O b s c u l t a On the inside: Committing to Christ
f r o m t h e Vo c a t i o n s D i r e c t o r In one of my favorite Mumford and Sons songs there is a beautiful refrain where Marcus Mumford sings, “A love that will not betray, dismay, or enslave you / it will set you free.” Of course, this kind of love sounds great. But isn’t it striking that the singer has to define the love he has in mind as one that does not bring sadness and regret? At our core, many of us fear that the kind of commitment love demands, a total one, will leave us only deceived, confused, and less free. And this possibility is truly terrifying. For my part, when I was a freshman in college I remember telling my father that I would probably not get married; I didn’t believe I could find someone I would be able to stand my whole life! Why even try? Yet the sentiment in the song insists that this kind of love, this kind of commitment, is important. As another band, The Postal Service, put it: “I want so badly to believe that there is truth, that love is real!” The question of a truth, a love that corresponds to our deepest desires, haunts us with a startling insistence. And the only way to answer that question, I propose, is to gather up our freedom and take the risk of following something. Of course, there is no assurance (not at the beginning!) that our following will give us what we desire. But what is the alternative? A tacit, silent despair that rejects the possibility of a real correspondence—a rejection of what makes us most deeply human! I encourage you to begin your own work of following by taking seriously the depths of your desires. It is a risk to open oneself to this possibility. But the dignity of our humanity resides in the fact that we aim big. True discernment will not allow us to reject at the start the possibility of finding a true satisfaction. b y B r. L e v e n H a r t o n - D i r e c t o r o f Vo c at i o n s v o c at i o n s @ k a n s a s m o n k s . o rg • 9 1 3 . 3 6 0 . 7 8 4 8
A LOVE THAT WILL NOT BETRAY, DISMAY, OR ENSLAVE YOU, IT WILL SET YOU FREE. MUMFORD & SONS
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A s kt h e
e x perts
St. Joh n Paul I I on discernment
“O p en y o ur h e ar t to a j oy f ul
me e tin g w ith Ch r ist . A sk fo r a dv ice . The C hurch o f Je s u s mu st continu e it s mission in the w orld. In sp e a k in g to yo u ab ou t vo c ation an d in urg ing y ou to fo l l ow a l o n g this path , I am th e hu mble s e r v a nt of that lo ve th at mo v e d Ch r ist wh en h e c alle d the dis c iple s to fo l l ow him.”
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b y B r. E m m a n u e l O r r i n o , O S B
The Divine Furnace
Although discernment involves waiting, it isn’t just waiting. We may be tempted to just wait for a sign, voice, or impulse leading us in the right direction. We tell ourselves, “Stay put! Don’t make any sudden movements, or God might miss us!” This is a life without risk, a life without responding to God’s voice and promptings that surround us and fill us each day.
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“And we have believed in love” -chiara lubich Rather our lives happen between two fires. This image of two fires comes from Chiara Lubich (1920-2008) who followed the Spirit in her life to the point of founding Focolare, a lay movement dedicated to following Christ into a radical unity with others. These two fires, burning and alive, are God’s voice within us and His voice outside of us. In the “divine furnace,” the heat of God’s love transforms us into men and women capable of following His will. Though the furnace is hot, personal transformation is not inevitable. It is easy to protect ourselves from the heat, intentionally or not, and miss out on what God is showing us about ourselves, the world, and Himself. We need to do a couple things to avoid losing ourselves in the cold despite God’s very best (and sufficient) efforts. First, remember that God is always communicating with us; even His silence speaks. Second, we must leap into the two fires! God communicates constantly, but we miss it. In Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, the protagonist, says that miracles are “our perceptions being made finer, so that for a moment our eyes can see and our ears can hear what is there about us always.” When we discern God’s will, we don’t just wait for Him to speak. With patience and cooperation we wait for our eyes to be opened to see what is already there, coming from Him. When our eyes and ears are opened, we can experience both fires: the internal and external. Inside, the Spirit moves at the level of our conscience, our desires, our thoughts. It takes time and a sharpened sensitivity to understand what is true within us and what is not, but God does speak to us here. On the outside, the circumstances around us and the community we live with are part of His plan to reveal Himself. By fully engaging what we live we can be formed into what He wants for us. This is especially true in community. Insofar as God is love, His will is always love! Living whatever community we have to the best of our ability (sharing, sacrificing, celebrating, etc.) teaches us to love. When we love better, we can better perceive God-Who-IsLove and follow Him to the promise He has for each of us!
