And I had a very beautiful experience, I must say. I was there this afternoon when Father Hilarion took me around and we paid visits and we saw various springs. went first to bombs. And the train? And at the same we visited the last of the bullets. And that's what the night. experience. He then, and then later on we went to the Avalon. Not Avalon, to Plymouth, you know, and Walnut. And then we went to the, to the, we saw the Hermitage.

[01:04]

And then we went to the winery, but Tomorrow is July the 4th. So, really, that gives a wonderful... Then, of course, in the course of these days, you know, I had the great joy of meeting members of the community, and all that, you know, I was just kind of trying and running these things over, to look for a word which would prove to be good, you know, as a kind of winding up our retreat and gathering together what we have said, and also maybe just indicate still areas that we were not able to touch. But there's one word which belongs to the Cassidy, you know, that Martin Buber has made them known in the West.

[02:16]

And there's this Jewish sect of revival, revival of one wouldn't say of Judaism, but of the Jewish faith and religion, and a moving thing and a thing of the heart. And it stuck to me once I read a word in this connection one of the Cassidy, and I think it's for us as monks, it's a very beautiful thing and also to think about it and to see our own life in the light of this world. It says there that there's a conclusion of a longer treatise by one of the rabbi, the originator of this movement, of the Catholic movement, and he says, make your body the throne of life.

[03:21]

Make your life the throne of your mind. Make your mind the throne of your heart. and make your hearts the throne of God's glory. And I think that is a beautiful word to realize, you know. It really takes in and summarizes this approach that we have tried during these days, an approach to the contemplative life which would be really comprehensive. which would avoid, you know, certain, I will say, exaggerations in the direction, you know, one direction or the other, and therefore lead maybe to dead-end roads, to certain things that just tend to, well, get stuck, but that keep, you know, the totality of life.

[04:23]

And the monastic dedication is marked by this mark of totality. Monarchos, in that way, means, really, the totality, the homeland for God. Monarchos. And during the retreat we have seen all this contented divide. Here we go, we start, as it were, from the heavenly pattern. And then we try to, looking at this heavenly pattern, then we try to teach our life, or develop our life, I would say better, in this and according to this pattern. And therefore it's good maybe tonight, in the last conference, just to see it this way, in which this rabbi sees it. Make your body the throne of your life. or the throne of light, he says, in time. And that is also just one of the things that impressed me so much this afternoon, seeing the various members of the community working in this tremendous area, which presents such a beautiful now.

[05:40]

I see it now at the time, and maybe it's nicer to see it in blossom, but still, what we basic impression is there, this beautiful, promising spring air, you know, to see these rows, you know, and rows and rows and rows, you know, of trees and this whole, all the way, you know, that is what one says to cultivate, you know, when one sees there, because it's marvellous to see my namesake, you know, Brother Damascus, you know, going up and down, swinging around, you know, with that one on the table. And then trees fall down, you know, and all kinds of things. So it's wonderful, I mean, to see. The band is, of course, that is, you know, for years, as long as we are. We are living beings, we have to take care of the life, you know, and of course doing it, one of the functions in which one makes really the body, the throne of life, is the function which is a basic function in this whole creation, that's that of a God.

[06:53]

It really is. And the gardener, the garden, in that way, was the first thing, in that way, that was enjoined upon Adam the man, you know, is the gardener. And that is, right away, we see that at the Jungensee, the fulfillment there, where the history of mankind meets, after the resurrection meets, the gardener. That is, of course, that has, as Mary Magdalene does, you know, after the resurrection, sees the Lord as the God, as simply the first Adam and the second Adam. The old Adam is the new Adam. And it's the new Adam who takes up, as it were, in continuos, on a higher plane, the integrity, one can say, of the first man. So it is that, because the gardener is a man who serves, he serves life.

[07:54]

Just this kind of, this one thing about pruning, you know, is after all a parable that our Lord certainly takes, all the time, takes up. And there are today, you know, there are these branches, and they fall down, and then they They are there in rows, you know, and then they are being gathered together. And of course, burning is there the last word, you know. And that is a very wholesome perspective we should keep open, too. The pruning has to be done all our life. Yes, so therefore, that we have to do that, that is the function of the gardener, you know, also to help the growth in that way, by eliminating as it really exists. And in that way, help the fruit. So that is, of course, our life is, by the way, is even.

