My dear brother, I am speaking trembling and feeling, especially because I cannot speak very well English, and you must protest if my language is not enough, if you cannot understand me. On the other side, I'm convinced that the tradition in which you are founded is very important and this tradition is related in a very great deal also to Maria Lark, to my Abbey. Therefore, I must speak about this Abbey. Not to glorify myself in no way, not to glorify my Abbey, but because the Lord has taken as his instrument to announce the gospel. Therefore, I speak to you, my dear, following the invitation of Father Martin. And he asked me to give you what I can of that tradition, especially as it influenced Father Damasus.

[01:08]

Therefore, to speak about Abba Herwegen, Uzo Kassel, something about the monastical ideal of these fathers, both as ideal and as realized in our monastery. And it is a very good wall of the providence of God that today there are thirty-six years that Father Albert Hilde von Zerbecken died, second of September. This great man, And now, in preparing myself to these conferences, I could see that I, in all my visits to the States since 1963, I have spoken about this topic, Otto Kassel and the mystery theology or the theology of mysteries. It's very strange.

[02:11]

Allow me to speak shortly about his visits. I was beginning in Minnesota, in St. Joseph, to the sisters of St. Benedict there, in St. Cloud. In the same year, I have spoken about this topic in St. Benoit-Aulac in Canada. Then later on in 74, I could speak about it in the Abbey of Gethsemane. and other trappist abbeys in Guadalupe, in Oregon, in Genesee. And in Worship 1976, I could write about Odo Casel in retrospect. And evidently I have spoken about all these topics also in Europe, especially in Italy, in Rome, in Sant'Anselmo, during many years, and not I alone, nearly all the professors in the liturgical institute in Sant'Anselmo in a certain way, were very much faithful to the ideas of Otto Kassel, especially my predecessor as president of the liturgical institute, Father Salvatore Marsili, the abbot of Final Pier.

[03:26]

I could speak about it also in Padua, in this institute of pastoral liturgy, in 69 until 77, in Spain 79, And in France, 80, and of course in Germany, 79, to all the sisters, not all the sisters, but many sisters, young sisters, novices of the Benedictine convents in Germany, and finally also in this Theologische Real Encyclopedia of the Protestant Theology in Modern Work, excellent work in many, many volumes, and there I could write a short synthesis of Udo Kassel, his life, his work, and the influence he had. In all these attempts or trials, I tried to realize the splendid works of the Vatican Council, in the liturgical constitution, the Actio Sanctum Concilium, liturgy is a sacred action, actio sacra precedento, cujus efficacitatem nulla alia actio ecclesiae equiparare protest.

[04:40]

Therefore, liturgy, worship, is a sacred action, which could not be, to which nothing is similar, Nothing is greater than this sacred action. No other action of the Church is so great as the liturgical action in which the work of our redemption is given present. This is a reward. of the council, but here is the entire doctrine of Odo Castle really taken and presented with the authority of a council, to say so. of the greatest efficacy. So that liturgy also, it is not enough to celebrate liturgy. Nevertheless, liturgy, this sacred action is culminate from the highest point, the highest reality of every work of the church and the source, the fountain from which all the activity of the church is coming.

[05:50]

And then also in some of the instruction after the council, the Roman authority said the intention of the reform of the liturgy is not so much to change texts and forms, but to obtain this pastoral action which could be obtained ut mysterium Paschale vivendo exprimatur, that the Paschal mystery could be realized, exercised, vitally, in an authentic celebration. And at the same time, so that after this celebration, our entire life is impressed, is formed by the Paschal mystery of Christ, therefore of his death and his resurrection. And in all these deliberations, some words of the Holy Scripture can give you

[06:55]

the synthesis, the summa, the entire riches of this vision. For example, in the epistle to the Colossians, first chapter 26 and 27, the apostle says, my office is to announce and to my office is to deliver his message in full, to announce the secret hidden for long ages and through many generations, but now disclosed to God's people, to whom it was his will to make it known, to make known how rich and glorious it is among all nations. The secret is this, Christ in you, the hope of a glory to come. That is the translation of the Greek text in the Oxford Bible, modern edition.

