God, our Father, you have brought us to the end of this retreat, but not to the end of our monastic journey. We ask for renewed zeal, hope, and courage to continue in openness and love to your holy will each day, and the little things that you call us to, that we may eventually share in the greatness you have promised for those who follow and persevere. We thank you for this time together, and for all those in need at this time, especially the sick and the dying. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. You're familiar, probably, with this book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Rabbi Harold Kushner, and another book that I quoted from, Who Needs God? This is one of my favorite quotes from his book, Who Needs God? When someone says to me, I tried to get involved in your synagogue, but I found it to be full of petty, small-minded hypocrites, I can usually resist the temptation to tell him, that's all right, there's always room for one more.

[01:05]

What I say instead is, a synagogue that admitted only saints would be like a hospital that admitted only healthy people. It would be a lot easier to run and a more pleasant place to be, but I'm not sure we would be doing the job we are here to do. The people who staff God's embassies on earth are sometimes, but rarely, saints. Most of the time they are flawed, imperfect, inconsistent, weak, and confused. This is the case not because churches attract the insecure and problem-ridden, but because most of us are like that to some degree. But the religiously aware are brave enough to see their flaws and try to do something about it. From Who Needs God by Harold Kushner. I think Jean Banier would say some of the same. That's why we form community. Our weakness, our need to go beyond our frailties. I want to consider on this final conference, logically perhaps, the chapter on good zeal that monks ought to have, chapter 72.

[02:14]

Also could be called the perfect love, the goal of our path of meekness. Some preliminary thoughts The chapter is concerned with the perfection of Christian life, the ideal of the common life, based on Christ's command, love one another as I have loved you. The basis of this chapter could be also seen as something like, look at what Christ has done and imitate it. God puts His love, pours out His love, we're told, into our hearts, and this common love should be the basis of our unity as a family, helping to create a monastic community as an anticipation of the communion of the saints we hope to share forever in heaven. It's also a foretaste of the happiness and of eternal life. Saint Paul says, all drank the same spiritual drink. referring to the ancestors in faith, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ, 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

[03:21]

What does this mean, that all of us are plunged into the one mystery of the love of God? We are followed by the rock, the hound of heaven, and forever given relief from our thirst. It is God who wakes and God who slakes our thirst. The monastic community, which is a sign of that which will be forever in eternity, should demonstrate to others this reality of love, God with us, Emmanuel. Our journey in the monastery began as a response to the love of God for us. We came here responding to a call. The response is based on faith. in the one whom we acknowledge as love. God is love, says Saint John. The monastic journey is at times fatiguing, because our weak human nature is causing us to be fatigued, or our self-seeking.

[04:27]

But nonetheless, by persevering, going through these difficulties, we arrive at ripe fruit, even in this life, having passed through necessary purification. And this is true of individuals as well as communities as a whole. To encourage the growth of love within us, we have to work the day, the dry, rather, and weedy ground that we are. I believe when I was here in 1979, either Brother Gabriel or Brother Bruno was telling me about a lot of stones you had to take out of this earth when the monks first came, when you were first here, to make it usable. And that's a parable, perhaps, of our own lives. Cultivating, pulling up the stones, planting it, watering the terrain, and eventually fruit comes forth. And a lot can grow there, despite the good or the bad weather. And the fruit will last unto life eternal, because the fruit is love itself.

[05:28]

During the cultivation of the terrain, one lives in faith and hope. Again, you can ask any farmer. We clear the ground, we turn it over, we plant it, we care for it with patience and love, trusting that the passing of time, the change of the seasons, will do their necessary part in encouraging the growth in whatever has been planted. All this is applicable then to God at work in our lives through the changing times and seasons. We accept God's help with meekness, knowing that we're not alone and really incapable of doing that without God's help. We must learn how to live every moment with patience, recognizing that many of life's experiences will bring us to meekness, and ultimately to sweetness of life eternal. But it takes work, time, change, courage. And that's one of the hardest things, maybe, to tell young people coming to the monastery, to persevere and hope that in the end it will be a beautiful thing to give to God.

