Let him take counsel with himself, and then do what we shall judge to be the most expedient. Now the reason why we have said that all should be called to counsel is that God often reveals what is better to the under. Let the brethren give their advice with all deference and humility. nor venture to defend their opinions ultimately, but let the decision depend rather on the end of its judgment, so that when he has decided what is the better course, all may obey. However, just as it is proper for disciples to obey their master, so it is becoming that he on his part should disperse all things with prudence and justice. Lord, have mercy upon us.

[01:06]

Thanks be to God. Starting from the word temptation is the, say, coincidence of two Templar. We first considered the contemplation, the relation or correspondence between the earthly Templum and the heavenly Templum. The lower world and the upper world the office of the priests and the magi in the antiquity, and fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ the Word of God made man, who is the perfect contemplation, the coincidence of the two sections, the two Templar, the heavenly and the earthly, son of God and son of man.

[02:24]

leads us then to another higher meaning of the contemplation because who sees me sees the Father and at the same time I and the Father are one so this word of God made man leads us through the other higher contemplation between the Son and the Father in the bosom of the Holy Trinity. This is the contemplation of divine glory, the contemplation within the Absolute, Now, both these kinds of contemplation are necessary, make up the fullness of the contemplative life of the Christian.

[03:27]

The absolutes, the contemplation, let us say, between equals in the realm of God and the incarnation in which the Son takes the form of man. not for the sake of God, but for the sake of man. The possession and the mission, the possession eternal, the mission in time, both make the fullness of Christian contemplation. That should certainly not be overlooked. The word of God became man, not was in that way became accessible to man. In itself, the pure divine grace, the divine benevolence, the divine misericordia would have been sufficient to do the work of redemption.

[04:36]

But the word of God took on our form. really became compatiens suffering with us suffering our misery and in this way the fullness of salvation was made accessible to us so these two forms of contemplation are necessary and then also in the monk both belong to the contemplative life as always it seems to me one temptation the contemplation of the absolute the possession without the mission without the incarnation and that so easily can become an escape can become a shield for self with

[05:41]

The other temptation certainly is the incarnation or the mission without the possession. One is a wrong contemplative attitude, really a caricature. The other one is what we call a hyper-activistic attitude. We see that the solution in the example of the Good Samaritans Good Samaritan, where we see first the priest and the Levite descending from Jerusalem, from the high region, let us say, of the absolute, and the priest and the Levite both armed, as it were, with the weapon of the divine commandment, of the word, of the law. And remaining, as it were, in that with a rigidity, without, let us say, compromise, and passing by the man who fell among the robbers, because that would deflect them from their route.

[07:02]

That would be an improvisation, so to speak, of the moment, maybe even a risk, a dangerous because this man may be dead. And to get in contact with the dead, according to the law, that means defilement. The other one is the good Samaritan, who also comes and descends from above. But then he sees the necessity, the need of the moment. and then in that creative response he tackles as it were the situation in a way which manifests then his mercy the creative power of God's love the healing of the wounds providing for this man's need and all that we see the same thing in the

[08:06]

Famous scene, beautiful scene of the dialogues of St. Gregory. St. Benedict and St. Scholastica meeting. St. Benedict, the man of the law, living in the absolute, say, according to the rules. And his sister Scholastica, living not in the rigidity of the rules, but living, as it were, in the creative love of the over, of God's over, and therefore going into prayer. She was more powerful because she loved more. She entered into that creative, one can say, heart of the Father, which determines the hour for man.

[09:08]

And that is the union between procession and mission. These things are of greatest practical importance for the monastic life. Take our monastery, take this morning's situation. Suddenly a snowfall. And then the path between the chapel and the monastery covered with snow. Now, I was very happy this morning. I heard one of the good brethren here, too, shoveling the snow away, you know, and making the path, thinking of the others. That is, to my mind, really an act of contemplation. It's an act of contemplation if it is our answer, let us say, to the divine challenge, to that creativeness of the divine law, the heart of the Father, if it is a corresponding of our inner goodwill, the bona volutas in us, to the hour that the Father has fixed.

[10:27]

But that Father has fixed us, and that is what I would like you to understand. The Father has fixed not according to how the sun goes around the earth or the earthly time, but that the Father has fixed in his creative law the hour. You see, there are maybe three attitudes possible in a case like this. There is that snow, there is that kind of emergency. Now, everybody sees that emergency, then maybe there is one attitude which is, I would say, over-conscientious, too great rigidity, saying, no, no, this is time for lecture. I absolutely, I can't worry about this thing now. This is the interval. And in that way, you know, there are, of course, many, many possibilities here.

