You've all heard of him one way or another. I was ready to talk to him. newborn babes, but I feel the range is larger, more difficult to focus. But I thought it might be of some value, you know, for you too, to tell you just a little something personal about my our own monastic vocation and the circumstances of the times, then that brings you back to 1918, 1920. Far back. But very similar to these days, you know. In many ways, I'm just struck by the similarity of the general spiritual situation.

[01:16]

In Germany in 1918, that was the year of the breakdown, the empire of William II. And that had a great effect, of course, a deep effect on the younger generation. And at that time, you know, 17, 18 years, so it's the time if one begins to be constructive or tries to be constructive and to react in a constructive way to the circumstances of times. In those days, you know, I compare that very often here in the United States, you forgive me and you will understand, you know, if I say that Sometimes I have the feeling that what we are going through, can you hear what I say? What we are going through now here is in some way kind of a little retarded, you know, in comparison to those years in Europe, 1918.

[02:22]

The years of course in which the social order, the old social order broke down and new ideas coming up, in the political field, in those years we were all practically communist, my generation at that time. There was also the youth movement, a movement of strong protest against what we may call bourgeois society. We went out, we looked for our freedom, we found the freedom in the German way, in the hiking, you know, going into the sticks, you know, and so on, and there then kind of starting life all over again, seeking and searching for new beginnings, and new beginnings which were not bare of some defiance, of course, of the old order.

[03:24]

That was the time when we had, for example, our masses, you know, the celebration of the mass outside, you know, in a freeway with guitars, all these things, you know, very revolutionary. And I think it's interesting and it's important to kind of remember that. At those days of a, let us say, relative, how can one call it, I wouldn't call it anarchy, but really a kind of breakthrough and a getting rid, you know, of customs and of traditions, of social prejudice and all these things. We try to really start society, you know, and common life in society on a new basis. on basis of brotherliness and of mutual understanding, especially on the basis of freedom, very much.

[04:32]

And looking back, one can see that, yeah, one can see in some way that many, many, many of the ideas that later on became, through the liturgical movement, slowly the common position of the church, and that received a sanction in the Second Vatican Council, really were very much alive among ourselves in those days. The protest against, as I say, the institution, very strong. The seeking for a personal koinonia, a real kind of living community In Germany, we made the distinction between Gesellschaft und Gemeinschaft. Gesellschaft, society. Gemeinschaft, community.

[05:35]

Society out, community in. You see, I mean, that was kind of our program in those days. And in this milieu, we then suddenly and in a very unique way this idea of the monastic vocation hit me when I was at the University of Göttingen studying comparative religion and then seeing this announcement there on the blackboard that the prior of Mariala would speak about the idea of the transfiguration of the glorified Christ in the liturgy of the Advent season. And I said to this friend of mine, Gustav Mensching, who is now a professor of comparative religion, he made the grade and I didn't.

[06:40]

And he resides now in Bonn, you know, in academic pomp and glory. Very successful, you know, this kind of thing. And I said to him, now this is something new. Because we had, before we were at not exactly just reverential distance, you know, from any ecclesiastical affairs, especially Catholic affairs, but we kind of watched them out of the distance and we saw Jesuit the Jesuits coming, you see, to the university and speaking about the first chapter of Genesis and modern science. We didn't go because we knew that the Jesuit was committed before he started. And the Franciscans came and spoke regularly on the sixth commandment. It was not a cup of tea either. And here came a man who spoke about the liturgy of the Advent season, never heard this before, and the idea of the glorification of Christ, you know, and so on, the glorified King Christ, the glorified King, never heard that before.

[08:02]

But one had instinctively the feeling that he was not apologizing, nor was he moralizing, but he was kind of simply, I would say, unfolding what one would call the inner essence of things. When we listened to him, we realized that he was unfolding the inner beauty of things, the inner beauty of the liturgy, the liturgy as an unfolding, as a witness to that, one can say, divine joy of the celebration which is the expression of that precious heritage that Christ has left to his apostles when he, on Easter, greeted them peacefully with you and breathed on them his spirit as in a new creation of man, of a new man. So that simply, that was the thing that at that time just hit me.

[09:10]

And there was also in the person of our dear prior Albert Hamstead, who then later on became my novice master, and there was the, as I say, the witness or the contact with a man who evidently had absorbed culture. I mean, that was absolutely evident. And he was formed by, he had a deep inner spiritual form. He was not an ascetic, at least, you know, not professional. But he was a man one could realize, you know, the tremendous warmth, you know, of heart, and an openness, you know, to what one would call values, you see. And that was the thing that kind of really, I think, in some way, of course, great is always doing more than the, let us say, the event, even if one analyzes it carefully, can give and mean.

[10:24]

So it simply ended with this inner, absolute inner assurance, you know, I sang the only thing I could think of, you know, from the past was the first line of, Holy God we praise your name. So I sang that, you know, all the night through until the next morning I went to him, presented myself as candidate for monastic life. He looked at me And I think he had his misgivings about it, you know. Oh, dear. And then he said, now, I mean, that's all very nice, but he had two things. You know, one thing he said when he saw me in my urban, you know, clothes, he said, now, Maria Lahr is in the country, and all the monks, you know, help there on the fields and the farms, and I said, oof, I would say.

