Cortazzo Building, with medieval wellhead

We have often referred to The Rule of St. Benedict, and specifically to one or another of its 73 rules, when introducing a topic in these pages. Lately it has been Chapter 53 which comes most frequently to mind: The Reception of Guests. From my personal copy of the edition known as RB1980 – signed in 2005 by one of the four Associate Editors, Fr. Timothy Horner, O.S.B. (“ad multos annos”) – comes this translation: “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matt 25:35). Proper honor must be shown to all, especially to those who share our faith (Gal 6:10) and to pilgrims.” From personal experience during visits to men’s and women’s Benedictine houses throughout the world, this has been the, well, the Rule. Indeed, this is also the case when visiting Benedictine Oblates, who make a promise to do their best to live according to the Rule in their everyday lay lives.