Recently I received an e-mail from Paraclete Press offering a book on Benedictine Hospitality to all Directors of Benedictine Oblates at a reduced price. The book is entitled Benedict’s Way of Love, Radical Hospitality, by Father Daniel Homan, O.S.B., and Lonni Collins Pratt, an oblate. Father Daniel is a member of the Roman Catholic St. Benedict Abbey at Oxford, Michigan and Lonni is an oblate of that abbey.
I ordered 20 copies and will be offering these to the oblates at the October retreat at the very special price of $7.00 each. The book regularly sells for $16.95. It is 233 pages in length. I will simply set them out and you take the book if you want and leave payment in a box that I will provide. If I hear from many of you that you will want one of these I will probably order some more and hope to have them here by the retreat.
To quote from the Rule of St. Benedict: “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Chapter 53 of the Rule)
Here are a few quotes from this book:
“Hospitality tops the list of what is valued in a monastery because people are valued, and an equal dignity for all is assumed. Monks view people positively. Every human is sacred; every life is holy ground.” (Introduction, xxviii)
“When we speak of hospitality we are always addressing issues of inclusion and exclusion. Each of us makes choices about who will and who will not be included in our lives.” (p. 2)
“Benedictine hospitality prevents us from living either desperately or indifferently. Hospitality requires not grand gestures, but open hearts. When I let a stranger into my heart, I let a new possibility approach me.” (p. 16)
“Opening yourselves to the stranger is not equivalent to leaving your door unlocked and bringing strangers into your home. Hospitality does not mean you ignore obvious threats to personal safety. Hospitality means bringing strangers into your heart, which may or may not result in inviting strangers to the table.” (p. 21)
“Part of the internal work hospitality requires is setting boundaries. You do no one a favor if you allow people to involve you in destructive behaviors…. You can be accepting of people without trying to make everyone your best friend. It is not even healthy to try to be intimate with everyone.” (p. 49)
Some of the other chapters in the book include:
Welcoming the Other
Companionship and Intimacy
Making Room for Yourself
Being a Companion Through the Hurt
Listening: The Deep Truth of Hospitality
Hope to see many of you here for the oblate retreat October 8-10, 2010. Make your reservation by calling the guest department: 660-944-2809 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
You are invited to read my personal blog at: http://kennethosb.blogspot.com/
God bless each of you.
Fr. Kenneth, O.S.B.