[11:35]

The only thing I knew about it was the Lüneburger Heide, which is one of the, now, agricultural, purely agricultural districts right north of Hanover, between Hanover and Hamburg, and there were these big you know, farms with straw roofs, you know, and so on, and the cows downstairs, and the people sleeping upstairs, and the cows provided the heat, you know, and the parfum also. So that, I was, you know, I dreaded this kind of thing terribly, you know, and But it was so simply so, you know, I mean, the gift of God's grace, you know, that I, there was a complete, you know, this is it, you know. I think he could have told me that Marie-Alain was in hell, and I would have gone there, you know.

[12:38]

There was that, this inner, I'm going to say, absolute inner wholeness, you know. There it was. not a great act, you know, of torturous, you know, abandoning the world and its treacherous aspects, but simply that this is it, you know. A kind of a, one can say, I think if I would express it in words, it would be the vision, a vision of the heavenly Jerusalem. just given, you see, thrown into one's lap. And so, and this is, you know, the inner, let us say, the inner center, you know, at least for me personally, of the monastic life. I know where I realize, you know, for example, at the time, rediscovering, you know, discovering for the first time the liturgy, for example, a hymn

[13:43]

like the glory, or discovering, let's say, the very idea of a hymn. Holy, holy, holy, just the idea of a hymn. Hence, we give you thanks, O Lord, for your great glory. Yeah, that was enough, you know, to just kind of... And I think doing my entire life is the thing that makes me tick. It's this, when I, for example, when I came in here, when was it, when I, when the retreat was given, it was 1951, 51. That was just the beginnings of Mount Savior. And when I came here, you know, the, my things were different, you know. There was, there was in some way, I mean, from my feeling, there was a kind of, intentional disregard, you know, for certain values, for example, of any aesthetical kind.

[14:50]

And now, you know, to come into this church in the year, and to see it, and to, my God, again I would say, here it is. And here, what does one say here? This is the kingdom of heaven. There is that simplicity, call it simplicity, call it purity. call it beauty, but beauty not in the way, you know, just a few months ago I was in Melk in Austria, you see, and then it says gold, and brown, and marble, you know, and so on, and the ceiling's painted in the greatest art so that it reaches into infinite perspectives, you know, of the very earthly heaven. But this, you know, can only compare with Mount Saviour.

[15:57]

So you see why I say this is it. But really, you know, to seriously, to see it, you know, this is, of course, this is monasticism. I tell you, you know, that I found all this then very fully and beautifully in Maria Lach, which is a Romanesque basilica, and the Romanesque, the old classical Romanesque is also, the principle is a maximum of message, you know, with a minimum of means, you know. The economy of means in the service of the Spirit. For example, our freedom depends on it. Isn't it true? If you are in the church here, I think every one of you has the same experience.

[17:00]

This church is freedom to breathe. Freedom. Nothing is being, you know, kind of forced on you. Statues have sometimes and always this kind of effect, you know, being too much, you know. But here is that, you know, it is the freedom of the first law, you know, just as if it were incarnate, you know, in this otherwise so simple building one realizes in its dimension in many ways, you know, bound to an architecture that was already there, but one doesn't really interfere with the effect, the end effect. So that, I would say, you know, That is what monasticism was after. It's this inner freedom, but it's the specific freedom which is the splendor of what we call bridal love, love of God for its own sake.

[18:09]

And therefore it cannot be, you know, and that is of course our situation today, Then, to tell you, just to kind of round out the historical story, I came to Mariela. I found a monastery at a high point of its history. I didn't realize that, of course. The abbot, uniformed, I mean really a part of spiritualist, with a tremendous culture also, broad outlook on things. with a very definite orientation at the same time, and very intent to give to the monastic community as a whole an impulse, a united impulse. And that was easy, because in those days the liturgical movement and the discovery of validity was a challenge that pointed into the future. It was not there at the time when we started. On the contrary, all the powers to be were dead set against it.

[19:17]

And among the powers were the Jesuits in the first place. Absolutely dead set against it. So therefore it's a challenge. So we have the feeling, you know, as novices and as juniors and so on, that we got into something that was a kind of No, one could call it a going concern. You know, I mean, really a concern that pointed into the future. And I think for Germanic souls that always is a kind of good situation to be in, because of that dynamism, the famous dynamism. And then, you see, and then this, you know, in the impulse of this kind of thing, too, Mount Saviour was founded. And Mount Saviour was founded because here, also as a challenge, but of course in still, you know, on some different, you know, and with some different ideas.

[20:20]

We did not want to imitate Mariella. We took the, let us say, liturgical impulse, you know, this specific, let us say, purity, we give you thanks, O Lord, for your great glory. And that's this thing, the precious pearl, very strong, you know, in our mind. And in some way, I must confess, deliberately, because when I came, if it's time, we have to... Ten more minutes. Ten more minutes. What about the questions? Shall I continue or shall we have questions? Continue. Continue? This was not a rhetorical question, I meant it. So therefore, you know, we had this and we came to this study. One of the things that I realized coming to this country and especially from the wine and of course the wine, you know, right and left, you know, there are the vineyards and the whole thing and all that goes with it.

