On the Manner of Receiving Brethren
Apr. 11—Aug. 11—Dec. 11
When anyone is newly come for the reformation of his life, let him not
be granted an easy entrance; but, as the Apostle says, “Test the spirits
to see whether they are from God.” If the newcomer, therefore,
perseveres in his knocking, and if it is seen after four or five days
that he bears patiently the harsh treatment offered him and the
difficulty of admission, and that he persists in his petition, then let
entrance be granted him, and let him stay in the guest house for a few
days.
After that let him live in the novitiate, where the novices study, eat
and sleep. A senior shall be assigned to them who is skilled in winning
souls, to watch over them with the utmost care. Let him examine whether
the novice is truly seeking God, and whether he is zealous for the Work
of God, for obedience and for humiliations. Let the novice be told all
the hard and rugged ways by which the journey to God is made.
If he promises stability and perseverance, then at the end of two months
let this Rule be read through to him, and let him be addressed thus:
“Here is the law under which you wish to fight. If you can observe it,
enter; if you cannot, you are free to depart.” If he still stands firm,
let him be taken to the above-mentioned novitiate and again tested in
all patience. And after the lapse of six months let the Rule be read to
him, that he may know on what he is entering. And if he still remains
firm, after four months let the same Rule be read to him again.
Then, having deliberated with himself, if he promises to keep it in its
entirety and to observe everything that is commanded him, let him be
received into the community. But let him understand that, according to
the law of the Rule, from that day forward he may not leave the
monastery nor withdraw his neck from under the yoke of the Rule which he
was free to refuse or to accept during that prolonged deliberation.
Apr. 12—Aug. 12—Dec. 12
He who is to be received shall make a promise before all in the oratory
of his stability and of the reformation of his life and of obedience.
This promise he shall make before God and His Saints, so that if he
should ever act otherwise, he may know that he will be condemned by Him
whom he mocks. Of this promise of his let him draw up a petition in the
name of the Saints whose relics are there and of the Abbot who is
present. Let him write this petition with his own hand; or if he is
illiterate, let another write it at his request, and let the novice put
his mark to it. Then let him place it with his own hand upon the altar;
and when he 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.” Let the whole community answer
this verse three times and add the “Glory be to the Father.” Then let
the novice brother prostrate himself at each one’s feet, that they may
pray for him. And from that day forward let him be counted as one of the
community.
If he has any property, let him either give it beforehand to the poor or
by solemn donation bestow it on the monastery, reserving nothing at all
for himself, as indeed he knows that from that day forward he will no
longer have power even over his own body. At once, therefore, in the
oratory, let him be divested of his own clothes which he is wearing and
dressed in the clothes of the monastery. But let the clothes of which he
was divested be put aside in the wardrobe and kept there. Then if he
should ever listen to the persuasions of the devil and decide to leave
the monastery (which God forbid), he may be divested of the monastic
clothes and cast out. His petition, however, which the Abbot has taken
from the altar, shall not be returned to him, but shall be kept in the
monastery.