Chapter 61: Monastic pilgrims from far away (paragraphs 1-2)
If, on the other hand, such a pilgrim monk or nun has been revealed as a guest to be overbearing and full of bad habits then not only should all further association with the community be refused but such a guest should quite openly be requested to depart for fear that such a wretched example might lead others to go astray. (From para. 2 of Ch. 61 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
Even in personal situations of necessary separation, I still ask for the grace to discern why such persons were sent to me by the Lord.
If a visiting pilgrim “ . . . should reasonably, with humility and charity, censure or point out anything, let the Abbot consider discreetly whether the Lord did not perhaps send him for that very purpose.” Abba, you can teach me through every person I meet today, especially, perhaps, through someone who disturbs me. You, Lord, did in fact, did you not, come to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.
ReplyDeleteBenedict repeats himself emphasizing that the visiting monk "is content with life as he finds it...is simply content with what he finds." At the root of discontentment is a desire to have more that what has been given. Laurence Freeman speaks to this by saying and I take this to my heart, "We will not in this life ever have everything we want. Liberation dawns as we accept that the real problem lies not in the not-having but in the wanting itself."(July 2, 2011 Newsletter of the WCCM, vol.35, No. 2,pp. 4-5) Lord, help me to be content and at peace trusting that you have given me everything I need.
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