The
LORD then said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob that I would give to their descendants. I have let you feast your eyes
upon it, but you shall not cross over.” So there, in the land of Moab, Moses,
the servant of the LORD, died as the LORD had said; and he was buried in the
ravine opposite Beth-peor in the land of Moab, but to this day no one knows the
place of his burial.
Deuteronomy 34:4-6
“Again,
amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they
are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two
or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:19-20
Piety
Chapter 58: On the Manner of Receiving
Sisters
When she is to be received she promises
before all in the oratory stability, fidelity to monastic life and
obedience…Then let her place it with her own hand upon the altar; and when
she has placed it there, let the novice at once intone this verse: "Receive
me, O Lord, according to Your word, and I shall live: and let me not be confounded
in my hope" (Ps. 119:116).
Study
What
does it say?
Passing from the duty of Christian disciples
toward those who have strayed from their number, the discourse now turns to how
they are to deal with one who sins and yet remains within the community. First
there is to be private correction; if this is unsuccessful, further correction
before two or three witnesses; if this fails, the matter is to be brought
before the assembled community (the church), and if the sinner refuses to
attend to the correction of the church, he is to be expelled. The church’s
judgment will be ratified in heaven, i.e., by God.
What
does it mean?
As a community, we have a responsibility to
lead people to accept the change in their lives. If we fail to bring them the message of
repentance and change, then we are guilty of another kind of sin – one of
neglect or omission.
Why
does it matter?
When we pray in community, Jesus is in our
midst. Jesus is in the midst of any
gathering of his disciples, however small.
You do not need a mega-church.
You do not need a papal audience.
You do not need a bishop. All we need
is two or three gathered in His name.
Action
When a sister or brother joins a monastic
community, they divest everything that they have. Even the clothes on her or his back are
replaced by the clothes of the community.
Money and property are given to the poor or to the community. In their
place are vows of stability, fidelity and obedience to the abbess. Nothing gets in the way of their relationship with the Lord and each other. The members are there to help each other at all times.
We are asked to do no less even if we live in
the community of laity. When we give
into temptation, our community tries to bring us back into the right
relationship with the Lord and with the world.
They will not give up on us.
Once. Twice. Even three times they will work to get us to
change. Likewise, we also must reach out to others and help them stay or return from whatever tries to pull them away.
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