a monastic vision for the 21st century

7/31/2019 A Monastic Vision for the 21st Century

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monastic wisdom series: number eight

E y Pk H, ocso

A Monastic Vision for te 21st Centry

Where Do We Go from Here?


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monastic wisdom series

Pk H, ocso, G E

Avy BM Cy, ocso T K, osbL S. C K NB T M P, ocso

MW1 C F:I M T

Thomas Merton, ocsoMW2 S H: Sp B Jean-Marie Howe, ocsoMW3 I P: R Nv Maureen F. McCabe, ocso

MW4 T M: Pp R John Eudes Bamberger, ocsoMW5 C C: A G M P Augustine Roberts, ocsoMW6 P S G: A C R Robert Thomas, ocsoMW7 D G S:

A Az A T T

Guy Oury, osb


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monastic wisdom series: number eight

A Monastic Visionfor te 21st Centry


E y

Pk H, ocso

I y

D B Ov, ocso

CISTERCIAN PBLICATIONSKz, M


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C P, 2006A v

Cistercian PublicationsE Of

T I C SW M vy

Kz, M 49008-5415p@.

The work of Cistercian Publications is made possible in part by support fromWestern Michigan University to The Institute of Cistercian Studies.

Ly C C--P DA v 21 y : ? / y Pk H ; y B Ov.

p. . (M ; . 8)I p .ISBN-13: 978-0-87907-057-1 (k. pp)ISBN-10: 0-87907-057-9 (k. pp)

1. Monastic and religios lie. I. Hart, Patrick. II. Title: Monasticv y-f y. III. S.

BX2435.M587 200625522

2006010971

Printed in the United States of America


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

F xPatrick Hart, ocso

I xDom Bernardo Olivera, ocso

S D P D 1Bonnie Thurston

T M P F 23

Michael Casey, ocso

T S I 43Kathleen Norris

T F W M 57Terrence Kardong, osb

M S:S R Ivy T 73

Lawrence S. Cunningham

O V N A 89Joan Chittister, osb

M: A P Ppv 105

Robert Morneau, D.D.

F V C L 21 Cy 119

John Eudes Bamberger, ocso


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v A Monastic Vision for the 21st Century

E: T H M 145Gail Fitzpatrick, ocso

T W H?M C Ty 165

Francis Kline, ocso

T F M:A V W 185

Daniel P. Coughlin

N W Ay: O Lk G 199Mary Margaret Funk,osb

Ep: Lectio E P 225Miriam Pollard, ocso

N C 231


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x

FOREWORD


by Patrick Hart, ocso

At the frst meeting o the new board o directors o CistercianPulicatin llwing the alliance with Liturgical Pre inJanary o 2005 at Mepkin Abbey near Charleston, Soth Carolina,the uggetin wa made y the participant that we huldy p v y o monasticism. I was asked to contact not only monks and nns

o the monastic tradition, bt also laypersons who have had a very p xp v y.

My q xp y: xp 21 y hw d yu ee it ideally incarnated r the uture? I aked adozen persons to contribte to this volme which we elt wold

y k

y k vthe wrld. Then, t, witne the extrardinary ppularity Tz, y B Iy k p y.

A y v v k realize, each participant approached the sbject rom a very per-sonal perspective. As ar as I know none o the athors contactedne anther t cmpare nte a the wrk prgreed. S we

p pp p, q v y .

Op v B T her anchorage otside o Wheeling, West Virginia, which sets the


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tone or what ollows. Im happy she incldes in her very personaleay tw pem, which alance the pre pem Sr. Miriam

P Ep. Ty k - pvv p y k nun the Benedictine and Citercian peruain, mixed in yp v v deire nthing much a t ee it cntinue t urih in they G p.

O corse, we all know that there is nothing in the Scriptreswhich aure u that mnaticim a we have knwn it in the

W P. W py y, ytimes a day, that the reign o God will be established in or midst, p y v y.

W I y y I k C W pt yung men and wmen wh ater cmpleting their cllegewrk, and ere deciding n a lie ituatin, wuld retire t a

monastery or several years as part o their growth process, mchk H Z B k F E v r centurie. Mt thee men and wmen wuld return t , py p C , ppthem r the aweme repniilitie raiing a amily in aseclar cltre with its emphasis on doing and having rather than . I y p y

etting wuld deepen the pern cmmitment t Chritianprinciples and develop moral vales that wold remain with theseyung men and wmen r the ret their live. I al hped y wold decide to make it their lies vocation and enter the monas- y p .

The dzen authr have in the llwing page explredsome o these possibilities with orthrightness which might prove

challenging. Fr. Michael Casey and Sr. Joan Chittister in partic-lar er new way incarnating the mnatic charim whichme may fnd prvcative. Mnk and nun wh have eenwell seasoned in the monastic way, reecting on their many years fy W ,

x A Monastic Vision for the 21st Century


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Foreword x

k -dutedly unettle the atifed, and atiy the unettled, t

paraphrae Drthy Day dictum, t ditur the cmrtale .Fr. Terrence Kardongs stimlating presentation is a master-

p . H q C k Cy v , ppy p y. Axy Bp R Mo Green Bay knows monasticism well having made retreats and

p k p -ot the world. He approaches the sbject o the tre o monas-ticism rom a poetic perspective (mainly George Herbert) which . L C vy ND p y k v - xp, pk p vy .