[07:57]

But the tradition is not right. It's not enough according to our vision of the castle in Marialak. It may be allowed to take the original text first in Greek, at least the most important word in 2, in 1, 27. In Latin, Therefore, the English translation here, the modern translation, has translated too verbally what Divizia, the riches of this sacrament, of this Mysterion.

[09:16]

Secret is not enough. Secret is too fewer. It is better to take with Cazel, with Odo Cazel, the original text, because it is speaking more clearly and more vigorously the Mysterion. Divizia hui sacramenti, The Plutus says, Doc says, tu mysterio tutu, the riches of this mystery of glory and the mystery is precisely Christ in you as hope of a glory to come. And then again in the same epistle to the Colossians 2, 2. Again, the translation here says, I want them to continue in good heart and in the unity of love and to come to the full wealth of conviction which understanding brings and grasps God's secret.

[10:25]

No, not only God's secret, a hidden truth, but more still, the mystery of God. And the mystery of God is Christ himself, nothing else. That is the war of St. Paul in this epistle. And here is also the substance of all the theology of Odo Casel. In all his books, in all his works, in his entire theology, to which we also dedicated our life in Maria Laage during many years, is this, to announce the mystery of God, which is Christ, Christ present, the presence of Christ in you, as the hope of eschatological glory, which must come still. Therefore, in his ideas, the central topic of all our work in Maria Lark.

[11:28]

And therefore now I must speak about it, about this monastery of Maria Lark, which is one of the roofs, which is one of the foundations in which is founded your monastery here in Monsevier, with Fr. Damozo Swinson. And again, it is for me a little bit difficult to speak about it, because I must glorify this monastery. Yes, we did it. And always speaking in all these visits in the States, in all these years I have taught in Rome and in my speech in France, in Spain, in Germany, I was always realizing that here really is not our merit, but the grace of God, who has given us the possibility to speak about this central heart, this internal riches of the Word of God, which is mystery, is mysterion. To speak with the first chapter to Ephesians,

[12:37]

Therein lies the richness of God's free grace, which loves imparting full wisdom and insight. He has made known to us his hidden purpose, mysterion, hidden purpose, his hidden will, his hidden action, Such was his will and pleasure, determined beforehand in Christ, to be put in effect if the time was ripe, namely, that the universe, all in heaven and on earth, might be brought into unity in Christ. In Greek, ἀνακεφαρά οἶζεσθαι τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ χεστῶ, bring all the things together. to unity as church under the head who is Christ. And this effect, this work, was conceived from all the eternity in God. Sacramento voluntatis suae, the mystery of his will, conceived in all the eternity in God to be fulfilled in the fullness of times in Christ.

[13:58]

not only for him personally, but so that the entire world would be brought together in unity under Christ as head. It is the gospel, to say so, of Christ and our entire intention in all these years in Maria Lacha has been to announce this Gospel, to announce the possibility to share in it in our liturgical celebration, so that celebrating Acting our worship, we realize this work, conceived from all the eternity, realized in Christ in the fullness of time, given to us in the Church, to be realized in every sacred mystery, in the sacraments, in every action of worship, know, to be realized furthermore in the entire life, in the hope that all this may be realized

[15:11]

Finally, in the eternal Kingdom of God, one mystery from eternity, in Christ, now in the Church, to be fulfilled in the age to come. No, we were talking about this in this monastery of Maria Laak. Therefore, I must speak for a while about this monastery, which is really a famous one. Not because we, feeble men, are working there, but because God has chosen us. And this monastery, so famous one in the entire world, you could say, is one of the foundations of your monastery here. This monastery is famous, you know it first, and therefore so many thousands and thousands of visitors every year come to see us in Marialag of our wonderful scenery. The lake and woods with deers and sometimes wild swine. What's that in English?

[16:12]

I don't know. Schwein. No, a terrible, dangerous animals. Okay. And our fields. made millions of years before by volcanic explosions and so on. But in this wonderful scenery there is this marvelous search from the 11th, 12th century, during eight centuries conserved without any fire, without any war and so on. A wonderful realization of the Frankish-German spirit of the Middle Age. a little church, not so great as Cluny, but in a certain way, a very modest realization of this powerful spirit of Cluny in the Middle Age. French and German, France and Germany, together, not the only one possibility, but one possibility to show the greatness of the work of Christ in the middle of the world.

