my Abbot superior speaks up...(to his monks!)

For general information, I have been sending commentaries on the Rule of Benedict to every brother in the community.
These commentaries are not sent just to one brother and are not at all meant to be advice for a particular brother.
If the commentary seems directed at you, as a particular brother, then perhaps you need to hear it.
But the idea behind this commentary was to provide a commentary on the Rule that each of the brothers can take the time to read.
Even for those who do not speak English, most can take the time to read the commentary and reflect on it. Thank you! Blessings to each one of you!
Your brother in the Lord,
Abbot Philip

Chapter 70. The Presumption of Striking Another Monk at Will

1In the monastery every occasion for presumption is to be avoided, 2and so we decree that no one has the authority to excommunicate or strike any of his brothers unless he has been given this power by the abbot. 3Those who sin should be reprimanded in the presence of all, that the rest may fear (1 Tim 5:20). 4Boys up to the age of fifteen should, however, be carefully controlled and supervised by everyone, 5provided that this too is done with moderation and common sense.
6If a brother, without the abbot’s command, assumes any power over those older or, even in regard to boys, flares up and treats them unreasonably, he is to be subjected to the discipline of the rule. 7After all, it is written: Never do to another what you do not want done to yourself (Tob 4:16).
++++++++++++++++++++
It is not easy to speak about excommunication or punishment or corrections today in much of the world. Because most of us don't want to be excommunicated or punished or corrected, we would often prefer that such realities not exist in our civil life and even less in the life of the monastery.

No community can exist if there is no insistence on following the norms of the community. Most of our Benedictine monasteries have their own house customs, their Constitutions, the Rule of Saint Benedict and the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church.
All of these legal codes are in existence to help us live a community life in harmony with one another. They are all ways of trying to living out the Holy Scriptures, ways of trying to follow the Lord Jesus.

How often we find a brother in the community refusing to relate with some other brother in the community. This is the modern form of excommunication. It needs to be clear in our community that no brother has a right to cut out another brother from the community.

It also needs to be clear, however, that no brother can demand that everyone like him! Living in community is living out the "charity" of Christ, which means striving to follow the Lord Jesus.
Each of us must strive to truly love each other brother in the sense of preferring that brother's well-being to our own well-being.

Perhaps this Chapter of the Rule refers to sin in this phrase: "3Those who sin should be reprimanded in the presence of all, that the rest may fear (1 Tim 5:20)."
The reference could also mean simply the non-observance of the customs of the monastery. In either case, it is clear that the role of the abbot is to correct the sins or the failings. The abbot can also delegate that role to others.

For the good of our community, the abbot must correct the sins and faults of the brothers. How he does that in this modern age will quite likely be different from the time of Saint Benedict, but it must be done. The abbot tries to find other brothers who can help him in this task.

They must be brothers who can help the discipline of the community and who discover in time the ways of correcting that are effective in bringing about a good observance in the community without harming the sense of living in God's presence.

The goal is always to live in the peace and love of Christ, respecting one another and striving to live an inner life of prayer. We monks must always strive to keep our hearts set on the Lord.

Chapter 71. Mutual Obedience
1Obedience is a blessing to be shown by all, not only to the abbot but also to one another as brothers, 2since we know that it is by this way of obedience that we go to God. 3Therefore, although orders of the abbot or of the priors appointed by him take precedence, and no unofficial order may supersede them, 4in every other instance younger monks should obey their seniors with all love and concern. 5Anyone found objecting to this should be reproved. 6If a monk is reproved in any way by his abbot or by one of his seniors, even for some very small matter, 7or if he gets the impression that one of his seniors is angry or disturbed with him, however slightly, 8he must, then and there without delay, cast himself on the ground at the other’s feet to make satisfaction, and lie there until the disturbance is calmed by a blessing. 9Anyone who refuses to do this should be subjected to corporal punishment or, if he is stubborn, should be expelled from the monastery.
++++++++++++++++++++
So often we hear from others that obedience is really difficult. Saint Benedict wants us to have obedience at the heart of our monastic life because it is by obedience that we go to God.

If we take the Rule of Benedict seriously, then when we are corrected, we must accept the correction. Saint Benedict is clear that this concerns even minor corrections.
What a difference this would make in our community if we could all follow this one small teaching with complete sincerity.
More important would be the difference in the spiritual life of each brother if he could bring himself to live this teaching.

Whenever the Abbot corrects, the brother should accept the correction.
That is a clear teaching and once that is very, very difficult. We also see how important it is for Saint Benedict when he says that "Anyone who refuses to do this should be subjected to corporal punishment or, if he is stubborn, should be expelled from the monastery."

The point of the teaching from the Holy Rule is not that the Abbot is always right or our other superiors, but that the real struggle is within ourselves and the only way eventually to put our whole being at the service of God and in the work of prayer is if we can begin this struggle AGAINST OURSELVES.

Today we are so taken up with our own righteousness and our own rights that we have more or less abandoned any serious spiritual struggle. The Holy Rule in this Chapter on Obedience is inviting to take up this struggle once again.

If we want to be serious monks, we must learn how to fight ourselves and to allow ourselves to be treated in ways that we would not prefer and in ways that we even find unjust at times. Our responsibility as monks is to learn how to live with this obedience.

The abbot's responsibility is to strive to follow God's will to the best of his ability—and he will always have his own defects to fight against. May the Lord guide us all!