[21:24]

And so here it was rather dry for that matter. And I had the great fortune to serve here first when I came to this country in a diocesan seminary of the Diocese of Newark, New Jersey. So I got the taste of the American church And also of the parish and the Sunday, you know, I still remember that I nearly fainted when on my first Easter Sunday, you know, the pastor climbed up to the pulpit, you know, and then announced, Mass is in this church, you know, 6.30, 7 o'clock, 8 o'clock, 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock, you know, so I'll start Easter Sunday from the pulpit, you know, with the announcements, you know. which absolutely squashed, you know, from the beginning any possible enthusiasm. It was just like a wet blanket on the whole thing.

[22:27]

So I thought, my, where is the psychology in all this? So therefore this embraces the joy of the celebration. It was all rubrics. You had to keep your hands like this. If you didn't, you know, it was just too bad because somewhere it was written black on white, you know. This is the way, you see. So I thought what the church here needs, you know, is that kind of inner affectivity, you know. I mean, if I say that it sounds snobbish, but you forgive, forgive me, you understand. Because one could see that the atmosphere in the rectory, you couldn't, I mean, the icebox is the only power that confounds it, it's impossible. So affectivity put, you know, out. So therefore, you know, we did this on purpose, you know, in some way I thought if we are as monks at Mount Saviour, that's why we call it Mount Saviour, in remembrance of the mountain of the Transfiguration, you know,

[23:37]

the manifestation of salvation, and so on, and then Moses, and Elias, and Johannes, and John, and Peter, and the whole thing there, around as the place, you know, where one could celebrate the feast. And to bring this kind of message, you know, to the to the American Catholics. It was, in some way, one of our reasons, let us say. But you can see that right away, that this is, of course, something which kind of follows, and that was our great consolation, which kind of flows out of the inner being of the monk. He simply radiates it. If he knows it or not, maybe better. If he doesn't know it, but we knew it, unfortunately. And in that way, you know, this kind of radiation, and then the freedom, and then this whole, this inner, let us say, gnosis, you know, the deeper understanding, which grows, you know, out of the breaking of the grid, you know.

[24:44]

Then the community life, which follows immediately from it, you know, the vita apostolica. These things, you know, again, for example, also, a hierarchy and a clerical order, which was very strict, very rigid, you know, and very cold, you know, interiorly. With all the talking about the sacred town, still very cold, you know, deep inside. And then, you know, to start a monastic life as a community life, then was kind of our dreams at the time. But of course, you know, this carried us And now, you see, of course, one runs into the same situation. These goals in some way have become official. Everybody now speaks of love, [...] love. Now that doesn't end at the same time, too. The liturgy, first of all in some way, the Roman liturgy to a certain degree is in shambles, you know, at least in the parishes to a certain degree.

[25:53]

On the other hand, you know, what we intended becomes a kind of commonplace, you know, very fast, and of course also engenders already a certain ennui, you see, a certain annoyance, or how you'd call it, and boredom, you know, of the thing that isn't quite new anymore. And that, of course, especially in a country like this, where you have to, in order to survive, in some way give the impression that you are ready to eat tomorrow's food today, you know, I mean, in that way. So we were not anymore, let us say, spearheading anything. And that, I can see, has its effect on the on the community. So my problem at the time, and that's one of the reasons why I came here, to talk, you know, with various people here, the senores, sabientes, you know, and so on, in the monastery, to, you see, personally, to me, it is no difficulty, because I didn't become a monk to march, you know, let us say, to spearhead any kind of procession into the future, I mean, except the eschatological procession.

[27:07]

But the other things, you know, now if what you say or what you do, you know, is the latest thing and so on, now that, you know, in the perspective of the first love, ah, mein Gott! What does it matter? If monasticism, let us put it, you understand when I say it, you know, oversimplifying our thoughts, you know, but if monasticism interiorly is love of God for love's sake, let's say, and what we say, the presence of the kingdom, always the difficulties with the Americans as well as the Germans, you know, have a difficult time to imagine a kingdom of the communion of saints where there is nothing to do. St. Augustine already had to fight against it. There are no poor ones, St. Augustine says. Just imagine no social workers necessary in heaven, and so on. No legislation, no great movement for Catholicism, and so on.

[28:14]

This whole thing all of what is left No movement, what is left? Yeah, St. Augustine has courage to say, what is left? Yeah, singing the Alleluia without ceasing. Oh, is that all? But I would say, yes, Deo gratia. Therefore, for you too, I mean, I don't know what stages of development you go through and so on, the inner battles. For us, you know, of course, the other day, somebody caused a tremendous uproar, you know, in the community, because he said, yeah, this life is irrelevant. And of course, everybody, you see. I don't want to be irrelevant.

[29:17]

I mean, that's the worst thing you could say. Irrelevant? To whom? There are two people who are not interested. So what? Abandon it, you know. because some people don't like it or it doesn't mean something there, I would absolutely continue until the end of time. Omnia saecula saeculorum. Back in 5152, and those of us who have persevered that far are glad to see him back. and he's the founder of Mount Saint Xavier over in New York and has been over to our monastery there near Rochester quite often.