[17:19]

and his church. had its monastery during 800 years, 700 years, until it was suppressed by Napoleon in 1802. It was not a great monastery, not a very important monastery. Nevertheless, we have some good witnesses about his work in the 12th and the 13th century, very famous also in the 16th century. Nevertheless, it was not a great abbey as Reichenau, as St. Gallen, and Einsiedeln and other monasteries in the Middle Ages in Germany. It was a Cluniac monastery? No, no, no. It was an independent German abbey which followed in the first centuries a little bit Cluny, but it has never been an independent monastery of Cluny. And later on, on the end of the 15th century, until the suppression under Napoleon, it was a member of the famous North German congregation of Bursfeld.

[18:30]

But then it was suppressed, remaining private possession, and became for the first time famous, it's very strange, in the entire world by the Jesuits, who have taken this monastery in 63. and made it Collegium Maximum, the very great college of the Jesuits in Germany, with many important works, which really for the first time made famous this monastery in the entire world. Collectio Lachensis, a collection of the acts of the First Vatican Council, Philosophia Lausensis, a modernistic philosophy of St. Thomas in Latin, Cursus Sacra Scripturae, edited by Knabenbauer and other fathers, and also by the very important periodical Stimmen aus Maria Laag, Voices of Maria Laag. Okay, so they worked there, but only for ten years.

[19:33]

And then in the Prussian Kulturkampf, the conflict between Bismarck and the church, the Jesuits and all the other orders, religious orders must leave Germany, also the Benedictines. But meanwhile, the Benedictines and the Dominicans and all the other orders could come back. The Jesuits could not come back. and therefore protesting against the expulsion. They continued to call this review Stimmen aus Maria Lach, always, also after that we were there and we were protesting against it. But they said, no, we don't change the title. Only when in the first war, they could come back in 1617, they changed it. In the actual still existing review, Stimmen der Zeit, the most important Catholic periodical for lone people in Germany, But then the Jesuits could not come back. They remained there as owners for the administration, but they could not work there.

[20:35]

Therefore, in 92, they sold it to the Benedictines of Beuron, and now we were beginning as Benedictines there. Therefore, we are more or less a young monastery, only 90 years. But again, we were followed by the grace of God. who has inclined the former emperor, the last emperor of Germany, William II, to help us. We could buy the property, the farm of this monastery only because the emperor himself has said to us, you will have the church. The Jews never have used the church. They didn't need it so much because they were studying only and walking only and preaching only and not so much praying. or perhaps privately, but not in office. Therefore, the emperor said, you will get it. And a half a year after that, we have taken the farm. You could also go into the church. The emperor then has visited very often.

[21:39]

And at that time, 1900, 1910, before the first war, the favor, how do you say, the grace of the emperor was of the greatest importance for the monastery. And this favor of the emperor was also the reason that the first abbot, a very holy man, Wilibert Benzler, monk of Beuron, became the bishop of Metz, the only one German bishop in Lorraine, in Metz, in this German time until 1919. And he was so great and so sent as bishop, we are thinking always still it could be possible to canonize him at once. And he is still not forgotten in Metz itself by the people there. Also, he was a German. He was fighting also against the German generals during the first war that his French-speaking diocesans could have their worship in French. so that the Germans more or less wished to arrest him.

[22:39]

And when then the French people came, they asked him to sing in the cathedral of Metz, at the stadium, for the victory. And he said, no, not for the victory, for the peace, because I have also German diocesans. Therefore, a man of justice, a real martyr, then he must leave the country. So, and the second abbot was a young monk of Beuron, Fidelius von Stötzingen, who then, 13 was elected Abbot Primate, successor of Ildefon de Henting. Therefore, already by the first two abbots, this monastery became a monastery of a certain glory, to say so. But then we had the third abbot, Ildefon Terwegen, who died 36 years ago in this day, today. And we must be thankful to him because all what we have today, we have received it more or less from him.

