Chapter 58: The reception of candidates for the community (paragraphs 4-5)

When the decision is made that novices are to be accepted, then they come before the whole community in the oratory to make solemn promise of stability, fidelity to monastic life and obedience. (From para. 4 of Ch. 58 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

St. Benedict teaches me not only that the monk is one who seeks God, but also that such seeking is not simply solitary but is done in community. Through the practice of meditation, I begin to understand how the solemn promises Benedict names apply to both my journey inward, and to my journey outward.