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X-WR-CALDESC:All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Chr
ist\, who said: 'I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Mt 25:35).' Proper
honor must be shown 'to all\, especially to those who share our faith (Gal
6:10)' and to pilgrims.\n\nOnce guests have been announced\, the prioress
or abbot and the community are to meet them with all the courtesy of love
. First of all\, they are to pray together and thus be united in peace\, b
ut prayer must always precede the kiss of peace because of the delusions o
f the devil.\n\nStereotypes come hard in the Benedictine tradition. Is
this a spirituality that centers on prayer or work? Does it recommend fle
eing the world or embracing it? Does it set out to create a world unto its
elf or to leaven the wider one? The difficulty with understanding Benedict
ine spirituality comes in reading some sections of the Rule without readin
g the entire document. The fact is that Benedictine spirituality is not ba
sed in dualism\, in the notion that things of the world are bad for us and
things of the spirit are good. We are not to pray too long but we are to
pray always. Self-discipline is a given but wine and food and the creature
comforts of a bed with bedding are also considered necessary. The Rule is
for everyone\, including the abbot or prioress\, and yet everyone is a po
tential exception to it.\n\nIn this chapter on guests and hospitality\, th
e wholism out of which it emerges is startlingly plain: This is a monaster
y and guests are to be received. As Christ. 'Hospitality is one form of wo
rship\,' the rabbis wrote. Benedictine spirituality takes it seriously. Th
e welcome at the door is not only loving--a telephone operator at a jail c
an do that. It is total\, as well. Both the community and the abbot receiv
e the guest. The message to the stranger is clear: Come right in and distu
rb our perfect lives. You are the Christ for us today.\n\nAnd to assure us
all\, guest and monastic alike\, that this hospitality is an act of God w
hich we are undertaking\, the community and the guest pray together first
and then extend the kiss of welcome so that it is understood that our welc
ome is not based on human measurements alone: we like you\, we're impresse
d with you\, you look like our kind\, you're clean and scrubbed and minty-
breathed and worthy of our attention.\n\nHospitality in a culture of viole
nce and strangers and anonymity has become the art of making good connecti
ons at good cocktail parties. We don't talk in elevators\, we don't know t
he security guard's name\, we don't invite even the neighbors in to the sa
nctuary of our selves. Their children get sick and their parents die and a
ll we do is watch the comings and goings from behind heavy blinds. Benedic
t wants us to let down the barriers of our hearts so that this generation
does not miss accompanying the innocent to Calvary as the last one did. Be
nedict wants us to let down the barriers of our souls so that the God of t
he unexpected can come in.\n\nAll humility should be shown in addressin
g a guest on arrival or departure. By a bow of the head or by a complete p
rostration of the body\, Christ is to be adored and welcomed in them. Afte
r the guests have been received\, they should be invited to pray\; then th
e abbot or prioress or an appointed member will sit with them. The divine
law is read to all guests for their instruction\, and after that every kin
dness is shown to them. The prioress or abbot may break their fast for the
sake of a guest\, unless it is a day of special fast which cannot be brok
en. The members\, however\, observe the usual fast. The abbot or prioress
shall pour water on the hands of the guest\, and the abbot or prioress wit
h the entire community shall wash their feet. After washing they will reci
te this verse: 'God\, we have received your mercy in the midst of your tem
ple (Ps 48:10).'\n\n'In India\,' Ram Dass writes\, 'when people meet a
nd part they often say\, 'Namaste\,' which means: I honor the place in you
where the entire universe resides\; I honor the place in you of love\, of
light\, of truth\, of peace. I honor the place within you where if you ar
e in that place in you and I am in that place in me\, there is only one of
us....'Namaste'.' In Benedictine spirituality\, too\, hospitality is clea
rly meant to be more than an open door. It is an acknowledgement of the gi
fts the stranger brings. 'By a bow of the head or by a complete prostratio
n....Christ is to be adored and welcomed in them.' But Benedictine hospita
lity is also a return of gifts. The stranger is shown both presence and se
