Chapter 25: Punishment for more serious faults
None of the community should associate with or talk to the guilty person, who is to persevere alone in sorrow and penance in whatever work has been allotted, remembering St Paul's fearful judgement when he wrote to the Corinthians that: such a one should be handed over for the destruction of the flesh so that the spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
(From Ch. 25 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
Repentance prepares me, with the help of God, to repair relationships, and re-establish trust.
Reflecting on the none association with others in the community is a sobering concept. Of course I would be in the position of the guilty one. I can only pray that I realize my missing the mark needs attention and rectification including the murmuring [Ch. 23] which I do very well!
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