Community July 13
If your brother, for example, were suffering a bodily wound that he wanted to hide for fear of undergoing treatment, would it not be cruel of you to remain silent and a mercy on your part to make this known? (Rule of St. Augustine 26).
A great strength of the Rule of St. Augustine is that it is based on the personal experience of the saint. The entire time before his conversion, Augustine knew much weakness. He felt vulnerable to the society around him and to his friends. He knew failure. The way to full conversion was difficult. After his conversion, he recognized with great compassion that his friends in the community were not angels. (In the group of Jesus’ disciples, eleven were indulgent toward the one who was thief and traitor, remarked Augustine!) This realism led him to a very strong teaching about fraternal correction. On his own religious journey, Augustine was greatly helped by persons who served as healers of his soul, among them his mother. To encourage his community, the Rule makes reference to medical intervention as the model of spiritual intervention. Deadly wounds are deadly wounds, even if the sick person denies it. And death does not come just from bodily illness. If a healer remains indifferent, he becomes an assassin.
The woman who hides her pregnancy dies because of the child. (Bamileke)
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