T y y F. J E B G Ay,

Sr. Gail Fitzpatrick o Mississippi Abbey, and Fr. Francis Kline oMepkin Abbey articlate a solid monastic vision bilt on a tradi- k , p the Spirit wrk in ur wn time. They preent the uture y p p, p p Sp.

Fr. Daniel P. Coghlin, chaplain to the Hose o Representa-tives, writes o how his yearly retreats in monasteries, both Bene-

C, v y vthe years, both in his home diocese o Chicago, and more recently W, DC. K N y xpwith monks over the years, especially at the Ecmenical Institteat Cllegeville, where he lived with her huand, the pet,David Dwyer. Her writing in Cloister Walk and in her contribtion v xp p v v

v y.Finally, cling thi vlume i Sr. Mary Margaret Funk

v k v 2030 yIrish Abbess Bridgit to her new ondation in northern Michigan.T v p v


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x A Monastic Vision for the 21st Century

o monasticism rom her dialoge with Abbess Gertrde and thenvice wh experience a great deire r the mytical lie. It

recalls Karl Rahners well-known saying that in the tre Chris- y .A wrd gratitude i in rder t each the cntriutr

to this volme. May their insights encorage others to share theirv 21 y - .


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x

INTRODuCTION

A Monastic Vision for the 21stCentury

by Dom Bernardo Olivera, ocso

Instittions with a long history and a tradition bilt p overthe centurie uually lk mre at the pat than at the uture.Baed n what we can ee, Chritian mnatic lie a it exittoday in western, North-Atlantic contries is no exception to thistendency. That i why a k that trie t teer the mnaticviin int the uture i ne that tir u up rm lethargy,

challenges s, encorages s, and even flls s with a new enth-.

Human hitry hw a certain cntinuity in it ngingp. S . T k y y y past even thogh open to new developments and exposed to theinevitale uncertainty the uture. In ther wrd, it will ethe ame a nw, ut dierent, with the ame aic mtivatin

ehind it, ut in new hitrical rm which will alway e .

Fr etter r r wre, I am quite hrtighted when it p . My k y pj y . WI am asked or a word abot the tre o monastic lie, necessityrather than virte makes me only able to talk abot my longings p, y y .

T put it riey, my deire r the uture mnaticimare reduced t lnging r a mnatic lie deeply rted in theGp L J C y G Fand the divinization o men, women, and the niverse. Realism, , y k


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xv A Monastic Vision for the 21st Century

mnatic re-evangelizatin. Thi gpel prce implie threedierent realitie which are intimately related ne t anther,

y, , , .

REFOuNDATION

R x y-cal experience the wh frt unded the mnatic way lie. There i a tranrming encunter with the Alute One.

Thi encunter i the ruit a dedicated earch r the LivingGd. Search and encunter are lived in the purifed pain P.

I p ppo this quaerere Deum is obviosly the loving enconter with God.All mnatic lie i a way t thi end, and thi way i traveledevery day, thanks to a certain nmber o meditations or exercitia.Among the exercises practiced yesterday, today, and always, the

ollowing shold be listed: silent and continal prayer, litrgicalprayer centered in the Eucharit, lectio divina, the aceticim asting, Vigils, work, volntary poverty, and the dierent renn-ciations (chastity and obedience) leading to the hearts conversionand purifcatin, with everything lived in a climate litude .

Our cenitic earch r Gd i lived in a cntext inter-pernal and cmmunal relatinhip. Koinonia, r lie in the

cmmunin lve, i al eential t ur mnatic traditin.We search or and fnd God in commnity. Saint Benedict says ituccinctly: May he ring u all tgether t everlating lie!(RB 72,12). W : y G, L .

T p, v k G imprtant reality in their lie i fnding him. It i preciely that

k y p cre their earch. Mnatic lie le all it meaning iy pv G k y, it i Gd himel wh call, purife, emrace, and tranrm p y zz v


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Love. I monastic lie in the tre is not a living, pdated edition Song of Songs, v vy y

generatin! Mnatic undatin in the uture have t eunded n the cnvictin that withut mytery there i ny y .

RENEWAL

R

N Cv v G C v . I , y ,pp f y p v Chrit, wh i Gd made man r ur alvatin. The radicalnature thi ptin r Chrit i experienced in ardent and v .

Or monastic lie today opens p to an nknown tre. Weare invited to ollow Jess by embracing the blessed radicalism o

the Gospel. Or tre will depend on or reply to this challenge.It is not a qestion o having a monopoly on the radical ollowingo Christ, bt o being aithl to or identity. The words o Jessare challenging: Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:49).The Master is telling s that or lie does not consist o traditions,, p, v, p v f F v. Treqirement o love brings s to the very roots o Jess teaching,

namely the kingdm Gd a Father every human pernand the niversal brotherhood or sisterhood that ows rom thisdivine atherhd. Radical nun and mnk are the wh arerooted and grounded in love (Ep 3:17), rooted in him and built up onhim (C 2:7). I v I p v v p , y p p: v v vy.

