Page "Rule of Saint Benedict" Paragraph 46

* Chapter 58 lays down rules for the admission of new members, which is not to be made too easy.

The postulant first spends a short time as a guest ; then he is admitted to the novitiate where his vocation is severely tested ; during this time he is always free to leave.

If after twelve months ' probation he perseveres, he may promise before the whole community stabilitate sua et conversatione morum suorum et oboedientia -- " stability, conversion of manners, and obedience ".

With this vow he binds himself for life to the monastery of his profession.