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.)

Trials of the spirits, for me, are often only the workings of my own thoughts, obsessions, fears. Within the silence, these mental demons can become the very point the Spirit burns through to bring peace.