1. Do not rebuke an older man; on the contrary, advise him as if he were your father. Treat the young as your brothers,

2. the elder women as mothers and the young girls as your sisters, with great purity.

3. Take care of widows who are really widows.

4. If a widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn their family duties and give their parents financial help. This is correct and pleases God.

5. A true widow is one who, in being left alone, has set her hope in God, praying day and night to God and asking him for help.

6. On the contrary, a widow who lives as she pleases is dead even while she lives.

7. Warn them about this that they may be blameless.

8. Those who do not take care of their own, especially those of their household, have denied the faith and are worse than unbelievers.

9. Let no one be put on the list of widows unless she is sixty years old and has been married only once.

10. She must be commended for her good works and the education of her children. Has she offered hospitality to and humbly served the saints, helped the suffering and practiced other good deeds?

11. Do not accept younger widows; they may have other desires than for Christ and want to marry;

12. then they deserve condemnation for breaking their first commitment.

13. Besides they form the habit of being idle, going from house to house. And it is not just idleness! They become gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.

14. So I want young widows to marry and have children, to rule their household and give adversaries no grounds for criticism.

15. Some have already strayed to follow Satan.

16. If any Christian woman has widows in her family, let her assist them; in this way the church will not be burdened and may assist those who are truly widows.

17. Let the elders who rule well receive double compensation, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

18. Scripture says: Do not muzzle the ox while it threshes grain, and: The worker deserves his wages.

19. Do not accept accusations against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

20. If he continues to sin, rebuke him in the presence of the community, as a warning to the rest.

21. I urge you, in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and of the holy angels, to obey these rules with impartiality, without making distinctions.

22. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, thus becoming an accomplice in the sins of others. Keep yourself free from blame.

23. Do not drink only water but take a little wine to help your digestion, because of your frequent illness.

24. The sins of some people are plain to see, even before they are examined; the sins of others are known only later on.

25. Likewise good deeds are conspicuous; even when they are not, they cannot remain hidden.





“O medo excessivo nos faz agir sem amor, mas a confiança excessiva não nos deixa considerar o perigo que vamos enfrentar”. São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina