Holy Rule for July 31
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St. Mary's Monastery
Jul 30, 2025, 5:36:06 PM7/30/25
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Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
March 31, July 31, November 30
Chapter 49: On the Observance of Lent
Although the life of a monk ought to have about it at all times the character of a Lenten observance, yet since few have the virtue for that, we therefore urge that during the actual days of Lent the brethren keep their lives most pure and at the same time wash away during these holy days all the negligences of other times. And this will be worthily done if we restrain ourselves from all vices and give ourselves up to prayer with tears, to reading, to compunction of heart and to abstinence. During these days, therefore, let us increase somewhat the usual burden of our service, as by private prayers and by abstinence in food and drink.
Thus everyone of his own will may offer God "with joy of the Holy Spirit" (1 Thess. 1:6) something above the measure required of him. From his body, that is he may withhold some food, drink, sleep, talking and jesting; and with the joy of spiritual desire he may look forward to Holy Easter. Let each one, however, suggest to his Abbot what it is that he wants to offer, and let it be done with his blessing and approval. For anything done without the permission of the spiritual father will be imputed to presumption and vainglory and will merit no reward. Therefore let everything be done with the Abbot's approval.
REFLECTION
Because we read St. Benedict's 1500 year old Holy Rule with modern eyes, it often seems harsh. To balance our perspective, we need to see the radical nature of the Rule when written. Face it, folks, this was most definitely a gentler Rule for European wannabes who could never hack it in the Egyptian desert in their wildest dreams. His introductory paragraph points out his plan of adaptation: "...since few have the virtue for that..." Our founder was most certainly writing for the European also-rans of monasticism and he knew it. Keeping that uppermost in our minds can be informatively humbling.
The Desert Fathers were not interested in mitigation in the slightest. The early message of the desert was: "Get Lent to the max or get lost!" They went FAR beyond Lenten and they did it all year, without a break.
If we look carefully at this, perhaps we can better see that, from the outset, St. Benedict's fatherly heart was with the underdogs, the also-rans, the strays and those that others could not be bothered with. He must have felt at some point that there HAD to be a way for the spiritually challenged to become monastics. A millennium and a half later, we are still benefiting from his attempts.
St. Aelred of Rievaulx, contemporary of St. Bernard in the early days of the Cistercian reform, wrote of his monastery: "...all men found room for themselves here, like fish in the breadth of the sea, the joyous, spacious peace of divine love. That house is not to be accounted a place of religion which has been too proud to bear with the weak." As an early Cistercian, he was hardly the biggest fan of mitigated observance, but he had very clear eyes for divine love and mercy!
Hence, for us Benedictines, when the Evil One tempts us with his lies like: "You could never do that! You could never be THAT holy!" our response must be "Yeah, so what? Your point is...?" We have no clue of how holy we can be. God alone knows that and God alone will lead us and show us in ways we are quite unlikely to ever understand. Whenever the demon of discouragement tells us we are far beneath this Rule for beginners, we must shrug indifferently and move on, briefly impressed for once with the Father of Lies' firm grasp on the obvious.
Of *COURSE* we are beneath this Rule, beneath any of the earlier ones. Duh?! We're Benedictines. Our Order was founded for people like us. That should never, ever be a cause to stop trying, to give up or quit. On the contrary, that fact should be a heartening confirmation that we are EXACTLY where we belong, in the best possible remedial education program for slow learners like us, right where God wants us.
Like a mother to a crying child, devoid of hope, who moans "But I CAN'T, I just can't!" St. Benedict is softly saying, "Well, then just do what you can and that will be OK." Get the picture? Great!
Now go out and do what you can today... Don't be surprised if you find that God is increasing, sometimes imperceptibly, that "what you can" little by little to heights of great holiness, which we will achieve all but unawares and only with His help. Someday, we really SHALL "run in the way...with hearts enlarged."
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
March 31, July 31, November 30
Chapter 49: On the Observance of Lent
Although the life of a monk ought to have about it at all times the character of a Lenten observance, yet since few have the virtue for that, we therefore urge that during the actual days of Lent the brethren keep their lives most pure and at the same time wash away during these holy days all the negligences of other times. And this will be worthily done if we restrain ourselves from all vices and give ourselves up to prayer with tears, to reading, to compunction of heart and to abstinence. During these days, therefore, let us increase somewhat the usual burden of our service, as by private prayers and by abstinence in food and drink.
Thus everyone of his own will may offer God "with joy of the Holy Spirit" (1 Thess. 1:6) something above the measure required of him. From his body, that is he may withhold some food, drink, sleep, talking and jesting; and with the joy of spiritual desire he may look forward to Holy Easter. Let each one, however, suggest to his Abbot what it is that he wants to offer, and let it be done with his blessing and approval. For anything done without the permission of the spiritual father will be imputed to presumption and vainglory and will merit no reward. Therefore let everything be done with the Abbot's approval.
REFLECTION
Because we read St. Benedict's 1500 year old Holy Rule with modern eyes, it often seems harsh. To balance our perspective, we need to see the radical nature of the Rule when written. Face it, folks, this was most definitely a gentler Rule for European wannabes who could never hack it in the Egyptian desert in their wildest dreams. His introductory paragraph points out his plan of adaptation: "...since few have the virtue for that..." Our founder was most certainly writing for the European also-rans of monasticism and he knew it. Keeping that uppermost in our minds can be informatively humbling.
The Desert Fathers were not interested in mitigation in the slightest. The early message of the desert was: "Get Lent to the max or get lost!" They went FAR beyond Lenten and they did it all year, without a break.
If we look carefully at this, perhaps we can better see that, from the outset, St. Benedict's fatherly heart was with the underdogs, the also-rans, the strays and those that others could not be bothered with. He must have felt at some point that there HAD to be a way for the spiritually challenged to become monastics. A millennium and a half later, we are still benefiting from his attempts.
St. Aelred of Rievaulx, contemporary of St. Bernard in the early days of the Cistercian reform, wrote of his monastery: "...all men found room for themselves here, like fish in the breadth of the sea, the joyous, spacious peace of divine love. That house is not to be accounted a place of religion which has been too proud to bear with the weak." As an early Cistercian, he was hardly the biggest fan of mitigated observance, but he had very clear eyes for divine love and mercy!
Hence, for us Benedictines, when the Evil One tempts us with his lies like: "You could never do that! You could never be THAT holy!" our response must be "Yeah, so what? Your point is...?" We have no clue of how holy we can be. God alone knows that and God alone will lead us and show us in ways we are quite unlikely to ever understand. Whenever the demon of discouragement tells us we are far beneath this Rule for beginners, we must shrug indifferently and move on, briefly impressed for once with the Father of Lies' firm grasp on the obvious.
Of *COURSE* we are beneath this Rule, beneath any of the earlier ones. Duh?! We're Benedictines. Our Order was founded for people like us. That should never, ever be a cause to stop trying, to give up or quit. On the contrary, that fact should be a heartening confirmation that we are EXACTLY where we belong, in the best possible remedial education program for slow learners like us, right where God wants us.
Like a mother to a crying child, devoid of hope, who moans "But I CAN'T, I just can't!" St. Benedict is softly saying, "Well, then just do what you can and that will be OK." Get the picture? Great!
Now go out and do what you can today... Don't be surprised if you find that God is increasing, sometimes imperceptibly, that "what you can" little by little to heights of great holiness, which we will achieve all but unawares and only with His help. Someday, we really SHALL "run in the way...with hearts enlarged."
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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