Today is the Feast of Saint Benedict. I was blessed to go to a Catholic school that was run by Benedictine monks. My faith was reawakened during my college years. Unfortunately, this is so contrary to the experience of many today, even if they go to a school that is Catholic in name. There are so many souls, who, after leaving the home to go off to college, become lax in the practice of the Faith, and eventually, stop practicing all together. I am grateful that was not the case for me, but it is not because of anything I did, I owe it all to God.
When I started this blog almost a year ago (one year anniversary in a little over a week!), I mentioned I have had a myriad of life experiences. I am single, but I have also been married, spent time in a diocesan seminary, and also spent a brief time after college (and a little during it) discerning a monastic vocation. I have experienced many sides of the Church.
For this post tonight, I would like to reflect briefly on what I learned from the witness particularly of the monastic community. Though I wound up not joining them, I still value the witness they gave me, and value greatly their continued prayers for me as an alumni of the college. Here are some things I try to remember daily, based on their witness.
1) God is holy. The way Benedictines do their liturgy, and the simplicity of their churches, point to a simple transcendent reality that is hard to find at your everyday parish. When you step into one of their churches, you know you are in a place that is "not of this world". You feel loved, yes, but you also realize that in the big scheme of things, how big and awesome God is, and how small we are.
2) God is usually found in the still, silent moments, rather than in the loud. There is a certain low key mannerism to the way Benedictine monks chant their liturgies (Eucharist and Divine Office), and it really, I think, allows God to be heard, in a different way than most of us are used to, even if we go to Sunday parish liturgy regularly. Monks also have what is called "Night Silence", and do not visit each other's rooms at any time, unless it is a medical emergency. This gives each monk the space and time to cultivate that silence, that alone time with the Lord. (Notice I said alone, not lonely, there is a big difference.)
3) Life does not need to be rushed. God is found in the present moment. This kind of goes along with the last point. In addition to being low key, the monks never rush or hurry when they celebrate their liturgies, and if you watch them go about their daily business, one usually sees them not rushing or hurrying anything else either. The more hurried we are, the less likely we are to find God.
4) A healthy life is a balance of prayer, work, and recreation. The Benedictine daily horarium calls for periods of each. There is so much talk today of things like work/life balance. One could do a lot worse to help him or herself live closer to this ideal than spending a few days living the life of a monk.
5) When people are united in a common cause that is greater than themselves, and they are willing to humble themselves for God and each other, it makes the struggle worth it, and people are less likely to stop engaging in the battle. There is peace in the monastery, as a monk told me one time, not because there is no struggle, because everyone is willing to engage the struggle. Even though we all seek God, we all need the help of our fellow believers to find Him. If we lack that support, if others are not interested in the spiritual life, it can be very difficult to find God. How many souls out there today are pleading and dying for lack of a spiritual companion?
All of religious life in the Church is meant to point the world to the realities of heaven. Religious say to all of us that there is more out there than meets the eye. As the Catechism says in paragraph 916, "In the consecrated life, Christ's faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to follow Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is loved above all, and, pursuing the perfection of charity in the service of the Kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the Church the glory of the world to come."
I kind of look at it this way. All Christians are called to have one foot in this world, and one foot in the next. For us laity, though, we lean into this world. We are heading to heaven, but we get there by focusing on making "this" world a better place, more like the Kingdom of God. Religious, on the other hand, have their stronger foot in heaven, and on their road to heaven, their focus is not so much on making "this" world a better place, but rather, on preparing us for the "next" world, which is the fullness of the Kingdom. Because it is focused on the world that does not pass away, religious life is a superior state of life to that of a layman. However, it does not mean that a religious is necessarily a better person than a layman or laywoman, nor does it mean a religious is guaranteed heaven. A man or women in religious life can lose his or her salvation just as easily as any of us can if they do not live out the virtues of faith, hope, and love.
In addition to the Benedictines of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, I have also grown fond of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who staff Saint Joseph the Worker Shrine in Lowell, MA. The Oblates are more missionary than the Benedictines. They do not have a vow of stability like Benedictines do, as they travel about the world for their assignments. The Oblates work with the poor, the sick, run schools, and do staff churches like the Shrine.
The Benedictines' focus, on the other hand, is on the contemplative life, but they usually have an active apostolate, like a school. It is more likely that a Benedictine would stay in one community and work at one school for his entire life than it would be for an Oblate to stay in one assignment for his entire life.
There is great diversity in religious life. There are communities, for example, that are even more dedicated to the contemplative life, such as the Trappists or Carthusians (groups of monks who do not have an active apostolate), or hermits, who live alone and only perhaps weekly meet with up with other hermits for fellowship. There are also communities who focus on giving parish missions, or who focus solely on pro-life work. The diverse list keeps growing. Yes, one may get the impression religious life is dying, but new religious orders are being formed, and some older ones are undergoing reform, and attracting new members. There is a thirst out there for something other than what this world is offering, and some are called to find, and proclaim that, in religious life.
Most religious take three vows; poverty, chastity, and obedience. Religious point us to the transcendent reality that is the fullness of the Kingdom, where God will be all in all, and we will not need anything else. The witness of the vow of poverty shows us that in the Kingdom, we will not need things, because we will delight in God. The witness of the vow of chastity shows us that in the Kingdom, we will not need sex, because the love of God will enrapture us fully. The witness of the vow of obedience shows us that in the Kingdom, we will not need to do our own will, God's will will be our delight.
Let us thank God for the gift of religious life in the Church, for those religious who impacted our life, and continue to do so. And let us pray for more religious vocations so that the reality of the Kingdom of God will be impressed upon more people, and those people in turn will be on fire to tell the world that indeed, "the kingdom of God is at hand." (Mark 1:15).
Joseph married a virgin. Mary lived chaste, poor, and was obedient to God. She lived the vows of a religious perfectly. She was totally and especially consecrated to God, as religious are called to be. Therefore, it makes sense that one of Joseph's titles is "guardian of virgins". In that sense, he can be a guardian for all those in consecrated life who have made the vow to chastity.
Joseph, guardian of virgins, pray for us.
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