Chapter 44: The reconciliation of those excommunicated

They should in complete silence simply lay their heads on the ground before the feet of all the community coming out of the oratory and stay there until the superior judges that they have done enough in reparation. (From para. 1 of Ch. 44 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)

St Benedict tells me to repent of my mistakes, or to forgive another, by discerning "that I/they have done enough in reparation". How will I know what enough is -- it must be something less than perfection, but that involves my whole being. And, how will I know what reparation is -- it is certainly repairing damage I have done to relationships. But, even more, I think it is letting go of past mistakes and allowing God to create me anew.