REFORM

R y -

Introduction xv


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xv A Monastic Vision for the 21st Century

culturally meaningul. Hitry teache u that the piritualxp y vy k

instittionalization so as to become meaninglly commnicable.These instittional orms are always provisional, conditioned bytime and place. Their relevance i determined y a dule, y y p p xpo the onder and the possibility o bearing a meaningl witness C .

T y. W v v Gv

in the Chrch. More specifcally, crcial decisions will oten havet e dicerned and made. The ject ur dicernment andp :

- z p y;

reordering or economic strctre in relation to a globalizingworld which shoves its poorer elements to one side. Yet this

reordering mst avoid getting caght p in this world to the p;

readjsting or work so as to have it serve the spirital pr-p x;

y xp p G p ;

simpliying the orms taken by athority, to make it serve thecommnity and each person in particlar both aectionately vy;

examining the meaningulne many ur yml,, xp;

earching r new rm in which t live me traditinalv, , pvy, y, , ,

.

A mnk and nun we certainly have a lng try t tell, G p, v y . T special place reserved in prgatory or those monks and nns o


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all age wh in y eing lavihly aithul t traditin intead v

ther. There i al a crner prepared r the wh rerm , , k y .

In the cntext mnatic re-evangelizatin, experienceteache u tw thing: that it i eaier t raie up a dead mnk v v , v . D v,retrogrades or pioneers, asleep or awake, we all dream o a more

, y v , y.Perhap in the pat we have een t prudent and nw

we are too arsighted. We need a little more passion and slightlyle lgic! Nt, hwever, any type pain, ut Gd wnp. I p v v man, preach the revoltion o the Kingdom o heaven, and fnallyunderg the upreme pain: dying n a cr ut lve

v.

Introduction xv


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1

SOLI DEO PLACERE DESIDERANS

by Bonnie Thurston

INTRODuCTION

The invitatin Jeu t Hi aptle when they returnweary rm the miin n which He ent them (Mark 6:7-13)

contains the whole o the monastic project: Come away by yor-v y p, (Mk 6:31). T away i t eparate ne el rm everyday lie, the larger, p k, meaning hly. It encmpae the renunciatry apect mnaticim. By yurelve eem t ugget the litude an individated lie, one which resists the conormity and massprodced-ness o society. Bt as the pronon in Greek is plral,

it is, in act, an invitation to alternative commnity, to relationshipwith all wh che t withdraw. T a deert place cnjurep images o the geographical remoteness traditionally associated (py C) . B can be nderstood in contrast to city. To be invited to the desert v v p y, v -tral norm or a holier alternative. The desert is the place where G. R p (

?) v, lie i rganized: leiure. T ret i nt t e idle, ut t avid vy pv p y . T v p xy, cares on the One who cares ltimately or s. As Jacqes Winandy,


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2 A Monastic Vision for the 21st Century

A Cvx Lx, , T y .1

I v L y . T v behind the ollowing remarks. Athors in this volme were askedto write essays describing the monastic vision and how the mo-nastic charism cold be incarnated in the new millennim. Also,what culd the church and the wrld expect rm uch an au-thentic monastic witness dring the 21st centry? When I askedor clarifcation, it was sggested that I (who am not technically

a vowed monastic bt who has long acqaintance with monasticliteratre and has recently been living as a semi-solitary) write v y, the church and the wrld expect rm thi kind lie. It aymething at the utet when a well-knwn Citercian ak aP .

O f 500 year and the Wetern church are nt nrmative r tw

millennia o Christianity. As Enzo Bianchi, Prior o the Monastery B, precedes the divisions in the church2(italics his). It incldes, bt does not begin with St. Basil o Caesareaand St. Benedict o Nrsia. St. Benedict o Aniane (d. 821) persadedC q Ep the Benedictine rule, and thi had enrmu cnequence, utthere have been many orms o religios lie both beore and aterSt. Benedict Nuria. Fr example, rm the mid-4th century

Eyp k fugamundi (ight rm the wrld, cming away a per Jeuv) v.

Again, while the sppression o the monasteries and hermit-ages in England in 153738, and the general Protestant resistance , , y p rm Chritian lie. What pleae Gd will endure. Indeed,

1 Jq Wy, B Spy, p. 28. (y I v p k

p .)2 Enzo Bianchi, Monastic Lie and the Ecmenical Dialoge, booklet printed

y the Mnatery Be (Magnan, Italy, 2001), the text a talk given nA 26, 1999, p. 9. H M L.


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v v P (example the Brderho and other sects o the radical reormation

in Eurpe, the Shaker in America, r the Cmmunaute deGrandchamp). The Augutinian, Martin Luther, wa critical monastic lie, bt later Kierkegaard nderstood it as a remindero the dierence between ollowing Christ and worldliness. Then,with Adol von Harnack, Dietrich Bonhoeer, and Karl Barth, themonasticforma vitae once again began to be accepted as legitimateand evangelical.3 As recently as the 1980s some American Prot- p -

cim t retre a lt dimenin pirituality.4

I think it iprecisely its spiritality that monasticism has to oer the chrch , T M y BPp M Spy, ,poverty, obedience, silence, hmility, manal labor, prayer andp py .5

What eem currently t e the diminihment mnatic, (

is crcial) vocations, may, in the great sweep o Christian history,pv . Cy xp k Tz F B Iy . I y p decline, ut change. The tw are very dierent. That ring y p q .I p I k v 27 years as an academic I resigned a proessorship in New Testa-

v y x the hermit the Celtic church ere the Synd Whity rthe English chrch o the 14th centry, living the lie bt withot v ( y v ).