[11:34]

There may be somebody who already by nature, you know, is kind of centered around himself, by nature inclined to withdraw, and to maybe also by nature a little slow in reaction, a little certain laziness. Wonderful for him, the contemplation may be a marvelous title, you know, to cultivate just that, you see. No. But there is something else, too, another possibility, and that is that somebody is by nature, you know, let's say what we call an activist. There are those people of whom our Lord says, their hour is always theirs. Their hour is always there. Tempus vestrum semper est. Says that to his relatives, you know. Urge him and say, my gosh, this is the right moment. Now go up to Jerusalem. Make a name for yourself.

[12:35]

You have all the people there together. You reach a big crowd, you know. Don't miss that opportunity. That is the people whose time always is there. who are by nature actively wiggling around, you know, on their seats, if there is one little moment, you know, for quiet and for contemplation, looking around and saying, oh my, this is missing at the altar, this is missing there, boomer, boomer, who is coming in now? And so on, you know, this kind of thing. You're always itching their fingers, you know. My, this is for them, of course, To see the snow on the path between the chapel and the house would be a marvellous opportunity for some kind of brisk and pleasant work, you know. A nice change in the monastic routine. Both, of course, are wrong, evidently.

[13:40]

What is the right attitude is the one, I would say, is possession without mission. the other one is mission without possession but we need the possession and the mission that is the essence seems to me of the contemplative life as our Lord Jesus Christ has lived before us and therefore this It's what we intend, you know, what I always intend, would like, you know, for everybody to do so much, you know, and to repeat it and to practice it. That's what we call the school, you know. Before any activity, or as we put it, before any decision, you know, what should I do? Should I do something about this path, or should I not do anything about it? Enter into the peace of Christ. That is the haven, that is the center of the contemplative life.

[14:45]

And then from there, respond. Listen, is this God's hour for me? Is this now what I am supposed, what I am called to do now? If somebody is by nature, let us say, a contemplative, you know, then maybe he should be, he should certainly be interiorly ready to hear this as the call for action. If somebody is by nature, let's say, an activist, he should first think twice, you know, now is this here now my business to do this? And in that way, really listen and do the right kind, find the right kind of obedience. The right kind of obedience is always in entering into the creative love of the Father, into that which our Lord says, the hour. And he says, now the hour is come.

[15:47]

That is the way our Lord opens his high priestly prayer. That high priestly prayer is, to my mind, the most profound, most sublime expression of the, what we call, contemplative spirit. That is the opening, the way it opens that way. Now the hour is come. And that is what we should do, enter into the hour. We can do the other thing, you know, so, and we can distort things so much in the other way. We can, for example, as the priest and the Levite, you know, live by the rules. Or, for example, one can say, no, when my father says this, you know, well, absolutely, well, the question is, yeah, has the one who says that entered into, as I say, the creative heart of love, you know?

[16:49]

Or does he look at the things from the outside without doing that decisive step? That, to my mind, is a decisive step in the contemplative life. That is where contemplation really starts. The hour of the Lord. Yes, of course, also the other possibility, that is the worst of all Atlantis, those whose hour is always there. In this sense, you know, that they're always circling around themselves, And that the only law they really follow is the law of their own wishes and desires. That's, for example, to make that little concrete example that my attention was called to the fact that, for example, yesterday night somebody, you know, was taking a bath at 8.45, you know, at St. Joseph's. Now, that is a wonderful example of somebody whose hour is always without any consideration for others.

[18:00]

For example, the fact that right next door there is a very thin wall there, as we all know, somebody who splashes around in the bathtub certainly keeps at least one man awake and causes in that way great... I would say difficulties, you know, and great lack of charity and of consideration for others. Then there was even a notice, you know, in which the members of the community were expressly asked not to use any showers or baths yet, you know. It would be just one word, you know. One has to do it on this day. Somebody has in his mind, let's say, on Wednesdays I'm going to take in my bath. In fact, this is my hour. So I only wanted to ask the pardon of the culprit. to go to Father Gregory and to accuse himself and to get the penance, you know, that would restore maybe to the contemplative life.

[19:17]

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