Chapter 58: The reception of candidates for the community (paragraphs 1-3)
The entry of postulants into the monastic life should not be made too easy, but we should follow St John's precept to make trial of the spirits to see if they are from God. (From para. 1 of Ch. 58 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
For me, life's "trial of the spirits" involve more than a test to my patience and humility -- unless the true self-knowledge of humility never loses hope. Loss of hope is, for me, a suffering and a sign that I'm forgetting to place my attention selflessly in the inner chamber of my heart.
“Let him be shown all the hard and rugged things through which we pass to God.” Staying faithful to my twice-daily twenty to thirty minute meditation is, for me, a “hard and rugged thing”, given my history of compulsive multitasking, my workaholism. So, give us, give me, the daily bread of silence, stillness, and simplicity that passes me beyond my ego to you, Father.
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