A disciple who sees his abbot as a divinized instrument or as a face through which God transmits Himself can take as much God as the abbot never expected. No doubt the abbot cannot be a mere pipe through which God simply passes and transmits Himself. God passes through his being, through his spirit, through his soul, through his heart, through his lungs, damaged or not. In a way, the very being of the abbot is transmitted.