Where does monasticism go rom here? What is the monasticv 21 y? F y hermitage. For monasticism generally, I sspect the way orward

3 B, M L, 4.4 Jame T. Baker, Benedict Children and Their Separated Brther and

S, The Christian Century XCVII/39 (D 3, 1980) 1191.5 I T M, The Monastic Journey (K Cy: S A

MM, I., 1977) 36. HMonastic Journey.

Soli Deo Placere Desiderans 3


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is back to the roots, bt roots reshly envisioned and newly artic-. I pvy, y, , y v

v , , , -. S q py lie stance or Christian virte that each o the traditional vows is ?6

As a way o getting at the attractions o the monastic tradi-tion, my essay begins with the story o my response to Jess invi-tatin t cme away and with my wrking ut a rule lie.The pint i nt el-revelatin (hrrr!), ut a decriptin

I k p p y . Eywhat drew me t the mnatic way wa it hpitality, pen-, . T, , -stantive, part o this essay describes these monastic gits to chrchand wrld. The reader might wih t prgre directly t that.

AuTOBIOgRAPhICAL ExCuRSuS

I have enrmu heitatin aut writing autigraphi-y. I , J py , -the-scale introvert, a private person with a strong sense o who ? B v , y v vv p. Pp pv y

tale. Fr gd r ill, a lie ha a teaching unctin, jut a themonastery has a teaching nction by being what it is. Prior EnzoBianchi Be nte we reveal the reality the kingdm G y v.7 O .

I was raised by aithl parents in the Christian Chrch, wasreligiu a a child and ervant my whle lie. Frm high I p I

6 I k p y L P Reli-gious Vows, the Sermon on the Mount, and Christian Living. T I v p v p vp.

7 Enz Bianchi, What Spirituality De Mnatic Lie Oer the Church?k p y My B (M, Iy, 2001), x k v Fy 20, 2000, p. 12. H W Spy.


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t chl. I didnt knw that eing gd at mething dentnecessarily mean yo shold give yor heart to it. I did a B.A. in

Englih and philphy at a mall church-related lieral artcllege and an M.A. in Englih literature at a large pulic uni-vy. Lk S. B, y p I .In the corse o Ph.D. work, becase o the inence o a gloriosparih church and a dituring religiu viin, my interetshited rom literatre to the spirital lie. I wrote one o the earlydiertatin n Thma Mertn which intrduced me t m-naticim and t wrld religin which, alng with cripture,

I qy .During the 1970, the perid my graduate wrk, I re-quented the Anglican cnvent All Saint Siter the Prin Catonsville, Maryland. It is a great mystery that, althogh I did v v pv y, p y . A p I Sp 23, 1978, y p, me are the essence o monasticism: hospitality, stability, openness

y.

All Saints Convent

I ,

D ,

Y k

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W k,

B .

W j y, k

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W pk .

Twenty year int an academic career, I experienced aninsistent sense o dis-ease with my work (with which everybodyelse seemed happy). On retreat in 1995 the idea o lie as a solitary



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are. That year I let a Jeuit cllege t teach at a Preyterianseminary, a place that was generos to me, bt where I never elt

at hme. A Thma Mertn riend, Rert Lax, quipped, Iyo fnd yore part o a commnity that starts to hiss at yo itstime t leave.8 Increaingly I undertd that what I have t v x p v .

W p y p f v I p p v k . I I , ; I py

warning label that says does not play well with others! Solitde y , p -y, y p y. A C ,I we retire to solitde or secret places, withot or alts beingf , p p, p eeling them i nt extinguihed.9 Quite. I wih I had knwn p v p v py

.10

I 2 , mall penin (I wa widwed in 1990 ater 10 year mar-11), , y . I f(correctly) that I cold spplement my income by giving retreatsand talks and writing. I realized this was a trade-o, and I woldnt

, y.A x p, I , p

ecaue mnaticim alway invite pern t live rdered

lives.12 In Genesis, God moves over the ace o chaos to create an

8 Qoted in Peter France,Hermits: The Insights of Solitude (New York: St. MartinsP, 1996) 202.

9 Cassian, Conerence o Abbot John, Chapter 12 in Philip Scha and HenryW (.), Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (N Yk: T C LCpy, 1894) 494. (M y C y E C. S. G.)

10 M My C, slg, E Rvv A C 20th Century, in A. M. Allchin (ed.), Solitude and Communion: Papers on the

Hermit Life (Fairacres, Oxord: S.L.G. Press, 1977/1983) 73. Hereater Solitude andCommunion.

