CHAPTER 58
The Rule, Chapter 59 107 ever products of these artisans are sold, those responsible for the sale must not dare to practice any fraud. The evil of avarice must have no part in establishing prices, which should, therefore, always be a little lower than people outside the monastery are able to set."
This chapter certainly speaks to Oblates who are merchants, reminding them that products should be made well and sold at fair prices. It applies to everyone who has a creative talent.
Remember that it is first of all God's gift to you. Now you must give it to the world.
CHAPTER 58
The Procedure for Receiving Brothers St. Benedict suggests that someone who wants to enter the monastery should not be granted "an easy entry." A young man came to our monastery one Saturday afternoon to inquire about entering our community. He could not find anyone around. So he got back in his car and drove the 135 miles back home. He returned the following Saturday after having written a letter during the week to arrange an appointment with the vocation director. This was, no doubt, a test of perseverance for him, although not in the exact manner St. Benedict prescribes.
St. Benedict says the newcomer should keep knocking at the monastery door for four or five days. If "he has shown himself patient in bearing his harsh treatment and difficulty of entry, and has persisted in his request, then he should be allowed to enter and stay in the guest quarters for a few days."
After all that fuss, the candidate can proceed only as far as the guest house. In St. Benedict's day, however, there was no pe-
108 The Rule, Chapter 58 riod of candidacy before novitiate. The newcomer spent only a few days in the guest quarters and then entered the novitiate. The treatment St. Benedict gives the newcomer is a screening process. "As the Apostle says, Test the spirits to see if they are from God (1 John 4:1)." Someone who is sincere about wanting to become a monastic will put up with being denied immediate entrance. That person will keep knocking. The phony will give up and go back to where he or she came from. St.
Benedict's procedure for admitting a newcomer might be considered a psychological test.
Nor are Oblates easily admitted. Normally a prospective Oblate reads the literature first, thinks about it, and attends a meeting or two before making a decision. Becoming an Oblate, like becoming a monastic, involves a commitment that one must be willing to make.
After his stay in the guest quarters, St. Benedict allows the newcomer to enter the novitiate "where the novices study, eat and sleep." Once in a while, a modern-day novice who has versed himself in the Rule will quote St. Benedict in order to get out of work. HeTl say: "A novice can't be expected to help move that piano. My duties are restricted to studying, eating, and sleeping." His knowledge of the Rule never makes an impression in an instance like this.
St. Benedict assigns a senior with the "skill of winning souls" to look after the novices. His "concern must be whether the novice truly seeks God and whether he shows eagerness for the Work of God, for obedience and trials." Today, when the novice master presents a novice to chapter for permission to continue in the novitiate or to profess vows, he makes his report on how well the novice has met the requirements that were expected of a novice in St. Benedict's monastery.
Although St. Benedict's aim is to establish "nothing harsh, nothing burdensome" (Prologue), he remains a realist. Being a follower of St. Benedict's Rule does not save us from trial