[06:41]

St. Benedict sets before his followers the rigors of the way of conversion. The monastic journey is a daily call to change conversion. So we make a vow, conversatio. It's not an end in itself, but a means to arrive at the vita maternum, by the road of trial, testing, suffering. We can read this 72nd chapter of the rule on the good zeal, to discover what is needed to arrive at the harvest. We could call it a solemn liturgy of thanksgiving that will last forever. Saint Benedict, first of all, admonishes us to seek a good zeal that separates one from evil and leads to God and eternal life. And monks should practice this zeal with the warmest love, Benedict says in the next verse of chapter 72. Ferventissimo amore. In Latin, meaning a love that is ardent, eager, spirited, fervent.

[07:45]

And so we could ask, how is it to be expressed? Next verse, striving to be the first to honor one another. It's a direct quote from Romans chapter 12. Verse 10, striving to be the first to honor one another. It's an image of a race, but here the striving or competition is to defer to one another and not to defeat one another. Wasn't John Vanier mentioning that? In our culture we're taught to get the answer first, be the top of the class, and maybe it's something else. defer to one another rather than defeat each other. This attitude is born from a spirit of faith, as always. If one doesn't have faith, one doesn't reach that stage of honoring the Lord in others. We may even show respect, but that is different from honoring, which means putting oneself at the feet of another, prostrating before another, admitting that which another is.

[08:49]

Now, while we don't go around throwing ourselves at the feet of one another literally, spiritually we should be cultivating an attitude which gives precedence, priority to others, always in faith and love, not because we're wordless, horrible people, but because we honor God and the other. Truly honoring another is not just a gesture of goodness or courtesy, politeness, but the expression of a deeply held religious conviction about God's presence in others, hence deserving our love. It is to be carried out with the utmost patience, Benedict says, next verse, bearing with one another as Christ has carried us with Him to the cross. Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Response we are hearing at the reading, yes Lord, I was there. So it's not a grudging, reluctant thing, but a positive and willing willingness to bear with the weaknesses.

[09:52]

Bear one another's burdens and thus you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6. So Benedict says, compete with one another in obedience. The sixth verse of this chapter 72. That's a proof of the love. to defer and even obey one another, listening, serving, aware that others have within themselves the sacrament of the Lord's presence. Consequently, Benedict says, no one should pursue what he judges advantageous to himself, but rather what benefits others. I think it boils down to that virtue of service in the monastery. And we live in what Benedict calls the school of the Lord's service. I like what Cardong says here, too, from his new commentary. The willingness and desire to do whatever is useful for the community is perhaps the most valuable trait of a Cenobitic monk.

[11:01]

It's on page 593 of his new commentary. The willingness and desire to do whatever is useful, perhaps the most valuable trait of a Cenobitic monk. ask any superior. That's what they're delighted to have, brothers who are willing and desire to do useful things. It's a practical selfless instinct, indispensable for community building. If no one is doing that, disaster. At least some, as Vanier said last night, let's be realistic, hopefully a majority are doing this, then the community can go forward. Showing selfless love to the brothers is what we are aiming at, love for pure motives and not our gain or advancement. Paritatem is the word Benedict's using, agape in Greek, which is from God and not marred by self-interest, eros. This is how God has loved us, while still sinners, less than whole, less than perfect, and we're called to do likewise with one another.

[12:07]

You received without payment, give without payment, Jesus tells the Twelve. Fear God out of love, verse 9 of this chapter, zeal. Fear God out of love. So it's a loving fear, a dread of saddening or hurting the beloved. Awesome reverence, an essential aspect of all religious experience. John Cashion considers this and other fathers before Benedict. We believe God is love, and so we do all that we can to participate in that love with the proper approach to the all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth. Many times, Saint Benedict directs us to this idea of holy fear, which consists, as Saint Paul says, in not grieving the Holy Spirit of God, from Ephesians. Again, that idea of not saddening or hurting the beloved.

[13:09]

We must have a holy fear to carry the weight of divinity that is in us with an open heart, peaceful and transparent. The fear of the Lord is a major theme in our rule, and Cardong argues that it may well be the central theological concept in the whole rule. Fear the Lord your God, love the Lord, Deuteronomy 10 tells us. And if we do, our entire life will be integrated and fruitful. But to keep it from being a theoretical, abstract kind of love, Benedict is clear with another concrete expression. Now, verse 10 of this chapter 72, love the abbot with a sincere and humble charity. The same word again, karitas, used in our approach to the brethren. And so, a word that is based on the divine love, the fruit of Christ's sacrificial death for us, not based on emotional states.

