Holy Rule for March 28
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St. Mary's Monastery
Mar 27, 2026, 5:33:35 PM (8 days ago) Mar 27
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Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
March 28, July 28, November 27
Chapter 48: On the Daily Manual Labor (1-9)
Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore the sisters should be occupied at certain times in manual labor, and again at fixed hours in sacred reading. To that end we think that the times for each may be prescribed as follows. From Easter until the Calends of October, when they come out from Prime in the morning let them labor at whatever is necessary until about the fourth hour, and from the fourth hour until about the sixth let them apply themselves to reading. After the sixth hour, having left the table, let them rest on their beds in perfect silence; or if anyone may perhaps want to read, let her read to herself in such a way as not to disturb anyone else. Let None be said rather early, at the middle of the eighth hour, and let them again do what work has to be done until Vespers. And if the circumstances of the place or their poverty should require that they themselves do the work of gathering the harvest, let them not be discontented; for then are they truly monastics when they live by the labor of their hands, as did our Fathers and the Apostles. Let all things be done with moderation, however, for the sake of the faint-hearted.
REFLECTION
With one of our several mottos, Ora et Labora, Pray and Work, Benedictines have developed a marvelous theology of work. Our centuries of reflection on the relationship of prayer and work, and on the dignity of work itself have been shared with the Church at large and have gone a long way to flesh out the Christian theology of labor.
There's a beautiful glimpse of St. Benedict's tenderness here, wrapped in one of his frequent exhortations to moderation. Here we have a very important "WHY" of moderation: it is done "for the sake of the faint-hearted." Got that? The median road of monastic observance is not gauged by the strong, but by the weak among us. Herculean ascetics that might quench the smoldering ember or break the bruised reed are not for us. In a very real way, God Himself decides the observance of a given house by sending those whom He does to join it.
Neither my community nor your circle or workplace is an accidental fluke. (Tempting to think so at times, but they aren't!) God sent those other people who drive you nuts there and He then placed you in the midst of them. Odd sense of humor He has! But He knows what He is about.
Some monasteries are the only place in the world a particular member of that house could ever be a monastic. Don't scorn that, reverence it! What a great and tender mercy of God is there! We are a huge Order with rooms and slots for everybody on a very, very wide spectrum. Some work more, some pray more, but all must try to balance.
We work AND pray: Ora et Labora. Carry either too far and the results will not be pretty. Too much work can wear a community out, make them all but useless for prayer. If this continues for too long a time, it can kill monastic life entirely. On the other hand, pray too much and work too little and you will wind up with a lot of spoiled, pampered lap dogs and lounge lizards of prayer, weak and soft and not much good for anything- including prayer! See how important balance is?
Oblates here are at a disadvantage. They don't usually have a superior living right with them to tell them when they have gone around the bend, off the top and over the falls. That's why those objective people who ARE placed around the Oblate, like spouses, parents, friends, employers or co-workers, are voices we should listen to carefully.
Note I said "objective." The advice of others is not always and everywhere good, but sometimes they can very clearly see things to which we are completely blind. That's too important a gift to be written off or ignored. Besides, listening is a very Benedictine act and so is respect for and attention to authority, as well as fraternal obedience.
The world of the Oblate is full, would we only look, with checks and balances to keep us moderate and on course.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
March 28, July 28, November 27
Chapter 48: On the Daily Manual Labor (1-9)
Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore the sisters should be occupied at certain times in manual labor, and again at fixed hours in sacred reading. To that end we think that the times for each may be prescribed as follows. From Easter until the Calends of October, when they come out from Prime in the morning let them labor at whatever is necessary until about the fourth hour, and from the fourth hour until about the sixth let them apply themselves to reading. After the sixth hour, having left the table, let them rest on their beds in perfect silence; or if anyone may perhaps want to read, let her read to herself in such a way as not to disturb anyone else. Let None be said rather early, at the middle of the eighth hour, and let them again do what work has to be done until Vespers. And if the circumstances of the place or their poverty should require that they themselves do the work of gathering the harvest, let them not be discontented; for then are they truly monastics when they live by the labor of their hands, as did our Fathers and the Apostles. Let all things be done with moderation, however, for the sake of the faint-hearted.
REFLECTION
With one of our several mottos, Ora et Labora, Pray and Work, Benedictines have developed a marvelous theology of work. Our centuries of reflection on the relationship of prayer and work, and on the dignity of work itself have been shared with the Church at large and have gone a long way to flesh out the Christian theology of labor.
There's a beautiful glimpse of St. Benedict's tenderness here, wrapped in one of his frequent exhortations to moderation. Here we have a very important "WHY" of moderation: it is done "for the sake of the faint-hearted." Got that? The median road of monastic observance is not gauged by the strong, but by the weak among us. Herculean ascetics that might quench the smoldering ember or break the bruised reed are not for us. In a very real way, God Himself decides the observance of a given house by sending those whom He does to join it.
Neither my community nor your circle or workplace is an accidental fluke. (Tempting to think so at times, but they aren't!) God sent those other people who drive you nuts there and He then placed you in the midst of them. Odd sense of humor He has! But He knows what He is about.
Some monasteries are the only place in the world a particular member of that house could ever be a monastic. Don't scorn that, reverence it! What a great and tender mercy of God is there! We are a huge Order with rooms and slots for everybody on a very, very wide spectrum. Some work more, some pray more, but all must try to balance.
We work AND pray: Ora et Labora. Carry either too far and the results will not be pretty. Too much work can wear a community out, make them all but useless for prayer. If this continues for too long a time, it can kill monastic life entirely. On the other hand, pray too much and work too little and you will wind up with a lot of spoiled, pampered lap dogs and lounge lizards of prayer, weak and soft and not much good for anything- including prayer! See how important balance is?
Oblates here are at a disadvantage. They don't usually have a superior living right with them to tell them when they have gone around the bend, off the top and over the falls. That's why those objective people who ARE placed around the Oblate, like spouses, parents, friends, employers or co-workers, are voices we should listen to carefully.
Note I said "objective." The advice of others is not always and everywhere good, but sometimes they can very clearly see things to which we are completely blind. That's too important a gift to be written off or ignored. Besides, listening is a very Benedictine act and so is respect for and attention to authority, as well as fraternal obedience.
The world of the Oblate is full, would we only look, with checks and balances to keep us moderate and on course.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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