Holy Rule for April 8
10 views
Skip to first unread message
St. Mary's Monastery
Apr 7, 2026, 5:24:42 PMApr 7
to holyrule
+PAX
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
April 8, August 8, December 8
Chapter 55: On the Clothes and Shoes of the Brethren (15-22)
For bedding let this suffice: a mattress, a blanket, a coverlet and a pillow. The beds, moreover, are to be examined frequently by the Abbot, to see if any private property be found in them. If anyone should be found to have something that he did not receive from the Abbot, let him undergo the most severe discipline. And in order that this vice of private ownership may be cut out by the roots, the Abbot should provide all the necessary articles: cowl, tunic, stockings, shoes, belt, knife, stylus, needle, handkerchief, writing tablets; that all pretext of need may be taken away. Yet the Abbot should always keep in mind the sentence from the Acts of the Apostles that "distribution was made to each according as anyone had need" (Acts 4:35). In this manner, therefore, let the Abbot consider weaknesses of the needy and not the ill-will of the envious. But in all his decisions let him think about the retribution of God.
REFLECTION
There is a tendency, both within the cloister and without, to hunt for dramatic ascetic practices, while ignoring the truly more difficult matters that lack the fanfare. Lights! Camera! Action! We must always be wary of the Nora Desmonds of our hearts, who are always willing to say, a la Sunset Boulevard: "I'm ready for my close- up now, Mr. DeMille." How we do love to star, even at self- abnegation... Sigh...
Well, there are two bad pieces of news for Ms. Desmond et al. First the penances we choose are usually not the most effective ones. The best ones are imposed by God or our situation of daily duty and they become tremendous means of grace when we patiently embrace them. Second, the ones we do choose can be terrible risks for pride, which undoes our efforts so insidiously.
What on earth does this have to do with the current chapter? Easy - and very, very hard, too! The great ascesis here is to aim at limiting ourselves to "all the necessary articles." There is a challenge here for everyone from Abbot Primate to newest Oblate novice. It is a challenge most of us shall likely never meet fully in life, so it is something we can always be profitably picking at!
Do you know anyone at all, in any vocation, who has nothing beyond what they need? I have known a few; alas I cannot say it of myself. I think this is an area where we can all look at a challenging and grace-filled ascetic struggle that is placed on us by the Holy Rule.
Down-sizing actually feels great, once one gets over the consumerist terror of doing so! One will quickly find that, in this area, less really *IS* more, (unlike poetry and art, architecture and liturgy, alas...! Minimalism there gets old fast...) We become freer when we let go of things which hold us more than we realize.
We can get buried in things we are saving to complete unfinalized plans that will never come to fruition, and while we save them, we are disheartened by our own failure to use them. Jettison, m'dears, jettison. As one Desert Father used to say to the brethren, "Flee, brothers, flee!" so do I say: "Jettison!"
This has the further charm of fitting well into a depressive's inertia, too. Recall how I told you about that resolution to make three things, no matter how tiny, better each day? Works here, too! And you will often find to your delight that the trip to dumpster or thrift shop donation includes 7, 8, or more things!
Keep chipping away and the mountain of our false hearts' desires, beloveds. And one day may all those chips be ground to sand and may we stand together on a beach of level, smooth grains of sand, confronted by nothing but the dazzling ocean of God's unfathomable mercy and love!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
April 8, August 8, December 8
Chapter 55: On the Clothes and Shoes of the Brethren (15-22)
For bedding let this suffice: a mattress, a blanket, a coverlet and a pillow. The beds, moreover, are to be examined frequently by the Abbot, to see if any private property be found in them. If anyone should be found to have something that he did not receive from the Abbot, let him undergo the most severe discipline. And in order that this vice of private ownership may be cut out by the roots, the Abbot should provide all the necessary articles: cowl, tunic, stockings, shoes, belt, knife, stylus, needle, handkerchief, writing tablets; that all pretext of need may be taken away. Yet the Abbot should always keep in mind the sentence from the Acts of the Apostles that "distribution was made to each according as anyone had need" (Acts 4:35). In this manner, therefore, let the Abbot consider weaknesses of the needy and not the ill-will of the envious. But in all his decisions let him think about the retribution of God.
REFLECTION
There is a tendency, both within the cloister and without, to hunt for dramatic ascetic practices, while ignoring the truly more difficult matters that lack the fanfare. Lights! Camera! Action! We must always be wary of the Nora Desmonds of our hearts, who are always willing to say, a la Sunset Boulevard: "I'm ready for my close- up now, Mr. DeMille." How we do love to star, even at self- abnegation... Sigh...
Well, there are two bad pieces of news for Ms. Desmond et al. First the penances we choose are usually not the most effective ones. The best ones are imposed by God or our situation of daily duty and they become tremendous means of grace when we patiently embrace them. Second, the ones we do choose can be terrible risks for pride, which undoes our efforts so insidiously.
What on earth does this have to do with the current chapter? Easy - and very, very hard, too! The great ascesis here is to aim at limiting ourselves to "all the necessary articles." There is a challenge here for everyone from Abbot Primate to newest Oblate novice. It is a challenge most of us shall likely never meet fully in life, so it is something we can always be profitably picking at!
Do you know anyone at all, in any vocation, who has nothing beyond what they need? I have known a few; alas I cannot say it of myself. I think this is an area where we can all look at a challenging and grace-filled ascetic struggle that is placed on us by the Holy Rule.
Down-sizing actually feels great, once one gets over the consumerist terror of doing so! One will quickly find that, in this area, less really *IS* more, (unlike poetry and art, architecture and liturgy, alas...! Minimalism there gets old fast...) We become freer when we let go of things which hold us more than we realize.
We can get buried in things we are saving to complete unfinalized plans that will never come to fruition, and while we save them, we are disheartened by our own failure to use them. Jettison, m'dears, jettison. As one Desert Father used to say to the brethren, "Flee, brothers, flee!" so do I say: "Jettison!"
This has the further charm of fitting well into a depressive's inertia, too. Recall how I told you about that resolution to make three things, no matter how tiny, better each day? Works here, too! And you will often find to your delight that the trip to dumpster or thrift shop donation includes 7, 8, or more things!
Keep chipping away and the mountain of our false hearts' desires, beloveds. And one day may all those chips be ground to sand and may we stand together on a beach of level, smooth grains of sand, confronted by nothing but the dazzling ocean of God's unfathomable mercy and love!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages