The Evangelical Counsels

BenedictinePerspectives: The Sacraments

MONK LIFEFrom the Vocations Office of Saint Meinrad Archabbey Spring 2015 • No. 5

On the cover: The monks process into theArchabbey Church during Mass for the Solemnityof St. Meinrad.

FEATURES2......................................................................From the Editor

4-5 ..........................................................The Evangelical Counsels

6-7............................................................Year of Consecrated Life

8-9......................................................Benedictine Perspectives

10-11 ...........................................................Ministry Spotlight

This online publication can be viewed atwww.saintmeinrad.org/monk-life

Produced by the Vocations Office and the Communications Office of SaintMeinrad Archabbey.

Vocations Office, Saint Meinrad Archabbey100 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577vocations@saintmeinrad.org, www.saintmeinrad.org(812) 357-6318

© 2015

With this issue,Monk Lifeofficiallycelebrates its firstbirthday. Whenwe began thispublication ayear ago, wenever would

have guessed how popular it wouldbecome, not only with would-bemonks, but with long-time monks,oblates and friends of Saint Meinrad.It is the convergence of many talentedindividuals’ labor: writers,photographers, graphic designers,editors; many folks contribute to thebeauty and depth that is Monk Life.

This publication, in effect, then, is theperfect metaphor for the monastery.Many different people converge to

one singular, deserted place to dosomething extraordinary, beautiful,and meaningful. All of us come tothe monastery bearing gifts, giftsthat have been given to us by God,and we, in turn, share those giftsfor the benefit of the communityand the Church as a whole.

While the monastic charism iscertainly its own gift to the life ofthe Church, each one of us bringsour own particular gift to the life ofthe monastery. One having the giftof speech, another the gift of music,another the gift of art, another thegift of scholarly study; and the listgoes on and on.

And this is an important point whenwe consider the composition of themonastery: there is no one

particular type of monk. We are alldifferent, and we are all gifted inour own particular ways. And eachof our gifts, if properly recognizedand cultivated, contributes to the lifeof the monastery and, in effect, tothe life of the Church at large.

This January, we were blessed towelcome five new novices into themonastery, each being clothedwith the Benedictine habit, andtheir hair cut into the monastic“corona.” Each of these novices willbring his own talents and treasureto the monastery, and this willcontinue to shape our communityinto the image of the Kingdom ofGod that St. Benedict aimed toestablish.

From the EditorBr. William Sprauer, OSB

MONK LIFE

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Together, we are greater than thesum of our parts, so long as wecontinue to sharpen our strengthsand hedge our weaknesses tobecome the most loving people wecan be. This is the goal of the monklife, and its realization is certainlymade manifest, albeit perhaps onlymetaphorically, in this quarterlyelectronic publication. +

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Clockwise from top:

Novice Jonathan and Br. John Mark sing theentrance antiphon together at Mass.

Fr. Jeremy stands in the monastic choir.

Our five new novices each with the monastic“corona.”

Br. Matthew prays during Mass.

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COME & SEEWEEKENDS

MARCH 6

JUNE 5

NOVEMBER 8

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The Evangelical Counsels:ObedienceBr. John Mark Falkenhain

(oftentimes we can’t put our fingeron it) that makes them especiallyattractive, distinctive and compelling.Julia Roberts has that charismaticsmile. Fulton Sheen had acharismatic way that drew millionsto watch him speak about the faithon TV in the 1950s. We don’talways know exactly what it isabout these people. We just knowthat they draw our attention. Andthey have a certain influence on us.

So, when we say that there is adistinctive charism to religious life,we mean that religious men andwomen offer a particular gift to theChurch and to the world, and whenlived right, their gifted lives have aspecial potential to attract people’sattention, to make a statement, tocompel others.

What is charismatic about a nun?How might the life of a young manentering a monastery be attractiveor compelling to others? It willprobably take these next threeissues to completely get my pointacross, but I’m going to argue thatit’s these evangelical counsels –obedience, poverty and celibacy –that make consecrated men andwomen charismatic and importantin our modern world.

Obedience and Conversion

To fully understand the meaningand purpose of obedience, we mustfirst remind ourselves that the goalof our life as monks, and asChristians in general, is conversion.Each day, we are to work atbecoming the very best, most Christ-like person we can be. So when St.

Benedict outlines his program ofmonastic life in the Rule, heprescribes a vow of obedience. Heknows that obedience will lead themonk to the best, most Christ-likeversion of himself. How?

Obedience comes from a Latinword that means “to listen.” Toobey is primarily to listen, but notjust in any ordinary way.Obedience means listening in sucha way that the monk puts aside hisown will (what he wants) in orderto do what the Rule, the abbot and– most importantly – his communityneed him to do.

