{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_50040/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_50040","id":"gutenberg_50040","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50040","summary":null,"tags":["Benedictines -- Rules","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"ST. BENEDICT\u2019S\n RULE FOR MONASTERIES\n\n\n\n\n Translated from the Latin by\n Leonard J. Doyle\n\n\n\n\n THE LITURGICAL PRESS\n St John\u2019s Abbey Collegeville, Minnesota\n\n\n\n\nThis translation of the Holy Rule of St. Benedict was made from the\nthird edition of the text as edited by Dom Cuthbert Butler of Downside\nAbbey in England (St. Louis: B. Herder Book Co., 1935).\n\n\n\n\n_Nihil obstat:_ Basil Stegmann, O.S.B., _Censor librorum._ _Imprimi\npotest:_ \u2720 Alcuin Deutsch, O.S.B., D.D., Abbot, St. John\u2019s Abbey,\nJanuary 5, 1947. _Imprimatur:_ \u2720 Joseph F. Busch, D.D., Bishop of St.\nCloud, January 8, 1947.\n\nCopyright 1948 _by_ The Order of St. Benedict, Inc., Collegeville,\nMinnesota.\n\n\n\n\n TABLE OF CONTENTS\n\n\n Prologue \n 1. On the Kinds of Monks\n 2. What Kind of Man the Abbot Ought to Be\n 3. On Calling the Brethren for Counsel\n 4. What Are the Instruments of Good Works\n 5. On Obedience\n 6. On the Spirit of Silence\n 7. On Humility\n 8. On the Divine Office During the Night\n 9. How Many Psalms Are to Be Said at the Night Office\n 10. How the Night Office Is to Be Said in Summer Time\n 11. How the Night Office Is to Be Said on Sundays\n 12. How the Morning Office Is to Be Said\n 13. How the Morning Office Is to Be Said on Weekdays\n 14. How the Night Office Is to Be Said on the Feasts of the Saints\n 15. At What Times \u201cAlleluia\u201d Is to Be Said\n 16. How the Work of God Is to Be Performed During the Day\n 17. How Many Psalms Are to Be Said at These Hours\n 18. In What Order the Psalms Are to Be Said\n 19. On the Manner of Saying the Divine Office\n 20. On Reverence in Prayer\n 21. On the Deans of the Monastery\n 22. How the Monks Are to Sleep\n 23. On Excommunication for Faults\n 24. What the Measure of Excommunication Should Be\n 25. On Weightier Faults\n 26. On Those Who Without an Order Associate With the Excommunicated\n 27. How Solicitous the Abbot Should Be for the Excommunicated\n 28. On Those Who Will Not Amend After Repeated Corrections\n 29. Whether Brethren Who Leave the Monastery Should Be Received Again\n 30. How Boys Are to Be Corrected\n 31. What Kind of Man the Cellarer of the Monastery Should Be\n 32. On the Tools and Property of the Monastery\n 33. Whether Monks Ought to Have Anything of Their Own\n 34. Whether All Should Receive in Equal Measure What Is Necessary\n 35. On the Weekly Servers in the Kitchen\n 36. On the Sick Brethren\n 37. On Old Men and Children\n 38. On the Weekly Reader\n 39. On the Measure of Food\n 40. On the Measure of Drink\n 41. At What Hours the Meals Should Be Taken\n 42. That No One Speak After Compline\n 43. On Those Who Come Late to the Work of God or to Table\n 44. How the Excommunicated Are to Make Satisfaction\n 45. On Those Who Make Mistakes in the Oratory\n 46. On Those Who Fail in Any Other Matters\n 47. On Giving the Signal for the Time of the Work of God\n 48. On the Daily Manual Labor\n 49. On the Observance of Lent\n 50. On Brethren Who Are Working Far From the Oratory or Are on a Journey\n 51. On Brethren Who Go Not Very Far Away\n 52. On the Oratory of the Monastery\n 53. On the Reception of Guests\n 54. Whether a Monk Should Receive Letters or Anything Else\n 55. On the Clothes and Shoes of the Brethren\n 56. On the Abbot\u2019s Table\n 57. On the Craftsmen of the Monastery\n 58. On the Manner of Receiving Brethren\n 59. On the Sons of Nobles and of the Poor Who Are Offered\n 60. On Priests Who May Wish to Live in the Monastery\n 61. How Pilgrim Monks Are To Be Received\n 62. On the Priests of the Monastery\n 63. On the Order of the Community\n 64. On Constituting an Abbot\n 65. On the Prior of the Monastery\n 66. On the Porters of the Monastery\n 67. On Brethren Who Are Sent on a Journey\n 68. If a Brother Is Commanded to Do Impossible Things\n 69. That the Monks Presume Not to Defend One Another\n 70. That No One Venture to Punish at Random\n 71. That the Brethren Be Obedient to One Another\n 72. On the Good Zeal Which Monks Ought to Have\n 73. On the Fact That the Full Observance of Justice Is Not Established in This Rule\n\n\n\n\n ST. BENEDICT\u2019S\n RULE FOR MONASTERIES\n\n\n\n\n PROLOGUE\n\n\n\n Jan. 1\u2014May 2\u2014Sept. 1\n\n\nListen, my son, to your master\u2019s precepts, and incline the ear of your\nheart. Receive willingly and carry out effectively your loving father\u2019s\nadvice, that by the labor of obedience you may return to Him from whom\nyou had departed by the sloth of disobedience.\n\nTo you, therefore, my words are now addressed, whoever you may be, who\nare renouncing your own will to do battle under the Lord Christ, the\ntrue King, and are taking up the strong, bright weapons of obedience.\n\nAnd first of all, whatever good work you begin to do, beg of Him with\nmost earnest prayer to perfect it, that He who has now deigned to count\nus among His sons may not at any time be grieved by our evil deeds. For\nwe must always so serve Him with the good things He has given us, that\nHe will never as an angry Father disinherit His children, nor ever as a\ndread Lord, provoked by our evil actions, deliver us to everlasting\npunishment as wicked servants who would not follow Him to glory.\n\n\n\n Jan. 2\u2014May 3\u2014Sept. 2\n\n\nLet us arise, then, at last, for the Scripture stirs us up, saying, \u201cNow\nis the hour for us to rise from sleep.\u201d Let us open our eyes to the\ndeifying light, let us hear with attentive ears the warning which the\ndivine voice cries daily to us, \u201cToday if you hear His voice, harden not\nyour hearts.\u201d And again, \u201cHe who has ears to hear, let him hear what the\nSpirit says to the churches.\u201d And what does He say? \u201cCome, My children,\nlisten to Me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Run while you have\nthe light of life, lest the darkness of death overtake you.\u201d\n\n\n\n Jan. 3\u2014May 4\u2014Sept. 3\n\n\nAnd the Lord, seeking His laborer in the multitude to whom He thus cries\nout, says again, \u201cWho is the man who will have life, and desires to see\ngood days?\u201d And if, hearing Him, you answer, \u201cI am he,\u201d God says to you,\n\u201cIf you will have true and everlasting life, keep your tongue from evil\nand your lips that they speak no guile. Turn away from evil and do good;\nseek after peace and pursue it. And when you have done these things, My\neyes shall be upon you and My ears open to your prayers; and before you\ncall upon Me, I will say to you, \u2018Behold, here I am.\u2019\u201d\n\nWhat can be sweeter to us, dear brethren, than this voice of the Lord\ninviting us? Behold, in His loving kindness the Lord shows us the way of\nlife.\n\n\n\n Jan. 4\u2014May 5\u2014Sept. 4\n\n\nHaving our loins girded, therefore, with faith and the performance of\ngood works, let us walk in His paths by the guidance of the Gospel, that\nwe may deserve to see Him who has called us to His kingdom.\n\nFor if we wish to dwell in the tent of that kingdom, we must run to it\nby good deeds or we shall never reach it.\n\nBut let us ask the Lord, with the Prophet, \u201cLord, who shall dwell in\nYour tent, or who shall rest upon Your holy mountain?\u201d\n\nAfter this question, brethren, let us listen to the Lord as He answers\nand shows us the way to that tent, saying, \u201cHe who walks without stain\nand practices justice; he who speaks truth from his heart; he who has\nnot used his tongue for deceit; he who has done no evil to his neighbor;\nhe who has given no place to slander against his neighbor.\u201d\n\nIt is he who, under any temptation from the malicious devil, has brought\nhim to naught by casting him and his temptation from the sight of his\nheart; and who has laid hold of his thoughts while they were still young\nand dashed them against Christ.\n\nIt is they who, fearing the Lord, do not pride themselves on their good\nobservance; but, convinced that the good which is in them cannot come\nfrom themselves and must be from the Lord, glorify the Lord\u2019s work in\nthem, using the words of the Prophet, \u201cNot to us, O Lord, not to us, but\nto Your name give the glory.\u201d Thus also the Apostle Paul attributed\nnothing of the success of his preaching to himself, but said, \u201cBy the\ngrace of God I am what I am.\u201d And again he says, \u201cHe who glories, let\nhim glory in the Lord.\u201d\n\n\n\n Jan. 5\u2014May 6\u2014Sept. 5\n\n\nHence the Lord says in the Gospel, \u201cWhoever listens to these words of\nMine and acts upon them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his\nhouse on rock. The floods came, the winds blew and beat against that\nhouse, and it did not fall, because it was founded on rock.\u201d\n\nHaving given us these assurances, the Lord is waiting every day for us\nto respond by our deeds to His holy admonitions. And the days of this\nlife are lengthened and a truce granted us for this very reason, that we\nmay amend our evil ways. As the Apostle says, \u201cDo you not know that\nGod\u2019s patience is inviting you to repent?\u201d For the merciful Lord tells\nus, \u201cI desire not the death of the sinner, but that he should be\nconverted and live.\u201d\n\n\n\n Jan. 6\u2014May 7\u2014Sept. 6\n\n\nSo, brethren, we have asked the Lord who is to dwell in His tent, and we\nhave heard His commands to anyone who would dwell there; it remains for\nus to fulfil those duties.\n\nTherefore we must prepare our hearts and our bodies to do battle under\nthe holy obedience of His commands; and let us ask God that He be\npleased to give us the help of His grace for anything which our nature\nfinds hardly possible. And if we want to escape the pains of hell and\nattain life everlasting, then, while there is still time, while we are\nstill in the body and are able to fulfil all these things by the light\nof this life, we must hasten to do now what will profit us for eternity.\n\n\n\n Jan. 7\u2014May 8\u2014Sept. 7\n\n\nAnd so we are going to establish a school for the service of the Lord.\nIn founding it we hope to introduce nothing harsh or burdensome. But if\na certain strictness results from the dictates of equity for the\namendment of vices or the preservation of charity, do not be at once\ndismayed and fly from the way of salvation, whose entrance cannot but be\nnarrow. For as we advance in the religious life and in faith, our hearts\nexpand and we run the way of God\u2019s commandments with unspeakable\nsweetness of love. Thus, never departing from His school, but\npersevering in the monastery according to His teaching until death, we\nmay by patience share in the sufferings of Christ and deserve to have a\nshare also in His kingdom.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 1\n On the Kinds of Monks\n\n\nJan. 8\u2014May 9\u2014Sept. 8\n\n\nIt is well known that there are four kinds of monks. The first kind are\nthe Cenobites: those who live in monasteries and serve under a rule and\nan Abbot.\n\nThe second kind are the Anchorites or Hermits: those who, no longer in\nthe first fervor of their reformation, but after long probation in a\nmonastery, having learned by the help of many brethren how to fight\nagainst the devil, go out well armed from the ranks of the community to\nthe solitary combat of the desert. They are able now, with no help save\nfrom God, to fight single-handed against the vices of the flesh and\ntheir own evil thoughts.\n\nThe third kind of monks, a detestable kind, are the Sarabaites. These,\nnot having been tested, as gold in the furnace, by any rule or by the\nlessons of experience, are as soft as lead. In their works they still\nkeep faith with the world, so that their tonsure marks them as liars\nbefore God. They live in twos or threes, or even singly, without a\nshepherd, in their own sheepfolds and not in the Lord\u2019s. Their law is\nthe desire for self-gratification: whatever enters their mind or appeals\nto them, that they call holy; what they dislike, they regard as\nunlawful.\n\nThe fourth kind of monks are those called Gyrovagues. These spend their\nwhole lives tramping from province to province, staying as guests in\ndifferent monasteries for three or four days at a time. Always on the\nmove, with no stability, they indulge their own wills and succumb to the\nallurements of gluttony, and are in every way worse than the Sarabaites.\nOf the miserable conduct of all such men it is better to be silent than\nto speak.\n\nPassing these over, therefore, let us proceed, with God\u2019s help, to lay\ndown a rule for the strongest kind of monks, the Cenobites.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 2\n What Kind of Man the Abbot Ought to Be\n\n\n\n Jan. 9\u2014May 10\u2014Sept. 9\n\n\nAn Abbot who is worthy to be over a monastery should always remember\nwhat he is called, and live up to the name of Superior. For he is\nbelieved to hold the place of Christ in the monastery, being called by a\nname of His, which is taken from the words of the Apostle: \u201cYou have\nreceived a Spirit of adoption as sons, by virtue of which we cry,\n\u2018Abba\u2014Father!\u2019\u201d\n\nTherefore the Abbot ought not to teach or ordain or command anything\nwhich is against the Lord\u2019s precepts; on the contrary, his commands and\nhis teaching should be a leaven of divine justice kneaded into the minds\nof his disciples.\n\n\n\n Jan. 10\u2014May 11\u2014Sept. 10\n\n\nLet the Abbot always bear in mind that at the dread Judgment of God\nthere will be an examination of these two matters: his teaching and the\nobedience of his disciples. And let the Abbot be sure that any lack of\nprofit the master of the house may find in the sheep will be laid to the\nblame of the shepherd. On the other hand, if the shepherd has bestowed\nall his pastoral diligence on a restless, unruly flock and tried every\nremedy for their unhealthy behavior, then he will be acquitted at the\nLord\u2019s Judgment and may say to the Lord with the Prophet: \u201cI have not\nconcealed Your justice within my heart; Your truth and Your salvation I\nhave declared. But they have despised and rejected me.\u201d And then finally\nlet death itself, irresistible, punish those disobedient sheep under his\ncharge.\n\n\n\n Jan. 11\u2014May 12\u2014Sept. 11\n\n\nTherefore, when anyone receives the name of Abbot, he ought to govern\nhis disciples with a twofold teaching. That is to say, he should show\nthem all that is good and holy by his deeds even more than by his words,\nexpounding the Lord\u2019s commandments in words to the intelligent among his\ndisciples, but demonstrating the divine precepts by his actions for\nthose of harder hearts and ruder minds. And whatever he has taught his\ndisciples to be contrary to God\u2019s law, let him indicate by his example\nthat it is not to be done, lest, while preaching to others, he himself\nbe found reprobate, and lest God one day say to him in his sin, \u201cWhy do\nyou declare My statutes and profess My covenant with your lips, whereas\nyou hate discipline and have cast My words behind you?\u201d And again, \u201cYou\nwere looking at the speck in your brother\u2019s eye, and did not see the\nbeam in your own.\u201d\n\n\n\n Jan. 12\u2014May 13\u2014Sept. 12\n\n\nLet him make no distinction of persons in the monastery. Let him not\nlove one more than another, unless it be one whom he finds better in\ngood works or in obedience. Let him not advance one of noble birth ahead\nof one who was formerly a slave, unless there be some other reasonable\nground for it. But if the Abbot for just reason think fit to do so, let\nhim advance one of any rank whatever. Otherwise let them keep their due\nplaces; because, whether slaves or freemen, we are all one in Christ and\nbear an equal burden of service in the army of the same Lord. For with\nGod there is no respect of persons. Only for one reason are we preferred\nin His sight: if we be found better than others in good works and\nhumility. Therefore let the Abbot show equal love to all and impose the\nsame discipline on all according to their deserts.