11 Fr hw thi ft int my mnatic ent ee my article Mnaticim andM, Contemplative Review 7/1 (W, 1984).

12 See Bonnie Thrston, Rles o Lie, Spirituality 9/47 (March/April, 2003)7376.


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rdered univere. That i al the paradigm r the emergenceo the spirital lie. However monasticism evolves (and like every

other species, i it does not evolve, it will die), that evoltion willnot abandon ordering principles or the lie becase as Esther deWaal writes a well-ordered lie-style is more likely to encorage y-z .13

In act a rle o lie is another monastic contribtion to the . I va strctred lie is contercltral and wildly npoplar. Doingyur wn thing i dated 60 language, ut very much in evi-

y pp v. Y Ci t e edient t a Gd wh ha given the elved, chenpp . Ry, vy-one is constrained by something; what? is the crcial qestion.T what will we e edient? A reader thi eay knw,edience cme rm the Latin obedire which hare a rt audire . A, y, S. B Obscu-lata, , . . . y .14 A ,

obedience to a rle o lie inclines the whole person (the heart) G. C ( y , ) lie implies choice o that to which we will be obedient, to which .

Rule reect the Greek kanon (which can e tranlatedlimit, phere, r rule) and the Latin regula, trelli. A trelliupprt a plant grwth heavenward; it upprt what cantpp . Pp vy

pint cu (a any undiciplined child r lawle cietyillstrates). An explicit trellis or lie gives the strctre in which,t paraphrae Thma Mertn, ur reedm can deply itelin joy.15 This joy is the reason or Jess teachings: These thingsI v pk y, y jy y y, yjoy may be ll (matred or perected John 15:11). The reason

13 E W, Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict (Cv: LP, 1984) 116. H Seeking God.

14 Qutatin rm the Rule are rm Timthy Fry, osb (ed.), The Rule oSt. Benedict (Cv: L P, 1981) 157. H Rule.

15 Thomas Merton, Time and the Litrgy, in Seasons of Celebration (New York:F, S, Gx, 1950/1977) 46.



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p v G p jy. A y y B. R Tz

wrote i yo sbmit to a . . . rle, yo can only do so on accont Chrit and the Gpel. . . . S, ar rm graning under the , j . . .16

I z I p , y jurney it wa ignifcant t tudy mnatic rule and t writemy own. It kept me gronded in the act that, even or solitaries, , py , crcial to reglate daily activity with regard to prayer, work, and

rest. This is the practical vale o a rle; it helps keep lie properlyoriented, ordered, balanced, and simplifed. Order, balance, andimplicity hardly characterize lie in the wrld tday. (Theeence the rule I devied appear in an appendix t thiy.)

Hv v y p x yown lie, I now trn to what I take to be its basic lie orientationsand the vales they oer the chrch and the world. I do so know-

y v y p y k .

ThE gIFTS OF MONASTICISM

T v: pvy, y, , y,

-plicity, to hone the personality to receive more completely Christs v. Conversatio morum p Lectio Divina,and liturgical and cntemplative prayer are al ignifcant a-pects o the monastic charism. The practical qestions are: Whatare the maniestations o these vows and charisms that draw sols ? H y ?I ugget three mnatic attitude that attracted me, that have

y C -cism, and that I think will endre: hospitality, open heartedness,

16 B. R Tz, Parable of Community (L: My, 1984) 11.


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and detachment. Thee three attitude are intrinically inter-related and are the ruit mnatic prein when it i well

v y v y.

Hospitality

Hpitality i imply the graciu receptin the guet(Latin hospitalis, o a gest), any gest. It is a response to Christstatement, I wa hungry and yu gave me d, I wa thirtyand yo gave me drink, I was a stranger and yo welcomed me

(M 25:35). T L S. Bp p p All p v C.17 Sy Regula Orientalis p j everyone , v p y v . . .18 ( q ).Interetingly, in all the reurrectin appearance trie in theGp, C y pp ( k

A G 18 y, vy J G 32:22-32) , , -nized one. In a world which increasingly ears, shns, and demon-ize the ther, mnatic tand ready t take in rather thanclose o others precisely becase, as Mother Teresa o Calcttanted, Chrit ten cme in unrtunate diguie. In thicntext, it i ueul t rememer that the Latin cnntatin gest is somewhat darker than the English word; hostis means

y. S py p - y k v v , xp v y.

In reading the literature the 4th-century mnatic I amtruck y the aence judgment r cndemnatin guetwho arrive. Generally they are received withot jdgment o thetate in which they arrive. The Secnd Rule the Father, L v v

than a humle receptin and peace; let him nt e therwie

17Rule 255.18 Carmela Vircill Franklin et al. Tranl. Early Monastic Rules (Cllegeville:

L P, 1982) 75.



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, y . . .19 A j pv

the ormer characteristically invites chosen riends and the latteraccept whmever hw up. When I frt received mnatichospitality, I was oten staggered by the variety o people who sat . N I f y , p-l image o those who come rom east and west, and rom north , k G (Lk 13:29).I y, pv v G p y.

A v, py D B .

T p, k p, C x

pp C py

p G. V v

in lneline recgnize in each ther the Chrit wh i

present in the body; they receive and meet each other as one

meets the Lord, in reverence, hmility, and joy. They receive

each ther enedictin a the enedictin the LrdJ C.20

Whether we recognize it or not, we live together in a web o inter-p. Cy and political levels. Bt it is also tre at a deeper level. In The Wayof Simplicity: The Cistercian Tradition Esther de Waal notes, havingnthing ne wn i t need ther, and mre than that, t

need God.21

Interdependence is proondly tre on the spiritalv v y .I y, A. M. A , v y , y f ther.22 Thi implie that mewhere we encunter the ther.W xp y

19 Franklin 35. And recall numeru the trie the deert ather and

.20 D B, Life Together (L: SCM P, L., 1958) 10.21 Ether de Waal, The Way o Simplicity: The Cistercian Tradition (Maryknll:

O Bk, 1998) 74. H Way of Simplicity.22 A. M. A, T Sy V. S T C,

Solitude and Communion 4.