[23:46]

He was a very great man. And you can see it in this little book which we published in the occasion of his 100th birthday in 74, with the title, What Do You Think? What Do You Take? church could be. What do you think about the church? With some wonderful sermons which wish to illustrate his greatness of Abbot Urban Bomm, of Pater Emanuel von Severus, and especially also of a professor of Trio who gave appreciation of him after the Second Vatican Council. Was he what's now, after the council, Abbot Ildefond Herweg, and today still, 36 years after his death, could signify for us. It would be very nice, because it's written in German, to translate it sometimes in English.

[24:48]

The importance of Abbot Herwegen, for the moment for me it is impossible to insist too much in him, in his personality. I wish to insist more in his work. The importance is that he, from the first beginning, already before he became abbot, was insisting in the necessity of a liturgical apostolate. He is not the first to have insisted in it. All that we have received, all vote or which we have, we received it from Belgium. Mont Cesar, Kaisersberg, Lambert-Borouin, in the wonderful Congress in Malin, Mechelen, was insisting in liturgy as the source of the entire Christian life. It's more or less the same word which was pronounced already by Pius X in 1903, but nobody was attending to it.

[25:57]

It was a word which is given from the Pope some weeks after that he became Pope. in motu proprio tra le solicitudini, where he insisted in the necessity of reformation of the Gregorian chant. And at the same time, he says, liturgy is the indispensable, is the very necessary source and fountain of every Christian life, a real, authentic celebration of liturgy. Nobody was attending to it. Nobody was understanding it. And also, the wonderful decrees of Pius X about the Holy Communion were not understood in a liturgical way. You remember perhaps, Aldo, that in that time we were receiving very often Holy Communion before the Mass, outside the Mass. In my young years, I have seen in some parishes, churches, this custom that after the consecration, a second priest came, took the blessed sacrament from the tabernacle and distributed Holy Communion.

[27:01]

Meanwhile, the priest was continuing his Mass and the faithful had no contact with it. Only after 1909, after Lambert-Baudouin, we were insisting he must receive Holy Communion as our wonderful participation in the sacrifice of Christ present here in the Mass. So Lambert-Baudouin was insisting in it. And the Belgian people, with the activity of this French and Dutch speaking people, this activity was able to make a wonderful success. already giving origin to a very famous controversy. The Jesuits, believing in the first moment, at that time, today they are liturgists as we, but at that time they were fearing that all their methods, exercises of St. Ignatius, were destroyed by this liturgical movement.

[28:02]

They were fighting against Lambert Baudelaire. and against other monks who were explaining the wonderful possibilities of this liturgical conception. It was nearly a danger of death, but the first war then stopped all these controversies. Nevertheless, Abbot Ildefonds Hervegen has taken the inspiration of this Belgium war since 1913 when he was elected abbot. For the first time, he could collect some young students to participate in the liturgical celebration of the Holy Week, Good Friday, the great vigil of Easter. And between these young students have been very important men who later on became leaders of the European nations, Heinrich Brüning, the last Chancellor of the Republic of Weimar, and Robert Schumann, after the Second War, Minister of the Foreign Affairs of France.

[29:11]

He was of Mitz. Therefore, you can see that in the first beginning already, liturgy was conceived as a source of Christian activity, of Christian life, of Christian witness outside, not only in the peaceful meditation. inside of the church, but authentic celebration of liturgy, to share in the work of Christ presently here in the liturgy, that we are able to live this mystery also as witnesses of Christ in the world, dying to sin, living in Christ. So, he was beginning, and when he became abbot, immediately in 14, before the war still, He was celebrating together with the Akademikverband, the Association of Catholic Academical People, students and also professional men, the Holy Week. And he was repeating this through all the years until the Second World War, in the times between the two wars.

[30:17]

The war, World War I, in the first moment was stopping this activity. But already in the end of the first, during the first war, Eastern, Abbot Helwegen and his monks were beginning then apostolate, the liturgical apostolate, in a new way, with these wonderful collections, Ecclesia Orans, the praying church, and the first volume of this collection was Romano Guadini, The Spirit of Liturgy. I don't know if you have read this wonderful book, which for us, in 20, 22 has been the inspiring book to vitalize, to bring to life liturgy.