\n\n\n\n Jan. 13\u2014May 14\u2014Sept. 13\n\n\nIn his teaching the Abbot should always follow the Apostle\u2019s formula:\n\u201cReprove, entreat, rebuke\u201d; threatening at one time and coaxing at\nanother as the occasion may require, showing now the stern countenance\nof a master, now the loving affection of a father. That is to say, it is\nthe undisciplined and restless whom he must reprove rather sharply; it\nis the obedient, meek and patient whom he must entreat to advance in\nvirtue; while as for the negligent and disdainful, these we charge him\nto rebuke and correct.\n\nAnd let him not shut his eyes to the faults of offenders; but, since he\nhas the authority, let him cut out those faults by the roots as soon as\nthey begin to appear, remembering the fate of Heli, the priest of Silo.\nThe well-disposed and those of good understanding let him correct with\nverbal admonition the first and second time. But bold, hard, proud and\ndisobedient characters he should curb at the very beginning of their\nill-doing by stripes and other bodily punishments, knowing that it is\nwritten, \u201cThe fool is not corrected with words,\u201d and again, \u201cBeat your\nson with the rod and you will deliver his soul from death.\u201d\n\n\n\n Jan. 14\u2014May 15\u2014Sept. 14\n\n\nThe Abbot should always remember what he is and what he is called, and\nshould know that to whom more is committed, from him more is required.\nLet him understand also what a difficult and arduous task he has\nundertaken: ruling souls and adapting himself to a variety of\ncharacters. One he must coax, another scold, another persuade, according\nto each one\u2019s character and understanding. Thus he must adjust and adapt\nhimself to all in such a way that he may not only suffer no loss in the\nflock committed to his care, but may even rejoice in the increase of a\ngood flock.\n\n\n\n Jan. 15\u2014May 16\u2014Sept. 15\n\n\nAbove all let him not neglect or undervalue the welfare of the souls\ncommitted to him, in a greater concern for fleeting, earthly, perishable\nthings; but let him always bear in mind that he has undertaken the\ngovernment of souls and that he will have to give an account of them.\n\nAnd if he be tempted to allege a lack of earthly means, let him\nremember what is written: \u201cFirst seek the kingdom of God and His\njustice, and all these things shall be given you besides.\u201d And again:\n\u201cNothing is wanting to those who fear Him.\u201d\n\nLet him know, then, that he who has undertaken the government of souls\nmust prepare himself to render an account of them. Whatever number of\nbrethren he knows he has under his care, he may be sure beyond doubt\nthat on Judgment Day he will have to give the Lord an account of all\nthese souls, as well as of his own soul.\n\nThus the constant apprehension about his coming examination as shepherd\nconcerning the sheep entrusted to him, and his anxiety over the account\nthat must be given for others, make him careful of his own record. And\nwhile by his admonitions he is helping others to amend, he himself is\ncleansed of his faults.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 3\n On Calling the Brethren for Counsel\n\n\n\n Jan. 16\u2014May 17\u2014Sept. 16\n\n\nWhenever any important business has to be done in the monastery, let the\nAbbot call together the whole community and state the matter to be acted\nupon. Then, having heard the brethren\u2019s advice, let him turn the matter\nover in his own mind and do what he shall judge to be most expedient.\nThe reason we have said that all should be called for counsel is that\nthe Lord often reveals to the younger what is best.\n\nLet the brethren give their advice with all the deference required by\nhumility, and not presume stubbornly to defend their opinions; but let\nthe decision rather depend on the Abbot\u2019s judgment, and all submit to\nwhatever he shall decide for their welfare.\n\nHowever, just as it is proper for the disciples to obey their master, so\nalso it is his function to dispose all things with prudence and justice.\n\n\n\n Jan. 17\u2014May 18\u2014Sept. 17\n\n\nIn all things, therefore, let all follow the Rule as guide, and let no\none be so rash as to deviate from it. Let no one in the monastery follow\nhis own heart\u2019s fancy; and let no one presume to contend with his Abbot\nin an insolent way or even outside of the monastery. But if anyone\nshould presume to do so, let him undergo the discipline of the Rule. At\nthe same time, the Abbot himself should do all things in the fear of God\nand in observance of the Rule, knowing that beyond a doubt he will have\nto render an account of all his decisions to God, the most just Judge.\n\nBut if the business to be done in the interests of the monastery be of\nlesser importance, let him take counsel with the seniors only. It is\nwritten, \u201cDo everything with counsel, and you will not repent when you\nhave done it.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 4\n What Are the Instruments of Good Works\n\n\n\n Jan. 18\u2014May 19\u2014Sept. 18\n\n\n 1. In the first place, to love the Lord God with the whole heart, the\n whole soul, the whole strength.\n 2. Then, one\u2019s neighbor as oneself.\n 3. Then not to murder.\n 4. Not to commit adultery.\n 5. Not to steal.\n 6. Not to covet.\n 7. Not to bear false witness.\n 8. To respect all men.\n 9. And not to do to another what one would not have done to oneself.\n 10. To deny oneself in order to follow Christ.\n 11. To chastise the body.\n 12. Not to become attached to pleasures.\n 13. To love fasting.\n 14. To relieve the poor.\n 15. To clothe the naked.\n 16. To visit the sick.\n 17. To bury the dead.\n 18. To help in trouble.\n 19. To console the sorrowing.\n 20. To become a stranger to the world\u2019s ways.\n 21. To prefer nothing to the love of Christ.\n\n\n\n Jan. 19\u2014May 20\u2014Sept. 19\n\n\n 22. Not to give way to anger.\n 23. Not to nurse a grudge.\n 24. Not to entertain deceit in one\u2019s heart.\n 25. Not to give a false peace.\n 26. Not to forsake charity.\n 27. Not to swear, for fear of perjuring oneself.\n 28. To utter truth from heart and mouth.\n 29. Not to return evil for evil.\n 30. To do no wrong to anyone, and to bear patiently wrongs done to\n oneself.\n 31. To love one\u2019s enemies.\n 32. Not to curse those who curse us, but rather to bless them.\n 33. To bear persecution for justice\u2019 sake.\n 34. Not to be proud.\n 35. Not addicted to wine.\n 36. Not a great eater.\n 37. Not drowsy.\n 38. Not lazy.\n 39. Not a grumbler.\n 40. Not a detractor.\n 41. To put one\u2019s hope in God.\n 42. To attribute to God, and not to self, whatever good one sees in\n oneself.\n 43. But to recognize always that the evil is one\u2019s own doing, and to\n impute it to oneself.\n\n\n\n Jan. 20\u2014May 21\u2014Sept. 20\n\n\n 44. To fear the Day of Judgment.\n 45. To be in dread of hell.\n 46. To desire eternal life with all the passion of the spirit.\n 47. To keep death daily before one\u2019s eyes.\n 48. To keep constant guard over the actions of one\u2019s life.\n 49. To know for certain that God sees one everywhere.\n 50. When evil thoughts come into one\u2019s heart, to dash them against\n Christ immediately.\n 51. And to manifest them to one\u2019s spiritual father.\n 52. To guard one\u2019s tongue against evil and depraved speech.\n 53. Not to love much talking.\n 54. Not to speak useless words or words that move to laughter.\n 55. Not to love much or boisterous laughter.\n 56. To listen willingly to holy reading.\n 57. To devote oneself frequently to prayer.\n 58. Daily in one\u2019s prayers, with tears and sighs, to confess one\u2019s\n past sins to God, and to amend them for the future.\n 59. Not to fulfil the desires of the flesh; to hate one\u2019s own will.\n 60. To obey in all things the commands of the Abbot, even though he\n himself (which God forbid) should act otherwise, mindful of the\n Lord\u2019s precept, \u201cDo what they say, but not what they do.\u201d\n 61. Not to wish to be called holy before one is holy; but first to be\n holy, that one may be truly so called.\n\n\n\n Jan. 21\u2014May 22\u2014Sept. 21\n\n\n 62. To fulfil God\u2019s commandments daily in one\u2019s deeds.\n 63. To love chastity.\n 64. To hate no one.\n 65. Not to be jealous, not to harbor envy.\n 66. Not to love contention.\n 67. To beware of haughtiness.\n 68. And to respect the seniors.\n 69. To love the juniors.\n 70. To pray for one\u2019s enemies in the love of Christ.\n 71. To make peace with one\u2019s adversary before the sun sets.\n 72. And never to despair of God\u2019s mercy.\n\nThese, then, are the tools of the spiritual craft. If we employ them\nunceasingly day and night, and return them on the Day of Judgment, our\ncompensation from the Lord will be that wage He has promised: \u201cEye has\nnot seen, nor ear heard, what God has prepared for those who love Him.\u201d\n\nNow the workshop in which we shall diligently execute all these tasks is\nthe enclosure of the monastery and stability in the community.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 5\n On Obedience\n\n\n\n Jan. 22\u2014May 23\u2014Sept. 22\n\n\nThe first degree of humility is obedience without delay. This is the\nvirtue of those who hold nothing dearer to them than Christ; who,\nbecause of the holy service they have professed, and the fear of hell,\nand the glory of life everlasting, as soon as anything has been ordered\nby the Superior, receive it as a divine command and cannot suffer any\ndelay in executing it. Of these the Lord says, \u201cAs soon as he heard, he\nobeyed Me.\u201d And again to teachers He says, \u201cHe who hears you, hears Me.\u201d\n\nSuch as these, therefore, immediately leaving their own affairs and\nforsaking their own will, dropping the work they were engaged in and\nleaving it unfinished, with the ready step of obedience follow up with\ntheir deeds the voice of him who commands. And so as it were at the same\nmoment the master\u2019s command is given and the disciple\u2019s work is\ncompleted, the two things being speedily accomplished together in the\nswiftness of the fear of God by those who are moved with the desire of\nattaining life everlasting. That desire is their motive for choosing the\nnarrow way, of which the Lord says, \u201cNarrow is the way that leads to\nlife,\u201d so that, not living according to their own choice nor obeying\ntheir own desires and pleasures but walking by another\u2019s judgment and\ncommand, they dwell in monasteries and desire to have an Abbot over\nthem. Assuredly such as these are living up to that maxim of the Lord in\nwhich He says, \u201cI have come not to do My own will, but the will of Him\nwho sent Me.\u201d\n\n\n\n Jan. 23\u2014May 24\u2014Sept. 23\n\n\nBut this very obedience will be acceptable to God and pleasing to men\nonly if what is commanded is done without hesitation, delay,\nlukewarmness, grumbling, or objection. For the obedience given to\nSuperiors is given to God, since He Himself has said, \u201cHe who hears you,\nhears Me.\u201d And the disciples should offer their obedience with a good\nwill, for \u201cGod loves a cheerful giver.\u201d For if the disciple obeys with\nan ill will and murmurs, not necessarily with his lips but simply in his\nheart, then even though he fulfil the command yet his work will not be\nacceptable to God, who sees that his heart is murmuring. And, far from\ngaining a reward for such work as this, he will incur the punishment due\nto murmurers, unless he amend and make satisfaction.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 6\n On the Spirit of Silence\n\n\nJan. 24\u2014May 25\u2014Sept. 24\n\n\nLet us do what the Prophet says: \u201cI said, \u2018I will guard my ways, that I\nmay not sin with my tongue. I have set a guard to my mouth.\u2019 I was mute\nand was humbled, and kept silence even from good things.\u201d Here the\nProphet shows that if the spirit of silence ought to lead us at times to\nrefrain even from good speech, so much the more ought the punishment for\nsin make us avoid evil words.\n\nTherefore, since the spirit of silence is so important, permission to\nspeak should rarely be granted even to perfect disciples, even though it\nbe for good, holy, edifying conversation; for it is written, \u201cIn much\nspeaking you will not escape sin,\u201d and in another place, \u201cDeath and life\nare in the power of the tongue.\u201d\n\nFor speaking and teaching belong to the master; the disciple\u2019s part is\nto be silent and to listen. And for that reason if anything has to be\nasked of the Superior, it should be asked with all the humility and\nsubmission inspired by reverence.\n\nBut as for coarse jests and idle words or words that move to laughter,\nthese we condemn everywhere with a perpetual ban, and for such\nconversation we do not permit a disciple to open his mouth.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 7\n On Humility\n\n\n\n Jan. 25\u2014May 26\u2014Sept. 25\n\n\nHoly Scripture, brethren, cries out to us, saying, \u201cEveryone who exalts\nhimself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.\u201d\nIn saying this it shows us that all exaltation is a kind of pride,\nagainst which the Prophet proves himself to be on guard when he says,\n\u201cLord, my heart is not exalted, nor are mine eyes lifted up; neither\nhave I walked in great matters, nor in wonders above me.\u201d But how has he\nacted? \u201cRather have I been of humble mind than exalting myself; as a\nweaned child on its mother\u2019s breast, so You solace my soul.\u201d\n\nHence, brethren, if we wish to reach the very highest point of humility\nand to arrive speedily at that heavenly exaltation to which ascent is\nmade through the humility of this present life, we must by our ascending\nactions erect the ladder Jacob saw in his dream, on which Angels\nappeared to him descending and ascending. By that descent and ascent we\nmust surely understand nothing else than this, that we descend by\nself-exaltation and ascend by humility. And the ladder thus set up is\nour life in the world, which the Lord raises up to heaven if our heart\nis humbled. For we call our body and soul the sides of the ladder, and\ninto these sides our divine vocation has inserted the different steps of\nhumility and discipline we must climb.\n\n\n\n Jan. 26\u2014May 27\u2014Sept. 26\n\n\nThe first degree of humility, then, is that a person keep the fear of\nGod before his eyes and beware of ever forgetting it. Let him be ever\nmindful of all that God has commanded; let his thoughts constantly recur\nto the hell-fire which will burn for their sins those who despise God,\nand to the life everlasting which is prepared for those who fear Him.\nLet him keep himself at every moment from sins and vices, whether of the\nmind, the tongue, the hands, the feet, or the self-will, and check also\nthe desires of the flesh.\n\n\n\n Jan. 27\u2014May 28\u2014Sept. 27\n\n\nLet a man consider that God is always looking at him from heaven, that\nhis actions are everywhere visible to the divine eyes and are constantly\nbeing reported to God by the Angels. This is what the Prophet shows us\nwhen he represents God as ever present within our thoughts, in the words\n\u201cSearcher of minds and hearts is God\u201d and again in the words \u201cThe Lord\nknows the thoughts of men.\u201d Again he says, \u201cYou have read my thoughts\nfrom afar\u201d and \u201cThe thoughts of men will confess to You.\u201d\n\nIn order that he may be careful about his wrongful thoughts, therefore,\nlet the faithful brother say constantly in his heart, \u201cThen shall I be\nspotless before Him, if I have kept myself from my iniquity.