[09:00]

And in doing it, and doing it as a moment, you see, one doesn't do it just only, you know, for the sake of cause. You do it also for the sake of sustenance, you know, and truth. But it becomes really and truly a sacrament to do something. I mean, as a question and as a moment. And to think about it, what one is doing. that one is really in that way, too, on this level of the body and of life. What does one mean in the meaning of Hebrew life is netesh. Netesh is the same as we call in Latin, we call it anima. Anima is the same as, say, the light, you know, as it is pulsing in the organism, in the body, and therefore also includes the various passions of man, you know, all these things that belong to his bodily life.

[10:07]

And therefore make the body the throne of your life, but do it as the garden. would do it therefore, cutting off what is superfluous, you know. And in that way, bringing and concentrating on bringing fruit. What is the bringing fruit? What is the meaning of repentance? What is the meaning of change of mind? What is the meaning of any correction in the whole monastic life? If it is not the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of charity, penance is the product of charity. As one always says, what is in John the Baptist? The poor run off, the Lord who then comes and heals the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, and that is our life. So we should really see it there, you know, and see that also in our life, you know, see how we do it here around, and how

[11:10]

These things, one always says, the Old Testament is so material. But on the other hand, one also must say that the material world simply is an integral part of our existence. And for that matter, our material world contributes to the resurrection. We shall rise in this flesh. as we say. And therefore this body here, you know, with the things that he does, prepares, especially when a monk does these things, is really in that way a preparation for a new heaven and a new earth and for a new man and for the communion of Satan. That is what the whole meaning of this is. But therefore, one realizes in that way, you know, that the body of man is really there, becomes the throne of life.

[12:13]

But of course, that is a deliberate act. That is, that's not something which is in any way unconscious or simply mechanical. The point is that then that simply supposes that one does these things, also the world, work in the field, and everything belongs to it, really with that inner realization. that it is a preparation for the resurrection of the flesh, that it is a preparation for the communion of saints. In other words, that the power of the resurrection is already there at work. That is the reason why, for example, Saint Jerome serves now in Palestine. One can see that, of course, in Palestine, so clearly, especially there where existence is so difficult. And it depends all on the rain that comes from above. That's the difference here. It's the one thing that didn't quite fit into my picture when I was thinking about it.

[13:15]

Because here it's all irrigation. But of course, that is what it is in English. And that means this, you know, in the context of the Old Testament, and you all know Deuteronomy, and there it is clearly written, you see, that there are these pumps, and so on, and there one works. And the land is flooded, you know, while in the promised land, what does one do? One prays for rain that comes from the bog. In that way, I think Mt. Saviour still has an edge, you know. Therefore, it's the fruit, as it were, of prayer. Though here it comes all, you know, in that other way. But I mean, Later on, you know, I got another idea, you know, one of his lectures, you know, with these poets, you know, but one can really say there, too, you know, I mean, if one continues that again, you know, there is...

[14:21]

And the antiquity, the Fathers have always said, if you look, you know, for kind of vestiges of the life of the Holy Trinity, then, for example, one of those is, there is the spring, you know, soaps, you know, for water, the spring, there's the channel that carries the water, and then it is poured over the field, that's the irrigation, and that's the Holy Spirit. One has the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So if you look, you know, at these things, I don't know how they look, you know, but if you go around, you know, and you look at these waters down there, these palm trees, and everything, you know, re-irrigated, you know, by the George's way of efficiency, then think, oh, this is a picture of the Holy Spirit, you know, and of course it is. because the spirit will flood the earth, you know, like the waters, you know.

