Housekeeping and Hospitality

Many of the sisters at the Mount experienced the novitiate with a bevy of classmates who were charged with doing much of the heavy work of the monastery—cleaning, cooking, laundry, and care of the sick. As I am currently the only novice in the community, I’m grateful we now have lay employees to assist in these tasks! Nonetheless, I recently received a tiny taste of the old-school novitiate when Sr. Lucy Kramer instructed me in the monastic manner of cleaning rooms in Bethany, our guest quarters. It felt like something of a rite of passage to be tutored in methods of cleaning mirrors with vinegar and bathroom floors with Spic and Span® and to be reminded to fold the top sheet down over the blanket on the bed and to save slivers of soap so it can be repurposed. I’m sure my mother was looking down from heaven with bemusement, because somehow—in spite of the similar instructions she gave me in childhood—my approach to housekeeping typically has been desultory at best.

Interestingly, Bethany is also the name of the town where Jesus received hospitality from his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and it is the name of the volunteer group I belong to that visits inmates at the state prison in Lansing. Hospitality includes both the aspects of providing a clean and comfortable environment for guests and listening to the stories of others. Both are demanding tasks, for to clean well and to listen well require energy, thoughtfulness, and attention.

My new small task of helping to clean guest rooms will provide a good opportunity to meditate on the Benedictine charism of hospitality, with its numerous challenges, gifts, and lessons.