\u201d\n\n\n\n Jan. 28\u2014May 29\u2014Sept. 28\n\n\nAs for self-will, we are forbidden to do our own will by the Scripture,\nwhich says to us, \u201cTurn away from your own will,\u201d and likewise by the\nprayer in which we ask God that His will be done in us. And rightly are\nwe taught not to do our own will when we take heed to the warning of\nScripture: \u201cThere are ways which to men seem right, but the ends of them\nplunge into the depths of hell\u201d; and also when we tremble at what is\nsaid of the careless: \u201cThey are corrupt and have become abominable in\ntheir wills.\u201d\n\nAnd as for the desires of the flesh, let us believe with the Prophet\nthat God is ever present to us, when he says to the Lord, \u201cEvery desire\nof mine is before You.\u201d\n\n\n\n Jan. 29\u2014May 30\u2014Sept. 29\n\n\nWe must be on our guard, therefore, against evil desires, for death lies\nclose by the gate of pleasure. Hence the Scripture gives this command:\n\u201cGo not after your concupiscences.\u201d\n\nSo therefore, since the eyes of the Lord observe the good and the evil\nand the Lord is always looking down from heaven on the children of men\n\u201cto see if there be anyone who understands and seeks God,\u201d and since our\ndeeds are daily, day and night, reported to the Lord by the Angels\nassigned to us, we must constantly beware, brethren, as the Prophet says\nin the Psalm, lest at any time God see us falling into evil ways and\nbecoming unprofitable; and lest, having spared us for the present\nbecause in His kindness He awaits our reformation, He say to us in the\nfuture, \u201cThese things you did, and I held My peace.\u201d\n\n\n\n Jan. 30\u2014May 31\u2014Sept. 30\n\n\nThe second degree of humility is that a person love not his own will nor\ntake pleasure in satisfying his desires, but model his actions on the\nsaying of the Lord, \u201cI have come not to do My own will, but the will of\nHim who sent Me.\u201d It is written also, \u201cSelf-will has its punishment, but\nconstraint wins a crown.\u201d\n\n\n\n Jan. 31\u2014June 1\u2014Oct. 1\n\n\nThe third degree of humility is that a person for love of God submit\nhimself to his Superior in all obedience, imitating the Lord, of whom\nthe Apostle says, \u201cHe became obedient even unto death.\u201d\n\n\n\n Feb. 1\u2014June 2\u2014Oct. 2\n\n\nThe fourth degree of humility is that he hold fast to patience with a\nsilent mind when in this obedience he meets with difficulties and\ncontradictions and even any kind of injustice, enduring all without\ngrowing weary or running away. For the Scripture says, \u201cHe who\nperseveres to the end, he it is who shall be saved\u201d; and again, \u201cLet\nyour heart take courage, and wait for the Lord!\u201d\n\nAnd to show how those who are faithful ought to endure all things,\nhowever contrary, for the Lord, the Scripture says in the person of the\nsuffering, \u201cFor Your sake we are put to death all the day long; we are\nconsidered as sheep marked for slaughter.\u201d Then, secure in their hope of\na divine recompense, they go on with joy to declare, \u201cBut in all these\ntrials we conquer, through Him who has granted us His love.\u201d Again, in\nanother place the Scripture says, \u201cYou have tested us, O God; You have\ntried us as silver is tried, by fire; You have brought us into a snare;\nYou have laid afflictions on our back.\u201d And to show that we ought to be\nunder a Superior, it goes on to say, \u201cYou have set men over our heads.\u201d\n\nMoreover, by their patience those faithful ones fulfil the Lord\u2019s\ncommand in adversities and injuries: when struck on one cheek, they\noffer the other; when deprived of their tunic, they surrender also their\ncloak; when forced to go a mile, they go two; with the Apostle Paul they\nbear with false brethren and bless those who curse them.\n\n\n\n Feb. 2\u2014June 3\u2014Oct. 3\n\n\nThe fifth degree of humility is that he hide from his Abbot none of the\nevil thoughts that enter his heart or the sins committed in secret, but\nthat he humbly confess them. The Scripture urges us to this when it\nsays, \u201cReveal your way to the Lord and hope in Him,\u201d and again, \u201cConfess\nto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.\u201d And the\nProphet likewise says, \u201cMy offense I have made known to You, and my\niniquities I have not covered up. I said: \u2018I will declare against myself\nmy iniquities to the Lord;\u2019 and \u2018You forgave the wickedness of my\nheart.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n Feb. 3\u2014June 4\u2014Oct. 4\n\n\nThe sixth degree of humility is that a monk be content with the poorest\nand worst of everything, and that in every occupation assigned him he\nconsider himself a bad and worthless workman, saying with the Prophet,\n\u201cI am brought to nothing and I am without understanding; I have become\nas a beast of burden before You, and I am always with You.\u201d\n\n\n\n Feb. 4\u2014June 5\u2014Oct. 5\n\n\nThe seventh degree of humility is that he consider himself lower and of\nless account than anyone else, and this not only in verbal protestation\nbut also with the most heartfelt inner conviction, humbling himself and\nsaying with the Prophet, \u201cBut I am a worm and no man, the scorn of men\nand the outcast of the people. After being exalted, I have been humbled\nand covered with confusion.\u201d And again, \u201cIt is good for me that You have\nhumbled me, that I may learn Your commandments.\u201d\n\n\n\n Feb. 5\u2014June 6\u2014Oct. 6\n\n\nThe eighth degree of humility is that a monk do nothing except what is\ncommended by the common Rule of the monastery and the example of the\nelders.\n\n\n\n Feb. 6\u2014June 7\u2014Oct. 7\n\n\nThe ninth degree of humility is that a monk restrain his tongue and keep\nsilence, not speaking until he is questioned. For the Scripture shows\nthat \u201cin much speaking there is no escape from sin\u201d and that \u201cthe\ntalkative man is not stable on the earth.\u201d\n\n\n\n Feb. 7\u2014June 8\u2014Oct. 8\n\n\nThe tenth degree of humility is that he be not ready and quick to laugh,\nfor it is written, \u201cThe fool lifts up his voice in laughter.\u201d\n\n\n\n Feb. 8\u2014June 9\u2014Oct. 9\n\n\nThe eleventh degree of humility is that when a monk speaks he do so\ngently and without laughter, humbly and seriously, in few and sensible\nwords, and that he be not noisy in his speech. It is written, \u201cA wise\nman is known by the fewness of his words.\u201d\n\n\n\n Feb. 9\u2014June 10\u2014Oct. 10\n\n\nThe twelfth degree of humility is that a monk not only have humility in\nhis heart but also by his very appearance make it always manifest to\nthose who see him. That is to say that whether he is at the Work of God,\nin the oratory, in the monastery, in the garden, on the road, in the\nfields or anywhere else, and whether sitting, walking or standing, he\nshould always have his head bowed and his eyes toward the ground.\nFeeling the guilt of his sins at every moment, he should consider\nhimself already present at the dread Judgment and constantly say in his\nheart what the publican in the Gospel said with his eyes fixed on the\nearth: \u201cLord, I am a sinner and not worthy to lift up my eyes to\nheaven\u201d; and again with the Prophet: \u201cI am bowed down and humbled\neverywhere.\u201d Having climbed all these steps of humility, therefore, the\nmonk will presently come to that perfect love of God which casts out\nfear. And all those precepts which formerly he had not observed without\nfear, he will now begin to keep by reason of that love, without any\neffort, as though naturally and by habit. No longer will his motive be\nthe fear of hell, but rather the love of Christ, good habit and delight\nin the virtues which the Lord will deign to show forth by the Holy\nSpirit in His servant now cleansed from vice and sin.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 8\n On the Divine Office During the Night\n\n\nFeb. 10\u2014June 11\u2014Oct. 11\n\n\nIn winter time, that is from the Calends of November until Easter, the\nbrethren shall rise at what is calculated to be the eighth hour of the\nnight, so that they may sleep somewhat longer than half the night and\nrise with their rest completed. And the time that remains after the\nNight Office should be spent in study by those brethren who need a\nbetter knowledge of the Psalter or the lessons.\n\nFrom Easter to the aforesaid Calends of November, the hour of rising\nshould be so arranged that the Morning Office, which is to be said at\ndaybreak, will follow the Night Office after a very short interval,\nduring which the brethren may go out for the necessities of nature.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 9\n How Many Psalms Are to Be Said at the Night Office\n\n\nFeb. 11\u2014June 12\u2014Oct. 12\n\n\nIn winter time as defined above, there is first this verse to be said\nthree times: \u201cO Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your\npraise.\u201d To it is added Psalm 3 and the \u201cGlory be to the Father,\u201d and\nafter that Psalm 94 to be chanted with an antiphon or even chanted\nsimply. Let the Ambrosian hymn follow next, and then six Psalms with\nantiphons. When these are finished and the verse said, let the Abbot\ngive a blessing; then, all being seated on the benches, let three\nlessons be read from the book on the lectern by the brethren in their\nturns, and after each lesson let a responsory be chanted. Two of the\nresponsories are to be said without a \u201cGlory be to the Father\u201d; but\nafter the third lesson let the chanter say the \u201cGlory be to the Father,\u201d\nand as soon as he begins it let all rise from their seats out of honor\nand reverence to the Holy Trinity.\n\nThe books to be read at the Night Office shall be those of divine\nauthorship, of both the Old and the New Testament, and also the\nexplanations of them which have been made by well known and orthodox\nCatholic Fathers.\n\nAfter these three lessons with their responsories let the remaining six\nPsalms follow, to be chanted with \u201cAlleluia.\u201d After these shall follow\nthe lesson from the Apostle, to be recited by heart, the verse and the\npetition of the litany, that is \u201cLord, have mercy on us.\u201d And so let the\nNight Office come to an end.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 10\n How the Night Office Is to Be Said in Summer Time\n\n\nFeb. 12\u2014June 13\u2014Oct. 13\n\n\nFrom Easter until the Calends of November let the same number of Psalms\nbe kept as prescribed above; but no lessons are to be read from the\nbook, on account of the shortness of the nights. Instead of those three\nlessons let one lesson from the Old Testament be said by heart and\nfollowed by a short responsory. But all the rest should be done as has\nbeen said, that is to say that never fewer than twelve Psalms should be\nsaid at the Night Office, not counting Psalm 3 and Psalm 94.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 11\n How the Night Office Is to Be Said on Sundays\n\n\nFeb. 13\u2014June 14\u2014Oct. 14\n\n\nOn Sunday the hour of rising for the Night Office should be earlier. In\nthat Office let the measure already prescribed be kept, namely the\nsinging of six Psalms and a verse. Then let all be seated on the benches\nin their proper order while the lessons and their responsories are read\nfrom the book, as we said above. These shall be four in number, with the\nchanter saying the \u201cGlory be to the Father\u201d in the fourth responsory\nonly, and all rising reverently as soon as he begins it.\n\nAfter these lessons let six more Psalms with antiphons follow in order,\nas before, and a verse; and then let four more lessons be read with\ntheir responsories in the same way as the former.\n\nAfter these let there be three canticles from the book of the Prophets,\nas the Abbot shall appoint, and let these canticles be chanted with\n\u201cAlleluia.\u201d Then when the verse has been said and the Abbot has given\nthe blessing, let four more lessons be read, from the New Testament, in\nthe manner prescribed above.\n\nAfter the fourth responsory let the Abbot begin the hymn \u201cWe praise You,\nO God.\u201d When this is finished the Abbot shall read the lesson from the\nbook of the Gospels, while all stand in reverence and awe. At the end\nlet all answer \u201cAmen,\u201d and let the Abbot proceed at once to the hymn \u201cTo\nYou be praise.\u201d After the blessing has been given, let them begin the\nMorning Office.\n\nThis order for the Night Office on Sunday shall be observed the year\naround, both summer and winter; unless it should happen (which God\nforbid) that the brethren be late in rising, in which case the lessons\nor the responsories will have to be shortened somewhat. Let every\nprecaution be taken, however, against such an occurrence; but if it does\nhappen, then the one through whose neglect it has come about should make\ndue satisfaction to God in the oratory.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 12\n How the Morning Office Is to Be Said\n\n\nFeb. 14\u2014June 15\u2014Oct. 15\n\n\nThe Morning Office on Sunday shall begin with Psalm 66 recited straight\nthrough without an antiphon. After that let Psalm 50 be said with\n\u201cAlleluia,\u201d then Psalms 117 and 62, the Canticle of Blessing and the\nPsalms of praise; then a lesson from the Apocalypse to be recited by\nheart, the responsory, the Ambrosian hymn, the verse, the canticle from\nthe Gospel book, the litany and so the end.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 13\n How the Morning Office Is to Be Said on Weekdays\n\n\n\n Feb. 15\u2014June 16\u2014Oct. 16\n\n\nOn weekdays the Morning Office shall be celebrated as follows. Let Psalm\n66 be said without an antiphon and somewhat slowly, as on Sunday, in\norder that all may be in time for Psalm 50, which is to be said with an\nantiphon. After that let two other Psalms be said according to custom,\nnamely: on Monday Psalms 5 and 35, on Tuesday Psalms 42 and 56, on\nWednesday Psalms 63 and 64, on Thursday Psalms 87 and 89, on Friday\nPsalms 75 and 91, and on Saturday Psalm 142 and the canticle from\nDeuteronomy, which is to be divided into two sections each terminated by\na \u201cGlory be to the Father.\u201d But on the other days let there be a\ncanticle from the Prophets, each on its own day as chanted by the Roman\nChurch. Next follow the Psalms of praise, then a lesson of the Apostle\nto be recited from memory, the responsory, the Ambrosian hymn, the\nverse, the canticle from the Gospel book, the litany, and so the end.\n\n\n\n Feb. 16\u2014June 17\u2014Oct. 17\n\n\nThe Morning and Evening Offices should never be allowed to pass without\nthe Superior saying the Lord\u2019s Prayer in its place at the end so that\nall may hear it, on account of the thorns of scandal which are apt to\nspring up. Thus those who hear it, being warned by the covenant which\nthey make in that prayer when they say, \u201cForgive us as we forgive,\u201d may\ncleanse themselves of faults against that covenant.\n\nBut at the other Offices let the last part only of that prayer be said\naloud, so that all may answer, \u201cBut deliver us from evil.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 14\n How the Night Office Is to Be Said on the Feasts of the Saints\n\n\nFeb. 17\u2014June 18\u2014Oct. 18\n\n\nOn the feasts of Saints and on all festivals let the Office be performed\nas we have prescribed for Sundays, except that the Psalms, the antiphons\nand the lessons belonging to that particular day are to be said. Their\nnumber, however, shall remain as we have specified above.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 15\n At What Times \u201cAlleluia\u201d Is to Be Said\n\n\nFeb. 18\u2014June 19\u2014Oct. 19\n\n\nFrom holy Easter until Pentecost without interruption let \u201cAlleluia\u201d be\nsaid both in the Psalms and in the responsories. From Pentecost to the\nbeginning of Lent let it be said every night with the last six Psalms of\nthe Night Office only. On every Sunday, however, outside of Lent, the\ncanticles, the Morning Office, Prime, Terce, Sext and None shall be said\nwith \u201cAlleluia,\u201d but Vespers with antiphons.