Benedictine Travel Tips

Benedict discusses travel explicitly in three chapters of the Rule (50, 51, and 67). His practical directives embody at least three significant principles. To begin with, when traveling, remember who you are and where you are from. Then, travel light and require little of those you encounter. Lastly, be aware of what you bring home with you. Interpretations of Benedict’s teaching on travel outside the monastery typically presume a fear or apprehension of the world. But Benedict’s openness to guests calls for more nuance. His guidance can be profitably generalized if one presumes instead his desire to uphold the stability of the community (cf. 4:78).

Benedict realizes that monks may need to work or travel outside the monastery. Such tasks may be “so far away that [the monk] cannot return to the oratory at the proper time” (50:1). In these circumstances, a monk is “not to omit the prescribed hours but to observe them as best they can, not neglecting their measure of service” (50:4). If on a short journey that will allow the monk to return to the monastery the same day, “he must not presume to eat outside, even if he receives a pressing invitation, unless perhaps the abbot has ordered it” (51:1). The monk must remember he has accepted a life of service to God and the world. This truth extends beyond the walls of the monastery. Holding to that service while away contributes to his own stability and the stability of the community. Some years ago, as a friend and I were leaving his house for an overnight trip, his wife said to us, “remember you have wives at home who love you.” That truth extended beyond the walls of our homes. Our stability and the stability of our homes require that we remember our family relations even while away. Especially while away.

Later in the Rule, Benedict returns to “Brothers Sent on a Journey.” They are to be prayed over beforehand and kept in prayer while they are away. When they return, they are to ask for prayer in case they faltered, and they are not to “relate to anyone else what [they] saw or heard outside the monastery” (67.5). This prescription is often read as conditioned on negative experiences, since positive experiences should be shared. However, there are dangers to stability in both positive and negative experiences. Of course, it would be unwise and hurtful to share experiences that may lead a brother to stumble in his walk with God. Such an action would undermine the stability of the community. But, “mountaintop” experiences can also have a negative effect on stability. Exhilarating and uplifting experiences are wonderful, but returning to the stability of the hours and the routine of daily life can feel empty in comparison. For better or worse, we always bring home the experiences we have while away. Benedict saw that what we do with those experiences when home is of utmost importance.