The Essential Character of Monastic Hospitality, by Richard H. Fitzgerald, M.D., F.A.C.P., a collaborator of Mepkin Abbey
It is interesting that hospitality and hotel derive from hopes as does hospital, hostel, and hospice – all in turn connote making someone else comfortable, albeit in differing circumstances. One of the guiding principles of Benedictine spirituality is the charism of hospitality. What does that mean?
A charism is a guiding principle – a foundational force that guides the framework of a religious Order. Benedictine hospitality is in the spirit of Martha and Mary; of Abraham welcoming three strangers in need; of the good Samaritan; and of the manifest humility of Jesus in washing the feet of those gathered at the Last Supper.
The Prologue of the Rule of Saint Benedict begins with the kind exhortation, “Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from a father who loves you; welcome it…” Chapter 53 has twenty-four short verses that instruct us that “all guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ… and proper honor must be shown to all.” But, for the monk, hospitality is more than providing a welcoming, quiet, and safe space. It is a mindset, a moral responsibility of harmony that is not manipulative or expecting reciprocity. It respects boundaries in mindfulness of the unknown needs of the visitor. It is both a prayer and a labor of love. It acknowledges vulnerabilities and does so, in part, by removing cultural temptations. Hospitality thus distills to availability and quietude. There is no need for ostentation or boasting. Similar to the genuine hospitality manifest in the network of monasteries of the Middle Ages, and in the diverse religious efforts to support peoples’ needs so vital in19th century America in the form of hospitals, orphanages, schools and social cohesion, contemporary Benedictine hospitality can properly be recognized for not having profit or reputation as a driving focus; but, instead, for being a heartfelt spiritual presence.