Rule of St Benedict Reading for August 25, 2009

Chapter 67: On Brethren Who Are Sent on a Journey

Let the brethren who are sent on a journey
commend themselves
to the prayers of all the brethren and of the Abbot;
and always at the last prayer of the Work of God
let a commemoration be made of all absent brethren.

When brethren return from a journey,
at the end of each canonical Hour of the Work of God
on the day they return,
let them lie prostrate on the floor of the oratory
and beg the prayers of all
on account of any faults
that may have surprised them on the road,
through the seeing or hearing of something evil,
or through idle talk.
And let no one presume to tell another
whatever he may have seen or heard outside of the monastery,
because this causes very great harm.
But if anyone presumes to do so,
let him undergo the punishment of the Rule.
And let him be punished likewise who would presume
to leave the enclosure of the monastery
and go anywhere or do anything, however small,
without an order from the Abbot.

Some thoughts:

Have any of us tried confessing "any faults that may have surprised
them on the road, through the seeing or hearing of something evil, or
through idle talk."??????

Do we confess the thoughts or words that come out of our mouths when
some other drive cuts us off, turns without using a directional
signal, rolls through the stop sign seconds before we are in the
intersection? Or when the young woman bends over us with the
communion chalice and we can see down to her navel? Or any of the idle
talk we are bound to hear as people shout into their cell phones?

Do we confess those as sins or do we justify our reaction because
it's the fault of the other person? Do we fail to take responsibility
for our own reactions or responses?