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Holy Rule for March 16
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St. Mary's Monastery
Mar 15, 2025, 5:20:21 PMMar 15
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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, with the help of God, to the heights of sanctity. With His grace, our considerate mindfulness for every person and their individual needs must be greater than that of the world.
St. Benedict's aim is that each of us ALWAYS see the person first. That kind of loving carefulness will make the chapters on the sick and the young and old 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 that is a firm theology of personalism.
It should come as no great shock that the most frequent obstacle to viewing others correctly is ourselves. Our own image, our self, 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 saw beauty that many of us less holy than she missed big-time and she saw it in everyone. She saw with her heart and with the Heart of Jesus.
That's what our Rule demands: the cultivation of the very loving eyes of our hearts! And we open those eyes by expanding our hearts in love!
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, with the help of God, to the heights of sanctity. With His grace, our considerate mindfulness for every person and their individual needs must be greater than that of the world.
St. Benedict's aim is that each of us ALWAYS see the person first. That kind of loving carefulness will make the chapters on the sick and the young and old 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 that is a firm theology of personalism.
It should come as no great shock that the most frequent obstacle to viewing others correctly is ourselves. Our own image, our self, 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 saw beauty that many of us less holy than she missed big-time and she saw it in everyone. She saw with her heart and with the Heart of Jesus.
That's what our Rule demands: the cultivation of the very loving eyes of our hearts! And we open those eyes by expanding our hearts in love!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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