\n\nThe responsories are never to be said with \u201cAlleluia\u201d except from Easter\nto Pentecost.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 16\n How the Work of God Is to Be Performed During the Day\n\n\nFeb. 19\u2014June 20\u2014Oct. 20\n\n\n\u201cSeven times in the day,\u201d says the Prophet, \u201cI have rendered praise to\nYou.\u201d Now that sacred number of seven will be fulfilled by us if we\nperform the Offices of our service at the time of the Morning Office, of\nPrime, of Terce, of Sext, of None, of Vespers and of Compline, since it\nwas of these day Hours that he said, \u201cSeven times in the day I have\nrendered praise to You.\u201d For as to the Night Office the same Prophet\nsays, \u201cIn the middle of the night I arose to glorify You.\u201d\n\nLet us therefore bring our tribute of praise to our Creator \u201cfor the\njudgments of His justice\u201d at these times: the Morning Office, Prime,\nTerce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline; and in the night let us arise\nto glorify Him.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 17\n How Many Psalms Are to Be Said at These Hours\n\n\nFeb. 20\u2014June 21\u2014Oct. 21\n\n\nWe have already arranged the order of the psalmody for the Night and\nMorning Offices; let us now provide for the remaining Hours.\n\nAt Prime let three Psalms be said, separately and not under one \u201cGlory\nbe to the Father.\u201d The hymn of that Hour is to follow the verse \u201cIncline\nunto my aid, O God,\u201d before the Psalms begin. Upon completion of the\nthree Psalms let one lesson be recited, then a verse, the \u201cLord, have\nmercy on us\u201d and the concluding prayers.\n\nThe Offices of Terce, Sext and None are to be celebrated in the same\norder, that is: the \u201cIncline unto my aid, O God,\u201d the hymn proper to\neach Hour, three Psalms, lesson and verse, \u201cLord, have mercy on us\u201d and\nconcluding prayers.\n\nIf the community is a large one, let the Psalms be sung with antiphons;\nbut if small, let them be sung straight through.\n\nLet the Psalms of the Vesper Office be limited to four, with antiphons.\nAfter these Psalms the lesson is to be recited, then the responsory, the\nAmbrosian hymn, the verse, the canticle from the Gospel book, the\nlitany, the Lord\u2019s Prayer and the concluding prayers.\n\nLet Compline be limited to the saying of three Psalms, which are to be\nsaid straight through without antiphon, and after them the hymn of that\nHour, one lesson, a verse, the \u201cLord, have mercy on us,\u201d the blessing\nand the concluding prayers.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 18\n In What Order the Psalms Are to Be Said\n\n\n\n Feb. 21\u2014June 22\u2014Oct. 22\n\n\nLet this verse be said: \u201cIncline unto my aid, O God; O Lord, make haste\nto help me,\u201d and the \u201cGlory be to the Father\u201d; then the hymn proper to\neach Hour.\n\nThen at Prime on Sunday four sections of Psalm 118 are to be said; and\nat each of the remaining Hours, that is Terce, Sext and None, three\nsections of the same Psalm 118.\n\nAt Prime on Monday let three Psalms be said, namely Psalms 1, 2 and 6.\nAnd so each day at Prime until Sunday let three Psalms be said in\nnumerical order, to Psalm 19, but with Psalms 9 and 17 each divided into\ntwo parts. Thus it comes about that the Night Office on Sunday always\nbegins with Psalm 20.\n\n\n\n Feb. 22\u2014June 23\u2014Oct. 23\n\n\nAt Terce, Sext and None on Monday let the nine remaining sections of\nPsalm 118 be said, three at each of these Hours.\n\nPsalm 118 having been completed, therefore, on two days, Sunday and\nMonday, let the nine Psalms from Psalm 119 to Psalm 127 be said at\nTerce, Sext and None, three at each Hour, beginning with Tuesday. And\nlet these same Psalms be repeated every day until Sunday at the same\nHours, while the arrangement of hymns, lessons and verses is kept the\nsame on all days; and thus Prime on Sunday will always begin with Psalm\n118.\n\n\n\n Feb. 23\u2014June 24\u2014Oct. 24\n\n\nVespers are to be sung with four Psalms every day. These shall begin\nwith Psalm 109 and go on to Psalm 147, omitting those which are set\napart for other Hours; that is to say that with the exception of Psalms\n117 to 127 and Psalms 133 and 142, all the rest of these are to be said\nat Vespers. And since there are three Psalms too few, let the longer\nones of the above number be divided, namely Psalms 138, 143 and 144. But\nlet Psalm 116 because of its brevity be joined to Psalm 115.\n\nThe order of the Vesper Psalms being thus settled, let the rest of the\nHour\u2014lesson, responsory, hymn, verse and canticle\u2014be carried out as we\nprescribed above.\n\nAt Compline the same Psalms are to be repeated every day, namely Psalms\n4, 90 and 133.\n\n\n\n(Feb. 24 in leap year; otherwise added to the preceding)\u2014June 25\u2014Oct. 25\n\n\nThe order of psalmody for the day Hours being thus arranged, let all the\nremaining Psalms be equally distributed among the seven Night Offices by\ndividing the longer Psalms among them and assigning twelve Psalms to\neach night.\n\nWe strongly recommend, however, that if this distribution of the Psalms\nis displeasing to anyone, he should arrange them otherwise, in whatever\nway he considers better, but taking care in any case that the Psalter\nwith its full number of 150 Psalms be chanted every week and begun again\nevery Sunday at the Night Office. For those monks show themselves too\nlazy in the service to which they are vowed, who chant less than the\nPsalter with the customary canticles in the course of a week, whereas we\nread that our holy Fathers strenuously fulfilled that task in a single\nday. May we, lukewarm that we are, perform it at least in a whole week!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 19\n On the Manner of Saying the Divine Office\n\n\nFeb. 24 (25)\u2014June 26\u2014Oct. 26\n\n\nWe believe that the divine presence is everywhere and that \u201cthe eyes of\nthe Lord are looking on the good and the evil in every place.\u201d But we\nshould believe this especially without any doubt when we are assisting\nat the Work of God. To that end let us be mindful always of the\nProphet\u2019s words, \u201cServe the Lord in fear\u201d and again \u201cSing praises\nwisely\u201d and \u201cIn the sight of the Angels I will sing praise to You.\u201d Let\nus therefore consider how we ought to conduct ourselves in the sight of\nthe Godhead and of His Angels, and let us take part in the psalmody in\nsuch a way that our mind may be in harmony with our voice.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 20\n On Reverence in Prayer\n\n\nFeb. 25 (26)\u2014June 27\u2014Oct. 27\n\n\nWhen we wish to suggest our wants to men of high station, we do not\npresume to do so except with humility and reverence. How much the more,\nthen, are complete humility and pure devotion necessary in supplication\nof the Lord who is God of the universe! And let us be assured that it is\nnot in saying a great deal that we shall be heard, but in purity of\nheart and in tears of compunction. Our prayer, therefore, ought to be\nshort and pure, unless it happens to be prolonged by an inspiration of\ndivine grace. In community, however, let prayer be very short, and when\nthe Superior gives the signal let all rise together.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 21\n On the Deans of the Monastery\n\n\nFeb. 26 (27)\u2014June 28\u2014Oct. 28\n\n\nIf the community is a large one, let there be chosen out of it brethren\nof good repute and holy life, and let them be appointed deans. These\nshall take charge of their deaneries in all things, observing the\ncommandments of God and the instructions of their Abbot.\n\nLet men of such character be chosen deans that the Abbot may with\nconfidence share his burdens among them. Let them be chosen not by rank\nbut according to their worthiness of life and the wisdom of their\ndoctrine.\n\nIf any of these deans should become inflated with pride and found\ndeserving of censure, let him be corrected once, and again, and a third\ntime. If he will not amend, then let him be deposed and another be put\nin his place who is worthy of it.\n\nAnd we order the same to be done in the case of the Prior.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 22\n How the Monks Are to Sleep\n\n\nFeb. 27 (28)\u2014June 29\u2014Oct. 29\n\n\nLet each one sleep in a separate bed. Let them receive bedding suitable\nto their manner of life, according to the Abbot\u2019s directions. If\npossible let all sleep in one place; but if the number does not allow\nthis, let them take their rest by tens or twenties with the seniors who\nhave charge of them.\n\nA candle shall be kept burning in the room until morning.\n\nLet the monks sleep clothed and girded with belts or cords\u2014but not with\ntheir knives at their sides, lest they cut themselves in their sleep\u2014and\nthus be always ready to rise without delay when the signal is given and\nhasten to be before one another at the Work of God, yet with all gravity\nand decorum.\n\nThe younger brethren shall not have beds next to one another, but among\nthose of the older ones.\n\nWhen they rise for the Work of God let them gently encourage one\nanother, that the drowsy may have no excuse.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 23\n On Excommunication for Faults\n\n\nFeb. 28 (29)\u2014June 30\u2014Oct. 30\n\n\nIf a brother is found to be obstinate, or disobedient, or proud, or\nmurmuring, or habitually transgressing the Holy Rule in any point and\ncontemptuous of the orders of his seniors, the latter shall admonish him\nsecretly a first and a second time, as Our Lord commands. If he fails to\namend, let him be given a public rebuke in front of the whole community.\nBut if even then he does not reform, let him be placed under\nexcommunication, provided that he understands the seriousness of that\npenalty; if he is perverse, however, let him undergo corporal\npunishment.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 24\n What the Measure of Excommunication Should Be\n\n\nMar. 1\u2014July 1\u2014Oct. 31\n\n\nThe measure of excommunication or of chastisement should correspond to\nthe degree of fault, which degree is estimated by the Abbot\u2019s judgment.\n\nIf a brother is found guilty of lighter faults, let him be excluded from\nthe common table. Now the program for one deprived of the fellowship of\nthe table shall be as follows: In the oratory he shall intone neither\nPsalm nor antiphon nor shall he recite a lesson until he has made\nsatisfaction; in the refectory he shall take his food alone after the\ncommunity meal, so that if the brethren eat at the sixth hour, for\ninstance, that brother shall eat at the ninth, while if they eat at the\nninth hour he shall eat in the evening, until by a suitable satisfaction\nhe obtains pardon.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 25\n On Weightier Faults\n\n\nMar. 2\u2014July 2\u2014Nov. 1\n\n\nLet the brother who is guilty of a weightier fault be excluded both from\nthe table and from the oratory. Let none of the brethren join him either\nfor company or for conversation. Let him be alone at the work assigned\nhim, abiding in penitential sorrow and pondering that terrible sentence\nof the Apostle where he says that a man of that kind is handed over for\nthe destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of\nthe Lord. Let him take his meals alone in the measure and at the hour\nwhich the Abbot shall consider suitable for him. He shall not be blessed\nby those who pass by, nor shall the food that is given him be blessed.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 26\n On Those Who Without an Order Associate With the Excommunicated\n\n\nMar. 3\u2014July 3\u2014Nov. 2\n\n\nIf any brother presumes without an order from the Abbot to associate in\nany way with an excommunicated brother, or to speak with him, or to send\nhim a message, let him incur a similar punishment of excommunication.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 27\n How Solicitous the Abbot Should Be for the Excommunicated\n\n\nMar. 4\u2014July 4\u2014Nov. 3\n\n\nLet the Abbot be most solicitous in his concern for delinquent brethren,\nfor \u201cit is not the healthy but the sick who need a physician.\u201d And\ntherefore he ought to use every means that a wise physician would use.\nLet him send \u201csenpectae,\u201d that is, brethren of mature years and wisdom,\nwho may as it were secretly console the wavering brother and induce him\nto make humble satisfaction; comforting him that he may not \u201cbe\noverwhelmed by excessive grief,\u201d but that, as the Apostle says, charity\nmay be strengthened in him. And let everyone pray for him.\n\nFor the Abbot must have the utmost solicitude and exercise all prudence\nand diligence lest he lose any of the sheep entrusted to him. Let him\nknow that what he has undertaken is the care of weak souls and not a\ntyranny over strong ones; and let him fear the Prophet\u2019s warning through\nwhich God says, \u201cWhat you saw to be fat you took to yourselves, and what\nwas feeble you cast away.\u201d Let him rather imitate the loving example of\nthe Good Shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep in the mountains and\nwent to look for the one sheep that had gone astray, on whose weakness\nHe had such compassion that He deigned to place it on His own sacred\nshoulders and thus carry it back to the flock.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 28\n On Those Who Will Not Amend After Repeated Corrections\n\n\nMar. 5\u2014July 5\u2014Nov. 4\n\n\nIf a brother who has been frequently corrected for some fault, and even\nexcommunicated, does not amend, let a harsher correction be applied,\nthat is, let the punishment of the rod be administered to him.\n\nBut if he still does not reform or perhaps (which God forbid) even rises\nup in pride and wants to defend his conduct, then let the Abbot do what\na wise physician would do. Having used applications, the ointments of\nexhortation, the medicines of the Holy Scriptures, finally the cautery\nof excommunication and of the strokes of the rod, if he sees that his\nefforts are of no avail, let him apply a still greater remedy, his own\nprayers and those of all the brethren, that the Lord, who can do all\nthings, may restore health to the sick brother.\n\nBut if he is not healed even in this way, then let the Abbot use the\nknife of amputation, according to the Apostle\u2019s words, \u201cExpel the evil\none from your midst,\u201d and again, \u201cIf the faithless one departs, let him\ndepart,\u201d lest one diseased sheep contaminate the whole flock.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 29\n Whether Brethren Who Leave the Monastery Should Be Received Again\n\n\nMar. 6\u2014July 6\u2014Nov. 5\n\n\nIf a brother who through his own fault leaves the monastery should wish\nto return, let him first promise full reparation for his having gone\naway; and then let him be received in the lowest place, as a test of his\nhumility. And if he should leave again, let him be taken back again, and\nso a third time; but he should understand that after this all way of\nreturn is denied him.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 30\n How Boys Are to Be Corrected\n\n\nMar. 7\u2014July 7\u2014Nov. 6\n\n\nEvery age and degree of understanding should have its proper measure of\ndiscipline. With regard to boys and adolescents, therefore, or those who\ncannot understand the seriousness of the penalty of excommunication,\nwhenever such as these are delinquent let them be subjected to severe\nfasts or brought to terms by harsh beatings, that they may be cured.