Ch. 24. The forms of excommunication.—The nature of the excommunication and discipline should be suited to the extent of the guilt, which is to be determined by the abbot. If the brother is guilty of one of the lighter sins, let him be deprived of participation in the common meal. The one who has been thus deprived shall not lead in the psalms and responses in the oratory or read the lessons; he shall eat alone after the common meal; so that, for example, if the brothers eat at the sixth hour, he shall eat at the ninth, and if the brothers eat at the ninth hour, he shall eat at vespers. This shall be continued until he has made suitable satisfaction for his fault.
Ch. 25. The excommunication for the graver sins.—For graver sins the brother shall be deprived of participation both in the common meal and in the divine services. No brother shall speak to him or have anything to do with him, but he shall labor alone at the work assigned to him as a penance, meditating on the meaning of that saying of the apostle: "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ" [1 Cor. 5:5]. And he shall eat alone, receiving his food in such measure and at such time as the abbot shall determine. No one meeting him shall bless him, and the food which is given him shall be unblessed.
Ch. 26. Those who consort with the excommunicated without the order of the abbot.—If any brother shall presume to speak to one who has been excommunicated, or shall give a command to him, or have anything whatever to do with him, except by the order of the abbot, he shall be placed under the same sort of excommunication.
Ch. 27. The abbot should be zealous for the correction of those who have been excommunicated.—The abbot should exercise the greatest care over erring brothers; as it is written: "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick" [Matt. 9:12]. So the abbot should use all the means that a wise physician uses: he should send secret comforters, wiser and older brothers, who will comfort the erring one, and urge him humbly to make amends, as the apostle says: "Comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with too much sorrow" [2 Cor. 2:7], and again "Charity shall be confirmed in him" [2 Cor. 2:8]. Let him also be prayed for by all. It should be the greatest care of the abbot that not one of his flock should perish, using to this end all his wisdom and ability, for he is set to care for sick souls, not to rule harshly over well ones. Let him be warned in this matter by the words of God spoken to the evil shepherds of Israel through the prophet: "Ye did take that which ye saw to be strong, and that which was weak ye did cast out" [cf. Ezek. 34:3 f]. Let him rather follow the example of the good shepherd, who, leaving his ninety and nine, went out into the mountains and sought the one sheep which had gone astray; who, when he found it, had compassion on its weakness, and laid it on his own sacred shoulders and brought it back to the flock.
Ch. 28. Those who do not mend their ways after frequent correction.—If any brother has been frequently corrected and excommunicated, and still does not mend his ways, let the punishment be increased to the laying on of blows. But if he will not be corrected or if he attempts to defend his acts, then the abbot shall proceed to extreme measures as a wise physician will do; that is, when the poultices and ointments, as it were, of prayer, the medicines of Scripture, and the violent remedies of excommunication and blows have all failed, he has recourse to the last means, prayer to God, the all-powerful, that He should work the salvation of the erring brother. But if he still cannot be cured, then the abbot shall proceed to the use of the knife, cutting out that evil member from the congregation; as the apostle says: "Put away from among yourselves that wicked person" [1 Cor. 5:13]; "If the unbelieving depart, let him depart" [1 Cor. 7:15]; that the whole flock be not contaminated by one diseased sheep.
Ch. 29. Shall brothers who have left the monastery be received back?—If a brother has left the monastery or has been cast out for his own fault, and shall wish to be taken back, he shall first of all promise complete reformation of that fault, and then shall be received into the lowest grade in the monastery to prove the sincerity of his humility. If he again departs, he shall be received back the third time, knowing, however, that after that he shall never again be taken back.
Ch. 30. The manner of correction for the young.—The forms of punishment should be adapted to every age and to every order of intelligence. So if children or youths, or those who are unable to appreciate the meaning of excommunication, are found guilty, they should be given heavy fasts and sharp blows for their correction.
Ch. 31. The cellarer.—The cellarer of the monastery, chosen from among the congregation, should be wise, sedate, and sober; he should not be gluttonous, proud, quarrelsome, spiteful, indolent, nor wasteful; he should fear God, since he acts in a way as the father of the monastery. He should be careful of everything, doing nothing except by the order of the abbot, and observing all the commands laid upon him. He should not rebuke the brothers roughly; if any brother is unreasonable in his demands, he should yet treat him reasonably, mildly refusing his request as being improper. He should make his service minister to his own salvation, remembering the words of the apostle: "They that have used the office well, purchase to themselves a good degree" [1 Tim. 3:13]. He should have special care for the sick, for children, for guests, and for the poor, seeing that he will certainly have to give a reckoning of his treatment of all these on the day of judgment. He should look after all the utensils of the monastery as carefully as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar, and he should be careful of the substance of the monastery, wasting nothing. He should be neither avaricious nor prodigal, conducting his office in moderation under the commands of the abbot. Above all he should conduct himself humbly; if he is not able to furnish what is asked for, he should at least return a pleasant answer, as it is written: "A good word is above the best gift" [Ecclesiasticus 18:16]. He should take charge of everything intrusted to him by the abbot, and should not interfere in what is prohibited to him. He should see to it that the brothers always have the regular amount of food, and he should serve it without haughtiness or unnecessary delay, remembering the punishment which the Scripture says is meted out to those who offend one of these little ones. In large congregations, the cellarer should have assistants, with whose aid he may be able to fulfil the duties committed to him without unnecessary worry. He should, moreover, so arrange the work in his department that the distribution of food and the other details may come at convenient hours, and may not disturb or inconvenience anyone.
Ch. 32. The utensils and other property of the monastery.—The possessions of the monastery in the way of utensils, clothes, and other things should be intrusted by the abbot to the charge of certain brothers whom he can safely trust, and the various duties of caring for or collecting these things should be divided among them. The abbot should keep a list of these things, so that he may know what is given out or taken back when the offices change hands. If any one of these brothers is careless or wasteful of the goods of the monastery which are intrusted to him, he should be reproved and if he does not reform he should be subjected to discipline according to the rule.
Ch. 33. Monks should not have personal property.—The sin of owning private property should be entirely eradicated from the monastery. No one shall presume to give or receive anything except by the order of the abbot; no one shall possess anything of his own, books, paper, pens, or anything else; for monks are not to own even their own bodies and wills to be used at their own desire, but are to look to the father [abbot] of the monastery for everything. So they shall have nothing that has not been given or allowed to them by the abbot; all things are to be had in common according to the command of the Scriptures, and no one shall consider anything as his own property. If anyone has been found guilty of this most grievous sin, he shall be admonished for the first and second offence, and then if he does not mend his ways he shall be punished.