How healthy is the individual who cannot recognize one’s illness? What is the condition of a couple’s relationship when they refuse to acknowledge their disorder? When is a society depraved when it refuses to accept responsibility for its own failure to provide for itself? Have we become blind to the reality that societies are comprised of each of us? Can we accept responsibility for our contribution to what makes us as a whole? One only looks as far as the news report that depicts social ills as injustices imposed on us by some fictitious “them.” “They” are the bad guys responsible for the violence, bigotry, and greed that is threatening us.
Benedict lived in a culture much like what we live in and to what we have grown accustomed. He refused to permit the reality of self-responsibility be eclipsed by the excuse of blaming the nebulous “they.” Community is so very essential that each of its members was responsible for his contribution to the whole. Each member is as personally responsible for his actions that threaten the wellbeing of community. Previous chapters addressed various unacceptable behaviors, the greatest is grumbling against the community. Poor behavior is more than simply unacceptable, it is poisonous and destructive. Therefore, the consequence is often excommunication – cutting off the infection. The purpose is two-fold; protecting the community and restoring the offender, sanctifying both the one and the many to share in unity. This is a lesson that could benefit many faith traditions today. Unity in orthodoxy is a great bond.
Benedict does not leave the offender cut-off with no hope for restoration. Our Father does not leave us, all who are sinners, cut-off from His righteousness with no hope for restoration. Penitence opens the doors for mercy. In the case of the monk, penitence is demonstrated by a posture of deep humility.
While demands of The Rule appear excessive in our contemporary society, the intent is to inspire growth and not merely accommodate. The Rule demands recognition, correction, and restoration as a pathway of spiritual growth. The Rule does not encourage autonomy or individualism, but commitment to community and submission is the cure to self-centeredness. Our vows of conversion, stability, and obedience are commitments to our way of life. Each contributes to our charism prayer and spiritual formation.