[30:18]

So I'll let him take over. Takes my breath away and all my courage, you know, sit on the abysmal throne, you know. It simmers, surrounded by this imposing assembly of white cowards, you know. I mean, it always impresses me so much and reminds me of those happy days. They're one of the sins of my youth, you know, in 1951. giving the first zeal of a founder that hadn't quite hatched yet. Dear brothers in Christ, I wanted to thank you very much for this morning's memento at Mass, which we certainly need very much at Mount Saviour.

[31:28]

And you can imagine that the visit here is not just a kind of a chance thing, you know. They are off goes my own father, you know, again. Nobody knows where he will land, you know. But really in the ways of divine providence it's all determined, you know. And you know very well that from the beginning And we started, and the retreat here at Gethsemane had a lot to do with it. The line that we took at Mount Saviour was not exactly the line of the common line of the American Benedictines at that date. And we have continued ever since in this kind of precarious balance between white and black, you know. makes gray. That's why we have a gray habit. We wear gray habits.

[32:31]

Edmond Xavier is a mark of distinction. I hope it will survive the visit of our Abbot Private in June. Ask your special prayers because he is He is an American Cassanese of advanced observance. 43 years old and therefore looking very much into the future. I don't know to what degree we shall please him. But that is just the reason too, you know, for me to come here and to take, have this opportunity to talk to various members of the community, especially also to Father Chrysogonus on the Chan, on the liturgy and all that, and reading the latest things of Armand Begueux, you know, as a new star on the monastic horizon, and made a great impact there in San Anselmo, which is thesis

[33:41]

So all these things really help a great deal, you know, to me. And I think in these days we need that mutual, what St. Paul writes to the Romans, you know, I want to strengthen you in your faith, but then he corrects himself immediately, and I want to learn from you, you know, because he knew he was talking to the Romans. This is a wonderful opportunity. Now I thought, you know, that maybe It would help the cause. I don't know, have you ever heard a little about the Abbott's Congress or so? Not much. Maybe I just give a few points, you know, on the Abbott's Congress. You know very well, 1966 and 1967, we had two Congresses. The Abbott's Congress, as you know very well, the Benedictines are a confederation, and in this confederation,

[34:45]

Now every individual Abbot, each individual Abbey is very eager to preserve its privileges and independence. Independence is the key word in the Confederation. And that reduces the competence of the Abbot's Congress to a minimum. And mostly it is on San Anselmo, you know, how many bows the alumni should make or something like that. The divine office or so, things, earth-shaking rubrics, you know, of this kind. Then the abbots come back to their abbeys and of course the monks have a marvelous time, you know, joking about all the things that did not happen at these congresses. And on the other hand, the other object is the Abbot Pirate himself. And that's a touchy object because he's always there. So they were kind of... It was an unfortunate situation.

[35:51]

But then, of course, came the Vatican Council. And then came religious renewal, you know. I hate to even speak about, to mention the word, you know, because of the goose pimples it causes by this time. So, at least in most of the skins. And because of this different situation and this whole, it was necessary to make a little push, you know, ahead And a group of superiors got together before the Abbott's Congress, several years before, to prepare and to try if we couldn't do it and make it a little more useful event. And especially in view of the renewal. We met in Einsiedeln, we met in Montserrat and in Rome. And in this way 1966 was a little prepared.

[36:55]

We succeeded in putting things on the agenda which usually were condemned or not admitted, you know. And of course one was the liturgy and the question of the vernacular. and the other one was the question of monastic renewal, and the third, finally, the question of juridical organization of the Confederation. The first one, on vernacular, was kind of precarious, because when we came in 1966 to Rome, we found a very strong letter, each one had it on his desk, written, sent by the Holy Father concerning the the Latin tradition of our office and the role of the Benedictines in relation to this tradition. Now you can imagine that that put us interiorly into a very, very difficult position. And especially me because I had been chosen, you see, sometimes the abbots take the advantage, you know, of having priors around to stick out their necks.

[38:07]

And so I was chosen to give the thing on the vernacular, you see. It was always the system was you have one in favor of vernacular and the other one in favor of Latin. In favor of Latin was an abbot, in favor of the vernacular was a prior. And so to find this there you can imagine it was a very difficult really situation. But in another way, it was also, I think, an important step. Because one, we realized at the time, we realized all, you see, that certainly our own loyalty to the Holy Father. On the other hand also, the necessity in a situation like this, certainly in an objective way, to present the truth. What I tried to do, and I worked very hard on this thing, was really to show, and I think one can do that very successfully and relatively easily, to show that the original tradition of the Roman Sea, you know, as the sea which is between the East and the West, was always think that the Roman Patriarchate

[39:33]

The old Roman Patriarchate was to the greatest part Greek. All southern Italy was Greek, Sicily was Greek. The Roman Patriarchate also extended to Athens, extended to Thessaloniki, was part of the Roman Patriarchate. So that the real point of, or tendency of gravity in Rome was towards the Greek. part. And also the Greek language, as we know that very well, took then a long time, it was very difficult really, in Rome to establish the Latin. And as you know we have in the Ambrose Iaster marvelous passages in which the author of the Ambrose Iaster of the beginning of the 5th century explains and reflects the whole struggle that preceded and accompanied this change of language.

