Chapter 44: The reconciliation of those excommunicated
Any members of the community who have been excommunicated from the oratory and the refectory for faults which are really serious must prostrate themselves at the entrance to the oratory at the time when the celebration of the work of God comes to an end. They should in complete silence simply lay their heads on the ground before the feet of all the community coming out of the oratory and stay there until the superior judges that they have done enough in reparation.
(From para. 1 of Ch. 44 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
A profound bow, in humble silence -- not unlike the selfless attitude of meditation -- may sometimes be the best way for me to make amends to those I've injured.
Chapter 44: “One who for serious faults is excommunicated from oratory and table shall … lie prostrate before the door of the oratory, saying nothing, but only lying prone with her face to the ground at the feet of all as they come out of the oratory. “
ReplyDeleteIf I believe that I am the center of existence, I will naturally do evil. If I believe that God (Love) is the center of existence, I will naturally do good. The path that leads from an I-centered belief to a God-centered belief is humility.
It is only in silence at the entrance to the heart that I know myself as I truly am. I am to lose myself and find myself in God. The how and the when is left up to the power of the meditation itself. Sometimes my meditation is only one distraction after another and yet by returning to and "prostrating" before the mantra in the silence there is a turning away from and a leaving of the false self behind which I step over into the light of the true self.
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