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are taken in with respect and reverence and love? And where, inor world, does that commnity exist i not in the chrch? Rowan

William ha written, The church i the cmmunity thewho live in God-like relation to one another. The chrch is thecmmunity the verwhelmed y their indetedne tGd ree grace, that they live in a tate glad and grateul .23 T y A A - v v .

I am uggeting that mnaticim prvide the alance t

the rampant and (dare I say it?) replsive individalism in Ameri-can (i nt Wetern) culture. At it et mnatic hpitalityimage the penne Gd wh accept all cmer. And thatpy p y guet, ut the divine guet and unamiliar thught and. T ora, p, y hpitality a it repreent th the human lnging r Gdto be present among s and the hman response to Gods invita-

. Wp y py v. I p y vthe Host. As Merton noted, Litrgy demands o s the sacrifceo what is merely individalistic and eccentric in or lives . . .24By means o common worship we pilgrims throgh this barren G v -v. T y they [monks] enter into the intimate lie o the Chrch, and make

their own its thoghts, its sentiments, its interests.25 This is tre y , C.

Similarly, hpitality extend t idea a well a pern.Sp p , it huld remain . But, hitrically mnaterie were centero learning, caldrons in which new ideas stewed. This opennesst new thinking, t unamiliar idea need, nce again, t eimaged r the larger ciety r we live in a perid hitry

23 Rowan Williams, Christian Imagination in Poetry and Polity (Fairacres, Oxord:SLB P, 2004) 8.

24 M,Monastic Journey 29.25 Wy 45.



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when dierent r unamiliar i equated with dangeruor evil. The spirital reading that monastic lie encorages can

be an example o the opening o the intellectal and inner or heartlie to the ideas o others. We se the idiom entertain ideas, btin what contexts do we do it? Sch openness is vital in the Rle oTaize which says simply and powerlly, Love yor neighbor,whatever his religios or ideological point o view.26 Especially p pz, p v xp p and thoghts can be welcomed, listened to, discssed, and nder-

stood i not always agreed with or ltimately accepted. The kind py I pk, v , , v, , y p p.

Openheartedness

The lie orientation that allows one to be hospitable is open-

heartedne. Br. David Steindl-Rat, osb, ha written mvinglyn the heart. Whenever we peak the heart, we mean the p. Oy . T that center ur eing where we are ne with urelve, ne , G.27 Op be hospitable and generos, bt it presmes that we have ond,k, v . W p v vital heart center i ten rkenheartedne. The hell arund

the heart mst be broken or the lie within to emerge. And when , G all people. Bt the process o rending and healing is navoidableand reqires heart hospitals, places where the sick at heart and k . O py v y py py, W B Y p , pcenter o personality, another physic is reqired, one monasticism

26 B. R 13.27 Br. David Steindl-Rat, osb, Grateulness, The Heart o Prayer (New Yrk:

Palist Press, 1984) 202. And see also his bookA Listening Heart (New York: Cross-, 1999).


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ha traditinally prvided y mean it guet hue andp .

Openhearted living require the pychlgical health thatcme rm exitential knwledge ne el a prundlyloved. The ltimate expression o sch love is Gods openhearted . A y vthat lve directly. Mt u frt encunter it reected in thev . O k y v,

ut t learn hw t receive it a git even a ur Lrd receivedthe git the aninting wman (Mark 14:3-9). That mean we

need t encunter unelfh lver and generu cmmunitie v. Iy, y p pp v the heart, and ths monasticism can be the place and means pening the heart center t the git lve, accepting it, di-pening it. Many u eek mnatic hpitality preciely e- v, v.

W v k y ,Wild West image o circling p the wagons. In a cltre o close

p p, p py v y py -p. Cy y kmnatic ideal detachment rm thing, ut, mre pr-y, p-. M Av y u thing r el-preervatin: igger, aer car r hue;cosmetics; drgs; gadgets. Oten, ironically, called time savers,we waste or time preserving these things and are, in act, owned

y . E W Ap vy . . . C py ppv p ycan exercise.28 Or cltre teaches s to save orselves, whileor Lord teaches s to give orselves away. For whoever woldave hi lie will le it; and whever le hi lie r my akeand the gospels will save it (Mark 8:35). Monasteries shold beplace where neither el nr tu i harded ut reely given,

and thu pened up t ull and jyul lie, and, cnequently,aved. The Greek wrd r ave and heal i the ame.

28 W, Seeking God 102.



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Thi attitude penheartedne encmpae the tradi- v pvy y y

mve, nt away rm, ut tward the pr and marginalized, v p y rom possession. Living rom a stance o openheartedness meansv koinonia, , y y pyy v lie. They are s. Evagris said the monk is one who is separatedrom the world and nited to all. Openheartedness is a retrn to k y; z v-

sality o hman need or things and or love, to experience or , p pv . W y p k p .