[40:37]

Rome really was preceded concerning the Latin language by Africa and held on to the Greek just for the sake and in the service of this specific Roman universality which was really to be a ball and not be apart in that way, but be above. And that can easily, historically and beautifully be demonstrated in how long this tradition in Rome really lasted into the 8th century. And John VIII, one of the popes who was well known to Pope John XXIII, was partly too responsible for him taking this name. a Pope who was very open to the East and especially to the Slavic nations, Bulgaria and then also Moravia and these countries, and who answered the famous mission, you know, there was this precarious situation of the Southern Slavs and their relation to Byzantium.

[41:47]

The Sorcerer's Staff said either to Rome, either you give us our own language in the liturgy or we go to Byzantium. That was of course a precarious situation. So, Methodius came, you know, and Cyril came from Byzantium with the vernacular, and then John VIII was the one who said, Laudate Dominum omnes trentes and omnes propres. So, all nations and all nations will praise the Lord, and praise the Lord, of course, their way with their language. So therefore he accepted, you know, the version and what we call the glycolytic right. And has then succeeded to last through several, now I can't call it, very painful edicts, you know, for example Gregory VII,

[42:54]

who said one shouldn't throw the pearls before the swine and therefore should keep the Latin. But all these things were practically, you know, simply disregarded. There was this tradition was established. It had been established with the consent of the Bishop of Rome, of the Pope, and it lasted through the century until Trent and so on. So it's in itself a very interesting and very, really very interesting field and easily be shown what really here Let us say the original Roman intention of Rome as the Caput Obis, you know, really is the head of the world, the universal one. And therefore the Roman, the original Roman policy was not different from the Eastern policy of the so-called Eastern churches. But it was originally the same policy.

[43:56]

It was changed in a drastic way only after the Council of Trent when the bishops had resigned their liturgical rites and had handed them over to the Congregation of Rites. So therefore that was then and but this breakthrough simply was made you know then and the Congress had this inner with all the say on our deep loyalty to the Holy Father still simply to to state the truth you know and the fullness of the facts as we see them and also of course the needs of our present time as we see them in various countries. Now there was of course a difference between many European countries in 1966 and especially America. countries. The North American abbeys were absolutely for the vernacular, while in Europe the situation was a little more divided.

[44:59]

However, in 1967 it had already been, even in Europe, changed drastically in the course of one year. So that was the, now we proceeded then, and Brooks sort of stated another principle which was important, you know, and that is that the, say, the principle of pluralism. The unity of the divine office does not rest on uniformity. The unity of the divine office is something which rests on the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who works in the, one can say, local church, and in this way also the freedom of development, liturgical development in the local church. Now these things and questions are still pending, but anyhow what was established was a period of three years of experimentation.

[45:59]

So the next congress will take place, you know, 1967, the next one is in 1970, and then, you know, the results of these experiments that are going on will then be discussed, and then we see what the last outcome of all of this whole period of experimentation will be. It's now going on in every church and at the moment the differences, variations are enormous, you know. I mean, it really goes a wide range. It takes in a wide range of difference. Now, we see we will survive it and we will probably come at Mount Saviour. At the moment, you know, we do have entered this period, and I comparing the two, comparing Mount Sebium with here, I must say that what you are doing here is much richer, also musically, much richer than what we do. Our little community, small community, is not able to work, to say, at the same pace, you know, and with that same also

[47:09]

The thinking and solidity, inspiration and imagination that is shown here in your attempt that you have here and you celebrate so successfully and beautifully in this new church which lends itself so beautifully to it. So what we do at the present moment is following the inner necessity, again the law of the local church, and it dictates to us economy at this moment. That means the cutting down, and somehow I always feel we are cutting down really to the bones, you know. But in some way, you see, I agree to that. Why? Because it seems to me it is necessary, at least in our circumstances, a divine office, as it comes down to us, you know, in the books. is the result of a long period of also of high, let us say, culture, cultural level of common, of community worship, which has been developed in the Mediterranean countries, especially then in Rome, and various and a great variety of, let us say, of forms

[48:35]

cult forms, let us say, versicles or antiforms, or responsories, so many different forms and orationes and so on, in which all are and present, you know, on the whole, a picture of very intensive let us say participation, I think antiphones and all these things in reality are elements, you know, in which the living, let's say vital participation of the community shows. It's also a means of either focusing the attention or changing the direction of the attention or ruminating in a meditative way about things that have been read and so on. So all these various elements. What I find in our monastery in some way, unfortunately, is that so few people in the community are prepared, you know, really to, let us say, accept this rich dish, you know, of community worship.

[49:51]

And so, therefore, I agreed, you know, that it could be cut down, you know, very much also the only thing that really was possible because they wouldn't be up to it musically, our people. But it gives the whole community, especially also the younger members, an opportunity really to think about it. It's not something that is simply forced upon them as a form which is there and you have to take it or die. but it is something that I hope you know has an opportunity to develop kind of from within and that is the general principle in a foundation like ours and maybe I could just mention it a little and then with the intention to recommend these things to your prayers. One thing that usually is not registered in the And when one speaks about the two congresses of abbots, these in 66 and 67, is the fact that there emerged a new group of monasteries.

[51:05]

And they called themselves Monasteria Vitae Simplicioris. So the monasteries of the simple life. Now, that was an old tradition. You see, the Benedictine setup always enjoyed this great variety. If one looks at them in general, one can divide them into three groups. One was always the liturgical abbey, the other one was the cultural abbey, and the third one was the, what I will call, the primitive abbey. The liturgical abbey, they are at home in France. That is, for example, Cluny. And then in our days, Solene. That is the... How can one say? No, you know enough about it. So, the other is... The cultural abbey is at home in Germany.

[52:08]

The Reichenau, St. Gaul, and so on, these abbeys The Germans always have to be mixed with culture somehow. I mean, that means then the affairs, you know, the public life and so on, and with the whole political movements and so on. These abbeys in Germany where reichs abtained, you know, and every abbot was a prince. and all these kinds of long, long traditions that goes there. And then it comes, of course, in contact with the flows, you know, from the policy of the Roman, of the German Emperors, you know, that for them the abbeys were centers of culture and of spreading also and establishing the unity of the Empire. Today, this tradition, as you know very well, is in our, in the Benedictine Confederation, is continued mostly by the abbeys that have schools.

[53:20]

The Austrian abbeys, for example, all Austrian abbeys are imperial abbeys. You go to Milch, you know, tremendous, it looks like a palace, you know, over the Donau, and Maria Theresia, and so on, at a marble hall in there, and all kinds of things. So that is the cultural Abbey. Today there are schools, and they are very good schools, and in that way culturally active. And then you have, and there were the other parts in the Vindicant Confederation, then the liturgical Abbeys, and they were under the leadership of Solem, and then also Abbeys like Boiron, Mariela, belong to it and to them in our days it was they were the champions of the liturgical movement and of the Gregorian chant. So then this third element of the Promethean Aries was lacking, and lo and behold, there it appears, you know, in 1966 and 67, in a various, in a great variety of monasteries that have arisen after the war.

[54:33]

There is, for example, in India, you know, then in Africa, quite a number, you know, Tumlilin in Morocco and so on, then Tumlilin's foundations in the Ivory Coast, And all these various, what is, what characterizes the Vitae Monasteria, Vitae Simplicios, to which also Mons. Xavier, of course, belongs to it, you know, and Western, and Vermont belongs to it, but also quite a number of young new foundations in South America, as in Chile, and very much in Argentina, and in Brazil. And so these, we read as simply jurists, if we want to kind of find out, you know, what is the idea. Now the idea, of course, one is, you know, the coronary, the community. I mean a community more intensive in a smaller group. and therefore the, let us say, the activating the community in its relation also in concerning the various interests and the various, let us say, obligations or functions of the house.

[55:49]

That's there, as you know, we had it when we started in Mount Saviour. We didn't want the two classes, we had one class of monks, and that has the accent, and the monks, all the monks have the chapter rites and so on. All that was done with this in view, see, that the Holy Spirit becomes and should be the dominating element, and the Holy Spirit, of course, in that way, does not know personarum distinctius, has no respect of persons, you know, in that way, human persons, in the realm of the Holy Spirit, and that is, of course, is really the monastic realm. Then also the other thing has to do with it, the whole, you know, the problem or the position of the abbot. Personally, I grew up in my abbot, Abbot Ildefons. My abbot was typical, you know, pathophamilias and so on. He gave the doctrina, and that was it.

[56:51]

Now, of course, in the States, you know, the situation is different and so on. And in the, you know, this kind of absorbing in, let us say, in a responsive way, in an active way, you know, seems to be a very important element in the monastic life. So we had, and that is partly, I just wanted to mention that too, you don't misunderstand it when I mention it, it's for us, you know, in Mount Silvia at this present moment, it's a vital thing to make the transition from what we call the first generation to the second generation. The first generation that was our dear father Gregory and I, you know, we always belong to another generation, so to speak, but then came all the young ones, you know, And so there was that period, it was necessary, in which then, say, Fr.

[57:58]

Gregor and I would be the determining factors, you know, also concerning the monastic life. But the moment comes, of course, when the Those who enter when they are 20 or 22 get also into the 40s at the time, you see, and when they get into the 40s then things become difficult, especially as far as the listening is concerned, you know. Everyone wants to say something, you see, express, you see. Now this is very acute, you know, in our community too, you know, so that Father Gregor and I decided several months ago last year in fact you know that we would for a time kind of withdraw from the scene you know and father Gregory went to New Mexico to our little foundation there struggling along with father Erwitt always you know very much at the at the outer lines of discouragement and so on and sounds terrible but I mean he

[59:05]

Then I had the Abbott's Congress, you know, it was marvelous, you know, so went to Europe and then we had our, we elected, the community elected. Our Father Martin, who was a medical doctor before, entered, you know, had a very mature, very loyal, very good, really very good monk, and so the experiment took place, and when I came back at the end in December, then we had, I saw that the community was very, faring very well, you know, so we decided to prolong the experiment. So I live in a kind of, how would I say, you know, send you around, you know, style and so on. A little, you know, kind of removed, you know, from the actual scene and it works all right, you know. I feel very well. I can go to Gethsemane, talk to Father Chrysogonus, you know, on things.

