Those who are pursuing the same objective, if they
live together, will find many advantages in this sharing of their life.
In the first place, none of us is self-sufficient when it is a question of material needs. We all need one another to procure the necessities of life.
The foot, for example, is capable of doing certain things on its own. If the absurd could happen and it was cut off from the other limbs, the owner would realize that the foot's capabilities are not enough to preserve its existence and acquire the things it must have.
This is what happens in the solitary life: what we have is no use to us and what we are lacking we cannot procure. Yes, it is God's will that we should be indispensable to one another so that we can be in unity with one another.
This is what happens in the solitary life: what we have is no use to us and what we are lacking we cannot procure. Yes, it is God's will that we should be indispensable to one another so that we can be in unity with one another.
Besides this, Christ's commandment to love does not allow us to be solely concerned with ourselves. 'Love does not seek its own interest.' [1 Cor. 13:5]
The solitary life, by contrast, seeks that, namely the advantage of the individual – an objective which is evidently the opposite of the law of love. Suffice to consider how Paul kept this law: “Not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.' [1 Cor. 10:33]
In the second place, it is difficult for solitaries to discover their faults. They do not have anyone to point them out. They have no one to correct them.
A reproof, even if it comes from an opponent, stirs up the desire for improvement if the soul is well disposed. But the person who is not living in community will find neither reproof nor improvement.
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