Chapter 29: The readmission of any who leave the monastery
Anyone who is guilty of serious wrong by the personal decision to leave the monastery but then asks to be received back again must first of all promise full reparation for leaving the monastery.(From Ch. 29 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
St. Benedict's requirement that I make reparations for my false starts, my failings, my comings and goings, reminds me that my behavior has repercussions on others. This interconnectedness can make me feel overwhelmed at times. But it also urges me to rest in God.
How fitting that this reading of the Rule comes around about the same time that the Gospel for the 4th Sunday of Lent which is about the two brothers and the forgiving father(Luke 15:1-3,11-32). The one brother left and spent all of his money on a dissolute life and then comes back with repentance lines memorized but hardly has the chance to finish them when the father is embracing him. I am reminded --that the truth of who I am is in relationships. That truth of self-knowing will allow me to be honest first with myself, then with those around me and will allow them the freedom to be honest with me. The underlying proviso it seems to me is the forgiveness part. Can I allow myself first to be forgiven by this most merciful and compassionate and loving God and others? Can I then "embrace" others as I am "embraced"? This surely is a way of peace, allowing for the falsehoods in all of us to be faced and then let go, welcoming everyone into the circle of Love where we are all held and healed.
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