[60:07]

without being afraid that everything might collapse in the meantime in our own savior. You see, that's a very good feeling. But it is really in this time where we need, you know, in one way, in order to formulate things, especially in these days. The position of a superior is terrific, you know, I mean, you have no idea, because you raise the problems that we are supposed to solve, you see. And of course, that takes time, you know, and it takes, then you have the terrific pressure, you know, of everyday commitments, you know, there are priests coming, there are friends coming outside, The superior must ask to handle these things. If he doesn't, you know, people are disgruntled. Oh, he doesn't know, he doesn't even fear us anymore, and so on and so on. All these kind of rash judgments, you know, are shot at you and there's no possibility to avoid it. You know, you have to take some shots too.

[61:09]

But then at the same time, you know, these various, we have meetings and these meetings, you know, more problems are raised than solved, you know, so you have to, you have to have time, you know, you simply need that time of withdrawal, you know, it's absolutely needed, you know, so I don't simply, you know, a necessary thing, And I think it works quite well in our case. But what I wanted to emphasize is, you know, that certainly, I mean, is superior in these days, you know, realizes the overwhelming task he is faced with, you know, and this is really, in some way, to think of it, you know, humanly speaking, is absolutely annihilating. If you have to think, re-think, you know, the whole monastic life of the first Takomyan,

[62:15]

origins, you know, and go through the centuries, you know, and then have them all on your back, and then the problems of the modern life, you know, and then modern man, you know, in the 20th century, and the American of the 20th century, right? Terrific task, you know, really. All that, you know, to solve an old, unfamiliar lock, you know, is really... It's out of proportion. Therefore, one realizes, you know, this absolutely, I mean, this, humanly speaking, how is it possible? You know, and then this, you know, what can we do, for example, today, you know, where forms, all forms are questioned, you know. What is, you know, so how can, you know, when we started, when I started monastic life in Mayerlach, there was the liturgical movement, and there was that challenge, and the young ones, you know, and Abbot Ildefons together, you know, were all, you know, galloping into the future.

[63:25]

But today, you know, now the Vatican Council has It's all there, you see, there is no gap anymore. And therefore, now one realizes, you know, this absolutely, I mean, humanly speaking, how is it possible? You know, and then this inner What can we do, for example, today, you know, also where forms, all forms are questioned, you know. What is, you know, this, how can, you know, when we started, when I started monastic life in Magalhães, there was the liturgical movement, and there was that challenge, and the young ones, you know, and the Abbot Ildefons together, you know, were all, you know, galloping into the future. But today, you know, now the Vatican Council is all there. You see, there is no Galop anymore.

[64:26]

And therefore, now what is it then? That is, of course, to my mind, is wanted, you know, intended by God, by God's providence, that we realize this. Because, you know, also the best, you know, the best intended let us say, missionary attack, you know, and so on. As Marianach, you know, had to write an attack because of all the Jesuits that didn't want to go with the liturgical movement in 1920. It has changed since. But you see, now, of course, it's all there, you see. And now we have to come really to the substance, you know, to the reality of the monastic life. And what is then the reality of the monastic life? I mean, we are thinking, you see, about, and I mentioned this word, relevancy, you know, that also gives me goose pimples. It's really, I mean, in that way, of course, we know very well that our position, let us say, our standing, is of course determined by God.

[65:42]

That is the essential way in which our standing. Today I stand before the living God. That is our, let us say, our legitimate, our legitimation. That's an English word. And that's the essential thing. But still, it has to work. What becomes of the people who enter our monasteries? That is a terrific question. And of course do, and that is, I mean, I don't speak about the chapels because to my mind, you know, for you the monastic life was much stricter. Now I'm thinking, you see, for example, about a set up like the Bolognese congregation, you see, where I came from, where the brothers were fine, you know, they were the monks, but the fathers, you know, What did they do?

[66:43]

They had no school. I mean, if you have a school, you have to kind of stand up, you know, in front of the teenagers, which isn't always too easy. And then, you see, but that wasn't the case. So what were we doing? We were giving conferences. And it's, of course, very easy to appear, for example, in Berlin, you know. and then spread your wings like an intellectual butterfly, you know, and let all the colors of the rainbow, you know, kind of, you know, play before a stunned audience, you know. You can do it for an hour, but the repetitions are very much more difficult, you know. So, I mean, that is, you know, and that is, that was, you see, there was too much, I mean, you understand why I say that, you know, too much an element, you know, just of play, you know, but not really meeting realities. And then the scholars, oh my, the scholars, the monk scholars, you know,

[67:46]

Our dear Father Kuhniberg, I mean, he won't resent it if I talk about him now, he's a good friend, you know, but Kuhniberg-Molberg, you know, famous editor of, I don't know how many sacramentaries, you know, Gelasianum, Leonianum, Gallicanum, the whole thing, you know, he had it all. If somebody, it really sometimes seem to me it all comes down to this, who has read something first? You see, if somebody has some read, you know, in Leo the Great, you know, something, you see, in the 20th of April, you know, and he has it all in a magazine, some in a liturgical yearbook, you know, in the same year, and then comes someone who says, he read that first, and he had an article on this thing in another magazine, and this man doesn't even mention him, and the fight is on.