[15:23]

Already, you know, I think it's the prophet Ossi who has said that, you know, years ago. So, I mean, it all fits, you know, in the end, you know. And it makes sense, you know, but that's the important thing, you know, that these things really... Then, if you have the light, you know, in my life, I make my life the throne of mind. And that is, again, it's a lot of stuff. And if you take that, I mean, as a community here, you have two things that you kind of contend with, you know, and that you struggle with. And one is the organization, you know, for the whole, all the things you went through, you know, from the house, you know, through the orchards and law enforcement. There are a few trees, but more trees, you know, and maybe two lesser trees in the future, I don't know. So, you are three, and see, there is that one area, and then there is another area, you see, and that is, of course, then, with the life, you know, it becomes the throne of the life.

[16:35]

And that is the game, you know, because in our monastic life, you realize Well, I mean, man does not learn from bread and roll. Certainly, the monk does not. He didn't, and it's there for absolute attention. And you realize again that there is one of the tremendous steps that we are taken right in this, you know, in this our time. Imagine, as long as monasticism would, you know, let us say, on this two-track thing, there was one was the choir monks, and that means priest, and the other one had lay brothers, and that means work. And as long as monastics is in the mood of these two things, kind of exclusively, then what was the problem, let us say, of the mind? Of course, if somebody had acquired knowledge after the militia, he was thrown into the philosophy.

[17:39]

I mean, if I think that, you know, After the thing, you see, suddenly my dear Father Albert, you know, came to me and he said, Oh, Father Albert wants to send you to Rome. But he didn't like the idea because he thought the North Germans wouldn't do well in Rome. because he thought I would be scandalized when I see the canons reciting their offices, you know, saying, Titus, you know, and so on. Let us, let's pray, although he said, let you serve my mass this morning, and then we pray together, and then you go to Father Abbott, and then So I went to Fr. Albert and I came to his office, you know, and thought now he will ask me something. I told Fr. Albert that even after the Mass I didn't have any life about going to Rome or not going to Rome. So, then I thought, now then Father Abbott will probably ask me, what shall I say?

[18:43]

Do I want to go to Rome? Do I not want to go to Rome? I thought, I was spiritually teed up about the prospect. And then I came, and then the Abbot in me said, oh, yes, no. Rather, there were those years, of course, when you were too long. Everything was already decided, you know. In some way, you know, the mass was too late, you know. The Council of the Most High was already, you know, finished. So I went to Rome, and then, of course, then going to Rome, that means Joseph Graetz, and that means philosophy, and that means real, you know, I mean, cramming it in, you know, I had to tell the Times first, you know, all these things. But, I mean, the whole, it was to me, you know, I must confess, you know, I mean, we have this strict mystic doctrine. I mean, there was absolutely no doubt about it, you know.

[19:45]

He really gave us straight, you know, I mean, the whole thing. We had to do it all in Latin, the whole of it. We had to know the entire book by heart, from the first page to that two volumes, you know. If you wanted to make your doctorate degree, you would follow every line, you know, and say, very good, if you had it all, you know. Now, I had the great advantage of simply having a terrific kind of photographic memory. Absolutely, after these two years of exercising photographic memory, I could just turn the page, you know, and read it all. And he thought I understood it all. I didn't. No, in that way, you know, but I mean, it meant, you know, of course, that meant that the Their attention was simply concentrated now on philosophy and all the things connected with it, and of course, and also, thank God, on Rome, you know, and the whole thing there.

[20:52]

But I mean, that was the privilege then, as I say, of the choir. We know this, so we'll try and tie in your protest, you know. But on the other hand, you know, therefore our formation was essentially simply the formation of the priest. and the formation of world studies that simply meant the congregation of religions and of the seminaries requested of every priest, because there was no... So in that way, we were simply to turn, you know, into a direction which was not, in that way, anything strictly monastic. Joseph Grant was a good monk, you know, sometimes he had doubts if he was, but Especially when it came to dulce, you know, sweet. I have to eat or something like that, you know, it's too wet. He said, Paul, he gives me an extra sweet, you know. I don't want it. Because I told him, you see, Father Dredd, you are getting old, you know, and it seems, you know, that your one thing, one weak spot in your whole life is the point of mortification.