[31:21]

And he was speaking about liturgy as play, where we stay before God, not seeking any concrete business successes, but only to internal sense, zwecklos aber sinnvoll, very important, wonderful work. To stay before God, it may be stupid to do so because it would be better to make money, but no, no, no. We stay before God to adore him, to worship him. We know here is the source and the fountain of our activity. So he was beginning in Eastern 1918 with this work. And then immediately later, still before the end of the war, Kulivert Muhlberg, one of his monks, was beginning the Liturgie wissenschaftlichen Quellen und Forschungen, Sources and Studies of History of Liturgy, with the addition of a sacramentary, showing the intention of the liturgical work.

[32:30]

After the war, this then was going on and followed in 1921 by the first volume of the Jahrbuch für Liturgiewissenschaft, Honorary for Liturgical Science, edited by Odo Kassel. And also Father Odo Kassel himself, before the end of the war, was publishing in the second volume of Ecclesia Urans, his first great work, The Memorial of Our Lord in the Old Liturgy. Where he, for the first time, was showing that in the liturgy we are celebrating the memorial of our Lord. Memorial not in a subjective meaning, but memorial so that what we are recalling is really present. Therefore, already the substance of his later entire theology of the mystery presence. And so on, the abbot together with his monks was beginning this work of liturgical apostolate for a greater Christian public and also for learned people in both lines.

[33:50]

And he continued so during his entire time as abbot from 18 until the beginning of World War II, with his entire monastery. And here again, there is the providence of God. He was a great man, a very important man. And without him, perhaps it would not have been possible to do so. But he had the chance to have a great, not army, no, a great number of monks to help him always. And you know some of these monks. One of the greatest has been his prior, My novice master, Albert Hammenstede, perhaps somebody of you, of the older has known him because he was sent together with father damasus and father leo von rudloff in thirty-eight to the states to seek for us a place of refuge for the case that hitler would suppress us he was the great man who uh... could inspire us with love to liturgy and uh... with the great sense of liturgy also in a very human way if abbot herwig sometimes was a

[35:11]

How do you say in English? Hierarchical figure. He was more human, very nice, very kind, filled also with Rhenish humor. of Cologne, and so on. Very human man, excellent man. And then together with him and all these learned people, this was first of all, Cunibert Mohlberg, the great editor of the old sacramentaries, not only in 1918, but then later on, and especially still after the second war in Rome, in the studio, nor in the Reum Ecclesiasticae documenta in the edition of the Sacramentarium Leonianum, Sacramentum Veronense, Gallicanum Vetus, Goticum, and Gelasianum Vetus, of four important sacramentaries, and many others still before the Second World War.

[36:20]

And with Konrad Mohlberg then, the great, from whom we must speak more still later. And then still some other learned people, Stefan Hilpich with his History of the Benedictine Order. And his smaller books about the history of monks and of sisters have been translated also in English. He was my, how do you say in English, zelato, the second, the helper of the master in my young years. Wonderful man too. All excellent. And if I said Albert Hamstiese was a man of Rhinish humor, a good man, a human man. He was also sometimes a little bit pessimist. Meanwhile, Father Stefan Hildbrich was filled always with optimism. Therefore, all these people could work together in the same way to help to realize the great propositions of the Abbot Ildefon Herwegen.

[37:23]

And then still another man who is not so known in the world, but he is very competent for the history of the congregation of Burgsfeld, Paulus Volk. All these are dead now, but then there were many of us still who were working, from all these old wonderful men who then especially after the war became novices and were working. I must name still Father Urban Baum, later Abbot, one of the successors, the second successor of Abbot Ildefons. The great man who has published one of our most important German missiles before the Vatican Council, Dieter Darius Schmitz, who was the great seller of that time. and also Salara after the Second War. He must leave Germany in consequence of some conflicts with the Nazi and then he became the great Salara of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro.

[38:33]

And Father Damasus, when he founded here, the house wished to have him here too as Salara. but he preferred to remain in Germany. Therefore, he was one of the great sellers of that time, and without his ecumenical foundation, it would not have been possible to work all this, to make all these things. And then, many of us still, from all these men, and then there was Winston, evidently, He was one of the most excellent young novices and young monks in that time, and he was together with me in the novitiate. We were studying together in Rome for many years. We have been ordained in the same day. And we were teaching philosophy both in our philosophical school in Maria Laak for the entire Bolognese congregation, also with many young monks of Fort Augustus, Anselm, and Ansgar, and Karuf, and all these people.

[39:44]

And then he was the great philosopher in our monastery, a very spiritual man. spiritually rich in his retreats for priests. And for my opinion, he was so great that if he would have remained in Maria Lanck, I suppose that he would have been elected successor of Abbot Ildefons in 1946. But then he left Germany sent to the States to seek a place of refuge. And he has written to me at that time that it's the first great sacrifice which I must bring for Marie-Alain to go away from it, to go to the States, to try to find here a new place. The first great sacrifice. I bring it because I like my monastery and wish to help it that it could persevere. Later on, after the war, when we had no more intention to continue because we wished to remain in Germany, there was no more danger to be suppressed.

[40:53]

He then has seen the great possibilities given in the States and he remained here with the permission of the Abbot. You know these difficulties of him in Regina Laudis, in Connecticut, and then finally in 1951 founding this monastery. And in all this work, which is illustrated by these names, by many others still, we can say we tried to show the importance of liturgy in our studies, in our apostolic work, especially also in our life, in a very authentic celebration of liturgy in our monastery, in our retreats given to the people, and especially in one way, which is one of the most important realizations of our liturgical ideas, in the crypt of our monastery, very nice crypt of a Romanesque church,

[42:12]

of the 11th century. In 21, Father Albert Hammenstede, the prior and novice master, for the first time in Germany was celebrating the Missa Dialogata, the Dialogue Mass, Missa Recitata. We have been not the people who was inventing it, because also here the first being must have been in Belgium. But in Germany we have been the first, in the same time celebrating the mass facing the people, for the first time in the entire history of Germany, because meanwhile in Rome it was always so, until today in the papal masses when the Pope is celebrating mass he is facing the people. But in Germany never, because after the 8th, 9th, 10th century, the altar was put against the wall or with a relic shrine here.

[43:13]

on it, it was not possible to face the people. Therefore, the first time we did it, to realize a greater community in our liturgical celebration, and he did it first only with the novices, a great novice. He was the novice of Urban Schmitz, Urban Baum, Thomas Winston, Audra Hyming, still today alive, and then later on I too came to it, but I came later, I was younger. And every day we did it, realizing so the possibility of real, authentic Eucharistic celebration. No more, as our laborers in that time must do it. There were a hundred men, wonderful men, masters in their craft work, hand work. They were assisting to a private mass, a silent mass in the church, on the high altar, very distant, in silence, no communication to the altar.

[44:22]

receiving Holy Communion from the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, in the other direction, from the tabernacle. And some of the old good brothers said, we don't participate, we don't share in this heretical mess in the crypt. That's for 21. Every day, every day, we were celebrating Mass. Everyone bringing his host of authority to the altar himself, 10, with the young clerics sometimes 15 or 20. Everyone went to the altar, brought the host to the altar, receiving it back in time of communion in Hoc Sacro Sancto Comercio. And this wonderful transmutation, the body of Christ, And sometimes, very often, Fr. Peier Albert Hammenstede was speaking there. But this time, he tried to get the laborers. And really, in 1924, for the first time during Lent, he, Albert Hammenstede, together with the master of the brothers, Simon Stricker,

[45:30]

could realize to bring together all these men, 100, more than 100, every morning in Lent, 24. And every morning before the Mass, he or Fr. Simon were speaking, explaining the Mass. We all stayed. And sometimes they were speaking so long that already the sign for the second series of Masses was given when he was speaking still. And then we must continue to say the Mass. It was marvelous. And so this mess became famous in the entire Rhineland. And especially young people, young boys came. We came from the great cities, Düsseldorf and Essen, looking to this catacomb mess, mess of catacombs. It was not catacombs, but it seems to be so. And then we tried to imitate it in the great cities, together with the example given in Rodenfels by Romano Guardini. And therefore sometimes we called this mess Kryptamesse. of Lahr or Burgmesse of the quickborn of the Catholic youth movement of the castle of Rodenfels.