[68:52]

The Hux Benedictina, you know, is finished. It degenerates into a matter of priorities. So, I mean, that is, and that is, it's in some ways childish, you know. So what becomes of the mind, and that is what I want, and I want to ask you, you know, to pray for that, because it's for us, for example, a little monastery like Mount Saviour, in these circumstances, you know, and looking into the future, nobody knows what will become of us, you know. Can we always hold on to the same external setup, you know, as we have it now, you see? I don't want to give you the impression that we are just at the point of slipping into bankruptcy and going under. I mean, it's not the case, thank God, you know. But still, you know, one has to think. If you think about the tremendous pressure, you know, we have what we have. We have one full-fledged novice, you know, and he comes from Denmark, and we have a half-baked candidate, and he comes from Japan.

[70:01]

Where are the Americans, you know? Where is our future? So, I mean, it looks precarious. So, and therefore, what is, you know, I mean, what is the mission? together. One thing is, of course, that our living together as such, you know, in a place like, a small place like ours, our whole future depends on the one fact, is our community life of such a quality and such a force that it is healing, edifying, you know, and really inspiring and helping the individual. Does it help the individual or is it a hindrance for the individual? That is the tremendous question. And in order to try that, you know, establish a community life which has community life, What helped the individual? What can you do? To my mind, you can only go back to the basic facts of our whole Christian structure, and that is simply go back to our baptism, where we have been taken on by Christ, where Christ again died for us, where we have received the peace of Christ, we have been forgiven

[71:31]

The other day a brother from TC, you know, we had a meeting there and we were talking about what are really, let's say, the sources, for example, for our love of God and for our love of the brethren. what makes us, what is, let us say, one of the factors that would make us free, you know, really in that way to love and to meet in peace. And he pointed out, he said, the fact that every one of us here has been forgiven, which is so true. If one looks at St. Mary Magdalene, who had, I would say, the incarnation of what we may call the first love, you know, the real first love, Rabboni, my master, and the Lord calling her Mary, you see, that is that intimacy of the bride and the first love. But where does it come from? Yeah, because she has been forgiven much.

[72:34]

That's why she loves much. So, I mean, so many things, you know, that could be pointed out into my mind. The Christian life in some way is so simple. The monastic life is so simple. We live together. The thorns of the daily living, as he answered, always come out, cannot be avoided. We have our depressions. We have our defeats, we have our moods, everything, we have our hurt feelings, this whole mattress of thoughts, you know, I mean, it's somehow, how can I call it? It's there, you see? What do we do with it, you know? And then this inner, simple inner law, you know, the first thing You find you wake up in the morning or you find yourself in a position where we say the lights went out. So what the lights went out? What does it mean?

[73:35]

Does it mean it isn't there anymore? Of course it is there, but we don't see it. If one makes that little distinction, one has already done one step. Usually we are, especially as intellectuals, always inclined to identify ourselves with the world, with the whole of reality. I mean our thinking. It's of course not true. So the horizon, the light may go out, but still it is there. I may travel in Tuscania, it's the nicest place to my mind on the earth, but night descends, I don't see it anymore. I go to bed, what do I think? Am I in despair? No. The sun will rise again and I shall see it again. It's the same as a church, the same as the sacraments. I may not see it, you know, still the sun will rise, I will see it again. The Christian reality as such, you know, is always there.

[74:42]

But it is the question of our contact, our deliberate contact, this instate of disturbance. It's good, for example, if the individual monk just brings around this little simple denominator, all the various things that happen to him and throw him off. What is it? He has lost the peace of Christ, in one way or the other. What is the practical conclusion from it? I have lost the peace of Christ. I return into the peace of Christ. I do not first try to solve the problem and say I cannot return into the peace of Christ before, let us say, the trouble I have with my superior is really solved. I feel not understood. So what? Said, I wait, you know, returning to Christ until... I feel I'm understood.

[75:43]

Absolutely not. Leave the problem where it is, you know. Just leave it there. Return into the peace of Christ. And that means, remember, remember, you have been forgiven. Christ has died for you. You don't live for yourself. You don't. You live for the one who died for you. And he is your friend. And he is there, is, I am with you, in tribulation. It's a very simple thing. But if that, for example, is made a deliberate method of action in a community, if little simple things like these I just mentioned become the common spiritual treasure of a monastic group, To my mind, they could remind one another of it. They could help one another in times of depression and when the lights go out to be a little reminder, you know, put a little reminder there it's still going and so on. rather helping brother in that way on the common basis that we all have been forgiven.

[76:49]

And therefore, you know, all these various barriers, you know, are removed that we can have the courage, you know, with a little word, you know, to bring the brother back, you know, on the road and so on. Yeah, community life would be marvelous. Then you know that what lives, what grows in this community life is then really happy people. And when they are happy and joyful, then they can really sing the praises of God. And that is then, of course, that is then heaven on earth. So let us pray for that. for your inspiring talk tonight. And I'm sure all of us who have heard will also really give him some prayers, especially so the lights won't go out. Our help is in you, O Lord.

[77:48]

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