[22:04]

It's good. I think you are right. Of course, because I'm very weak, you see. Mr. Rector scored. So then, so I mean, there came all these things, told me that that was one direction. And our late brothers in my love, wonderful humanity, but there wasn't any kind of great effort to know true, or any kind of strong spiritual formation. The conference may be rather novice, by the brother master, and so on, and that they had a Sunday conference by Father Abbott and the whole community was together in chapter, but in the Sunday conference, I always admired, you know, Father Abbott because he was always going, you know, in tremendous, you know, tremendous pace, you know, sitting, of course, hanging.

[23:08]

mouth below, and lips, you know, and onward I, thinking, what a dear brother, you know, caught, I mean, on a Sunday afternoon, or the afternoon after, you know, people, people, people, all with their beards, you know, people, people, how they have it, those tiddings in front of all roads, you know, of lay brothers, you know. And he was talking about the monk and his relation to womanhood or something like that. For us, tremendously interesting, you know. And therefore, there wasn't too much. But now, you know, you see, this situation has completely changed. I mean, this moment, this is the moment where finally, to my mind, monastic, you know, in that way, monastic thinking has a complete new opportunity that we didn't have before.

[24:17]

Before it was either school work or priesthood, secular priesthood, essentially, or it was, it didn't amount to anything. And now, you know, what we have to do is, of course, entering into a new age, into a new horizon, in my concern. Into a new horizon of the love of the spiritual things, the things of the spirit, of the good things, of the mind. We call so much in our, always think of that. You know, I have, last year, I had the great, really great and great joy to give a retreat at Our Lady of the Genesee. You know, Don Jerome was there, and then later on we were talking about it, and Don Jerome dropped, you know, a kind of a key word into my mind, you know, which has never left me, and that was when we were speaking about the possibilities of formation, and especially formation of all those who have in their triennial vows,

[25:19]

And before we know it, the solemn vows have been made. And he brought this idea of natural contemplation, the field of natural contemplation, into my mind. I think it's a very, very fruitful idea. I was just thinking this morning. This afternoon, when I visited Father Robert's, you know, little, how do you say, little, little, who? The sort of chalet down there. The little Shangri-La. And there, you know, to see that, you know, to see how how the mind, you know, I mean, works, how things fall into a pattern, you know, how, therefore, how the, let us say, also the whole approach, which is, let us say, the approach of the artist, but what is the artist? The artist is, there is a contemplation, a pertinent degree of contemplation, how much

[26:22]

contemplation is in something, somebody like Shakespeare, how much contemplation is in other things, you know, in the whole of poetry, of painting, of this whole, there is a tremendous amount, and today we must, you see, I think that is one of our answers. If we want to live our life in that way, for its own sake, or let us say, for God's sake, We would want to have our, you said, our life, yes, has a deep meaning, even though it may not be geared to any kind of practical production, I mean, in the sense of efficiency. But it is a lie, but in it, told as a meaning. What is the meaning of our life? To say it in one word, in that way, it's the glory of God. But this concept of glory, if you just take it, you know, that isn't a practical concept, if you want.

[27:29]

That is, you know, it's an aesthetical concept. And therefore, opens up and belongs into its own field of natural connotations. And the great danger of France to us is a total departmentalization of all human productivity. The man loses to characteristic, to parity, which, for example, we have stated, an approach opens up to him. and which is expressed in, you know, this is simply this kind of world of the natural contemplation very strongly dominated by a basic attitude of admiration, the capability, the capacity of admiring. And that, to my mind, is a deeply and truly monastic inner attitude, because out of that comes the true reverence, And I sometimes do.

[28:31]

I tell you, I have personally, I mean, I must say this, that I, the basic thing in this whole period of change, you know, the evidently anger everywhere, the new, let's say, The basic attitude for us as Catholics, as I think, is absolute confidence in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will lead us, but we must be interiorly open to the Holy Spirit. And that means that we have to be faithful to tradition. That means to the things that have been handed down to us. but that we have to do it in the freedom of the Holy Spirit, because the essence of tradition is, I think I said that in the beginning of the retreat, in what is being handed over in the authentic tradition, it is

[29:32]

Our Lord on the cross, who, dying, gives up, that means really not gives up, but surrenders hands over his spirit, so that his death on the cross really, in a very deep sense, is already in its hesitate. and the presence in our life too. But what is this Holy Spirit? This Holy Spirit is this, whatever is the spirit of joy. Now, in this spirit of joy, you ask what joy is. Now, a man who lived his whole life, you know, in the categories of practicality, he doesn't know what really what joy is. But our Lord says, and then that my joy may be full, and that your joy may be full. The dimension, in that dimension, all is prepared in our natural, let us say, structure of our mind, in this specific capacity and openness, in this capacity of admiration.

