One of the major factors motivating Robert, Alberic &
Stephen and their companions to leave their monastery of Molesme and begin New
Monastery in the wilderness of Citeaux is recorded in the Exordium Parvum, an ancient text documenting the history of our
Order’s beginnings. The intention of the
first monks is described in this document as desiring “to adhere henceforth
more strictly and more perfectly to the Rule of the blessed Benedict” (quoted
in The Mysticism of the Twelfth Century, p.150). There was in the atmosphere of the Church and
surrounding culture a felt need for ‘reform and renewal’ and certainly this
overarching dynamic affected our founders in their own movement of
renewal. Reform and renewal are not only
about changing external structures and thus Bernard of Clairvaux would insist
on the principle that “all reform must serve the personal renewal that brings
us closer to Christ” (p.150). I do
believe our three founders-Robert, Alberic and Stephen-would have realized that
renewal, external and personal, go hand in hand as they began their new
adventure in Citeaux.
I like to turn now to the last chapter in Michael Casey’s
book An Unexciting Life. It is
the epilogue of this book and is titled “The Monk In the Modern World.” The whole thrust of ‘consecrated life’ active
and contemplative is to further the ‘kingdom of God’. In this epilogue Michael Casey lists ways
that monastics can contribute to the world today and help to bring forth the
kingdom of God. The ways he describes
echo St. Benedict’s whole orientation in the Rule and I think characterize realities
that guided our founders in their pursuit of salvation, of bringing forth the
kingdom of love, peace and justice. While
Michael Casey mentions twelve ways I like to refer just to a few of them. The first is ‘faith’. This is an adult mature faith that has
suffered and struggled with darkness and doubt, and in the midst of this has
received grace and found the face of God’s love, Christ. The personal and communal witness of faith is
on-going and radical for faith as expressed in Guadium et Spes shows its fruitfulness “by penetrating the
believer’s entire life...” (p.507).
Alone and together as a monastic community faith is to penetrate our
entire life…this is our daily walk! We
can certainly imagine the faith that our founders lived and exhibited as they
sought to bring to fruition their call to begin a ‘new monastery’ more faithful
to the spirit of the Rule. Next, Michael
Casey speaks of “continuity”. In our
fast and changing world, in a world permeated with instability, chaos, war,
climate change we stand rooted in a past, a tradition that is living and vital. We will never know for sure all that motivated our founders
to take such a leap into the unknown to begin a ‘new monastery’. We do know that they desired a more simple
monastic lifestyle, one more faithful and in continuity with the spiritual
precepts of the Rule. In terms of the
word ‘continuity’ Michael Casey says: “The faith of the Church is embodied and
transmitted not by logical equations but through images. When Jesus spoke to the crowds he used
parables and most of the Bible is written in poetic, symbolic, colorful
language. To understand revelation it is
necessary to enter into the symbolic world of which it is a part” (p.509). The whole live of a monk is to be revelatory
in this sense of the mythic symbolic life of God’s Word, the Word, communicating
the mystery and healing power of God’s life. There is an inner dimension to God’s Word, it
is poetic, symbolic, it mediates Divine realities, bringing God’s life into our
ordinary lives. The next way that Casey speaks of is “authenticity”. He writes: “Monks are vowed to living an
evangelical life; it is possible for them to embody their response to God’s Word
in a lifestyle….Monks are not proclaiming anything else except what they live;
their life is their proclamation. By
what they are, monks attest to the faith of the Church” (p.510). I don’t see how we arrive at any level of
‘authenticity’ without self-knowledge. Along
with this unfolding knowledge of ourselves is humility: humility and the truth
of ourselves, these are the ingredients of authenticity. If our lives are “characterized by integrity,”
says Michael Casey, “then it is possible that something of the purity of Gospel
truth may be manifested to others” (p.511).
Another way that Michael offers is “simplicity”. Clearly our founders sought a simpler, purer
monastic life than what they were living at Molesme. In our times to live simply is a challenge…we
always ‘want’ and always need ‘this or that’…if this pattern dominates our
lives the spiritual values that we aspire to live recede. Technology can help us simplify but it can
also become an obstacle to keeping our lives simple, clear, poor, beautiful.
Simplicity of heart helps create simplicity of life. Another way is “discipline”. Michael Casey says this of ‘discipline’: “The
essence of discipline is the willingness and capacity to learn….There is more
to discipline than self-control and willpower.
Certainly constancy and the capacity to endure what is not pleasurable
are necessary components of any successful learning process…” (p.513). How open are we to learn through difficult
experiences that come our way…I do think that the capacity to learn has to do
with how open our hearts are to receive wisdom from any source, any person, any
event in our lives…disciples of Jesus are always ready to learn and to live
what they have heard and received. Next
Michael Casey speaks of “non-instinctuality”.
I don’t think he means that we could ever be without instincts as they
are part of our human lives. He is
referring to how our instincts if they are not ‘ordered’, faced, contained impact
our lives and lead us “astray”. This way
is about “emotional enslavement” (p.515).
To quote him: “Unless a monk is free of the enslavement of his own
biology and background, his behavior is not personal; it is the predictable
result of a certain chemistry of events” (p.514).
These “ways” give us a spiritual map outlining something of
what it means to live our “call” as monastics: faith, continuity, simplicity,
discipline, authenticity, right ordering of our emotions. They are continuous with the lives of St.
Benedict and our founders, Robert, Alberic & Stephen. Essentially St. Benedict and our founders had
ONE passion: that was to become like Christ, and to meet Christ in the utter
simplicity of each day of prayer, manual work and community. For our founders: one scriptural passage from
the Song of Songs was really the framework of what they were building and what
they strove to live each day: “He has ordered charity in me” (2:4). With the “emblem of God’s love over us” we
are called and motivated to be ‘lovers’ of the place and of one another and so
to proclaim with our lives the face of God’s love, Christ.
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