rvice. After a trip through hard terrain and hot sun\, the guest is given
physical comfort and a good meal\, spiritual instruction and human support
. Not even a fast day is counted as important as eating with a guest. Not
even asceticism is counted as holy as care for the other. Obviously\, from
the point of view of the Rule of Benedict\, it isn't so much what we do f
or those curious others in our lives\, the strange\, the needy\, the unscr
ubbed\, as it is the way we do it. We can give people charity or we can gi
ve them attention. We can give them the necessities of life or we can give
them its joys. Benedictine hospitality is the gift of one human being to
another.\n\nBenedictine hospitality is not simply bed and bath\; it is hom
e and family.\n\nGreat care and concern are to be shown in receiving po
or people and pilgrims\, because in them more particularly Christ is recei
ved\; our very awe of the rich guarantees them special respect.\n\n'It
's a barren prayer\,' St. Cyprian wrote\, 'that does not go hand in hand w
ith alms.' For the Benedictine heart the reception of the poor is an essen
tial part of going to God. We cannot be too busy\, too professional\, too
removed from the world of the poor to receive the poor and sustain the poo
r. Anything else\, Benedict warns in a society that is by nature class str
uctured\, is not hospitality. It is at best more protocol than piety. Thos
e who can buy their comforts or demand their rights are simply receiving w
hat they can get\, with us or without us. Those who have been thrown upon
the mercy of the world are the gauge of our open hearts.\n\nIt is an impor
tant distinction in a culture in which strangers are ignored and self-suff
iciency is considered a sign of virtue and poverty is a synonym for failur
e. Hospitality for us may as much involve a change of attitudes and perspe
ctives as it does a handout. To practice hospitality in our world\, it may
be necessary to evaluate all the laws and all the promotions and all the
invitation lists of corporate and political society from the point of view
of the people who never make the lists. Then hospitality may demand that
we work to change things.
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UID:0c9846c8-b7d6-4e68-ae1a-1dc93784e0a0
DTSTAMP:20260605T082218Z
DESCRIPTION:All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Chri
st\, who said: 'I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Mt 25:35).' Proper h
onor must be shown 'to all\, especially to those who share our faith (Gal
6:10)' and to pilgrims.\n\nOnce guests have been announced\, the prioress
or abbot and the community are to meet them with all the courtesy of love.
First of all\, they are to pray together and thus be united in peace\, bu
t prayer must always precede the kiss of peace because of the delusions of
the devil.\n\nStereotypes come hard in the Benedictine tradition. Is
this a spirituality that centers on prayer or work? Does it recommend flee
ing the world or embracing it? Does it set out to create a world unto itse
lf or to leaven the wider one? The difficulty with understanding Benedicti
ne spirituality comes in reading some sections of the Rule without reading
the entire document. The fact is that Benedictine spirituality is not bas
ed in dualism\, in the notion that things of the world are bad for us and
things of the spirit are good. We are not to pray too long but we are to p
ray always. Self-discipline is a given but wine and food and the creature
comforts of a bed with bedding are also considered necessary. The Rule is
for everyone\, including the abbot or prioress\, and yet everyone is a pot
ential exception to it.\n\nIn this chapter on guests and hospitality\, the
wholism out of which it emerges is startlingly plain: This is a monastery
and guests are to be received. As Christ. 'Hospitality is one form of wor
ship\,' the rabbis wrote. Benedictine spirituality takes it seriously. The
welcome at the door is not only loving--a telephone operator at a jail ca
n do that. It is total\, as well. Both the community and the abbot receive
the guest. The message to the stranger is clear: Come right in and distur
b our perfect lives. You are the Christ for us today.\n\nAnd to assure us
all\, guest and monastic alike\, that this hospitality is an act of God wh
ich we are undertaking\, the community and the guest pray together first a
nd then extend the kiss of welcome so that it is understood that our welco
me is not based on human measurements alone: we like you\, we're impressed
with you\, you look like our kind\, you're clean and scrubbed and minty-b
reathed and worthy of our attention.\n\nHospitality in a culture of violen
ce and strangers and anonymity has become the art of making good connectio
ns at good cocktail parties. We don't talk in elevators\, we don't know th
e security guard's name\, we don't invite even the neighbors in to the san
ctuary of our selves. Their children get sick and their parents die and al
l we do is watch the comings and goings from behind heavy blinds. Benedict
wants us to let down the barriers of our hearts so that this generation d
oes not miss accompanying the innocent to Calvary as the last one did. Ben
edict wants us to let down the barriers of our souls so that the God of th
e unexpected can come in.\n\nAll humility should be shown in addressing
a guest on arrival or departure. By a bow of the head or by a complete pr
ostration of the body\, Christ is to be adored and welcomed in them. After
the guests have been received\, they should be invited to pray\; then the
abbot or prioress or an appointed member will sit with them. The divine l
aw is read to all guests for their instruction\, and after that every kind
ness is shown to them. The prioress or abbot may break their fast for the
sake of a guest\, unless it is a day of special fast which cannot be broke
n. The members\, however\, observe the usual fast. The abbot or prioress s
hall pour water on the hands of the guest\, and the abbot or prioress with
the entire community shall wash their feet. After washing they will recit
e this verse: 'God\, we have received your mercy in the midst of your temp
le (Ps 48:10).'\n\n'In India\,' Ram Dass writes\, 'when people meet an
d part they often say\, 'Namaste\,' which means: I honor the place in you
where the entire universe resides\; I honor the place in you of love\, of
light\, of truth\, of peace. I honor the place within you where if you are
in that place in you and I am in that place in me\, there is only one of
us....'Namaste'.' In Benedictine spirituality\, too\, hospitality is clear
ly meant to be more than an open door. It is an acknowledgement of the gif
ts the stranger brings. 'By a bow of the head or by a complete prostration
....Christ is to be adored and welcomed in them.' But Benedictine hospital
ity is also a return of gifts. The stranger is shown both presence and ser
vice. After a trip through hard terrain and hot sun\, the guest is given p
hysical comfort and a good meal\, spiritual instruction and human support.
Not even a fast day is counted as important as eating with a guest. Not e
ven asceticism is counted as holy as care for the other. Obviously\, from
the point of view of the Rule of Benedict\, it isn't so much what we do fo
r those curious others in our lives\, the strange\, the needy\, the unscru
bbed\, as it is the way we do it. We can give people charity or we can giv
e them attention. We can give them the necessities of life or we can give
them its joys. Benedictine hospitality is the gift of one human being to a
nother.\n\nBenedictine hospitality is not simply bed and bath\; it is home
and family.\n\nGreat care and concern are to be shown in receiving poo
r people and pilgrims\, because in them more particularly Christ is receiv
ed\; our very awe of the rich guarantees them special respect.\n\n'It'
s a barren prayer\,' St. Cyprian wrote\, 'that does not go hand in hand wi
th alms.' For the Benedictine heart the reception of the poor is an essent
ial part of going to God. We cannot be too busy\, too professional\, too r
emoved from the world of the poor to receive the poor and sustain the poor
. Anything else\, Benedict warns in a society that is by nature class stru
ctured\, is not hospitality. It is at best more protocol than piety. Those
who can buy their comforts or demand their rights are simply receiving wh
at they can get\, with us or without us. Those who have been thrown upon t
he mercy of the world are the gauge of our open hearts.\n\nIt is an import
ant distinction in a culture in which strangers are ignored and self-suffi
ciency is considered a sign of virtue and poverty is a synonym for failure
. Hospitality for us may as much involve a change of attitudes and perspec
tives as it does a handout. To practice hospitality in our world\, it may
be necessary to evaluate all the laws and all the promotions and all the i
nvitation lists of corporate and political society from the point of view
of the people who never make the lists. Then hospitality may demand that w
e work to change things.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260804T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260804T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 53
SUMMARY:The Reception of Guests
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR