O b s c u lta On the inside: the role of the holy spirit the face of mercy
Fire of god’s love
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The descent of the Holy Spirit is critical to the life of the Church and so it is critical for the life of every Christian. As we conclude the Easter season, and as Christ ascends to the Father, He has left the Holy Spirit for his followers. Christ chose not to publish a book or give a list of instructions as he ascended; He left His own Spirit to be with us. Two thousand years later we find that the Holy Spirit remains with us today, guiding and empowering the Church. Of course it is true that the Holy Spirit safeguards the Church from error, but God’s presence to each of us in the third Person of the Trinity is more dynamic than merely providing certainty concerning the Church’s teaching. How so? Put simply, we really can’t be holy, can’t attain the freedom of holiness, on our own. Left to our own devices of reading spiritual books, receiving the grace of the sacraments, talking to really smart spiritual gurus, we will yet lack the guidance and support that we need. Following the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in each of our lives is vital for seeking Christ. These inspirations are not negotiable for a real spiritual life. One of my favorite authors, Fr. Jacque Phillipe, puts it like this: “Holiness is not the realization of a given model of perfection that is identical for everyone. It is the emergence of an absolutely unique reality that God alone 2 • Ob s c u lta
CO M E, H O LY S P I R I T , FILL THE HEARTS O F YO U R FA I T H F U L knows, and that he alone brings to fruition. No individual knows what his own holiness consists of. Holiness is only revealed to us by degrees.” In order for us to receive the next step in our journey toward this joyful existence, we have to be led. The guide in this journey is always the Holy Spirit, who gently and naturally speaks to our hearts and offers direction to us. These promptings are not monumental decisions (those require discernment and care), but everyday choices like what to eat, whom to speak with, how to do a task. The process of enlisting this help, too, is not a large thing—it is simple. Just ask! And act with confidence. Over time it becomes easier and one can grow past earlier mistakes, deepening understanding and faithfulness. Finally, a wonderful prayer to help us be mindful of this ever-present Counselor is the following: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the faith of the earth. May the Holy Spirit make each of us a new creation so that we can more peacefully and creatively serve our Lord in His Holy Church.
by Br. Leven Harton vocations@kansasmonks.org
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God’s
Grandeur
The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil; It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod? Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod. And for all this, nature is never spent; There lives the dearest freshness deep down things; And though the last lights off the black West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs — Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings. —Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)
Flowers from Br. Placidus Lee’s garden. 4 • Ob s c u lta
Supporting one another by Br. Karel Soukup
During this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis has challenged the Church to open ‘our hearts to those living on the outermost fringes of society” (Misericordiæ Vultus, 15). The monk doesn’t need to leave the monastery walls to do this. Every monk lies on the fringe of a society centered on Christ, and every monk brings to that society his own weakness and shortcomings. St. Benedict exhorts us to live with a good zeal that supports “with the greatest patience one another’s weaknesses of body and behavior” (RB 72:5), and his Rule makes provision for a wide swath of humanity. We know that in his monastery there were young boys and old men, the wealthy and the poor, slaves and freemen, educated and unlettered, priests and laymen, the obstinate and the cooperative, the holy and not-so-holy. At St. Benedict’s Abbey, we range in age from mid-20s to late-80s. Some are sick, others healthy; some had no formal education beyond high school, others went on the earn doctoral degrees. Some teach while others work with their hands. We are both priest and lay, but we come here for one and the same reason: to live a life centered on Christ and to help one another to our eternal homeland with Him. We do this by challenging one another, by being in the way, by provoking one another to leave the comfort of our own self-importance and travel to the unknown fringe. It is there, in the encounter with the brother we don’t understand, that we find Christ. It is in showing mercy that we find Christ’s mercy, and we pray that he may “bring us all together to life everlasting” (RB 72:12). 5
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face of mercy “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. These words might well sum up the myster y of the Christian faith. Mercy has become living and visible in Jesus of Nazareth, reaching its culmination in him. The Father, “rich in mercy ” (Eph 2:4), after having revealed his name to Moses as “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6), has never ceased to show, in various ways throughout histor y, his divine nature. In the “fullness of time” (Gal 4:4), when ever ything had been arranged according to his plan of salvation, he sent his only Son into the world, born of the Virgin Mar y, to reveal his love for us in a definitive way. Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father (cf. Jn 14:9). Jesus of Nazareth, by his words, his actions, and his entire person reveals the mercy of God. We need constantly to contemplate the myster y of mercy. It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace. Our salvation depends on it.” –Pope Francis, Misericordiæ Vultus, 1 & 2 6 • Ob s c u lta
The Benedictine College Installation Art class, in collaboration with the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey, recently completed The Face of Mercy (seen below.) Located in front of the Abbey church, the piece aims at transforming the space to facilitate the encounter of both the college and monastic communities with the mercy of God. Guests are invited to write their burdens down and leave them hanging at the entrance; the rain will wash them away, representing the mercy of Christ.
