Holy Rule for May 11
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St. Mary's Monastery
May 10, 2026, 5:09:09 PMMay 10
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Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
January 10, May 11, September 10
Chapter 2: What Kind of Person the Abbess Ought to Be (6-10)
Let the Abbess always bear in mind that at the dread Judgment of God there will be an examination of these two matters: her teaching and the obedience of her disciples. And let the Abbess be sure that any lack of profit the master of the house may find in the sheep will be laid to the blame of the shepherd. On the other hand, if the shepherd has bestowed all her pastoral diligence on a restless, unruly flock and tried every remedy for their unhealthy behavior, then she will be acquitted at the Lord's Judgment and may say to the Lord with the Prophet: "I have not concealed Your justice within my heart; Your truth and Your salvation I have declared" (Ps. 39:11). "But they have despised and rejected me" (Is. 1:2; Ezech. 20:27). And then finally let death itself, irresistible, punish those disobedient sheep under her charge.
REFLECTION
If you are a parent, boss, teacher or minister, ordained or not, please look very carefully at something in this chapter: we will be judged on our teaching. The complete obedience of those under our care is not entirely up to us, but our teachings are very much in our own hands.
Tremendous harm has been done by people in authority, any authority, teaching things that are false to those they serve, whether implicitly or explicitly. The guarantee that genuine, orthodox teaching carries is lacking. The teachings of the Church have the weight of Tradition and communal reflection and the care of the Holy Spirit behind them. Our subjective, personal feelings cannot equal that.
Orthodoxy, truth, has a very wide embrace. If we know that and understand it, we must try to get everyone, one way or the other, into that embrace. Pray that it can be done. God does, after all, will that all people be saved, St. Paul assures us of that.
On the other hand making extensive alterations that we ourselves feel are suitable is not as appropriate as some may deem. In a job situation, it could cost both you and the unfortunates who believed you the loss of employment. In religious matters, the price would be considerably higher, the risk greater.
Whenever we are in any position to teach by word or example, we must be very, very careful that what we give as Gospel is truth, not a thinly disguised version of our own current hang-ups. People deserve far more than that and so do we!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
January 10, May 11, September 10
Chapter 2: What Kind of Person the Abbess Ought to Be (6-10)
Let the Abbess always bear in mind that at the dread Judgment of God there will be an examination of these two matters: her teaching and the obedience of her disciples. And let the Abbess be sure that any lack of profit the master of the house may find in the sheep will be laid to the blame of the shepherd. On the other hand, if the shepherd has bestowed all her pastoral diligence on a restless, unruly flock and tried every remedy for their unhealthy behavior, then she will be acquitted at the Lord's Judgment and may say to the Lord with the Prophet: "I have not concealed Your justice within my heart; Your truth and Your salvation I have declared" (Ps. 39:11). "But they have despised and rejected me" (Is. 1:2; Ezech. 20:27). And then finally let death itself, irresistible, punish those disobedient sheep under her charge.
REFLECTION
If you are a parent, boss, teacher or minister, ordained or not, please look very carefully at something in this chapter: we will be judged on our teaching. The complete obedience of those under our care is not entirely up to us, but our teachings are very much in our own hands.
Tremendous harm has been done by people in authority, any authority, teaching things that are false to those they serve, whether implicitly or explicitly. The guarantee that genuine, orthodox teaching carries is lacking. The teachings of the Church have the weight of Tradition and communal reflection and the care of the Holy Spirit behind them. Our subjective, personal feelings cannot equal that.
Orthodoxy, truth, has a very wide embrace. If we know that and understand it, we must try to get everyone, one way or the other, into that embrace. Pray that it can be done. God does, after all, will that all people be saved, St. Paul assures us of that.
On the other hand making extensive alterations that we ourselves feel are suitable is not as appropriate as some may deem. In a job situation, it could cost both you and the unfortunates who believed you the loss of employment. In religious matters, the price would be considerably higher, the risk greater.
Whenever we are in any position to teach by word or example, we must be very, very careful that what we give as Gospel is truth, not a thinly disguised version of our own current hang-ups. People deserve far more than that and so do we!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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