Chapter XX.
Of the three lentil beans which the Steward found.
the week of a
certain brother the steward passing by saw lying on the ground three
lentil beans which had slipped out of the hand of the monk on duty for
the week as he was
hastily preparing them for cooking, together with the water in which he
was washing them; and immediately he consulted the Abbot on the
subject; and by him the monk was adjudged a pilferer and careless about
sacred property, and so was suspended from prayer. And the offence of
his negligence was only pardoned when he had atoned for it by public
penance. For they believe not only that they themselves are not their
own, but also that everything that they possess is consecrated to the
Lord. Wherefore if anything whatever has once been brought into the
monastery they hold that it ought to be treated with the utmost
reverence as an holy thing. And they attend to and arrange everything
with great fidelity, even in the case of things which are considered
unimportant or regarded as common and paltry, so that if they change
their position and put them in a better place, or if they fill a bottle
with water, or give anybody something to drink out of it, or if they
remove a little dust from the oratory or from their cell they believe
with implicit faith that they will receive a reward from the
Lord.