Running on the Path

by Fr. Daniel McCarthy

The monastic community welcomed Matthew Rich to begin the postulancy in November and he will soon begin his novitiate year. He stood with the officials in the hallway outside the church, where there are three emblems inlaid into the floor: a cross representing faith, an anchor representing hope, and a heart representing love. Enter the monastery and walk down the hallway to see these emblems, cross, anchor, heart, in the same order as in the Gospel: faith, hope, and love. Continue walking beyond the building, and you come to our cemetery, suggesting that these three virtues accompany us monks from the time we enter the door and begin the postulancy until we are laid to rest.

Faith = Trust

Initiative hope

The novitiate is one of the freest times in a monk’s life, with little to do other than to learn the daily routine and annual seasons of this community. There are morning lessons and afternoon manual labor. A more important task is intended to take place during this time. This period of getting to know one another is intended to establish a foundation of trust between the novice and members of the community. Our word faith comes from the Latin word meaning trust. So, this first emblem, the cross representing faith also represents trust and suggests that the foundation of trust is established at the beginning of monastic life.

This past December four novices professed their vows as monks. Each one comes to us at a different time in his life, yet he has developed a sense of hope for his own future with this community. Living in hope these men have begun to commit their lives and their more distant futures to our common future, founded as it must be upon a mutual trust in one another. Each one of us will answer somewhat differently where we place our hope, and so our mutual respect for our differences begins to grow even as we join more closely together with one another.

The several years in simple vows are often a time of developing initiative. These stirrings of initiative will prove their value time and again whenever the Spirit moves afresh and the community is inspired to live anew according to its monastic charism. Learning to take initiatives in a community involves testing, cooperation with others, and living in hope based on trust in one another.

Love Fidelity

As these monks advance they may find the need to gain greater competence in a particular area of expertise through reflecting on experiences or studying and integrating greater knowledge. As they approach mid-life, monks often find the need to withdraw further, to reflect more so that they emerge with a renewed contribution for the second half of life. Rather than conforming to an institutional mold, each monk makes a contribution that shapes the contours of the monastic community and its presence in the world.

As a monk explores how to make his own contribution at each stage of life, thereby shaping the identity of the community over its history, monks practice fidelity in our relationships to one another and to our entourage of friends. Fidelity is seen especially when monks overcome obstacles, as each one struggles to remain true to his hope and to our common bond based on trust.

The mystery of love may discover us earlier or later in life, this opening of my heart and horizon to other persons in their differences from me. Love moves a monk beyond himself to appreciate others in their unique gifts. Love need not be equal to be mutual, reciprocal. So love is practiced in many ways among the generations. Leadership is a communal form of love, when person centered and so based on service to each unique brother.

The greatest of these is love, which respects our personal differences in a bond of love based on trust in one another.

Books by Fr. Daniel

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Winter/Spring 2015 | Volume 10 | Number 1

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