Chapter 28: The treatment of those who relapse
If even such prayer does not bring healing, the superior must turn to the knife of amputation, following the guidance of St Paul, who told the Corinthians to banish the evil from their midst, and again he said: if the unfaithful one wishes to go, let him go, lest one diseased sheep corrupt the whole flock. (From para. 2 of Ch. 28 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
To be fair and merciful, the whole process of letting go of someone harmful to community must be selfless, first in responding their needs, secondly in discerning what is the most life-giving, redemptive course of action for everyone.
I refer for commentary and reflection to two WCCM readings, one of Fr. Laurence and one of Andrew from Meditatio House. In the first,"The parable (better called the Parable of the two Brothers)" I read, " Don’t condemn the wrongdoer once they have begun to change. Encourage them to rehabilitate by affirmation, forgiveness and acceptance as the father gives a party to his returning black sheep." The two brothers’ personalities are both a reflection of my own ego. "The prodigal brother....expecting to be rebuked and " unable to "understand the nature of the father’s expansive love." and "the older, killjoy brother... entirely lacking in the generosity that characterises his father."
ReplyDeleteAnd, then in the reading of Andrew, "Benedict wants a compassionate environment dedicated to honesty. Often a commitment to honesty can be messy and tense (ask any wife, husband and their children). Any relational commitment to the experience of love and honesty can be shaped and informed by the practical nature of the Rule. ...The way of a contemplative is the way of authenticity, of honesty." For "honesty" and "authenticity" in understanding aspects of my ego and my relationship to others it takes my "holding fast" to the repetition of the word and the meditation practice as defined by WCCM, the Community.