Chapter 53: The reception of guests (paragraphs 1-4)
The greatest care should be taken to give a warm reception to the poor and to pilgrims, because it is in them above all others that Christ is welcomed. (From para. 4 of Ch. 53 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
What seems special to me about the poor and the pilgrims is a lack of pretense, a way of being that is transparent because of unencumbrance, because of seeking God before all else. The desire for this transparency burns within me.
What seems special to me about the poor and the pilgrims is a lack of pretense, a way of being that is transparent because of unencumbrance, because of seeking God before all else. The desire for this transparency burns within me.
Today’s reading reminds me of “Light of the World”, the famous allegorical painting by William Holman Hunt. Jesus prepares to knock at an overgrown and long-unopened door. The door in the painting has no handle. It can only be opened from the inside, representing, to Hunt, “the obstinately shut mind”. Lord, give me the courage to confront my obstinate mind and to open to you knocking in this present moment. Improve my hearing, my focus, my centering, my awareness of your presence at each golden moment of today, to let you into my life one sacramental moment at a time.
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