Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor

CHAPTER LXIX. That no one presume to defend another in the Monastery
27 Apr. 27 Aug. 27 Dec.

Care must be taken that on no occasion one monk presume to defend another in the Monastery, or to take his part, even although they be connected by some near tie of kinship. Let not the monks dare to do this in any way whatsoever; because therefrom may arise the most grievous occasion of scandals. If any one transgress this rule, let him be very severely punished.

Saint Benedict was an astute observor of the inner workings of the monastic family. He warns us of potentially harmful patterns of relationship. Partisan loyalties, factions, and coalitions have threatened Christian communities since the time of the Apostle:

Do not these rivalries, these dissensions among you shew that nature is still alive, that you are guided by human standards? When one of you says, I am for Paul, and another, I am for Apollo, are not these human thoughts? Why, what is Apollo, what is Paul? Only the ministers of the God in whom your faith rests, who have brought that faith to each of you in the measure God granted. It was for me to plant the seed, for Apollo to water it, but it was God who gave the increase. And if so, the man who plants, the man who waters, count for nothing; God is everything, since it is he who gives the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:3–7)

It sometimes happens, especially in larger communities, that two or more brothers enclose themselves in an exclusive little coterie based on natural affinities or, even, which God forbid, on sinful proclivities. Saint Benedict says that such cliques may give rise to the most grievous occasion of scandals. There are warning signs of this sort of thing: feelings of jealousy and of possessiveness, resentment of others, and the development of non–verbal signs that exclude others from what is being communicated. One must be rigorously honest about such things and apply to them the 50th and 51st instruments of good works:

50. To dash down on the (Rock) Christ one’s evil thoughts, the instant that they come into the heart.
51. And to lay them open to one’s spiritual father.

Ask Our Lord today to preserve us in the unity from above that corresponds to His own Heart’s desire for us.

That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us. (John 17:21)