commentary on the Holy Rule of St. Benedict

2008 April 8- August 8 – December 8

Chapter 55. The Clothing and Footwear of the Brothers 15 - 22

15For bedding the monks will need a mat, a woolen blanket and a light covering as well as a pillow.

16The beds are to be inspected frequently by the abbot, lest private possessions be found there. 17A monk discovered with anything not given him by the abbot must be subjected to very severe punishment. 18In order that this vice of private ownership may be completely uprooted, the abbot is to provide all things necessary: 19that is, cowl, tunic, sandals, shoes, belt, knife, stylus, needle, handkerchief and writing tablets. In this way every excuse of lacking some necessity will be taken away. 20The abbot, however, must always bear in mind what is said in the Acts of the Apostles: Distribution was made to each one as he had need (Acts 4:35). 21In this way the abbot will take into account the weaknesses of the needy, not the evil will of the envious; 22yet in all his judgments he must bear in mind God's retribution.



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CommentaryNow we turn for a moment to how the monks are to sleep. These guidelines can still work fairly well today. We don't expect to go into a monk's cell and find something out of a designer magazine! Instead the bed should be simply. We use two sheets in our culture. We usually have more than one blanket in the winter when the temperatures are below zero. Some brothers have bedspreads. We usually have mattresses rather than a mat, but some brothers prefer mats.

We can understand that in the time of Saint Benedict there was no privacy at all for the monk. They slept in the same room, they ate in the same room, the prayed in the same Church, the did Lectio in the same room, etc. So if the monk wanted to have something for himself and not share it with others, under the bed was about the only private place! Most monasteries today give each monk a cell and that creates a much larger area to be inspected! But for at least some monasteries there is still an importance attached to having as little as possible and to inspecting rooms regularly so that monks keep an attentive discipline to what they have "for their use."

The Abbot needs to supply everything that the monk needs. Today those needs include a few more clothes, more shoes, more desk appurtenances, generally a computer, etc. Saint Benedict is clear that the monks should have what they need. And as in the case of wine, when Saint Benedict speaks about drink, so also in the area of modern needs many monks are convinced that they need quite a few things! So the Abbot is once again striving to listen to the Lord and insist on an austerity in the things that a monk has while at the same time he must listen to the brothers and honestly give each one what he needs for a good monastic life.

Let us strive to follow the admonitions of Saint Augustine that we work to have less so that others can have more.