Chapter 46: Faults committed elsewhere
Any member of the community who in the course of some work in the kitchen, in the stores, while fulfilling a service to others or in the bakery, the garden or the workshops or anywhere else does something wrong or happens to break or lose something or to be guilty of some other wrongdoing, must as soon as possible appear before the superior and the community with a voluntary admission of the failure and willing reparation for it.
(From Ch. 46 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
In the light of today's reading, I can see that yesterday's reading (about mistakes in the oratory) can relate very directly to the silence and stillness I keep while meditating with others. Today's reading takes me to a variety of domestic scenes, and the lesson I glean is to admit any mistake before I'm accused and become defensive. From meditation, I've become more patient with my own flaws, and stand a better chance of admitting them on my own. It seems to me that this is the way to inner and outer peace.
"If she commits some fault ... if she does not come immediately ...before the Abbess and the community of her own accord ... let her be subjected to a more severe correction. But if the sin-sickness of the soul is a hidden one, let her reveal it only to the Abbess or to a spiritual mother"
ReplyDeleteHumility is good. Humiliation is bad.
"When the cause of the sin lies hidden in the conscience", it takes time to uncover the causes. In the quiet and stillness of meditation day after day in the presence of the spirit of Christ within the heart, the hardened layers that cover those hidden causes begin to burn away. The mysterious power of love's presence cannot be avoided and must be lived out in life's everyday relationships where it bears fruit. One knows without a doubt when the cause is revealed; when the heart opens that much wider to love more,and forgiveness of oneself and others becomes a reality.
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