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 31\n What Kind of Man the Cellarer of the Monastery Should Be\n\n\n\n Mar. 8\u2014July 8\u2014Nov. 7\n\n\nAs cellarer of the monastery let there be chosen from the community one\nwho is wise, of mature character, sober, not a great eater, not haughty,\nnot excitable, not offensive, not slow, not wasteful, but a God-fearing\nman who may be like a father to the whole community.\n\nLet him have charge of everything. He shall do nothing without the\nAbbot\u2019s orders, but keep to his instructions. Let him not vex the\nbrethren. If any brother happens to make some unreasonable demand of\nhim, instead of vexing the brother with a contemptuous refusal he should\nhumbly give the reason for denying the improper request.\n\nLet him keep guard over his own soul, mindful always of the Apostle\u2019s\nsaying that \u201che who has ministered well acquires for himself a good\nstanding.\u201d\n\nLet him take the greatest care of the sick, of children, of guests and\nof the poor, knowing without doubt that he will have to render an\naccount for all these on the Day of Judgment.\n\nLet him regard all the utensils of the monastery and its whole property\nas if they were the sacred vessels of the altar. Let him not think that\nhe may neglect anything. He should be neither a miser nor a prodigal and\nsquanderer of the monastery\u2019s substance, but should do all things with\nmeasure and in accordance with the Abbot\u2019s instructions.\n\n\n\n Mar. 9\u2014July 9\u2014Nov. 8\n\n\nAbove all things let him have humility; and if he has nothing else to\ngive let him give a good word in answer, for it is written, \u201cA good word\nis above the best gift.\u201d\n\nLet him have under his care all that the Abbot has assigned to him, but\nnot presume to deal with what he has forbidden him.\n\nLet him give the brethren their appointed allowance of food without any\narrogance or delay, that they may not be scandalized, mindful of the\nWord of God as to what he deserves \u201cwho shall scandalize one of the\nlittle ones.\u201d\n\nIf the community is a large one, let helpers be given him, that by their\nassistance he may fulfil with a quiet mind the office committed to him.\nThe proper times should be observed in giving the things that have to be\ngiven and asking for the things that have to be asked for, that no one\nmay be troubled or vexed in the house of God.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 32\n On the Tools and Property of the Monastery\n\n\nMar. 10\u2014July 10\u2014Nov. 9\n\n\nFor the care of the monastery\u2019s property in tools, clothing and other\narticles let the Abbot appoint brethren on whose manner of life and\ncharacter he can rely; and let him, as he shall judge to be expedient,\nconsign the various articles to them, to be looked after and to be\ncollected again. The Abbot shall keep a list of these articles, so that\nas the brethren succeed one another in their assignments he may know\nwhat he gives and what he receives back.\n\nIf anyone treats the monastery\u2019s property in a slovenly or careless way,\nlet him be corrected. If he fails to amend, let him undergo the\ndiscipline of the Rule.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 33\n Whether Monks Ought to Have Anything of Their Own\n\n\nMar. 11\u2014July 11\u2014Nov. 10\n\n\nThis vice especially is to be cut out of the monastery by the roots. Let\nno one presume to give or receive anything without the Abbot\u2019s leave, or\nto have anything as his own\u2014anything whatever, whether book or tablets\nor pen or whatever it may be\u2014since they are not permitted to have even\ntheir bodies or wills at their own disposal; but for all their\nnecessities let them look to the Father of the monastery. And let it be\nunlawful to have anything which the Abbot has not given or allowed. Let\nall things be common to all, as it is written, and let no one say or\nassume that anything is his own.\n\nBut if anyone is caught indulging in this most wicked vice, let him be\nadmonished once and a second time. If he fails to amend, let him undergo\npunishment.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 34\n Whether All Should Receive in Equal Measure What Is Necessary\n\n\nMar. 12\u2014July 12\u2014Nov. 11\n\n\nLet us follow the Scripture, \u201cDistribution was made to each according as\nanyone had need.\u201d By this we do not mean that there should be respecting\nof persons (which God forbid), but consideration for infirmities. He who\nneeds less should thank God and not be discontented; but he who needs\nmore should be humbled by the thought of his infirmity rather than\nfeeling important on account of the kindness shown him. Thus all the\nmembers will be at peace.\n\nAbove all, let not the evil of murmuring appear for any reason\nwhatsoever in the least word or sign. If anyone is caught at it, let him\nbe placed under very severe discipline.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 35\n On the Weekly Servers in the Kitchen\n\n\n\n Mar. 13\u2014July 13\u2014Nov. 12\n\n\nLet the brethren serve one another, and let no one be excused from the\nkitchen service except by reason of sickness or occupation in some\nimportant work. For this service brings increase of reward and of\ncharity. But let helpers be provided for the weak ones, that they may\nnot be distressed by this work; and indeed let everyone have help, as\nrequired by the size of the community or the circumstances of the\nlocality. If the community is a large one, the cellarer shall be excused\nfrom the kitchen service; and so also those whose occupations are of\ngreater utility, as we said above. Let the rest serve one another in\ncharity.\n\nThe one who is ending his week of service shall do the cleaning on\nSaturday. He shall wash the towels with which the brethren wipe their\nhands and feet; and this server who is ending his week, aided by the one\nwho is about to begin, shall wash the feet of all the brethren. He shall\nreturn the utensils of his office to the cellarer clean and in good\ncondition, and the cellarer in turn shall consign them to the incoming\nserver, in order that he may know what he gives out and what he receives\nback.\n\n\n\n Mar. 14\u2014July 14\u2014Nov. 13\n\n\nAn hour before the meal let the weekly servers each receive a drink and\nsome bread, over and above the appointed allowance, in order that at the\nmeal time they may serve their brethren without murmuring and without\nexcessive fatigue. On solemn days, however, let them wait until after\nMass.\n\nImmediately after the Morning Office on Sunday, the incoming and\noutgoing servers shall prostrate themselves before all the brethren in\nthe oratory and ask their prayers. Let the server who is ending his week\nsay this verse: \u201cBlessed are You, O Lord God, who have helped me and\nconsoled me.\u201d When this has been said three times and the outgoing\nserver has received his blessing, then let the incoming server follow\nand say, \u201cIncline unto my aid, O God; O Lord, make haste to help me.\u201d\nLet this also be repeated three times by all, and having received his\nblessing let him enter his service.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 36\n On the Sick Brethren\n\n\nMar. 15\u2014July 15\u2014Nov. 14\n\n\nBefore all things and above all things, care must be taken of the sick,\nso that they will be served as if they were Christ in person; for He\nHimself said, \u201cI was sick, and you visited Me,\u201d and, \u201cWhat you did for\none of these least ones, you did for Me.\u201d But let the sick on their part\nconsider that they are being served for the honor of God, and let them\nnot annoy their brethren who are serving them by their unnecessary\ndemands. Yet they should be patiently borne with, because from such as\nthese is gained a more abundant reward. Therefore the Abbot shall take\nthe greatest care that they suffer no neglect.\n\nFor these sick brethren let there be assigned a special room and an\nattendant who is God-fearing, diligent and solicitous. Let the use of\nbaths be afforded the sick as often as may be expedient; but to the\nhealthy, and especially to the young, let them be granted more rarely.\nMoreover, let the use of meat be granted to the sick who are very weak,\nfor the restoration of their strength; but when they are convalescent,\nlet all abstain from meat as usual.\n\nThe Abbot shall take the greatest care that the sick be not neglected by\nthe cellarers or the attendants; for he also is responsible for what is\ndone wrongly by his disciples.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 37\n On Old Men and Children\n\n\nMar. 16\u2014July 16\u2014Nov. 15\n\n\nAlthough human nature itself is drawn to special kindness towards these\ntimes of life, that is towards old men and children, still the authority\nof the Rule should also provide for them. Let their weakness be always\ntaken into account, and let them by no means be held to the rigor of the\nRule with regard to food. On the contrary, let a kind consideration be\nshown to them, and let them eat before the regular hours.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 38\n On the Weekly Reader\n\n\nMar. 17\u2014July 17\u2014Nov. 16\n\n\nThe meals of the brethren should not be without reading. Nor should the\nreader be anyone who happens to take up the book; but there should be a\nreader for the whole week, entering that office on Sunday. Let this\nincoming reader, after Mass and Communion, ask all to pray for him that\nGod may keep him from the spirit of pride. And let him intone the\nfollowing verse, which shall be said three times by all in the oratory:\n\u201cO Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise.\u201d Then,\nhaving received a blessing, let him enter on the reading.\n\nAnd let absolute silence be kept at table, so that no whispering may be\nheard nor any voice except the reader\u2019s. As to the things they need\nwhile they eat and drink, let the brethren pass them to one another so\nthat no one need ask for anything. If anything is needed, however, let\nit be asked for by means of some audible sign rather than by speech. Nor\nshall anyone at table presume to ask questions about the reading or\nanything else, lest that give occasion for talking; except that the\nSuperior may perhaps wish to say something briefly for the purpose of\nedification.\n\nThe brother who is reader for the week shall take a little refreshment\nbefore he begins to read, on account of the Holy Communion and lest\nperhaps the fast be hard for him to bear. He shall take his meal\nafterwards with the kitchen and table servers of the week.\n\nThe brethren are not to read or chant in order, but only those who edify\ntheir hearers.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 39\n On the Measure of Food\n\n\nMar. 18\u2014July 18\u2014Nov. 17\n\n\nWe think it sufficient for the daily dinner, whether at the sixth or the\nninth hour, that every table have two cooked dishes, on account of\nindividual infirmities, so that he who for some reason cannot eat of the\none may make his meal of the other. Therefore let two cooked dishes\nsuffice for all the brethren; and if any fruit or fresh vegetables are\navailable, let a third dish be added.\n\nLet a good pound weight of bread suffice for the day, whether there be\nonly one meal or both dinner and supper. If they are to have supper, the\ncellarer shall reserve a third of that pound, to be given them at\nsupper.\n\nBut if it happens that the work was heavier, it shall lie within the\nAbbot\u2019s discretion and power, should it be expedient, to add something\nto the fare. Above all things, however, over-indulgence must be avoided\nand a monk must never be overtaken by indigestion; for there is nothing\nso opposed to the Christian character as over-indulgence, according to\nOur Lord\u2019s words, \u201cSee to it that your hearts be not burdened with\nover-indulgence.\u201d\n\nYoung boys shall not receive the same amount of food as their elders,\nbut less; and frugality shall be observed in all circumstances.\n\nExcept the sick who are very weak, let all abstain entirely from eating\nthe flesh of four-footed animals.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 40\n On the Measure of Drink\n\n\nMar. 19\u2014July 19\u2014Nov. 18\n\n\n\u201cEveryone has his own gift from God, one in this way and another in\nthat.\u201d It is therefore with some misgiving that we regulate the measure\nof other men\u2019s sustenance. Nevertheless, keeping in view the needs of\nweaker brethren, we believe that a hemina of wine a day is sufficient\nfor each. But those to whom God gives the strength to abstain should\nknow that they will receive a special reward.\n\nIf the circumstances of the place, or the work, or the heat of summer\nrequire a greater measure, the Superior shall use his judgment in the\nmatter, taking care always that there be no occasion for surfeit or\ndrunkenness. We read, it is true, that wine is by no means a drink for\nmonks; but since the monks of our day cannot be persuaded of this, let\nus at least agree to drink sparingly and not to satiety, because \u201cwine\nmakes even the wise fall away.\u201d\n\nBut where the circumstances of the place are such that not even the\nmeasure prescribed above can be supplied, but much less or none at all,\nlet those who live there bless God and not murmur. Above all things do\nwe give this admonition, that they abstain from murmuring.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 41\n At What Hours the Meals Should Be Taken\n\n\nMar. 20\u2014July 20\u2014Nov. 19\n\n\nFrom holy Easter until Pentecost let the brethren take dinner at the\nsixth hour and supper in the evening.\n\nFrom Pentecost throughout the summer, unless the monks have work in the\nfields or the excessive heat of summer oppresses them, let them fast on\nWednesdays and Fridays until the ninth hour; on the other days let them\ndine at the sixth hour. This dinner at the sixth hour shall be the daily\nschedule if they have work in the fields or the heat of summer is\nextreme; the Abbot\u2019s foresight shall decide on this. Thus it is that he\nshould adapt and arrange everything in such a way that souls may be\nsaved and that the brethren may do their work without just cause for\nmurmuring.\n\nFrom the Ides of September until the beginning of Lent let them always\ntake their dinner at the ninth hour.\n\nIn Lent until Easter let them dine in the evening. But this evening hour\nshall be so determined that they will not need the light of a lamp while\neating, but everything will be accomplished while it is still daylight.\nIndeed at all seasons let the hour, whether for supper or for dinner, be\nso arranged that everything will be done by daylight.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 42\n That No One Speak After Compline\n\n\nMar. 21\u2014July 21\u2014Nov. 20\n\n\nMonks ought to be zealous for silence at all times, but especially\nduring the hours of the night. For every season, therefore, whether\nthere be fasting or two meals, let the program be as follows:\n\nIf it be a season when there are two meals, then as soon as they have\nrisen from supper they shall all sit together, and one of them shall\nread the Conferences or the Lives of the Fathers or something else that\nmay edify the hearers; not the Heptateuch or the Books of Kings,\nhowever, because it will not be expedient for weak minds to hear those\nparts of Scripture at that hour; but they shall be read at other times.\n\nIf it be a day of fast, then having allowed a short interval after\nVespers they shall proceed at once to the reading of the Conferences, as\nprescribed above; four or five pages being read, or as much as time\npermits, so that during the delay provided by this reading all may come\ntogether, including those who may have been occupied in some work\nassigned them.