“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”[1] A great trait of Benedictine spirituality is hospitality. Throughout communities adhering to the precepts of The Rule, hospitality is more than a practice – it is imprinted into the soul of our communities. Likewise, throughout Holy Scripture God’s love for children, elderly, and foreigners is emphasized over and over. May we keep hospitality embossed into our genetic fiber.
There are characteristics common to the elderly and children that require an extra measure of hospitality. Both need a voice, someone to advocate for their necessities. Both are candidates for abuse and need others to protect them. Both are misunderstood and often ignored and they need to be seen and to be heard. Benedict wrote of one of the most basic of needs – food. He urged the community to allow the elderly and children to eat before the scheduled meals of the monastery. Spiritual disciplines are good and strengthen one’s soul, but for the young and old there is a greater consideration for their wellbeing.
For the community, there is another benefit to caring for the disenfranchised, for speaking for the voiceless, protecting the defenseless, and seeking to understand the misjudged. That benefit is learned compassion. Compassion is the ingredient of salvation, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”[2]
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[1] James 1:27.
[2] John 3:16.