When I take a vow of monasticobedience, I expect that for the restof my life, these brothers of mineare going to get up in my face, soto speak, and demand somethingmore, something better, somethingChrist-like of me. And when I say“yes” to them, I live out my vow.

Sometimes it’s as simple as aconfrere saying, “John Mark, wouldyou please chew with your mouthshut at table?” Or, “John Mark, youneed to be a little nicer to the olderguys in the community.” Sometimesthe invitation to growth is moredrastic and cuts deeper: “JohnMark, you need to stop drinking.”Or, “John Mark, we need for you todo something about your anger. It’sbecoming a real burden to ourcommunity life.”

Obedience sometimes comes in theform of favors asked: “Could youdo dishes for me this evening?”;“Would you be willing to take Fr.Michael to his doctor's

Throughout thecourse of thisdesignated Yearfor ConsecratedLife, we thought itmight be a goodidea to include inMonk Life aregular feature

on the evangelical counsels ofobedience, poverty and celibatechastity.

Ask just about anyone what they knowabout religious life, and they’re likelyto mention that monks, nuns, sistersand brothers take vows of poverty,chastity and obedience. Thesecharacterize the consecrated life. Solet’s take a closer look at each one,beginning this issue with obedience.After all, St. Benedict begins his Rulefor monks with the word “Listen,” andlistening is at the very heart of thecounsel of obedience.

[As a funny little aside, when Imentioned to Br. Zachary at lunchtoday that I was working on an articleon obedience for Monk Life, hesuggested I should give it the title,“Obedience: What part of ‘yes’ doyou not understand?”]

First, a quick note on the whole ideaof “evangelical counsels.” We havebeen talking a lot in our formationprogram lately about the distinctivecharism of monastic life. A charism isa gift: both a gift received and a gifthanded on to the entire Church. Theword “charism” also relates to theword “charismatic.”

We say a person is charismatic whenhe or she has that certain something

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appointment?”; “We need you to setaside the job you like in order totake over some work that you’vesaid before might be difficult foryou.”

Obedience, of course, is easierwhen you like the person who isasking or when the task beingrequested is enjoyable; but we geteven closer to living in the image ofChrist when we give ourselvesaway to our enemies, or when wetake on challenges that cause us tosuffer some or to sacrifice. Theseare the little deaths of communitylife. This is the “white martyrdom”of the consecrated life.

Love In - Love Out

Love, of course, is the one thingmakes this kind of obediencepossible. Love is also the primaryoutcome of obedience. If I love myconfreres (remember, love is often achoice we make and not justsomething that happens naturally),then sacrifice is easier, sweeter. Irecognize that the obedience itselfis an expression of love, of givingmyself away.

It’s like the mother who gets up inthe middle of the night, withouthesitating, to care for her sickdaughter. She loves her child, soher response is automatic. Whatshe wants – sleep, rest so she canget up early for work – no longermatters. Love compels her toimmediate obedience to the needsof her child and it is made possibleby love.

It’s like the story of a monk who isat work copying a manuscript. Inthe middle of copying a letter “o,”the bell rings for prayer and heimmediately rises and runs forprayer, not even finishing the letterhe is working on.

It sounds a little zealous andperhaps overly pious, but compareit to the mother who, upon hearingthe cry of her infant, dropseverything to respond to the child’sneeds. As monks, our love for theliturgy and for one another shouldincline our hearts to leave our willbehind and attend immediately tothe needs of one another and thecall to praise God.

Christ, the Model of Obedience

Of course, Christ is our model. Weare reminded of this each Saturdayevening at Vespers when we singthe Philippians canticle, how –though Son of God – He humbledhimself, took the form of a servantand made himself obedient to thepoint of dying for us all: the good,the sinful, the friend, the foe, theneighbor, the marginalized.

In terms of the charismatic nature ofobedience, I’m convinced thatobedience is a highly attractive andcompelling quality to find in ayoung man or woman. We trickourselves into thinking that power,control and self-determination arewhat people admire and find

attractive. But vulnerability, generosityand even self-abandon are what drawpeople to us.

I remember being fascinated one daywatching a hip, young guy interrupthis life to attend to a gentleman manyyears older than he. The young manseemed in an instant to forget abouthimself – how he looked, where he wasgoing, what he was about – in orderto be of service to someone mucholder, weaker and less attractive.

I watched and remarked to myselfhow his care for the older gentlemandid nothing to diminish his youth, hisstatus or his strength. Rather, it seemedto generate in me a great respect forthat young man and a real desire tolearn more about him – who he was,how he came to be so generous, howI might be more like him.

