Mar 7 - To Heal Not To Destroy

Do not toss your horns so high, *
nor speak with a proud neck.
Psalm 75:5

Every age and level of understanding should receive appropriate treatment.
Benedict's Rule, 30:1 (Chittister, Pg. 156)

...Benedictine punishment is always meant to heal, never to destroy; to cure, not to crush.
Chittister, Pg. 157

To heal, not destroy... While my roles may include helping others to identify faults, I cannot forget I have faults as well. It doesn't matter my anger or my frustration, my role is to build through respect, not belittle through frustration or anger.

A Note To Readers:

This entry is part of a series that is developing as I read The Rule of Benedict, A Spirituality for the 21st Century, Joan Chittister, OSB, Crossroads, 2010. I am offering this both to those at St. George's Episcopal Church, Arlington VA, that may be reading this book and to anyone that is interested.

Unless stated otherwise quotes from St. Benedict's Rule are from the translation in this same book.Psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer, The Episcopal Church, 1979 unless otherwise noted.