December 5

Chapter 53 pt. 2

The Rule of Benedict December 5

from August:

Niceness is a poor substitute for kindness.  Kindness, not niceness, is a component part of hospitality.  It is easy for some of us to confuse smiles and pleasant tones of voice with the things that make for true kindness and hospitality.  If we continue in this confusion for long enough, we become unable to distinguish between kindness and unkindness, hospitality and inhospitality. 

The monks at St. Gregory's Abbey are not nice, by most standards.  But they are kind.  My hope for our life together is that we will attune and live according to the essential difference between these two as well.

I encourage you to read the discussion below this post from August 5:

Listen carefully, my child. August 5