57. The Craftsmen of the Monastery

Should there be craftsmen in the monastery, let them work at their crafts with all humility if the abbot gives permission. But if any of them thinks himself superior because of the knowledge of his craft, in that he seems to confer something on the monastery, let such a person be taken out of that craft and not practice it again, unless perhaps, after he has humbled himself, the abbot commands him to resume it.

If anything crafted by these workers is to be sold, let those who handle the transactions see that they do not plot any fraud. Let them always be mindful of Ananias and Sapphira, lest perhaps the death that those two suffered in their bodies should likewise overtake the souls of the craftsmen and all who commit any fraud with the goods of the monastery.

On the other hand, the evil of avarice should not steal into their prices, but always let the price be set a little cheaper than what others outside are able to set,“that in all things God may be glorified” (1 Pet 4:11).

 

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The Rule of Benedict by Saint Meinrad Archabbey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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