In thi regard the Benedictine initence n wrking with (labora) v p. Wk own hands (or backs or minds or what ever part o orselves thatGd call u t er, ut epecially with the dy), pen the

heart t the wh wrk with the hand y neceity and why v . T v xptriblation, or distress, or persection, or amine, or nakedness,or peril, or sword (Rom 8:37) sometimes exhibit a shocking lack cmpain tward the wh regularly uer them. Hardwork, hnger (asting), experience o ncomortable heat or cold,chatity, all the traditinal aceticim, are tl that chiel the

.

But penheartedne i al a crrective r t evereasceticism. Flight rom the world has sometimes been mistaken y. T thelgy and wre practice. In hi k A Listening HeartB. Dv S-R, osb, k p - . T p G, ,starts at the gates o perception.29 A listening heart recognizesin the thring reality pulating againt all ur ene the

v .30 A

29 S-R,A Listening Heart 27.30 I., 45.


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B. Dv, y p xpy .

S the call the penhearted lie i al a call t pen-heartedne tward urelve, including iter r rther ehwhich i nt evil, ut impermanent. Matery thi tranitry

dy, nt dminatin it, i what I think St. Benedict had inmind when he aid in the Prlgue t The Rule that he hped , . B, -tined, The good o all concerned . . . may prompt s to a littletrictne in rder t amend ault and t aeguard lve. 31

Amending ur ault and increaing ur lve are exercie r . T vy p, . I v y (, - ) p .

Silence i, a well, an apect penheartedne. AtWinandy wrote, silence imposes a barrier that pts a stop to theallie a particularly reractry aculty. 32 Creating an atm-

phere ilence arund urelve give ther wh apprachs space to live and breathe. Andre Lo says that silence estab-lihe a zne peace and quiet arund the ne wh i ilent,where Gd can e irreitily elt a preent. 33 And it i alp v ,and listening is an important kind o openness to others. Carel,j y py.T v, pp, , -

, G p k -p p.

Detachment

I py q p, p-ne require detachment, that extrardinary aility t allwthings and people to be as they are. It is important to nderstand

that detachment i nt indierence, nt an aence caring.

31Rule 165.32 Wy 43.33 Q W, Way of Simplicity 79.



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Etymologically, detached means set apart (and is ths related p , p

pp), , p reedm. We are peaking painate eparatene nt cldpy. A C They Speak By Silences, T pp C v-ing nothing. This is terribly wrong. Never has there been a heartmre lving than the heart Jeu, and ur heart huld emdelled [ic] n Hi.34 Br. David Steindl-Rat cncur whenhe explains, . . . detachment is not a withdrawal rom love, bt

an expansion o love beyond desire.35

Detachment is or the sake v, disinterested , possible work, or the good o another. Hospitality, openhearted-, pv v , . Ty y S. Passerted, that or commonwealth [or citizenship] is in heaven(Phil 3:20). Bt it is detachment that gives monasticism its moraly.

F pp v , y, kp, pp p. M pp p ,in particular, in the given their particular circumtanceand culture that they either le ight , r never raie theiry p. T Palm 17:14-15 in the Episcopal Daily Ofce Book (Year One)decrie the iue with thi petitin: Deliver me, O Lrd, y

yur hand / rm the whe prtin i lie in thi wrld; /Whose bellies yo fll with yor treasre, / who are well sppliedwith children and leave their wealth t their little ne. TheP , B y v I y ;/ when I awake, I hall e atifed, ehlding yur likene(P 17:16).

Let u admit that there exit an almt univerally un-acknowledged slavery to cstom, cltre, and ashion, to con-

smerism and aenza. Most o s in the world operate with

34 .., They Speak By Silences (Kz, M: C P,1966) 24.

35 S-R,A Listening Heart 101.


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y y ( y p y ecnmic ytem rparticularly inidiulytate) right r

. O p v attachment, ig r little, which hld u und . . . that wecan be ree to be gided by God.36 At its best, monasticism awak-ens one rom these limitations to the awareness o God and Godsppv. I , k v, T M -f k y k p .37 Oy have some measre o detachment and atonomy rom the way

thing are, rm the ale authrity they ay and they p y p k k pquetin, why i it thi way? Only the wh che t liveutide r at leat lightly within the accepted tempral ytem v y v ppv q. R M monastic renewal, Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland highlighted p fuga mundi f v-

istic withdrawal rom the trials and trobles o the world arondhim ut a a mnatic ditancing himel t help t ring pv py y.38

The pre-Constantinian Chrch and, at least in the frst millen-nim o the chrch, its monastics were positioned to be the moralv py y accepted and acceptable power strctres. When the monasteries

p -

tin wa cmprmied. When mnaticim aligned itel with v y ( role in it!), it lost its way and desperately needed the sbseqentreorms to invigorate the lie. The degeneration o monasticism,nted the late C. W. Previte-Ortn, wa a recurrent theme

36 .., Where Silence Is Praise (Kz, M: C P,1997) 88.