[30:49]

You know that very well, that a man like Aristotle, yeah, he considers admiration as the first waking up of the genocide. that means of an approach to life and to things which is really and truly directed to the essentials. Therefore, that is really what the market's out for. So let us therefore, you know, see that and face the reality, that in our days, you know, the monasteries, if they see their past and their mission in the church, You see, this situation that I described is not limited to the monks. That is, the monastic problem is only a part of a much more general problem, the general problem of the Catholic laity, another you call lay spirituality. If one says, lame spirituality, sometimes too, I must confess, you know, I get a little, you know, very tough.

[31:55]

It's true that I don't want to go into any polemics, you know, but I hear, you know, lame spirituality, and then what is the layman? And the layman is the one who has to do, you know, the things of this world. The layman is torn, he is turned, you know, towards matter and material things and so on. We see it already to carry the point of view. It's, it's, somebody's, you know, somebody had been raised in a seminary who says, you know, certainly hasn't seen it as a special monastery, you know, and so on, because there you would know, you know, that there's absolutely a lay existence, and a deeply spiritual lay existence, you know, it is possible, but it consists in taking care of garden, you know, and so on, and taking care of food, and so on, and in our interior, taking care of cows, and so on, and so on, and in that way, we also turn, you know, towards this world. But it is lame spirituality, you know, it's something that enables the layman, you know, let us say, to, I don't know, I mean, to do good things in the laboratory or so, you know, to be a better chemist, you know.

[33:11]

Now, I mean, in this way, we were, to my mind, the monasteries, and especially our form of monastery, and where we tend, you see, more to have the lay element for that matter, let us say, the normal thing, and in that way, for example, in numbers also, who do we dominate? No. Then we should realize that there's a tremendous possibility that after we could really develop in, let us say, in the peat of the monastery, in the special surrounding of the monastery, we should really put work into building up, you know, of a lay spirituality, of a spirituality which then, you know, we could handle, for example, in our training. As soon as it's not necessary anymore, you know, to cope, you know, with the tremendous amount of 400 or 500 pages, you know, in the course of one semester or two semesters, as soon as we have the possibility to do things, not cramming them, but to do them in a leisurely way,

[34:26]

And, for example, if I think, you see, on our course in San Anselmo, on Holy Scripture, was near Athanasius Muna. Very nice man, you know, not quite a merriment. But, I mean, we had introduction. Most of the time, you know, to a Holy Scripture was spent in introduction. introduction to the Old Testament, introduction to the New Testament, and then it was now who was really the author, you know, and so on, and all this kind of thing. And we had the Old Testament, the only thing I remember, what we did, you know, we read in Hebrew the lessons from Isaiah that we sing in the Christmas, I mean, like we read in the Christmas mood. That was about anything. That's what all we did, you know. I mean, in a room, working with the real texts. And that was the doctor's degree thing in San Antonio in 1925 or 26. So, I mean, tell me, now in the monastic community, where we don't have to face, you know, I mean, the, I mean, no cardinal will come to examine us, you know, I mean, at the end, you know, it was always a law, you know, and Cardinal Sonto comes, you know, and he, all the things he expects, you know, but we don't have to expect that.

[35:53]

We don't have, we don't work for an examination. I think that in itself is too mean, isn't that? not to work for an examination, provided you know which one can really take as far as a monk goes. I mean, if somebody enters the monastery, he has to have some, he does it out of a certain interest in spiritual things, otherwise he wouldn't do it. And therefore, this kind of sapientia, that means, properly, this taste, the heavenly things, a taste for the heavenly things, if that, you know, could be in all quietness, but with God, you know, going into detail and enlarging all of these, could be done in the wildscape. Now, that is the fruit, one of the fruits of this way, of this unification on which we were speaking. And here, now, a new lay spirituality comes up. But a lay spirituality which, thanks God, finds a lower, of course, in China, in the world, education.

