What Kind of Man the Cellarer of the Monastery Should Be
July 8
As cellarer of the monastery let there be chosen from the community one who is wise, of mature character, sober, not a great eater, not haughty, not excitable, not offensive, not slow, not wasteful, but a God-fearing man who may be like a father to the whole community.
Let him have charge of everything. He shall do nothing without the Abbot’s orders, but keep to his instructions. Let him not vex the brethren. If any brother happens to make some unreasonable demand of him, instead of vexing the brother with a contemptuous refusal he should humbly give the reason for denying the improper request.
Let him keep guard over his own soul, mindful always of the Apostle’s saying that “he who has ministered well acquires for himself a good standing.”
Let him take the greatest care of the sick, of children, of guests and of the poor, knowing without doubt that he will have to render an account for all these on the Day of Judgment.
Let him regard all the utensils of the monastery and its whole property as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar. Let him not think that he may neglect anything. He should be neither a miser nor a prodigal and squanderer of the monastery’s substance, but should do all things with measure and in accordance with the Abbot’s instructions.
Reflection
Most of us have to do the cooking sometimes, perhaps daily. So we will find lessons in this chapter for everyone. For example, when we prepare food for our family, our friends, our neighbours etc., we will pay attention to the needs of each person always trying to satisfy them and to give them pleasure at the same time. As to the hungry poor, it is up to us to try and find ways of helping them.
Notice also St Benedict’s surprising instruction to look on everything we use as the ‘sacred vessels of the altar’; that gives great nobility to each activity and teaches us to recognise the spiritual dimension of each temporal task.