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Christ Need an swe r s o ur
Car avag gio is k nown for his us e of light and dark ne ss in his painting s . In this f amous pie ce, his us e of the s e element s help s or ient us to his me aning . The ar tist ha s diminishe d the f ace of Chr ist – the ver y L ight of the World c a st in a shadow. Je sus’ che st and his white gar ment draw the v ie wer ’s attention, a s well a s the white of his k nuckle s g rabbing Thoma s’ hand. Thus , our e ye s f i xate on Chr ist pulling Thoma s’s f inger into his op en side. Je sus’ f ace is not the only one ob s cure d by shadow, none of the other f ig ure s’ re actions are prominent in this pie ce. The empha sis is place d s olely on the illuminate d motion of Chr ist g r ipping Thoma s’s w r ist , g iv ing him what he ne e ds to b elie ve – ans wer ing his ne e d. In dis cer nment it is the same. Chr ist ’s ver y touch g uide s our prayer and ref le ction – ans wer ing our ne e d. 7
S L O W WORK “For then they truly will be monks,” St. Benedict says in chapter 48 of his Holy Rule, “if they live by the work of their hands.” By their mindful and humble care for our grounds, our brothers Robert (right) and Anthony (below) showed our community what true monks are. They were famous here for their tomato patch, which produced bushels of tomatoes for the monks and numerous friends of the Abbey. Br. Robert died in 2010 and Br. Anthony is mostly limited to driving up and looking at the garden. We try hard to carry on their legacy, and Br. Anthony is always grateful and encouraging. Our meager results do not really deserve his praise. But, we still try. Monastic life is nothing other than a life of trying, of striving for the Christ-like ideal, of which we fall short without God’s grace. Like our garden, our lives sometimes fall into shambles. Instead of giving up, though, we set out with firmer purpose to uproot vice and sin and rally for our next task. In the novitiate we hope to gain the tools for the good work God sets before us; we try to lay a solid foundation on which to build our monastic lives.
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“The workshop where we are to toil faithfully at all these tasks is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in the community” - rule of st. benedict 4:75 So too we keep trying with the garden. Years of unremitting use have turned our naturally fertile soils into brick-like clods. This summer I began composting the leaves, grass clippings and grounds from our over-worked coffee maker. Once the pile has decayed, I will add it to our gardens to renew the soil and nourish our crops. Compost is slow work. It takes almost a full year for the fungi and bacteria to break down the dead vegetable matter into a form usable by plants. But Benedictine monks take a vow of stability, so we’ll be here for decades to come. Our garden plot will not magically take care of itself; like most things in life, the sooner we take care of it, the better. The monk is told to keep death daily before his eyes (RB 4:47), and St. Benedict calls this awe of our mortality a “tool for good works” because it reminds us that our work will never be done on this earth. Monastic life is slow work, but we still try. by Br. Karel S oukup - B ene dictine Nov ice awsoukup@gmail.com
Come & See Retreat NOVEMBER 21-23
A Monastic Experience
Join the monks for a weekend of prayer and discernment
For more information or to register now visit: Kansasmonks.org/comeandsee O r co nt a c t Vo c at i o n D i re c to r Brother Leven Harton: vocations@kansasmonks.org 913.360.7848
Space is limited! Register now! 9
C
lothed
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in christ
m o n a s t i c
h a b i t
An Italian proverb says, “The habit doesn’t make the monk.” This is important to remember, but the monastic habit remains an important sign of belonging to Christ.
In the Rule, St. Benedict prescribes a simple habit to express poverty and serve a practical purpose: “… for each monk a cowl and tunic will suffice in temperate regions; in winter a woolen cowl is necessary, in summer a thinner or worn out one; also a scapular for work…” (RB 55:4-6). Although the Rule speaks of the habit pragmatically, habits served ancient monks as a representation of taking off the world and being clothed with Christ. St. Benedict was a part of this tradition even though he didn’t spell it out in the Rule. When I received the habit in 2012, I was apprehensive about wearing it in public. I wasn’t embarrassed of my vocation or belonging to Christ, but I did not want to confuse others or myself into thinking that the habit, rather than God’s call, made me a monk. Taking Fr. Bruce, one of our senior monks, to a prison where he celebrated Mass changed things. I always wore my habit. Aware that I stuck out, I felt uncomfortable and showy. Then a conversation with an inmate disrupted my perspective.
The Tunic is a base garment distinct from clothing of the world, for the use of the servants of God.
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Chuck, one of the regular Mass-going inmates, said, “You must be a good person if you’re wearing that.” I replied sheepishly, “No. It doesn’t mean that much.”
“Well,” Chuck said and then paused, “it means a lot to us.”
The Capuche (hood) is a symbol of God’s love for us, a protection of the most important part of the body.
Monks live distinct from the world to witness to the radical way Christ penetrates every aspect of our life. We live differently to be what Pope Francis says all religious should be: prophets. The habit I wear each day is a concrete and provocative sign of Christ’s presence in my life and in the world.
It’s true, wearing the habit doesn’t make me a good person. It represents that Christ is the reason for my life even despite me. United in our dress, we monks can’t see ourselves in a mirror and pretend that Christ has not called us! And it tells the world that Christ offers everyone a penetrating love. The Scapular represents our faith in Christ, which raises up the meek.
I do not wear the habit to be a monk. I wear my habit to remember that I am clothed with Christ. And if it helps Chuck see that Christ’s love penetrates his thick prison walls, then I wear it for Chuck, too.
by Br. Emmanuel Or r ino A sst . Dire ctor of Vo c ations emmanuelor r ino@g mail.com
The Cincture signifies the rejection of impurity and the mortification of flesh for love of Christ.
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WAKE UP THE WORLD SUMMER
2014
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Ob scu lta
VOLUME
ONE
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NUMBER
TWO
KANSASMONKS.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
What are you seeking in your life? Fro n t co ve r p ho to by G o r d o n Park s