\n\nWhen all, therefore, are gathered together, let them say Compline; and\nwhen they come out from Compline, no one shall be allowed to say\nanything from that time on. And if anyone should be found evading this\nrule of silence, let him undergo severe punishment. An exception shall\nbe made if the need of speaking to guests should arise or if the Abbot\nshould give someone an order. But even this should be done with the\nutmost gravity and the most becoming restraint.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 43\n On Those Who Come Late to the Work of God or to Table\n\n\n\n Mar. 22\u2014July 22\u2014Nov. 21\n\n\nAt the hour for the Divine Office, as soon as the signal is heard, let\nthem abandon whatever they may have in hand and hasten with the greatest\nspeed, yet with seriousness, so that there is no excuse for levity. Let\nnothing, therefore, be put before the Work of God.\n\nIf at the Night Office anyone arrives after the \u201cGlory be to the Father\u201d\nof Psalm 94\u2014which Psalm for this reason we wish to be said very slowly\nand protractedly\u2014let him not stand in his usual place in the choir; but\nlet him stand last of all, or in a place set aside by the Abbot for such\nnegligent ones in order that they may be seen by him and by all. He\nshall remain there until the Work of God has been completed, and then do\npenance by a public satisfaction. The reason why we have judged it\nfitting for them to stand in the last place or in a place apart is that,\nbeing seen by all, they may amend for very shame. For if they remain\noutside of the oratory, there will perhaps be someone who will go back\nto bed and sleep or at least seat himself outside and indulge in idle\ntalk, and thus an occasion will be provided for the evil one. But let\nthem go inside, that they may not lose the whole Office, and may amend\nfor the future.\n\nAt the day Hours anyone who does not arrive at the Work of God until\nafter the verse and the \u201cGlory be to the Father\u201d of the first Psalm\nfollowing it shall stand in the last place, according to our ruling\nabove. Nor shall he presume to join the choir in their chanting until he\nhas made satisfaction, unless the Abbot should pardon him and give him\npermission; but even then the offender must make satisfaction for his\nfault.\n\n\n\n Mar. 23\u2014July 23\u2014Nov. 22\n\n\nAnyone who does not come to table before the verse, so that all together\nmay say the verse and the oration and all sit down to table at the same\ntime\u2014anyone who through his own carelessness or bad habit does not come\non time shall be corrected for this up to the second time. If then he\ndoes not amend, he shall not be allowed to share in the common table,\nbut shall be separated from the company of all and made to eat alone,\nand his portion of wine shall be taken away from him, until he has made\nsatisfaction and has amended. And let him suffer a like penalty who is\nnot present at the verse said after the meal.\n\nAnd let no one presume to take any food or drink before or after the\nappointed time. But if anyone is offered something by the Superior and\nrefuses to take it, then when the time comes that he desires what he\nformerly refused or something else, let him receive nothing whatever\nuntil he has made proper satisfaction.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 44\n How the Excommunicated Are to Make Satisfaction\n\n\nMar. 24\u2014July 24\u2014Nov. 23\n\n\nOne who for serious faults is excommunicated from oratory and table\nshall make satisfaction as follows. At the hour when the celebration of\nthe Work of God is concluded in the oratory, let him lie prostrate\nbefore the door of the oratory, saying nothing, but only lying prone\nwith his face to the ground at the feet of all as they come out of the\noratory. And let him continue to do this until the Abbot judges that\nsatisfaction has been made. Then, when he has come at the Abbot\u2019s\nbidding, let him cast himself first at the Abbot\u2019s feet and then at the\nfeet of all, that they may pray for him.\n\nAnd next, if the Abbot so orders, let him be received into the choir, to\nthe place which the Abbot appoints, but with the provision that he shall\nnot presume to intone Psalm or lesson or anything else in the oratory\nwithout a further order from the Abbot. Moreover, at every Hour, when\nthe Work of God is ended, let him cast himself on the ground in the\nplace where he stands. And let him continue to satisfy in this way until\nthe Abbot again orders him finally to cease from this satisfaction.\n\nBut those who for slight faults are excommunicated only from table shall\nmake satisfaction in the oratory, and continue in it till an order from\nthe Abbot, until he blesses them and says, \u201cIt is enough.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 45\n On Those Who Make Mistakes in the Oratory\n\n\nMar. 25\u2014July 25\u2014Nov. 24\n\n\nWhen anyone has made a mistake while reciting a Psalm, a responsory, an\nantiphon or a lesson, if he does not humble himself there before all by\nmaking a satisfaction, let him undergo a greater punishment because he\nwould not correct by humility what he did wrong through carelessness.\n\nBut boys for such faults shall be whipped.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 46\n On Those Who Fail in Any Other Matters\n\n\nMar. 26\u2014July 26\u2014Nov. 25\n\n\nWhen anyone is engaged in any sort of work, whether in the kitchen, in\nthe cellar, in a shop, in the bakery, in the garden, while working at\nsome craft, or in any other place, and he commits some fault, or breaks\nsomething, or loses something, or transgresses in any other way\nwhatsoever, if he does not come immediately before the Abbot and the\ncommunity of his own accord to make satisfaction and confess his fault,\nthen when it becomes known through another, let him be subjected to a\nmore severe correction.\n\nBut if the sin-sickness of the soul is a hidden one, let him reveal it\nonly to the Abbot or to a spiritual father, who knows how to cure his\nown and others\u2019 wounds without exposing them and making them public.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 47\n On Giving the Signal for the Time of the Work of God\n\n\nMar. 27\u2014July 27\u2014Nov. 26\n\n\nThe indicating of the hour of the Work of God by day and by night shall\ndevolve upon the Abbot, either to give the signal himself or to assign\nthis duty to such a careful brother that everything will take place at\nthe proper hours.\n\nLet the Psalms and the antiphons be intoned by those who are appointed\nfor it, in their order after the Abbot. And no one shall presume to sing\nor read unless he can fulfil that office in such a way as to edify the\nhearers. Let this function be performed with humility, gravity and\nreverence, and by him whom the Abbot has appointed.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 48\n On the Daily Manual Labor\n\n\n\n Mar. 28\u2014July 28\u2014Nov. 27\n\n\nIdleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore the brethren should be\noccupied at certain times in manual labor, and again at fixed hours in\nsacred reading. To that end we think that the times for each may be\nprescribed as follows.\n\nFrom Easter until the Calends of October, when they come out from Prime\nin the morning let them labor at whatever is necessary until about the\nfourth hour, and from the fourth hour until about the sixth let them\napply themselves to reading. After the sixth hour, having left the\ntable, let them rest on their beds in perfect silence; or if anyone may\nperhaps want to read, let him read to himself in such a way as not to\ndisturb anyone else. Let None be said rather early, at the middle of the\neighth hour, and let them again do what work has to be done until\nVespers.\n\nAnd if the circumstances of the place or their poverty should require\nthat they themselves do the work of gathering the harvest, let them not\nbe discontented; for then are they truly monks when they live by the\nlabor of their hands, as did our Fathers and the Apostles. Let all\nthings be done with moderation, however, for the sake of the\nfaint-hearted.\n\n\n\n Mar. 29\u2014July 29\u2014Nov. 28\n\n\nFrom the Calends of October until the beginning of Lent, let them apply\nthemselves to reading up to the end of the second hour. At the second\nhour let Terce be said, and then let all labor at the work assigned them\nuntil None. At the first signal for the Hour of None let everyone break\noff from his work, and hold himself ready for the sounding of the second\nsignal. After the meal let them apply themselves to their reading or to\nthe Psalms.\n\nOn the days of Lent, from morning until the end of the third hour let\nthem apply themselves to their reading, and from then until the end of\nthe tenth hour let them do the work assigned them. And in these days of\nLent they shall each receive a book from the library, which they shall\nread straight through from the beginning. These books are to be given\nout at the beginning of Lent.\n\nBut certainly one or two of the seniors should be deputed to go about\nthe monastery at the hours when the brethren are occupied in reading and\nsee that there be no lazy brother who spends his time in idleness or\ngossip and does not apply himself to the reading, so that he is not only\nunprofitable to himself but also distracts others. If such a one be\nfound (which God forbid), let him be corrected once and a second time;\nif he does not amend, let him undergo the punishment of the Rule in such\na way that the rest may take warning.\n\nMoreover, one brother shall not associate with another at unseasonable\nhours.\n\n\n\n Mar. 30\u2014July 30\u2014Nov. 29\n\n\nOn Sundays, let all occupy themselves in reading, except those who have\nbeen appointed to various duties. But if anyone should be so negligent\nand shiftless that he will not or cannot study or read, let him be given\nsome work to do so that he will not be idle.\n\nWeak or sickly brethren should be assigned a task or craft of such a\nnature as to keep them from idleness and at the same time not to\noverburden them or drive them away with excessive toil. Their weakness\nmust be taken into consideration by the Abbot.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 49\n On the Observance of Lent\n\n\nMar. 31\u2014July 31\u2014Nov. 30\n\n\nAlthough the life of a monk ought to have about it at all times the\ncharacter of a Lenten observance, yet since few have the virtue for\nthat, we therefore urge that during the actual days of Lent the brethren\nkeep their lives most pure and at the same time wash away during these\nholy days all the negligences of other times. And this will be worthily\ndone if we restrain ourselves from all vices and give ourselves up to\nprayer with tears, to reading, to compunction of heart and to\nabstinence.\n\nDuring these days, therefore, let us increase somewhat the usual burden\nof our service, as by private prayers and by abstinence in food and\ndrink. Thus everyone of his own will may offer God \u201cwith joy of the Holy\nSpirit\u201d something above the measure required of him. From his body, that\nis, he may withhold some food, drink, sleep, talking and jesting; and\nwith the joy of spiritual desire he may look forward to holy Easter.\n\nLet each one, however, suggest to his Abbot what it is that he wants to\noffer, and let it be done with his blessing and approval. For anything\ndone without the permission of the spiritual father will be imputed to\npresumption and vainglory and will merit no reward. Therefore let\neverything be done with the Abbot\u2019s approval.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 50\n On Brethren Who Are Working Far From the Oratory or Are on a Journey\n\n\nApr. 1\u2014Aug. 1\u2014Dec. 1\n\n\nThose brethren who are working at a great distance and cannot get to the\noratory at the proper time\u2014the Abbot judging that such is the case\u2014shall\nperform the Work of God in the place where they are working, bending\ntheir knees in reverence before God.\n\nLikewise those who have been sent on a journey shall not let the\nappointed Hours pass by, but shall say the Office by themselves as well\nas they can, and not neglect to render the task of their service.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 51\n On Brethren Who Go Not Very Far Away\n\n\nApr. 2\u2014Aug. 2\u2014Dec. 2\n\n\nA brother who is sent out on some business and is expected to return to\nthe monastery that same day shall not presume to eat while he is out,\neven if he is urgently requested to do so by any person whomsoever,\nunless he has permission from his Abbot. And if he acts otherwise, let\nhim be excommunicated.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 52\n On the Oratory of the Monastery\n\n\nApr. 3\u2014Aug. 3\u2014Dec. 3\n\n\nLet the oratory be what it is called, a place of prayer; and let nothing\nelse be done there or kept there. When the Work of God is ended, let all\ngo out in perfect silence, and let reverence for God be observed, so\nthat any brother who may wish to pray privately will not be hindered by\nanother\u2019s misconduct. And at other times also, if anyone should want to\npray by himself, let him go in simply and pray, not in a loud voice but\nwith tears and fervor of heart. He who does not say his prayers in this\nway, therefore, shall not be permitted to remain in the oratory when the\nWork of God is ended, lest another be hindered, as we have said.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 53\n On the Reception of Guests\n\n\n\n Apr. 4\u2014Aug. 4\u2014Dec. 4\n\n\nLet all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for He is going to\nsay, \u201cI came as a guest, and you received Me.\u201d And to all let due honor\nbe shown, especially to the domestics of the faith and to pilgrims.\n\nAs soon as a guest is announced, therefore, let the Superior or the\nbrethren meet him with all charitable service. And first of all let them\npray together, and then exchange the kiss of peace. For the kiss of\npeace should not be offered until after the prayers have been said, on\naccount of the devil\u2019s deceptions.\n\nIn the salutation of all guests, whether arriving or departing, let all\nhumility be shown. Let the head be bowed or the whole body prostrated on\nthe ground in adoration of Christ, who indeed is received in their\npersons.\n\nAfter the guests have been received and taken to prayer, let the\nSuperior or someone appointed by him sit with them. Let the divine law\nbe read before the guest for his edification, and then let all kindness\nbe shown him. The Superior shall break his fast for the sake of a guest,\nunless it happens to be a principal fast day which may not be violated.\nThe brethren, however, shall observe the customary fasts. Let the Abbot\ngive the guests water for their hands; and let both Abbot and community\nwash the feet of all guests. After the washing of the feet let them say\nthis verse: \u201cWe have received Your mercy, O God, in the midst of Your\ntemple.\u201d\n\nIn the reception of the poor and of pilgrims the greatest care and\nsolicitude should be shown, because it is especially in them that Christ\nis received; for as far as the rich are concerned, the very fear which\nthey inspire wins respect for them.\n\n\n\n Apr. 5\u2014Aug. 5\u2014Dec. 5\n\n\nLet there be a separate kitchen for the Abbot and guests, that the\nbrethren may not be disturbed when guests, who are never lacking in a\nmonastery, arrive at irregular hours. Let two brethren capable of\nfilling the office well be appointed for a year to have charge of this\nkitchen. Let them be given such help as they need, that they may serve\nwithout murmuring. And on the other hand, when they have less to occupy\nthem, let them go out to whatever work is assigned them.\n\nAnd not only in their case but in all the offices of the monastery let\nthis arrangement be observed, that when help is needed it be supplied,\nand again when the workers are unoccupied they do whatever they are\nbidden.