Beyond all this, let’s not forgetobedience simply makes us irresistibleto God. God gave the example ofwhat He finds pleasing when he senthis Son to bend his will to our frailhuman needs. Want to please God?Follow the example and accept theevangelical counsel. Obey. +

Br. John Mark reviews music before Mass.R

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By the promise to return daily to theLord, conversatio helps meremember there is room for me – asflawed as I am – in this house ofSaint Meinrad, and room for all themonks. Conversatio helps meremember and honor thebrotherhood that exists betweenmonks.

Saint Meinrad is a place wherepeople from all walks of life come.And in their time on the hill,connected with this place, peoplegrow. They grow in relationship toGod, to themselves and to others.Having grown myself andwitnessing the growth of others:monks, seminarians, lay students,deacons, oblates, college and highschool youth, pilgrims and guestsbrings me true joy.

Again and again, the monastic lifereminds me of the beauty of theIncarnation. In the Word MadeFlesh, God became one of us in theperson of Jesus. Monastic life –which draws attention daily to thefact the Jesus is the center of ourliving – helps all who so desire togrow into flesh made word!

In honor of the Year of ConsecratedLife, we asked several religious to giveshort testimonials about theirexperience of consecrated life in themonastic setting. Each issue of MonkLife during 2015 will feature theirresponses to these questions:•What does monastic life mean

to you?•What is most important to you

about monastic life?•What is it about monastic life that

brings you joy?

Fr. Brendan Moss, OSB

Simply put, themonastic lifemeans everythingto me! BeingBenedictine is theway I go to God.Through our lifeof prayer – eventhough mine is

focused on the seminary communitywhere I work – I am called to bepresent to my relationship with Godmultiple times a day.

Without monastic life, I suspect myintentions to pray would be good butmy practice might fall short! Themonastic life roots me in myrelationship with Christ.

The most important aspect of monasticlife for me is our practice ofconversatio morum. Conversatio is theBenedictine vow of daily renewal. St.Benedict knew monks were flawed.He knew that every person struggledin their relationship with God andthat, at times, they would go astray.

Sr. Jeana Visel, OSBMonastery ImmaculateConception, Ferdinand, IN

For me,monastic life isabout St.Benedict’sadmonition toseek God.Whether I amat home at themonastery, or

out “on mission” serving the Churchin ministry, being a Benedictinemeans I should be striving to followand draw near to Jesus every day.

Part of this is about what I do:prayer and service bind me toChrist. At the same time, it’s alsoabout being aware: can I noticeand appreciate all the ways God ispresent in this place, in thismoment?

In the whirl of daily tasks, in allhonesty, a lot of the time I amdistracted. Still, when thecommunity sings the Liturgy of theHours with one voice, or when onesister shows compassionate concernfor another, or when a particular

Year of Consecrated LifeTestimonials

word strikes the heart in lectiodivina, noticing that God is herebrings joy. God is at work, here,now!

We are part of something so muchbigger than ourselves. Life has adepth of meaning if God is in it,and monastic life challenges one tobe attentive: to listen, to watch, tothink, to feel. Where is God now?Sometimes we walk in the dark andsimply have to trust that the HolySpirit is there. It seems God delightsin challenging us to find him inever-new places.

While I know I have a long way togo, the older sisters in mycommunity give me hope. Theyforgive me when I screw up. Theyencourage me when I’m tackling adaunting task. They appreciate thegood they see in me.

Most of all, they set a marvelousexample of how God keepsworking in our lives, softening ourrough edges, making us morehuman. In monastic life, we becomebetter people because of eachother.

Br. Francis Wagner, OSB

What doesmonastic lifemean to me?

Ideally, themonk shouldponder this atmany differentpoints along

his journey. I have discovered thatthe answer continually changesover time – just as the mystery ofthe monk’s vocation continues tounfold and deepen.

For me, at this point (I entered themonastery in 2006), monastic life isprimarily about digging beneath thesurface of life. In his Rule, St.Benedict says that whether thenewcomer “truly seeks God” (RB 58:7) is of primary importance.

The monk does this – as Benedictexplains so poetically in the Prologueto the Rule – by listening with theear of the heart to the voice of theLord while at prayer, at work, orwhile interacting with the community.

This listening involves reflectingupon (rather than simply reactingto the “surface” occurrences of life)such questions as: What is Godsaying to me through this? Whydoes this situation or person makeme feel this way? What can Ilearn from this situation or person?

How can I change? What fruit mightthis produce?