[46:36]

In every case, we tried to imitate it. And the young people came. And so became this mess very famous, always more famous. In all our retreats, every morning, the men of retreat, masters, students, boys, could share needs. And also the priests, in the last day at least. And it became so famous, this mess in the Krypton. that in the time of Nazi, it was said every young Catholic boy, at least once, must have been present in the Kupfermess of Lach to receive the spirit of resistance, of, how do you say in English, of spirit of war against the paganism of the Nazi, of Hitler, and so on. Therefore, in all these ways, we tried to stay together.

[47:37]

Abbot, his monks, the brothers, all still in two classes, that's true, in the solemn liturgy and his wonderful private liturgy in the crypta, with the dream, with the hope that it could be possible to come share in one coming day in the solemn liturgy in the upper church, receiving Holy Communion there, because in the high mass there was not Holy Communion. Therefore, when we must be ordained priests, sometimes we were inviting our lay monks, they could continue to receive Holy Communion in a real Eucharist. We must say our private mass, as Martin Luther said it, our Winklmessel, or little mass, or mass in an angle, and could not participate in the high mass. It was not possible.

[48:39]

Only the deacons and subdeacons received with time the permissions to receive Holy Communion in this high mass, and then they must remain in, how do you say, in the union, in fasting, totally from four in the morning until half past 11. when the mass was finished. We did it in that time to have this possibility to share in really in the liturgy and so on. But no, the entire community is staying together to be really a church in this place. Therefore, on the one hand, studying, preaching, insisting in liturgical apostolate, Then in staying together in liturgical celebrations, so far it was possible in that time according to the liturgical laws of that time. And staying together as community. In these good years, until 1939, sometimes 150, 160, 170.

[49:43]

And then in the second war, stopped all these possibilities. We could not continue to work outside. Then we must also arrange our timetable, because according to a very famous word of this Nationalsozialisten, Räder müssen rollen für den Sieg. The wheels must go on to obtain the victory. We could no more say the time is at nine o'clock, We must work the entire day for the victory, to say so. And therefore, we used this necessity to celebrate our high mass very quickly in the morning, half past seven or eight o'clock, where it was still possible to receive Holy Communion.

[50:44]

Therefore, during the war, the consequence of the necessity of the wars, for the first time we realized this great possibility to receive Holy Communion in our homes. You can say, so with all our famous word of that time, das tanken wir dem Führer. We owe it to the Führer. God's providence is always marvelous. But no, between these monks who were working with the abbot together, receiving his conferences, The entire community, once a week, the choir amongst the priests, still over two times in the week, and his directions, and studying, and with our apostolate, trying to stay together in brother, in fraternal love. Between all this, there was one monk who still was more famous than all the others, and that is Otto Kassel.

[51:52]

He was a student of the university in Bonn, brought to our monastery by Herbert Herrwegen, who was studying too there. And then he was finishing his studies with a doctorate in the University of Bonn about the mystery silence of the old Greek philosophers in 1917. And then his first great books, The Memorial of Our Lord in the Old Liturgy, liturgy as a celebration of mystery, and in the edition of the Jahrbuch, of the Annuary of Liturgical Science, where he was exposing his idea. And the fundamental point of his idea is, in our liturgical celebration, the work of redemption is made present so that we can share in it, that we can die with our Lord, we can live with him.

[52:58]

That is the mystery of God, which is Christ. Christ, who died, who has risen. In him are all the richnesses of wisdom and grace. Therefore, we must celebrate liturgy to concern in his work to be redeemed, to be children of God, to be members of the kingdom of God and so on in the hope of the eschatological fulfillment of all such things. And we were trying to study these points, and also in common works, collecting the different studies of the monks in little books. And therefore, in 1925, we made the addition of a small book, Mysterium, only the title Mysterium. Collected works, collected studies, collected papers of the monks of Maria Laage.