[14:14]

We are bound by the Gospel to extend it to one another. And we see in the abbot an icon of Christ. But at the same time, we know the abbot has his human limitations, like all of us. And once again, we're called to have an attitude of faith that allows us to see the faults of the abbot, of one another, and go on loving. as we do with ourselves. Two reminders to me here, Mark Twain, wasn't it, who said, we all need a sizable plot of ground in which to bury the faults of our friends in, because they're going to be there. We love our families, we love our brothers, but there are certain faults we simply have to bury. And the other is C.S. Lewis. who wrote about his having trouble with this idea of hating the sin but loving the sinner, until he realized he'd been doing it with himself for many years, so why not do it with others?

[15:16]

This is another way of following the clear conclusion of this chapter on good zeal, prefer absolutely nothing to Christ, which we know was taken now from Saint Cyprian. And the rest of that quote is also worth hearing. Prefer nothing absolutely to Christ, for Christ has preferred nothing to us. I mentioned this earlier. A reference to Christ's self-emptying on the cross for the sins of the world, which has given us a new life. Our preference for Christ is rooted in the pivotal event of our Christian faith, the cross and resurrection. Our love for Christ must be expressed by our acceptance of all those we encounter, as we considered in the chapter, especially on hospitality. All have been the object of Christ's love, who has desired to save all of us, and so desires our love as well.

[16:26]

The final few words of this chapter are also very important. Beautiful. And may He lead us all together to everlasting life. We have a common goal. Bonnier was talking about that in the book too. Why are we here? To reach everlasting life together. Not to become famous, not to make good bread, but to go together to everlasting life. Good zeal will get us on the road, but it is really Christ who will lead us all the way to God. The Good Shepherd leads us, an image of going forward, a dynamic pilgrimage in faith, hope and love, which we make as a community under a rule and an abbot. And, of course, the abbot fulfilling the Christ role in our midst. This little prayer, and may he lead us all together to everlasting life, you know, has been considered the original ending of the entire rule, with chapter 73 added later.

[17:36]

We are poor, fragile, but we never lose heart over it, because the Lord is our loving strength, as Benedict so clearly reminds us. It is enough for us to begin each day anew, knowing that it is not our strength, but God's grace at work within a cooperative heart that can accomplish wonderful things." So always a delicate line between Pelagianism, I'm doing it myself, and Quietism, I'm not going to do anything like God do it. We're called to interact with our God, who's trying to work with us and calling us to respond to His grace. So there's no sense of despising ourselves or our efforts in the rule. We are loved by God, even in our sin, especially in our sin, and when we can no longer walk, there is the Good Shepherd carrying us on His shoulders. It is no wonder that this was such a popular image to the early Christians, with frescoes in the catacombs, with sculptures of the Good Shepherd carrying the sheep on his shoulders, maybe even stuff borrowed from pre-Christian times, but an appropriate, fitting image of Christ in our lives.

[18:54]

Along with the Good Shepherd, the Blessed Mother Mary is near to encourage us in faithfulness, even when we go through the valley of darkness. Compassion and the tenderness of our God has been made manifest in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the Son of Mary. Mary is called the mother of the church, and in that church our fears and doubts are diminished, because we believe that God doesn't abandon His own. As a mother with child cannot forget her own, how can I forget you? We hear repeated throughout scripture, especially in Isaiah, Monks then should hold Mary as a most excellent example of adherence to God, as a powerful intercessor as well, in any need. How beautifully you pray the prayer every morning after vigils. As a mother who suffered but persevered in discipleship, she can sympathize with us in any trials and be a powerful intercessor.

[19:59]

May she always help us in that. Conclude with a quote from Adalbert de Beauguet in his commentary on the dialogue, St. Gregory on St. Benedict. For St. Gregory the Great, the monk has two essential traits, a vigorous contempt for the world and a powerful, exclusive and unifying desire to see God. The second element is even more characteristic than the first. Since by it the monk becomes in reality what he is in name, a being who is interiorly unified, a man of unity. The Greek word monos, from which monikos is derived, signifies one. What defines the monk is his unique love, his unique passion to see God. Magnum fecit ordini nomen cunsum David.

[21:02]

He served the order well by becoming a member. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. You're welcome. My pleasure. An honor to speak with you. Thanks. You're welcome. Very welcome.

[21:31]

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