All human beings are in need of suchinterior self-examination. Theunexamined life is not worth living, asthe saying goes. Monks, however, arecalled to this in a more particular andintense fashion – and not only for theirown benefit. They serve as witnesses,evangelists and intercessors for a worldthat thirsts for transcendence, yet isoften too confused, uncertain orfrightened to peek beneath the surfaceof things.

In the long run, this interior aspect ofmonastic life should lead to a giving –and forgiving – disposition rooted inthe love of Christ, the Grain of Wheatwho fell into the earth and died inorder to sprout new life and producemuch fruit (cf. John 12:24). +

Fr. Brendan speaks to a group of “One Bread, One Cup” participants.R

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Catholics arefamiliar withhowsacraments, assacred events,mark off partsof our lives.We begin ourlife in faith

with Baptism, and thenConfirmation and Eucharist arethere to complete our initiation intoChristian living. Reconciliation isthere to help us as we fall and turnto God’s mercy for pardon andstrength.

Monks try to plumb the depths ofwhat these and other sacramentsmean for them, now and in thefuture. They focus attention on whatis important for every Christian,namely, the immensity of God’s lovefor us.

Even though St. Benedict in his Rulesays little explicitly about theEucharist and the sacraments assuch, he nevertheless structures alife which is Eucharistic andsacramental to the core. It a life thatis open to the gracious presence ofGod in sacrament and in a createdworld where God touches people invarious ways.

The sacraments, channels institutedby Christ to communicate the gift ofGod’s very life to humanity,empower monks and believers.Baptism is the beginning moment ina lifelong journey punctuated bymany other sacramental encounters. Jesus’ own Baptism was that

dramatic moment when suddenlythe Spirit descends and the voice ofGod is heard. Thus begins Jesus’mission in which He shares thespecial relationship He has with theOne who sent him and the Spiritwho sanctifies by drawing allpeople into a special relationshipas his brothers and sisters.

Later, Jesus sends his disciples outto all corners of the earth to baptizeall in the name of the triune God.The Baptism they now impart is asacrament in which this specialrelationship with the triune Godand with one another is nowbrought about. It’s a life-alteringmoment when divine life begins tocourse through our veins.

We spend the rest of our livestrying to absorb what hashappened to us and trying to learn

the way of living and acting thataccords with being part of God’sfamily. In this way, the monk and allChristians are together in ponderingthe depths of this sacrament.

Still, our life is one long struggle oftrying to remain mindful of who weare as God’s family, but we fall often.We are helped in being faithful to ourbaptismal identity by othersacraments, such as Reconciliation,which reminds us of God’s constantforgiveness. God is so much on ourside that the Lord Jesus left us theEucharist, a sacrament of love, whichwe are to share and so find ourselvesstrengthened and nourished.

In the Gospel of Luke, two disciples onthe road to Emmaus meet a strangeron their way and later break breadwith him. They recognized him at thatmoment as the Risen Lord. Luke tells us

Benedictine Perspectives:The Sacraments and Sacramentality in the Life of a MonkBy Fr. Raymond Studzinski, OSB

Fr. Raymond greets Br. Benedict after their jubilee Mass last summer.R

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simply: “With that [breaking of thebread] their eyes were opened andthey recognized him, but he vanishedfrom their sight” (Lk 24:31 NAB).

The encounters of monks with theRisen Lord in the sacraments, likewise,open their eyes. They are readied forlooking at the world differently, forseeing the world, people, things,events around them as sacramental.Everything becomes charged with apower to connect us with God, tobring us to an experience of grace, ofGod’s gift of self to us.

Benedict had such sacramental visionand so tells monks to regard guests asChrist, for He is welcomed in them; to

prize care of the sick above allelse, for they are to be served asChrist; and even to regard utensilsand goods of the monastery assacred vessels.

To live sacramentally is to liveimaginatively, seeing not a barrenreality but a world filled withmeaning and significance, a worldof grace and possibility, of loveand forgiveness. For the monk tolive in this way is to be a beaconof hope for other people who arecaught in the trap of a life thatseems to be going nowhere.

Monks do their part in our time inkeeping hope alive. One source

where they replenish their ownhope is the Eucharist. For Benedict,monastic life is Eucharistic,permeated with gratitude. In theEucharist, we are also remindedand challenged that we ourselvesare to be the body of Christ, agraced sign of the power of God’slove that makes us one.

Our world needs sacraments;otherwise, we despair of everovercoming all that keepsfragmenting us. Monks and allChristians are called to besacraments ourselves, a sacramentof love, God’s love made visiblethrough our presence and care. +

Clockwise from top left:

The novices receive instruction from ArchabbotJustin during the investiture ceremony, markingthe beginning of their novitiate year.

