope to have is nothing more or less than a windfall from God and His mercy.
Now that is what this chapter is really all about, and it applies to everyone within the cloister and without. St. Benedict wanted to use these principles to focus his disciples on the truth that everything, utterly everything comes from Christ, not from Sister X. or the lucky stroke of having wealthy family or friends elsewhere, or even from our own work. The job or business itself came from God, so did the strength to be productive in any way.
Every Benedictine heart, beloveds, must examine itself by what we learn from this passage in the Holy Rule. Absolutely no good thing whatsoever is ours, everything comes from God. Never take more than we need, never share less than we ought to share. Freely, fully have we all received all that we have from God. No less freely should our hearts let it go, spread it around to others.
Make no mistake that there are at least two ways to react to the array of God's giftings. One is grateful largesse, a truly holy detachment from things as we honestly desire others to share in our blessings. (This is as true of the spiritual goods as it is of the material!)
The other, a most pathetic one, is stinge and miserliness, a panicky, insecure fear that another might get more or have it easier than oneself. Nothing I can think of is more unbecoming to any who have received magnificently, yet many of us can think of tragic examples of just such reactions. Guard very, very carefully against this last pitfall. I have seen it ensnare monastics, no one is exempt, and it will throw a dreadful cancer into one's very heart.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
April 6, August 6, December 6
Chapter 54: Whether a Monastic Should Receive Letters or Anything Else
On no account shall a monastic be allowed to receive letters, blessed tokens or any little gift whatsoever from parents or anyone else, or from her sisters, or to give the same, without the Abbess' permission. But if anything is sent her even by her parents, let her not presume to take it before it has been shown to the Abbess. And it shall be in the Abbess's power to decide to whom it shall be given, if she allows it to be received; and the sister to whom it was sent should not be grieved, lest occasion be given to the devil. Should anyone presume to act otherwise, let her undergo the discipline of the Rule.
REFLECTION
*[I come down rather hard on the ownership of things. I don't deny that folks can own things, I just affirm that all goods are from God and given to us with an eye to the common good of all. Private ownership is not an absolute right: it comes with responsibilities to others.]
At first glance, it might seem that there is little or nothing for Oblates in the world in this chapter. Not so! However, we shall have to look a bit deeper and pick about a bit...
OK, remember the Abbot holds the place of Christ in the community. Now look again. The monastic is to rely on and look to no one but Christ, and to receive nothing more or less than what is needed, unless the Abbot, in Christ's place grants it. Remember the chapter about no monastic defending another, taking another into their special protection? One can easily see that this is covered here, too. No one should ever be able to say: "I am well-off and secure because Sister X. is my ally." Sister X. takes care of zero. God takes care of all!
We can have such a distorted of view of our own income and property. We can think we have "earned" what we have and can therefore use it any way we please with impunity. Not so, and not Christian teaching, either. All goods are held with stewardship for the common good of all. No ownership is outright and exclusive, except for the sad ownership of our sins.
No matter what our skills or gifts or how we have developed them, no matter if we were born with inherited comfort, no matter at all! ALL of that came from God, every bit. We are literally nothing at all but beneficiaries. All that we have or hope to have is nothing more or less than a windfall from God and His mercy.
Now that is what this chapter is really all about, and it applies to everyone within the cloister and without. St. Benedict wanted to use these principles to focus his disciples on the truth that everything, utterly everything comes from Christ, not from Sister X. or the lucky stroke of having wealthy family or friends elsewhere, or even from our own work. The job or business itself came from God, so did the strength to be productive in any way.
Every Benedictine heart, beloveds, must examine itself by what we learn from this passage in the Holy Rule. Absolutely no good thing whatsoever is ours, everything comes from God. Never take more than we need, never share less than we ought to share. Freely, fully have we all received all that we have from God. No less freely should our hearts let it go, spread it around to others.
Make no mistake that there are at least two ways to react to the array of God's giftings. One is grateful largesse, a truly holy detachment from things as we honestly desire others to share in our blessings. (This is as true of the spiritual goods as it is of the material!)
The other, a most pathetic one, is stinge and miserliness, a panicky, insecure fear that another might get more or have it easier than oneself. Nothing I can think of is more unbecoming to any who have received magnificently, yet many of us can think of tragic examples of just such reactions. Guard very, very carefully against this last pitfall. I have seen it ensnare monastics, no one is exempt, and it will throw a dreadful cancer into one's very heart.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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