[37:03]

So in that way, you see, we need from the mind, and that is, of course, where I stay here, what the next step is, and make your mind the throne of the heart. from the mind to the heart. And it was essential again for monastic spirituality, for our monastic life. We are, in that matter, not rationalists, you know. I mean, the Benedictines, the monks, and the Cistercian leaders, the same thing, have never, you know, let us say, written the great summa, theological summons, you know, or how would you call them? Theological. Even though we are not affiliated, let us say, with any theological system. We never. We are, as monks, we were always interested, first of all, in the word of God, in Holy Scripture, in history too, that is true.

[38:06]

But that is, of course, because the monk in that way is contemplative, simply loves to see life grow. And he goes into it and sees how these things have come about. So, I mean, follows the process of becoming, of growth. And that is, of course, that has always been a monastic concept. But you see, these things go beyond the mind. We are not, in the monastery, we are not intellectualists. If we would be intellectualists, you know, then, you know, we would split up in school. Then we would very soon have controversies, theological controversies of all kinds. We are people of the heart. That means the mind becomes the throne of God. The heart is simply in no dimension. It's the dimension of, if you study Holy Scripture, you will see it. First of all, the heart in Holy Scripture, in the traditional Holy Scripture, you all know that, is not simply, let us say, the seat or the symbol for sentimentality, for emotionalism.

[39:22]

That's not true. The heart is cogitationes codis. We speak of the thoughts of the heart. thoughts of the heart of God. Therefore, the heart is also, let us say, the source of thinking, of thought, you know. It isn't of emotion, but it is with thought, you know, that kind of thought which gives, you know, conformity to the divine, to the count of divine thinking. the thinking of God, the divine providence, and what is it? You know, if you, for example, if you follow strictly the lines of the mind in your approach to God, now what do you, what is the first step? You start and you establish an argument for the existence of God. I still remember, you know, we had five arguments for the existence of God, and then we had six arguments because Father Joseph Christ had Father's six arguments for the existence of God.

[40:31]

And that's received, you know, all the accents, you know, I mean, on the... I don't want to go into that. But, I mean, there it was, you know, for the existence of God. We need to know that that God is. But naturally, the thing is for man is who is God? Our relation is a personal relation. It's an I-Thou relation. Therefore, philosophy, for that matter, is apt to land up, I mean, as reason as such, in an I-it relation, without really entering in the I-thou relation. And there is, for example, if you take it, you know, if you follow the lines of reasoning concerning God, then you arrive at God's omnipotence. Then we arrive at his concrete absolute unity.

[41:33]

I don't deny any of the concepts, you know, but with the unity and the transcendence and then the cause and the effect and then the analogy and the infinite, you know, distance between the creator and the uncoerted. you come in the end, you know, God disappears, he more and more moves away, you know, into a kind of the anonymity of perfection, of an absolute perfection, of the in absolutum, therefore, of an it, you know, the absolute is this, is it, so to speak, I mean, in the best sense of the word. But later on, you see there, there's a new thing, because the son, you know, nobody has ever seen God. But the son, who was in the Father's bosom, he has made it known to us. If you listen to this, there's a move to end this growth beyond the intellect, the human intellect.

[42:36]

Not that the things of human intellect are, I mean, all wrong, you see, and so on. But, I mean, there's a new dimension. In fact, it's the dimension of the heart. And this dimension of the heart, what belongs to it? God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul says that so rightly and deep in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, where he says, yes, of course, speaking of the Gentiles, speaking of the pagan world, they have known God, you know, because from the things that are seen, they make their conclusions concerning things that are not seen, concerning God. But he continues, you know, when it comes to prayer, And prayer is, of course, what is it? It's the heart-to-heart contact between God and man. And then Paul says, also they knew God, still they did not know how to pray to Him.

