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Benedict’s Rule on the Reception of Guests

True hospitality makes a guest feel completely at home and welcome.
Many years ago my parents and I traveled to attend the wedding of a woman who had been my foreign exchange sister while we were in high school. We flew overnight to London, then caught a flight to Belfast where we were greeted by Elaine’s father. He then took us to a thatched roof Inn in Bangor, where the reception was going to be held the next day. The proprietor of the Inn had prepared our rooms with fresh roses, had placed hot water bottles in beds under thick duvets and encouraged us to wash and rest. Then she made us the most amazing dinner in that thatched roof Inn. I still remember the sense of that bed and melting into the warmth. I felt so special, like we were celebrities from abroad treated to the finest they had to offer.
I have also felt the warmth of welcome at dear friends’ homes: a cup of tea, a lovely dinner, the favored chair all were offered to their guests.  Some people wear the gift of hospitality as a walking welcome mat; we all know those folks who seek out those who need a welcome as if they absolutely must do so. And our communities are better for it.
As I write this, it occurs to me that I need to do more of this, but I worry about how messy the house might be, or perhaps I am using that excuse so I don’t have to risk rejection. But what if, in offering a sincere welcome to those we meet, offering a cup of coffee and greeting someone by name we are instead entertaining angels unaware? (Hebrews 13:2)
So many people make hospitality look easy. Benedict’s Rule formalizes a process so that everyone who entered the monastery felt welcome. The Rule is a way of looking at the world and deciding how to treat others as we hope to encounter Christ in those we meet.
Chapter 53: The Reception of Guests
1 All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matt 25:35). 2 Proper honor must be shown to all, especially to those who share our faith (Gal 6:10) and to pilgrims. 3 Once a guest has been announced, the superior and the brothers are to meet him with all the courtesy of love. 4 First of all, they are to pray together and thus be united in peace, 5 but prayer must always precede the kiss of peace because of the delusions of the devil. 6 All humility should be shown in addressing a guest on arrival or departure. 7 By a bow of the head or by a complete prostration of the body, Christ is to be adored because he is indeed welcomed in them. 8 After the guests have been received, they should be invited to pray; then the superior or an appointed brother will sit with them. 9 The divine law is read to the guest for his instruction, and after that every kindness is shown to him. 10 The superior may break his fast for the sake of a guest, unless it is a day of special fast which cannot be broken. 11 The brothers, however, observe the usual fast. 12 The abbot shall pour water on the hands of the guests, 13 and the abbot with the entire community shall wash their feet. 14 After the washing they will recite this verse: God, we have received your mercy in the midst of your temple (Ps 47[48]:10). 15 Great care and concern are to be shown in receiving poor people and pilgrims, because in them more particularly Christ is received; our very awe of the rich guarantees them special respect.[1]


[1] https://christdesert.org/prayer/rule-of-st-benedict/chapter-53-the-reception-of-guests/

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