The Rule of St Benedict Chapter 29
Whether the Brothers who Leave the Monastery are to be Received Again
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A brother who leaves due to his own fault, or is ejected from the monastery, if he wishes to return, should first promise complete correction of the fault for which he left, and then must be received back in the lowest place, and by this his humility can be proved.
Frater qui proprio vitio egreditur, aut proiicitur de monasterio, si reverti voluerit, spondeat prius omnem emendationem vitii pro quo egressus est, et sic in ultimo gradu recipiatur, et ex hoc eius humilitas comprobetur.
If he leaves again, he should be received back up to the third time. But he must fully understand that after this, all return will be denied to him.
Quod si denuo exierit, usque tertio recipiatur. Iam vero postea sciat, omnem sibi reversionis aditum denegari.
Comment
Most of those who write about the rule of St Benedict say very little about the chapters on excommunication or penalties for misbehaviour. To modern people, they seem to be a bit embarrassing. But any society must have rules and consequences for those who break them, or else the community will descend into anarchy.
Peace in the home or community depends on order. Without order, process and adherence to agreed norms, individualism becomes rampant and society breaks down. I think we see the effects of that in our societies today. Rules can seem oppressive but without them, there is nothing to constrain the evil of original sin which lurks inside all of us.
Everyone who enters the monastery does so freely, and takes on the rules and norms of community life voluntarily. To expel a monk is a last resort, when all other means of correction and reconciliation have failed.
But in this chapter, St Benedict shows the mercy of the true Christian soul. While the monk has to go, for the sake of the others (as we saw last week), the door is not finally closed to him. He may come back, but only on certain conditions. Dom Delatte, in his commentary, says:
There are two conditions to this act of mercy, and both have the same purpose: to show that the returned brother has nothing in common with him who fled or was expelled. St Benedict lays it down that the brother who so presents himself should first of all promise fundamental amendment of the fault which occasioned his departure: to this extent he is no longer, interiorly in his will, the same man as the former. And this change of identity expresses itself externally under a form which has no doubt the character of a punishment and a trial, but which may also be a delicate and skillful act of considerateness. When he enters he takes rank as though he then first came. There has been a misdeal and all must begin again. He takes his order anew from entrance and conversion, and inherits naught from the evil monk who went forth… his humility will thus be tested and assurance obtained that he has amended and intends to become a new man. St Benedict does not mention other requirements, but it is probable that there was a public confession and apology followed by absolution, as in the case of the excommunicate.
The process is very much like confession and absolution, the slate is wiped clean. How do the other monks deal with this? They would have to forgive and forget, and this could be difficult for some, a test of their charity indeed.
But there is a limit, and he cannot come and go indefinitely; the third time is the end. To allow a kind of revolving door at the monastery gate would destabilise the community, which is built on the model of a family, each of whom commits to live in that place with those people for the rest of their lives.
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