Holy Rule for July 16
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St. Mary's Monastery
Jul 15, 2025, 5:51:02 PM7/15/25
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Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
March 16, July 16, November 15
Chapter 37: On the Old and Children
Although human nature itself is drawn to special kindness towards these times of life, that is towards the old and children, still the authority of the Rule should also provide for them.
Let their weakness be always taken into account, and let them by no means be held to the rigor of the Rule with regard to food. On the contrary, let a kind consideration be shown to them, and let them eat before the regular hours.
REFLECTION
The tenderness of St. Benedict shines through here. These are strong words for weakness: "ALWAYS taken into account," and "BY NO MEANS held to the rigor of the Rule for food." Though he prefaces his chapter recalling that any healthy human nature has a certain level of consideration for these age groups, our holy Father Benedict quickly returns to a very consistent theme of the Holy Rule: we are called to more than mere nature.
We are called to enhance our nature to the supernatural, to the heights of sanctity. Our considerate mindfulness for every person and their individual needs must be greater than that of the world. Indeed, our monastic calling bids us to raise EVERY area of our lives to the supernatural. As monastics, we strive to elevate everything to the sacred, everything to grace working in us and with us!
St. Benedict's aim is that each of us ALWAYS sees the person first. That kind of loving personalism will make the chapters on the sick and the young and old seem to be complete no-brainers. This is the way we should be seeing everyone: real people for whom they really are, nothing more or less. Circumstances do arise that require greater attention, but the foundation of all of this is a firm theology of the person.
It should come as no great shock that the most frequent obstacle to viewing others correctly is ourselves. Our own image, our self, our pain, our projections get in the way of the lens of truth. We have to spend our monastic struggle learning to put those things aside, so that the light of others may shine through unobstructed.
With our own needs at least on a back burner, or better yet, shelved far off in the pantry, we can begin to truly see others and their needs. Wipe the mud of self from our eyes and we can see the treasures that surround us. St. Teresa of Calcutta surely did that. She could see beauty that all of us less holy than her miss big-time and she could see it in everyone.
A key to all this is a favorite quote from Antoine de St. Exupery's The Little Prince: "The essential is invisible to the eyes. One can only see rightly with the heart."
That's what our Rule demands: the cultivation of the very loving eyes of our hearts! Dust off those cardiac lenses, beloveds. Keep 'em clean!!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
March 16, July 16, November 15
Chapter 37: On the Old and Children
Although human nature itself is drawn to special kindness towards these times of life, that is towards the old and children, still the authority of the Rule should also provide for them.
Let their weakness be always taken into account, and let them by no means be held to the rigor of the Rule with regard to food. On the contrary, let a kind consideration be shown to them, and let them eat before the regular hours.
REFLECTION
The tenderness of St. Benedict shines through here. These are strong words for weakness: "ALWAYS taken into account," and "BY NO MEANS held to the rigor of the Rule for food." Though he prefaces his chapter recalling that any healthy human nature has a certain level of consideration for these age groups, our holy Father Benedict quickly returns to a very consistent theme of the Holy Rule: we are called to more than mere nature.
We are called to enhance our nature to the supernatural, to the heights of sanctity. Our considerate mindfulness for every person and their individual needs must be greater than that of the world. Indeed, our monastic calling bids us to raise EVERY area of our lives to the supernatural. As monastics, we strive to elevate everything to the sacred, everything to grace working in us and with us!
St. Benedict's aim is that each of us ALWAYS sees the person first. That kind of loving personalism will make the chapters on the sick and the young and old seem to be complete no-brainers. This is the way we should be seeing everyone: real people for whom they really are, nothing more or less. Circumstances do arise that require greater attention, but the foundation of all of this is a firm theology of the person.
It should come as no great shock that the most frequent obstacle to viewing others correctly is ourselves. Our own image, our self, our pain, our projections get in the way of the lens of truth. We have to spend our monastic struggle learning to put those things aside, so that the light of others may shine through unobstructed.
With our own needs at least on a back burner, or better yet, shelved far off in the pantry, we can begin to truly see others and their needs. Wipe the mud of self from our eyes and we can see the treasures that surround us. St. Teresa of Calcutta surely did that. She could see beauty that all of us less holy than her miss big-time and she could see it in everyone.
A key to all this is a favorite quote from Antoine de St. Exupery's The Little Prince: "The essential is invisible to the eyes. One can only see rightly with the heart."
That's what our Rule demands: the cultivation of the very loving eyes of our hearts! Dust off those cardiac lenses, beloveds. Keep 'em clean!!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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