Chapter Fifty-Four
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Whether a Monk Should Receive Letters or Anything Else
ON NO account should a monk receive letters, pious tokens, or little gifts of any sort, either from parents or any other person, nor from his brothers, without the permission of the Abbot. Nor may they send them. And even if anything is sent him by his parents, he should not presume to accept it without first making it known to the Abbot. And if the Abbot grants that the gift may be accepted, it remains in Abbot’s power to give it to whom he pleases. The brother to whom it was sent should not become sad, that “no chance be given to the devil.” (Eph. 4:27; 1 Tim. 5:14). Should anyone presume to act otherwise, however, let him fall under the discipline of the Rule.