[54:01]

The theology of mystery was always connected with the name of our monastery. And here, Odo Kassel, Albert Herwegen, Athanasius Wintersich, and some others were presenting their ideas, always insisting in this explanation of the mystery of God, which is conceived from all the eternity. prepared by the works of God in the Old Testament, fulfilled in the fullness of time in Christ, in His death, in Incarnation, death and resurrection, to be celebrated, to be actualized in our liturgical mysteries, in our liturgical celebrations, in all the sacraments, that it could persevere and continue in our daily life in the hope that it could be fulfilled in the eschatological kingdom of God. All this, one mystery of God, Christ Jesus, in the church, realized by us in the honor of God.

[55:07]

But this idea was not yet quite ripe, and therefore, 1925 was beginning a terrible controversy, which again made this work known in entire Germany and in the world, especially between the Benedictines and the Jesuits, Umberg, Hansens in Rome, Prun, and so on. Sometimes this was awful. But Otto Castle always fighting, in great walks defending himself. We were helping him, never losing the courage. Meanwhile, we sometimes could nearly lose the courage. I remember when Umberg has written his second great article against Kassel. He said in the end, all what he has said about the presence of the work of God, of Christ in the liturgical action, is a fata morgana. What do you say? Fata morgana.

[56:10]

Nothing. A dream. And I remember still the place where Father Albert Hammershede told to me, terrible article of Umberg, all is Fata Morgana. I answered him, oh, I don't believe it. Oh, it's terrible. Well, Karl always sprung against him. And it's very strange. Today all these things are forgotten. He was persevering. He must correct something, and we still, after his death, were correcting some points of it. But the final, the great, essential essence of his doctrine remained and was crowned in a wonderful way by the Vatican Council. If you read the institutional constitution, number five, number six, number seven, until ten, you will see that Well, for example, in Numbers 7 it says, Christus praesens est in omni actioni liturgische ecclesia Jesue.

[57:19]

The Christ is present in every action of the church, first of all in the Eucharist, in the community. and the President, and especially under the species of bread and wine, substantially. He is present in every sacramental actions because he is baptizing. He is present when the word of God solemnly is read in the church. He is present when two or three are collected together to pray. He is in the midst of them. Therefore, because liturgy is so great by the presence of God, liturgy is sacred action in an eminent sense, culminate front, and you must share in it to be real Christians. More or less, the Vatican Council has approved not the entire doctrine of castle, it's too much to say, but at least the last intention of it. Here's the most important point. And now I must finish this time already.

[58:20]

I wish to say only our great possibility has been to announce this Gospel in the sense of this word of the Apostle in the first and second chapter of the Epistles of the Colossians, in the sense, in the meaning of this declaration of the Vatican Council. Our difficulty today, after the Council, is today we are no more pronouncing the great vote for years and years for ten and twenty and thirty years everyone knows it self-help for today announcement is no more no more so important our duty today's to pass a few years to limits to remain faithful also there are big difficulties in all the time is finished at least and Persevering in the big crisis we had after the Council. You know, we left, no, we lost at least 20 from the younger people who went after the second war to us.

[59:33]

We had a wonderful young people after the war. The best of them have left us. Why? I don't know it. But nevertheless, We must continue to live according to this wonderful vision which was given to us in that time, which was one of the great foundaments of Father Damasus. And still when I was in Del Barton in his days, President Martin told me the remembrance of Damasus Winson and of Albert Hammenstede and Leo von Rudloff in their lectures. in Del Barton seminary is still alive in the clergy people, clergy and people of that region there. It was the great gospel at that time, which Fr. Ramos brought here to Montevideo, where you too must continue to live this attention, the presence of the mystery of Christ in our liturgical mysteries, to announce it to the people, to leave it here in this small community as a witness of the greatness of God.

[60:44]

And perhaps we could continue to speak about it still in our possibilities.

[60:49]

@Transcribed_v004
@Text_v004
@Score_JJ