37 N B . ., (.), The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton (N Yk:N D, 1973) 329.

38 B. Pk H (.), Survival or Prophecy? The Letters of Thomas Merton andJean Leclercq (N Yk: F, S Gx, 2002) xv.



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M A.39 I y v py mnaticim lt the detachment that cntitute it mral

y.But, a imprtant a it i, detachment perate n a mrep v -p. D -mental piritual attitude intrinically related t reverence andchastity and even ecology. Detachment rom things allows themt arie in their thi-ne, their created eauty and glry. It v p py yexit and nt ecaue they fll me need in u. A uch, it i a

theological basis or ecology on every level and is closely relatedt the vw chatity undertd in it widet ene a thereual t pe, t manipulate, t explit.40 In thi cntext,Ez B A ( xp- !) y - v(amor ordinatus) that does not sbordinate greater things to lesserones.41 Chastity and reverence are closely related. As LawrenceFreeman, osb, nte, A ene reverence i rn in a gap

wonder.42

We can only wonder at that which we do not possess,grap at, r lut ater. Thing and pern are nt mean t, ( p), p,lved, wndered at, reverenced, allwed t exit in their wnG-v p. Ay x v p.

St. Paul wrte t the Crinthian having nthing, andyet peing everything (2 Cr 6:10). (Nihil habentes omnia

possidentes A S S P If v .) I mnaticim apire piritually a well a ecnmically r ma-terially. Detachment allw ne t live an unencumered lie.When we are nencmbered, we can move easily, a trth o boththe external and internal lie. Detachment i an attitude whichter reedm, reedm rm t e ure, ut al reedm

39 C. W. Previte-Ortn, The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History (Camridge:C vy P, 1960) I: 506.

40 W, Seeking God 102.41 Ez B, Words of Spirituality (L: SPCK, 2002) 76.42 L F, osb, Light Within (N Yk: C, 1987) 94.


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t, in thi cae t reverence and t lve withut retraint rpv. D , ppy p

Therea Mancu, t live in the wrld withut ecmingy.43

A v in of alivene which r St. Irenaeu defned the glry Gd. Thecled-heartedne and peivene that characterize y pp ppy yp k v-ne. There are a lt zmie walking arund in expenive j, pp

cmpletely araid lie. But when we prundly undertandthat we dont make, own, or maniplate lie, we are reed to loveit lly and, importantly, to be able to let it go. Detachment gives v and . Iy, vabndantly is oten rooted in an inability to accept death. A loveit and leave it attitde abot lie is an endring git that monas-ticism can give the world. Finally, then, I think monasticism mstv L

(J 10:10).

CONCLuSION

Religiu anthrplgit write aut the mnmythicpattern in rite paage. In uch rite ne prgree rmp y p. A

the otset o this essay I reected that monasticism is in a periodo change, not decline. In act monasticism seems to be in a limi-nal phae develpment, a tranitinal r etween time y , y y py . I y, vv, p-ing a the yung ay. The difcult quetin at uch a time iwhat i eential, the chryali r the pupae, the wrm r thewings? Semper reformada is tre not only or the Chrch, bt or

. T p , v k J Lq T M

43 T M, T H: M L Cy, Reviewfor Religious 55/2 (1996) 138.



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aw it cming are th annying and helpul in the prce.In time liminality we need th the lyalit and the lyal

pp.The etymological root o monasticism is monos, one, notnecessarily one in the sense o solitary or alone, bt onein the ene cu r directin r unity. Gd alne aut p. S. P L, v vy ollowed yo (Mark 10:28). This is the ideal o Christian monas-; vy y C kp H p G (soli Deo placere desiderans

p S. Gy). T p in transition. Whatever is retained, whatever is changed mst ber the ake pleaing Gd alne ecaue the mnatery (rhermitage) is the place where lie is organized so that everythingcan be or Gods pleasre. unless I have badly misnderstood it,mnaticim hpe r the wh undertake the lie i the re-cuing every deire t make Gd it ject. Thi deire rG, G C (..,

holy) nites Christians beyond conessional bondaries. In this . W one-ocsed desire or God is operative, monks and monasteriesare natrally hospitable, openhearted, and remarkably attractive.With thi cncluin, the Lrd wait r u daily t tranlate , , y .44

Sppliant

I y

:

pk p y pp y

k .

Lk y

pp p,

I p

B f y .

44Rule 163.


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I k xy

y k ,

y I

.

B y

I y j I ,

v k

py y,

p , k v

G .

APPENDIx

The llwing i the eential page the rule lie I devied.

These are not vows in the traditional sense, bt more practical p.

Te Rle of Life for Te Ancorae

For God alone my soul waits in silence,for my hope is from him (P 62:5).

Be still and know that I am God . . . (P 46:10).

Pro Christi, Pro Amore

I respond in love and joy to a long-standing call on my lie whichI k v G vy H.

H S. My Eyp.S jy p.

My act repentance and renunciatin i nt nly r my , v , y k .



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I k y :

T k

T G y y

T v G

To give my lie or spirital balance in the niverse as a place/p p, , y

Te Orderin of te Life

Daily

M, , py & p

Sy, /k, /

Weekly

Sy y p yy . T M

E ( ky, qy v)

Service to others at least day a week (work at ood pantry,v p )

Two days in silence and isolation (except where the demands y v)

Periodically

Sp y

Dy y T A py

O k y

One r tw mnth a year in relative ilatin (n utidek, , v, .)

a monastic vision for the 21st century

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