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SOLEMN VOW S
by Br. Luke Turner
The profession and celebration of my Solemn Vows in December was the culmination of years of prayer and the completion of my initial monastic formation. July 2011 started my transition from corporate life to monastic life. The “trade off ” has been incredible. As I reflect on my profession, I think back on the petition I submitted to the monastic community requesting to profess Solemn Vows. Each step we take in monastic life is documented so that our freedom of will is evident as we seek the community’s support to progress to the next step. From my childhood on, my mother often reminded us kids that “hope” was a prayer – my corporate experience took it one step further by emphasizing that “hope is a prayer, not a strategy.” Not that hope can’t help make a strategy! In my own formation experience I have found hope to be an integral part of my spiritual life. St. Paul reminds us to “rejoice in hope.” Hope helps shape my vision of my future at St. Benedict’s Abbey. Hope is our future, planting hope in our daily witness, hope in the grace and strength I need to meet the daily challenges in this monastic vocation that I discerned in my heart as a call from God Himself.
Some good advice I have received— by forsaking the ability to change, I diminish my capacity for hope. The gift of hope extends most importantly to my prayer life. Together with my brothers, we gather throughout each day and lift our voices to pray for the needs of the Church and of the world.
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Ascension & Monasticism Br. Christopher Start
by Br. Christopher Start
On the feast of the Ascension, the angels ask, “men of Galilee, why are you staring up at the sky? This Jesus, who has ascended, will return in this same way” (Acts 1:11). In other words, the apostles had work to do, to proclaim the Gospel to all the nations. It was not time to stare into the clouds. Yet, as time went on, men and women returned to this moment: living attentively, anticipating this great return. Their lives eventually coalesced into monastic life. The witness of their way of life is an awareness that this world is provisional. This world is oriented towards something, someone, beyond it. In the Prologue to the Rule, Benedict writes, “the Lord, seeking his laborer in the multitude to whom He thus cries out, says again, ‘Who is the one who will have life, and desires to see good days?’” The man who answers, ‘I do!’ is he for whom the Rule is composed. The “school of the Lord’s service,” which Benedict sought to establish, is a training ground, a preparation, for life in the Ascended Christ. Therefore, any concern, any work, any discipline in this life has its merit in preparing the monastic for life everlasting. Over the millennia, the Church has called many of her monks and nuns to more active service: in schools, hospitals, parishes, retreat houses, and countless other works. Yet, these activities, as good and wonderful as they are, remain secondary. Our first witness is always that our home is not here. The works we have been given are only a preparation for the great works our Lord has in store for his faithful. The heart of a monk keeps watch on Mount Olivet, not anxiously, but with trust, for the great day of Jesus’ return. The life he leads is meant to train body, mind, and soul for life in Christ. 9
After serving for nearly a decade as Chaplain of Benedictine College, Fr. Brendan Rolling stepped down in the summer of 2015 to assume duties as a national chaplain for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. Abbot James has now entrusted the spiritual care for the 1800+ student body to Fr. Simon Baker as Chaplain and Fr. Jay Kythe as Associate Chaplain. Both agree that their first year on the job has been a humbling experience. While initially anxious about how a new style and approach to ministry would be received on campus, Fr. Simon marvels at the warm embrace he has received from the college community. He acknowledges that his first year has had its mix of successes and failures, but through it all he has strengthened confidence that he works as an instrument of the Holy Spirit. College ministry was, he freely admits, one of the last jobs he ever wanted to take on, but now he sees that obedience to the Abbot’s discernment and the community’s needs have led him to a good fit. Fr. Jay, for his part before he took up his position, didn’t know the full scope of Benedictine College’s campus ministry. Aside from providing for the sacramental needs of the students, he spends much of his time in spiritual direction and developing the leadership skills of the students who lead the many ministry teams on campus. He, too, relies heavily on the guidance of the Holy spirit to handle the many daily encounters for which there is no preparation. Frs. Simon and Jay rely on one another and stress that their work in this demanding role wouldn’t be possible without their mutual respect and fraternal support for the other. Fr. Simon Baker • Chaplain From Independence, Missouri “It is exciting to be an integral part of the adventure of holiness in the lives of others.” Fr. Jay Kythe • Associate Chaplain From New Orleans, Louisiana “The opportunity to serve students at a critical time – as they come into their own – is a great honor.” 10 • O b s c u l t a
ARE YOU CALLED? Come & See Are you discerning your vocation? Se ek G o d’s w ill f or y ou through a retreat with the monk s of St. Benedict’s Abbey:
monkvocations . org register at:
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St. Benedict’s Abbey Atchison, Kansas 1020 N. 2nd Street, Atchison, KS 66002 Obsculta USPS 290-760 913.360.7848 MonkVocations.org
SUMMER
2016
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VOLUME
THREE
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MONKVOCATIONS.ORG
Obsculta is a tool for discernment & introduction to monastic life Provided by the Monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey. St. Benedict begins his Rule with a simple directive: Obsculta, the Latin for listen.
Pope Francis has asked all religious to “wake up the world.” I invite you to consider a vocation to St. Benedict’s Abbey, and join us in serving the Church as witnesses to a sleeping world. For more information or an Obsculta subscription contact the Vocations Director
Brother Leven Harton, OSB 913.360.7848 • vocations@kansasmonks.org