The northside of the Archabbey Church on afoggy morning.

Br. Matthew prays with the monasticcommunity during a Mass on the feast day ofthe Immaculate Conception.

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The mostdynamic andintense part ofa monk’s life isthe interiorjourney, agravelly trekcoursed over alifetime and

wondrously facilitated by the dailyrhythm of ora et labora. And sowhen the Rule speaks of the heart“expanding” as the soul searchesfor God in community and underan abbot, I am invariably remindedof my work as a teacher andspiritual director at the seminary. It’sa privilege that has humbled meand made me ever thankful to theLord who has called me to suchministry.

As I write this, the spring semesterhas just burst into bloom: thestudents have returned from theirvarious retreats, eager to beginagain. Sensing that rejuvenationhas always seized my imaginationin a way I find hard to describe,but I know that such newness playsout in the classroom.

I can still recall that first day on ahot August morning in 1986, newlyordained and facing about 20Saint Meinrad College students witha quantum leap survey course inBritish Literature, which Imischievously referred to as “FromBeowulf to Virginia Woolf.” In some ways the work of aliterature teacher is something likea quilter, isn’t it? We stitch togetherdisparate texts into some kind of

threaded coherence by setting thepoetry or the novels or the plays intheir context.

I stretch that vast array of colors andtextures on a fragile wooden frame topass on to others what I myselfreceived: the dazzling fate of Englishthat has sustained the West forcenturies, the music of language thathas both comforted and confrontedeveryone from shy high schoolfreshmen to stuttering kings.

When I began to teach preaching full-time some years later, the texts shiftedto biblical literature but the studentsstill brought their own interpretivepowers to the classroom. These futurepreachers would map their own giftedtapestries, gleaned from the newwineskins they had purchased asfuture ministers from dioceses acrossthe country and the world.

As a homiletics teacher, I have anopportunity to facilitate the Wordof God for those who will preach aword to the weary. My students,newly minted, confident interpreterswho have the courage to becomewhat St. Paul calls, “the stewardsof God’s mysteries,” rarelydisappoint me. They return to theirdioceses full of good will and theGood News, eager to speak aprophetic utterance that willdeepen the faith of the baptized.

On that same steamy August dayalmost 30 years ago, I would claimnot only a blackboard (rememberthose?) but also a spiritualdirector’s chair as well. When I firstentered the monastery on the firstdays of 1980, I gasped at thetireless efforts of the monks and layfaculty to cultivate the inner gifts oftheir students.

Ministry Spotlight: Teaching Future PriestsBy Fr. Guerric DeBona, OSB

In addition to teaching in the seminary and school of theology, Fr. Guerric serves as aspiritual director for several seminarians.

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Consider this: you come to a schoolin the middle of cornfield as an18-year-old on the edge of self-discovery and run headlong into atradition that is 1,500 years oldand shaped by a Church that isdiverse, global and driven by theceaseless wind of the Holy Spirit.A directee finds extraordinaryadvantage with the wealth ofwisdom experience only aBenedictine community can provide.

We are bound to see how othershave blossomed in the course ofbringing their spiritual insights andprayer experiences before the livingGod. Yes, I was one of thosedirectees once upon a time and myown spiritual directors over theyears have been my best teachers.I owe all of them a debt ofgratitude I can never repay.

Sharing the consolations (or, forthat matter, the desolations) of thespiritual life with another profoundlyinfluences our own faithexperiences and has drawn medeeper into friendship with Christ

Jesus. Those folks I have had indirection and on retreats in theCollege and the School of Theologyprobably have little or no idea howmuch my own life of faith hasgrown from companioning withtheir witness to the Gospel.

We all take circuitous routes inrunning God’s commands to thefinish line. But I know thateventually I return home to what aCarthusian author refers to as “thehermitage within,” where I live inthe presence of God’s consolingmercy. The walls of that little houseare covered with quilts andtapestries sewn from my work as ateacher, spiritual director and, inthe last several years, novicemaster.

Countless are those who havehelped me craft those remarkabletapestries over three decades; thesequilted prayers have harbored theirown silent treasure of thanksgiving,recalling my life-giving monasticvocation and the God who hasformed and reformed me. +

Novice Thomas, Novice Timothy and Br.James sing the thanksgiving hymn togetherafter Communion.

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A S I PRAY,

REveal to me

your way for me

to you, lord god.

Amen

Interested in the Monastic Life at Saint Meinrad Archabbey?

Contact Us:vocations@saintmeinrad.org

www.saintmeinrad.org