Chapter 66: The porter or portress of the monastery

At the entrance to the monastery there should be a wise senior who is too mature in stability to think of wandering about and who can deal with enquiries and give whatever help is required. (From para. 1 of Ch. 66 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

I can glimpse the possibility of an inner emotional stability as a fruit of meditation. My emotions are a part of my humanness, and I experience their transience. I hope to befriend them, in all their peace or their drama, in all their coming or going. Compassion for my own wayward feelings may help me to be a little bit more compassionate with the difficult emotions of others.