\n\nThe guest house also shall be assigned to a brother whose soul is\npossessed by the fear of God. Let there be a sufficient number of beds\nmade up in it; and let the house of God be managed by prudent men and in\na prudent manner.\n\nOn no account shall anyone who is not so ordered associate or converse\nwith guests. But if he should meet them or see them, let him greet them\nhumbly, as we have said, ask their blessing and pass on, saying that he\nis not allowed to converse with a guest.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 54\n Whether a Monk Should Receive Letters or Anything Else\n\n\nApr. 6\u2014Aug. 6\u2014Dec. 6\n\n\nOn no account shall a monk be allowed to receive letters, tokens or any\nlittle gift whatsoever from his parents or anyone else, or from his\nbrethren, or to give the same, without the Abbot\u2019s permission. But if\nanything is sent him even by his parents, let him not presume to take it\nbefore it has been shown to the Abbot. And it shall be in the Abbot\u2019s\npower to decide to whom it shall be given, if he allows it to be\nreceived; and the brother to whom it was sent should not be grieved,\nlest occasion be given to the devil.\n\nShould anyone presume to act otherwise, let him undergo the discipline\nof the Rule.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 55\n On the Clothes and Shoes of the Brethren\n\n\n\n Apr. 7\u2014Aug. 7\u2014Dec. 7\n\n\nLet clothing be given to the brethren according to the nature of the\nplace in which they dwell and its climate; for in cold regions more will\nbe needed, and in warm regions less. This is to be taken into\nconsideration, therefore, by the Abbot.\n\nWe believe, however, that in ordinary places the following dress is\nsufficient for each monk: a tunic, a cowl (thick and woolly for winter,\nthin or worn for summer), a scapular for work, stockings and shoes to\ncover the feet.\n\nThe monks should not complain about the color or the coarseness of any\nof these things, but be content with what can be found in the district\nwhere they live and can be purchased cheaply.\n\nThe Abbot shall see to the size of the garments, that they be not too\nshort for those who wear them, but of the proper fit.\n\nLet those who receive new clothes always give back the old ones at once,\nto be put away in the wardrobe for the poor. For it is sufficient if a\nmonk has two tunics and two cowls, to allow for night wear and for the\nwashing of these garments; more than that is superfluity and should be\ntaken away. Let them return their stockings also and anything else that\nis old when they receive new ones.\n\nThose who are sent on a journey shall receive drawers from the wardrobe,\nwhich they shall wash and restore on their return. And let their cowls\nand tunics be somewhat better than what they usually wear. These they\nshall receive from the wardrobe when they set out on a journey, and\nrestore when they return.\n\n\n\n Apr. 8\u2014Aug. 8\u2014Dec. 8\n\n\nFor bedding let this suffice: a mattress, a blanket, a coverlet and a\npillow.\n\nThe beds, moreover, are to be examined frequently by the Abbot, to see\nif any private property be found in them. If anyone should be found to\nhave something that he did not receive from the Abbot, let him undergo\nthe most severe discipline.\n\nAnd in order that this vice of private ownership may be cut out by the\nroots, the Abbot should provide all the necessary articles: cowl, tunic,\nstockings, shoes, girdle, knife, pen, needle, handkerchief, tablets;\nthat all pretext of need may be taken away. Yet the Abbot should always\nkeep in mind the sentence from the Acts of the Apostles that\n\u201cdistribution was made to each according as anyone had need.\u201d In this\nmanner, therefore, let the Abbot consider the weaknesses of the needy\nand not the ill-will of the envious. But in all his decisions let him\nthink about the retribution of God.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 56\n On the Abbot\u2019s Table\n\n\nApr. 9\u2014Aug. 9\u2014Dec. 9\n\n\nLet the Abbot\u2019s table always be with the guests and the pilgrims. But\nwhen there are no guests, let it be in his power to invite whom he will\nof the brethren. Yet one or two seniors must always be left with the\nbrethren for the sake of discipline.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 57\n On the Craftsmen of the Monastery\n\n\nApr. 10\u2014Aug. 10\u2014Dec. 10\n\n\nIf there are craftsmen in the monastery, let them practice their crafts\nwith all humility, provided the Abbot has given permission. But if any\none of them becomes conceited over his skill in his craft, because he\nseems to be conferring a benefit on the monastery, let him be taken from\nhis craft and no longer exercise it unless, after he has humbled\nhimself, the Abbot again gives him permission.\n\nIf any of the work of the craftsmen is to be sold, let those through\nwhose hands the transactions pass see to it that they do not presume to\npractice any fraud. Let them always remember Ananias and Saphira, lest\nperhaps the death which these incurred in the body, they themselves and\nany others who would deal dishonestly with the monastery\u2019s property\nshould suffer in the soul. And in the prices let not the sin of avarice\ncreep in, but let the goods always be sold a little cheaper than they\ncan be sold by people in the world, \u201cthat in all things God may be\nglorified.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 58\n On the Manner of Receiving Brethren\n\n\n\n Apr. 11\u2014Aug. 11\u2014Dec. 11\n\n\nWhen anyone is newly come for the reformation of his life, let him not\nbe granted an easy entrance; but, as the Apostle says, \u201cTest the spirits\nto see whether they are from God.\u201d If the newcomer, therefore,\nperseveres in his knocking, and if it is seen after four or five days\nthat he bears patiently the harsh treatment offered him and the\ndifficulty of admission, and that he persists in his petition, then let\nentrance be granted him, and let him stay in the guest house for a few\ndays.\n\nAfter that let him live in the novitiate, where the novices study, eat\nand sleep. A senior shall be assigned to them who is skilled in winning\nsouls, to watch over them with the utmost care. Let him examine whether\nthe novice is truly seeking God, and whether he is zealous for the Work\nof God, for obedience and for humiliations. Let the novice be told all\nthe hard and rugged ways by which the journey to God is made.\n\nIf he promises stability and perseverance, then at the end of two months\nlet this Rule be read through to him, and let him be addressed thus:\n\u201cHere is the law under which you wish to fight. If you can observe it,\nenter; if you cannot, you are free to depart.\u201d If he still stands firm,\nlet him be taken to the above-mentioned novitiate and again tested in\nall patience. And after the lapse of six months let the Rule be read to\nhim, that he may know on what he is entering. And if he still remains\nfirm, after four months let the same Rule be read to him again.\n\nThen, having deliberated with himself, if he promises to keep it in its\nentirety and to observe everything that is commanded him, let him be\nreceived into the community. But let him understand that, according to\nthe law of the Rule, from that day forward he may not leave the\nmonastery nor withdraw his neck from under the yoke of the Rule which he\nwas free to refuse or to accept during that prolonged deliberation.\n\n\n\n Apr. 12\u2014Aug. 12\u2014Dec. 12\n\n\nHe who is to be received shall make a promise before all in the oratory\nof his stability and of the reformation of his life and of obedience.\nThis promise he shall make before God and His Saints, so that if he\nshould ever act otherwise, he may know that he will be condemned by Him\nwhom he mocks. Of this promise of his let him draw up a petition in the\nname of the Saints whose relics are there and of the Abbot who is\npresent. Let him write this petition with his own hand; or if he is\nilliterate, let another write it at his request, and let the novice put\nhis mark to it. Then let him place it with his own hand upon the altar;\nand when he has placed it there, let the novice at once intone this\nverse: \u201cReceive me, O Lord, according to Your word, and I shall live:\nand let me not be confounded in my hope.\u201d Let the whole community answer\nthis verse three times and add the \u201cGlory be to the Father.\u201d Then let\nthe novice brother prostrate himself at each one\u2019s feet, that they may\npray for him. And from that day forward let him be counted as one of the\ncommunity.\n\nIf he has any property, let him either give it beforehand to the poor or\nby solemn donation bestow it on the monastery, reserving nothing at all\nfor himself, as indeed he knows that from that day forward he will no\nlonger have power even over his own body. At once, therefore, in the\noratory, let him be divested of his own clothes which he is wearing and\ndressed in the clothes of the monastery. But let the clothes of which he\nwas divested be put aside in the wardrobe and kept there. Then if he\nshould ever listen to the persuasions of the devil and decide to leave\nthe monastery (which God forbid), he may be divested of the monastic\nclothes and cast out. His petition, however, which the Abbot has taken\nfrom the altar, shall not be returned to him, but shall be kept in the\nmonastery.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 59\n On the Sons of Nobles and of the Poor Who Are Offered\n\n\nApr. 13\u2014Aug. 13\u2014Dec. 13\n\n\nIf anyone of the nobility offers his son to God in the monastery and the\nboy is very young, let his parents draw up the petition which we\nmentioned above; and at the oblation let them wrap the petition and the\nboy\u2019s hand in the altar cloth and so offer him.\n\nAs regards their property, they shall promise in the same petition under\noath that they will never of themselves, or through an intermediary, or\nin any way whatever, give him anything or provide him with the\nopportunity of owning anything. Or else, if they are unwilling to do\nthis, and if they want to offer something as an alms to the monastery\nfor their advantage, let them make a donation of the property they wish\nto give to the monastery, reserving the income to themselves if they\nwish. And in this way let everything be barred, so that the boy may have\nno expectations whereby (which God forbid) he might be deceived and\nruined, as we have learned by experience.\n\nLet those who are less well-to-do make a similar offering. But those who\nhave nothing at all shall simply draw up the petition and offer their\nson before witnesses at the oblation.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 60\n On Priests Who May Wish to Live in the Monastery\n\n\nApr. 14\u2014Aug. 14\u2014Dec. 14\n\n\nIf anyone of the priestly order should ask to be received into the\nmonastery, permission shall not be granted him too readily. But if he is\nquite persistent in his request, let him know that he will have to\nobserve the whole discipline of the Rule and that nothing will be\nrelaxed in his favor, that it may be as it is written: \u201cFriend, for what\nhave you come?\u201d\n\nIt shall be granted him, however, to stand next after the Abbot and to\ngive blessings and to celebrate Mass, but only by order of the Abbot.\nWithout such order let him not presume to do anything, knowing that he\nis subject to the discipline of the Rule; but rather let him give an\nexample of humility to all.\n\nIf there happens to be question of an appointment or of some business in\nthe monastery, let him expect the rank due him according to the date of\nhis entrance into the monastery, and not the place granted him out of\nreverence for the priesthood.\n\nIf any clerics, moved by the same desire, should wish to join the\nmonastery, let them be placed in a middle rank. But they too are to be\nadmitted only if they promise observance of the Rule and their own\nstability.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 61\n How Pilgrim Monks Are To Be Received\n\n\n\n Apr. 15\u2014Aug. 15\u2014Dec. 15\n\n\nIf a pilgrim monk coming from a distant region wants to live as a guest\nof the monastery, let him be received for as long a time as he desires,\nprovided he is content with the customs of the place as he finds them\nand does not disturb the monastery by superfluous demands, but is simply\ncontent with what he finds. If, however, he censures or points out\nanything reasonably and with the humility of charity, let the Abbot\nconsider prudently whether perhaps it was for that very purpose that the\nLord sent him.\n\nIf afterwards he should want to bind himself to stability, his wish\nshould not be denied him, especially since there has been opportunity\nduring his stay as a guest to discover his character.\n\n\n\n Apr. 16\u2014Aug. 16\u2014Dec. 16\n\n\nBut if as a guest he was found exacting or prone to vice, not only\nshould he be denied membership in the community, but he should even be\npolitely requested to leave, lest others be corrupted by his evil life.\n\nIf, however, he has not proved to be the kind who deserves to be put\nout, he should not only on his own application be received as a member\nof the community, but he should even be persuaded to stay, that the\nothers may be instructed by his example, and because in every place it\nis the same Lord who is served, the same King for whom the battle is\nfought.\n\nMoreover, if the Abbot perceives that he is a worthy man, he may put him\nin a somewhat higher rank. And not only with regard to a monk but also\nwith regard to those in priestly or clerical orders previously\nmentioned, the Abbot may establish them in a higher rank than would be\ntheirs by date of entrance if he perceives that their life is deserving.\n\nLet the Abbot take care, however, never to receive a monk from another\nknown monastery as a member of his community without the consent of his\nAbbot or a letter of recommendation; for it is written, \u201cDo not to\nanother what you would not want done to yourself.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 62\n On the Priests of the Monastery\n\n\nApr. 17\u2014Aug. 17\u2014Dec. 17\n\n\nIf an Abbot desire to have a priest or a deacon ordained for his\nmonastery, let him choose one of his monks who is worthy to exercise the\npriestly office.\n\nBut let the one who is ordained beware of self-exaltation or pride; and\nlet him not presume to do anything except what is commanded him by the\nAbbot, knowing that he is so much the more subject to the discipline of\nthe Rule. Nor should he by reason of his priesthood forget the obedience\nand the discipline required by the Rule, but make ever more and more\nprogress towards God.\n\nLet him always keep the place which he received on entering the\nmonastery, except in his duties at the altar or in case the choice of\nthe community and the will of the Abbot should promote him for the\nworthiness of his life. Yet he must understand that he is to observe the\nrules laid down by deans and Priors.\n\nShould he presume to act otherwise, let him be judged not as a priest\nbut as a rebel. And if he does not reform after repeated admonitions,\nlet even the Bishop be brought in as a witness. If then he still fails\nto amend, and his offenses are notorious, let him be put out of the\nmonastery, but only if his contumacy is such that he refuses to submit\nor to obey the Rule.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 63\n On the Order of the Community\n\n\n\n Apr. 18\u2014Aug. 18\u2014Dec. 18\n\n\nLet all keep their places in the monastery established by the time of\ntheir entrance, the merit of their lives and the decision of the Abbot.\nYet the Abbot must not disturb the flock committed to him, nor by an\narbitrary use of his power ordain anything unjustly; but let him always\nthink of the account he will have to render to God for all his decisions\nand his deeds.