Chapter 28: The treatment of those who relapse

If even such prayer does not bring healing, the superior must turn to the knife of amputation, following the guidance of St Paul, who told the Corinthians to banish the evil from their midst, and again he said: if the unfaithful one wishes to go, let him go, lest one diseased sheep corrupt the whole flock. 
(From Chapter 28 of Saint Benedict's Rule.)

Relapse and amputation are two vivid and uncomfortable concepts for me. But my experience of life teaches me that, after years and years, I can still find myself saying about some personal shortcoming or fault: "I can't believe I'm still dealing with this after all this time!". Relapse, to some degree, may just be part of the pattern of personal growth, and an opportunity to learn self-acceptance. But amputation reminds me that the ultimate call of Christ is to die to self. I sense that, with the guidance of the Spirit, self-acceptance will lead me to learn to die a little more to self.