CHAPTER 55
100 The Rule, Chapter 55 northern England. No doubt it and the incense had to have come all the way from the East. And those napkins— they must have been made from exquisite cloth that was not common in England. Perhaps they were artistically embroidered. St. Bede calls these things " small gifts." I suspect they were costly and he didn't want to be caught dead with them in his cell. That's why he gave them away at the end of his life. Monks will be human, even the ones who are saints.
Oblates, of course, are not bound by the vow of poverty.
They are not prevented from giving gifts. But even in this chapter there is an application for the follower of the Rule who does not live behind cloister walls. St. Benedict says the abbot, even after he has given permission for a monk to keep a gift, "still has the power to give the gift to whom he will; and the brother for whom it was originally sent must not be distressed, lest occasion be given to the devil (Eph 4:27; 1 Tim 5:14)." The lesson for Oblates is: Give from what you have been given. Perhaps there is someone else whose need for the article is greater than your own.
CHAPTER 55
The Clothing and Footwear of the Brothers "We believe that for each monk a cowl and tunic will suffice in temperate regions; in winter a woolen cowl is necessary, in summer a thinner or worn one; also a scapular for work, and footwear— both sandals and shoes."
The Benedictine habit evolved from the garb worn by monks before St. Benedict's time. He originated the scapular, an apron worn for work. St. Benedict's cowl is a long robe with a hood attached to it. The tunic is worn underneath. Some monks in ages before St. Benedict's wore leather tunics or fleece-lined
The Rule, Chapter 55 101 ones. What we have ended up with is a tunic with a scapular worn over it and a hood attached to the scapular. The cowl, or cuculla, is a large robe worn over the habit at Mass and at certain hours of the Office. The cuculla came to be recognized as a symbol of solemn profession.
St. Benedict allows his monks to procure underwear when they go on a journey. This was a matter of controversy in ancient days. If the argument about nuns wearing veils or not wearing them seems ridiculous to some people today, we should be thankful that we longer have to debate whether or not monks should wear drawers. Hildemar, a ninth-century monk, said that monasteries in which the monks wore underwear were not praiseworthy. The Benedictine monks of Cluny wore it, and their abbot, Peter the Venerable, fought constantly with the Cistercians in order to defend the practice.
St. Benedict tells his monks that they "must not complain about the color or coarseness" of the habit and that the material used for it should be purchased locally at "a reasonable cost." Although black has become the ordinary color for the Benedictine habit, grey, white, and brown have also been worn. The Cistercians opted for a white tunic and black scapular, and Peter the Venerable had to defend the Benedictines' basic black against Bernard of Clairvaux's opinion that the Cistercian habit was more suitable for followers of St. Benedict. Today most Benedictines wear black, but there are some who wear white or blue or a grey tunic and a black scapular.
The tunic, scapular, and hood are common to all groups of Benedictines, but some hoods are detachable, some scapulars have buttons sewn on the front, the Austrians wear a Peter
Pan collar, the Italians of the Cassinese Congregation have a winglike, shaped scapular, the English Benedictines have two wide lapels on their hood that hang over the front of the scapular. The Swiss have a long hood that reaches to the middle of the back. It is referred to as "a potato sack."