\n\nTherefore in that order which he has established or which they already\nhad, let the brethren approach to receive the kiss of peace and\nCommunion, intone the Psalms and stand in choir. And in no place\nwhatever should age decide the order or be prejudicial to it; for Samuel\nand Daniel as mere boys judged priests.\n\nExcept for those already mentioned, therefore, whom the Abbot has\npromoted by a special decision or demoted for definite reasons, all the\nrest shall take their order according to the time of their entrance.\nThus, for example, he who came to the monastery at the second hour of\nthe day, whatever be his age or his dignity, must know that he is junior\nto one who came at the first hour of the day. Boys, however, are to be\nkept under discipline in all matters and by everyone.\n\n\n\n Apr. 19\u2014Aug. 19\u2014Dec. 19\n\n\nThe juniors, therefore, should honor their seniors, and the seniors love\ntheir juniors.\n\nIn the very manner of address, let no one call another by the mere name;\nbut let the seniors call their juniors Brothers, and the juniors call\ntheir seniors Fathers, by which is conveyed the reverence due to a\nfather. But the Abbot, since he is believed to represent Christ, shall\nbe called Lord and Abbot, not for any pretensions of his own but out of\nhonor and love for Christ. Let the Abbot himself reflect on this, and\nshow himself worthy of such an honor.\n\nAnd wherever the brethren meet one another the junior shall ask the\nsenior for his blessing. When a senior passes by, a junior shall rise\nand give him a place to sit, nor shall the junior presume to sit with\nhim unless his senior bid him, that it may be as was written, \u201cIn honor\nanticipating one another.\u201d\n\nBoys, both small and adolescent, shall keep strictly to their rank in\noratory and at table. But outside of that, wherever they may be, let\nthem be under supervision and discipline, until they come to the age of\ndiscretion.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 64\n On Constituting an Abbot\n\n\n\n Apr. 20\u2014Aug. 20\u2014Dec. 20\n\n\nIn the constituting of an Abbot let this plan always be followed, that\nthe office be conferred on the one who is chosen either by the whole\ncommunity unanimously in the fear of God or else by a part of the\ncommunity, however small, if its counsel is more wholesome.\n\nMerit of life and wisdom of doctrine should determine the choice of the\none to be constituted, even if he be the last in the order of the\ncommunity.\n\nBut if (which God forbid) the whole community should agree to choose a\nperson who will acquiesce in their vices, and if those vices somehow\nbecome known to the Bishop to whose diocese the place belongs, or to the\nAbbots or the faithful of the vicinity, let them prevent the success of\nthis conspiracy of the wicked, and set a worthy steward over the house\nof God. They may be sure that they will receive a good reward for this\naction if they do it with a pure intention and out of zeal for God; as,\non the contrary, they will sin if they fail to do it.\n\n\n\n Apr. 21\u2014Aug. 21\u2014Dec. 21\n\n\nOnce he has been constituted, let the Abbot always bear in mind what a\nburden he has undertaken and to whom he will have to give an account of\nhis stewardship, and let him know that his duty is rather to profit his\nbrethren than to preside over them. He must therefore be learned in the\ndivine law, that he may have a treasure of knowledge from which to bring\nforth new things and old. He must be chaste, sober and merciful. Let him\nexalt mercy above judgment, that he himself may obtain mercy. He should\nhate vices; he should love the brethren.\n\nIn administering correction he should act prudently and not go to\nexcess, lest in seeking too eagerly to scrape off the rust he break the\nvessel. Let him keep his own frailty ever before his eyes and remember\nthat the bruised reed must not be broken. By this we do not mean that he\nshould allow vices to grow; on the contrary, as we have already said, he\nshould eradicate them prudently and with charity, in the way which may\nseem best in each case. Let him study rather to be loved than to be\nfeared.\n\nLet him not be excitable and worried, nor exacting and headstrong, nor\njealous and over-suspicious; for then he is never at rest.\n\nIn his commands let him be prudent and considerate; and whether the work\nwhich he enjoins concerns God or the world, let him be discreet and\nmoderate, bearing in mind the discretion of holy Jacob, who said, \u201cIf I\ncause my flocks to be overdriven, they will all die in one day.\u201d Taking\nthis, then, and other examples of discretion, the mother of virtues, let\nhim so temper all things that the strong may have something to strive\nafter, and the weak may not fall back in dismay.\n\nAnd especially let him keep this Rule in all its details, so that after\na good ministry he may hear from the Lord what the good servant heard\nwho gave his fellow-servants wheat in due season: \u201cIndeed, I tell you,\nhe will set him over all his goods.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 65\n On the Prior of the Monastery\n\n\n\n Apr. 22\u2014Aug. 22\u2014Dec. 22\n\n\nIt happens all too often that the constituting of a Prior gives rise to\ngrave scandals in monasteries. For there are some who become inflated\nwith the evil spirit of pride and consider themselves second Abbots. By\nusurping power they foster scandals and cause dissensions in the\ncommunity. Especially does this happen in those places where the Prior\nis constituted by the same Bishop or the same Abbots who constitute the\nAbbot himself. What an absurd procedure this is can easily be seen; for\nit gives the Prior an occasion for becoming proud from the very time of\nhis constitution, by putting the thought into his mind that he is freed\nfrom the authority of his Abbot: \u201cFor,\u201d he will say to himself, \u201cyou\nwere constituted by the same persons who constituted the Abbot.\u201d From\nthis source are stirred up envy, quarrels, detraction, rivalry,\ndissensions and disorders. For while the Abbot and the Prior are at\nvariance, their souls cannot but be endangered by this dissension; and\nthose who are under them, currying favor with one side or the other, go\nto ruin. The guilt for this dangerous state of affairs rests on the\nheads of those whose action brought about such disorder.\n\n\n\n Apr. 23\u2014Aug. 23\u2014Dec. 23\n\n\nTo us, therefore, it seems expedient for the preservation of peace and\ncharity that the Abbot have in his hands the full administration of his\nmonastery. And if possible let all the affairs of the monastery, as we\nhave already arranged, be administered by deans according to the Abbot\u2019s\ndirections. Thus, with the duties being shared by several, no one person\nwill become proud.\n\nBut if the circumstances of the place require it, or if the community\nasks for it with reason and with humility, and the Abbot judges it to be\nexpedient, let the Abbot himself constitute as his Prior whomsoever he\nshall choose with the counsel of God-fearing brethren.\n\nThat Prior, however, shall perform respectfully the duties enjoined on\nhim by his Abbot and do nothing against the Abbot\u2019s will or direction;\nfor the more he is raised above the rest, the more carefully should he\nobserve the precepts of the Rule.\n\nIf it should be found that the Prior has serious faults, or that he is\ndeceived by his exaltation and yields to pride, or if he should be\nproved to be a despiser of the Holy Rule, let him be admonished verbally\nup to four times. If he fails to amend, let the correction of regular\ndiscipline be applied to him. But if even then he does not reform, let\nhim be deposed from the office of Prior and another be appointed in his\nplace who is worthy of it. And if afterwards he is not quiet and\nobedient in the community, let him even be expelled from the monastery.\nBut the Abbot, for his part, should bear in mind that he will have to\nrender an account to God for all his judgments, lest the flame of envy\nor jealousy be kindled in his soul.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 66\n On the Porters of the Monastery\n\n\nApr. 24\u2014Aug. 24\u2014Dec. 24\n\n\nAt the gate of the monastery let there be placed a wise old man, who\nknows how to receive and to give a message, and whose maturity will\nprevent him from straying about. This porter should have a room near the\ngate, so that those who come may always find someone at hand to attend\nto their business. And as soon as anyone knocks or a poor man hails him,\nlet him answer \u201cThanks be to God\u201d or \u201cA blessing!\u201d Then let him attend\nto them promptly, with all the meekness inspired by the fear of God and\nwith the warmth of charity.\n\nShould the porter need help, let him have one of the younger brethren.\n\nIf it can be done, the monastery should be so established that all the\nnecessary things, such as water, mill, garden and various workshops, may\nbe within the enclosure, so that there is no necessity for the monks to\ngo about outside of it, since that is not at all profitable for their\nsouls.\n\nWe desire that this Rule be read often in the community, so that none of\nthe brethren may excuse himself on the ground of ignorance.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 67\n On Brethren Who Are Sent on a Journey\n\n\nApr. 25\u2014Aug. 25\u2014Dec. 25\n\n\nLet the brethren who are sent on a journey commend themselves to the\nprayers of all the brethren and of the Abbot; and always at the last\nprayer of the Work of God let a commemoration be made of all absent\nbrethren.\n\nWhen brethren return from a journey, at the end of each canonical Hour\nof the Work of God on the day they return, let them lie prostrate on the\nfloor of the oratory and beg the prayers of all on account of any faults\nthat may have surprised them on the road, through the seeing or hearing\nof something evil, or through idle talk. And let no one presume to tell\nanother whatever he may have seen or heard outside of the monastery,\nbecause this causes very great harm. But if anyone presumes to do so,\nlet him undergo the punishment of the Rule. And let him be punished\nlikewise who would presume to leave the enclosure of the monastery and\ngo anywhere or do anything, however small, without an order from the\nAbbot.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 68\n If a Brother Is Commanded to Do Impossible Things\n\n\nApr. 26\u2014Aug. 26\u2014Dec. 26\n\n\nIf it happens that difficult or impossible tasks are laid on a brother,\nlet him nevertheless receive the order of the one in authority with all\nmeekness and obedience. But if he sees that the weight of the burden\naltogether exceeds the limit of his strength, let him submit the reasons\nfor his inability to the one who is over him in a quiet way and at an\nopportune time, without pride, resistance, or contradiction. And if\nafter these representations the Superior still persists in his decision\nand command, let the subject know that this is for his good, and let him\nobey out of love, trusting in the help of God.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 69\n That the Monks Presume Not to Defend One Another\n\n\nApr. 27\u2014Aug. 27\u2014Dec. 27\n\n\nCare must be taken that no monk presume on any ground to defend another\nmonk in the monastery, or as it were to take him under his protection,\neven though they be united by some tie of blood-relationship. Let not\nthe monks dare to do this in any way whatsoever, because it may give\nrise to most serious scandals. But if anyone breaks this rule, let him\nbe severely punished.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 70\n That No One Venture to Punish at Random\n\n\nApr. 28\u2014Aug. 28\u2014Dec. 28\n\n\nEvery occasion of presumption shall be avoided in the monastery, and we\ndecree that no one be allowed to excommunicate or to strike any of his\nbrethren unless the Abbot has given him the authority. Those who offend\nin this matter shall be rebuked in the presence of all, that the rest\nmay have fear.\n\nBut boys up to 15 years of age shall be carefully controlled and watched\nby all, yet this too with all moderation and discretion. Anyone,\ntherefore, who presumes without the Abbot\u2019s instructions to punish those\nabove that age or who loses his temper with the boys, shall undergo the\ndiscipline of the Rule; for it is written, \u201cDo not to another what you\nwould not want done to yourself.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 71\n That the Brethren Be Obedient to One Another\n\n\nApr. 29\u2014Aug. 29\u2014Dec. 29\n\n\nNot only is the boon of obedience to be shown by all to the Abbot, but\nthe brethren are also to obey one another, knowing that by this road of\nobedience they are going to God. Giving priority, therefore, to the\ncommands of the Abbot and of the Superiors appointed by him (to which we\nallow no private orders to be preferred), for the rest let all the\njuniors obey their seniors with all charity and solicitude. But if\nanyone is found contentious, let him be corrected.\n\nAnd if any brother, for however small a cause, is corrected in any way\nby the Abbot or by any of his Superiors, or if he faintly perceives that\nthe mind of any Superior is angered or moved against him, however\nlittle, let him at once, without delay, prostrate himself on the ground\nat his feet and lie there making satisfaction until that emotion is\nquieted with a blessing. But if anyone should disdain to do this, let\nhim undergo corporal punishment or, if he is stubborn, let him be\nexpelled from the monastery.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 72\n On the Good Zeal Which Monks Ought to Have\n\n\nApr. 30\u2014Aug. 30\u2014Dec. 30\n\n\nJust as there is an evil zeal of bitterness which separates from God and\nleads to hell, so there is a good zeal which separates from vices and\nleads to God and to life everlasting. This zeal, therefore, the monks\nshould practice with the most fervent love. Thus they should anticipate\none another in honor; most patiently endure one another\u2019s infirmities,\nwhether of body or of character; vie in paying obedience one to\nanother\u2014no one following what he considers useful for himself, but\nrather what benefits another\u2014; tender the charity of brotherhood\nchastely; fear God in love; love their Abbot with a sincere and humble\ncharity; prefer nothing whatever to Christ. And may He bring us all\ntogether to life everlasting!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER 73\n On the Fact That the Full Observance of Justice Is Not Established in\n This Rule\n\n\nMay 1\u2014Aug. 31\u2014Dec. 31\n\n\nNow we have written this Rule in order that by its observance in\nmonasteries we may show that we have attained some degree of virtue and\nthe rudiments of the religious life.\n\nBut for him who would hasten to the perfection of that life there are\nthe teachings of the holy Fathers, the observance of which leads a man\nto the height of perfection. For what page or what utterance of the\ndivinely inspired books of the Old and New Testaments is not a most\nunerring rule for human life? Or what book of the holy Catholic Fathers\ndoes not loudly proclaim how we may come by a straight course to our\nCreator? Then the Conferences and the Institutes and the Lives of the\nFathers, as also the Rule of our holy Father Basil\u2014what else are they\nbut tools of virtue for right-living and obedient monks? But for us who\nare lazy and ill-living and negligent they are a source of shame and\nconfusion.\n\nWhoever you are, therefore, who are hastening to the heavenly homeland,\nfulfil with the help of Christ this minimum Rule which we have written\nfor beginners; and then at length under God\u2019s protection you will attain\nto the loftier heights of doctrine and virtue which we have mentioned\nabove.","title":"St. Benedict's Rule for Monasteries","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":21919}