BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//eriebenedictines.org//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.30.10// CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH UID:86b82b61-c364-4ceb-8d3c-a2f876861d2b X-WR-CALDESC:If monastics commit a fault while at any work--while workin g in the kitchen\, in the storeroom\, in serving\, in the bakery\, in the garden\, in any craft of anywhere else--either by breaking or losing somet hing or failing in any other way in any other place\, they must at once co me before the prioress or abbot and community and of their own accord admi t their fault and make satisfaction. If it is made known through another\, they are to be subjected to a more severe correction.\n\nAccountabili ty is the Benedictine value on which all community life is based. Benedict clearly never supposes perfection in a Benedictine community. People have bad days and recalcitrant spirits and limited education and difficult per iods in life\, all of which are acknowledged and even provided for in a Ru le that concerns itself with single-minded seeking of God. What Benedict d oes require\, however\, is a sense of responsibility. There is nothing in community life\, he implies here\, that is so unimportant that it can be i gnored or overlooked. Nothing in life is so meaningless that we have the r ight to do it unthinkingly. What each of us does affects all the others an d it is to everyone that we owe accounting and apology and reparation.\n\n The notion that everything we do affects others and stands to be judged by them constitutes a concept of human community that is long lost. In this world\, corporations gut the center out of forests and say not one word of sorrow to the children of the world who will inherit the dry and eroded m ountainsides on which the trees once grew. Bankers take profits that close businesses and say nothing to the people made homeless by the deal. Polit icians make policies that rape the Third World and say not a thing to whol e nations held hostage to greed. Individuals overheat\, overconsume and ov erbuy until the resources of the globe are wasted away to nothing and we t hink nothing of it.\n\nClearly\, Chapter 46 is not about punishment. Chapt er 46 is about social consciousness.\n\nWhen the cause of the sin lies hidden in the conscience\, the monastic is to reveal it only to the priore ss or abbot or to one of the spiritual elders\, who know how to heal their own wounds as well as those of others\, without exposing them and making them public.\n\nEverybody needs somebody to whom they can reveal thems elves without fear of punishment or pain. Everybody\, at sometime in life\ , wrestles with an angel that threatens to overpower them. Contemporary so ciety\, with its bent for anonymity and pathological individualism and tra nsience\, has institutionalized the process in psychological consulting se rvices and spiritual direction centers. Benedict would have approved. He w anted people to work skillfully with the souls of others. He would probabl y also have found some of it unnecessary. What we need\, he says\, are peo ple in our lives who care enough about us to lead us through life's variou s stages gently. If we chose spiritual people for our friends and our lead ers\, if we respected our elders for their wisdom\, if we wanted growth ra ther than comfort\, if we ripped away the masks that hide us and were will ing to have our bleeding selves cauterized by the light of spiritual leade rship and the heat of holy friendship\, we would\, this Chapter indicates\ , come to the humility that brings real peace.\n\nAnother facet of this ch apter looms equally important. The challenge of community lies in whether we ourselves care enough about anyone else to be willing to be their light \, to treat their wounds well\, to protect their reputations when they try to talk to us.\n\nThe Tao Te Ching reads: 'Knowing others is intelligence \; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength\; masteri ng yourself is true power.' Benedictine spirituality asks for both. X-WR-RELCALID:9b8230dca0f21d2e0fa280d0ef1488f5 X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20241103T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RDATE:20251102T020000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20250309T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 RDATE:20260308T020000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:a1b124b0-9e7a-414b-8031-ef45e5c5de4c DTSTAMP:20260429T012403Z DESCRIPTION:If monastics commit a fault while at any work--while working in the kitchen\, in the storeroom\, in serving\, in the bakery\, in the g arden\, in any craft of anywhere else--either by breaking or losing someth ing or failing in any other way in any other place\, they must at once com e before the prioress or abbot and community and of their own accord admit their fault and make satisfaction. If it is made known through another\, they are to be subjected to a more severe correction.\n\nAccountabilit y is the Benedictine value on which all community life is based. Benedict clearly never supposes perfection in a Benedictine community. People have bad days and recalcitrant spirits and limited education and difficult peri ods in life\, all of which are acknowledged and even provided for in a Rul e that concerns itself with single-minded seeking of God. What Benedict do es require\, however\, is a sense of responsibility. There is nothing in c ommunity life\, he implies here\, that is so unimportant that it can be ig nored or overlooked. Nothing in life is so meaningless that we have the ri ght to do it unthinkingly. What each of us does affects all the others and it is to everyone that we owe accounting and apology and reparation.\n\nT he notion that everything we do affects others and stands to be judged by them constitutes a concept of human community that is long lost. In this w orld\, corporations gut the center out of forests and say not one word of sorrow to the children of the world who will inherit the dry and eroded mo untainsides on which the trees once grew. Bankers take profits that close businesses and say nothing to the people made homeless by the deal. Politi cians make policies that rape the Third World and say not a thing to whole nations held hostage to greed. Individuals overheat\, overconsume and ove rbuy until the resources of the globe are wasted away to nothing and we th ink nothing of it.\n\nClearly\, Chapter 46 is not about punishment. Chapte r 46 is about social consciousness.\n\nWhen the cause of the sin lies h idden in the conscience\, the monastic is to reveal it only to the priores s or abbot or to one of the spiritual elders\, who know how to heal their own wounds as well as those of others\, without exposing them and making t hem public.\n\nEverybody needs somebody to whom they can reveal themse lves without fear of punishment or pain. Everybody\, at sometime in life\, wrestles with an angel that threatens to overpower them. Contemporary soc iety\, with its bent for anonymity and pathological individualism and tran sience\, has institutionalized the process in psychological consulting ser vices and spiritual direction centers. Benedict would have approved. He wa nted people to work skillfully with the souls of others. He would probably also have found some of it unnecessary. What we need\, he says\, are peop le in our lives who care enough about us to lead us through life's various stages gently. If we chose spiritual people for our friends and our leade rs\, if we respected our elders for their wisdom\, if we wanted growth rat her than comfort\, if we ripped away the masks that hide us and were willi ng to have our bleeding selves cauterized by the light of spiritual leader ship and the heat of holy friendship\, we would\, this Chapter indicates\, come to the humility that brings real peace.\n\nAnother facet of this cha pter looms equally important. The challenge of community lies in whether w e ourselves care enough about anyone else to be willing to be their light\ , to treat their wounds well\, to protect their reputations when they try to talk to us.\n\nThe Tao Te Ching reads: 'Knowing others is intelligence\ ; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength\; masterin g yourself is true power.' Benedictine spirituality asks for both. DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250326T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250326T235900 LOCATION:Chapter 46 SUMMARY:Faults Committed in Other Matters END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR