Chapter 26: Unlawful association with the excommunicated
If any member of the community presumes without the permission of the abbot or abbess to associate in any way with or speak to or give instructions to one who has been excommunicated then that person should receive exactly the same punishment of excommunication. (Ch. 26 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
Interior growth happens between an individual and God, and so I must respect that precious space in myself and others.
Benedict here warns me about busybodies. Reminds me how too easily I can become one with my loved ones. I too often did so when my sons’ natural growth processes as teenagers led them to differentiate. They have become their own unique persons. Abba, Help me to love them as you, in all their particularity.
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