[43:43]

And therefore, they changed, you know, His image into that of stones and of animals and of creeping things. of all times, you know, therefore it thinks that has nothing to do really with the father of heaven and earth. So, therefore, you see, there comes an image, and that is the heart. In this whole thing concerning the heart, there's also something else, you know, I think that we have to take into consideration. Our mind has become the throne of the heart. The mind has an image, and you know, of course, that I didn't send Bernard, you know, always warned, warned, warned about this thing that creates your inkblot, you know. Knowledge blows you out. Otherwise it's a tool of uneasily need to pry. Yeah, that's absolutely true. In Infinite, I'm just moving, you know, this kind of, you know, the secular city.

[44:48]

Now that is an absolute intellectualist, it seems to me, I don't know why. And he has all these qualities of the intellectual, you know. He has looked at the horizon, he immediately takes it at the horizon of the entire world. His own experience, he immediately projects it, you know, to the entire, to all of mankind as it is today. All this time, where do they come from? Overestimating. Still wrong, still for sure. Overestimating his own little mind, you know, that is working, and plays around, you know, with reality in an absolutely brilliant way. But always has the suspicion come, I fear, man, are you really in touch with reality? In other words, you know, the human mind as such is really, I mean, in foreign nature, is really constantly exposed to this danger of being, what one may call, super exposed, you know.

[46:01]

In German we say, überbelichtet, that means too much, you know, up here. Because too much up here, you know, couldn't kind of pay the way. And therefore, you know, we must, we must be careful, you know, of that. And that is especially, you know, of course, still, really, one says always, and in some ways it might be right, you know, that the moment is never logical. Now there might be something to it, you know. But the woman has a certain intuition in it. And the mother and the understanding of the mother, you know, is very different. The father goes, you know, and looks at the sons, you know, and qualifies them and judges them. Do they come up to my standards or not? Are they really an image of my glory or not? Why?

[47:03]

The mother is completely different, you know. The mother carries the child, you know. The mother takes the child as it is. Why? Because that is the way the heart does it, you know, with faith. The heart may take things as they are, but in a positive, open, you know, encouraging way. That means her whole office is nursing, you see, nursing. And that is, you know, these things are so important, you know, to us, to us as Muslims. That we see, you know, that it isn't the intellectually, in any way, that is, let us say, the ideal of the Muslim. Even though one has to be deliberately on his guard against this danger. And then when he rises, his mind rises into the totality of the heart. And what is the heart in that sense? That is really, really the abode of the Holy Spirit.

[48:04]

And that is the way we as Christians think we have to describe it. The abode of the Holy Spirit. What is the Holy Spirit? You know, again, in the, let us say, in the totality of the divine possessions, the Holy Spirit is the end. The Holy Spirit is also the turning point in us, you know. From what we receive, we give it back to God. So it is the Holy Spirit, for example, if one can say and feel and tell us the Christian culture, Christian worship. The Holy Spirit is the hypothesis of Christian worship. So where we are then, you see, in a new world. And of course, this world, you know, you see, the heart is the thing that leads, you know, into comprehension. into the whole field of understanding, the whole ecumenical movement. The rural nation, among the various Christian churches, was told completely stop, came to a dead end, you know.

[49:13]

An absolute status quo. Get stuck, you know. Why? Because that whole thing was completely intellectualized. It was absolutely stuck in controversy, intellectual, theological. One can say scientific, if you want. in that kind, theologiae vaccinae, you know, the theology reason, the theology, how can one say, you know, I mean, nothing reason. That kind of thing simply isolates you. It puts you into a progedeia of some kind of scientific neutrality, more so than what you are interested in, you know, is then more or less the triumph of truth. And period moves, what becomes domain, that's their business. Today it's completely different. Today it's different.

[50:14]

The ecumenical movement is what drives the ecumenical movement, I think, and we should not ask long. We should absolutely be clear that just as the liturgical movement, which has done so much to the church, came out of the monastic spirit, of western monasticism, that's what the whole of it was, who was interested in worship, if it were not the most, and of course naturally so. The same thing with the idea of the unity of the churches. the birth of the Ecumenical Movement. I mean, I know it because in 1934, 1930, and so on and so on. Who was the contact point, you know, between the church, the first contact point between the church and other Christian confessions? The monasteries. For what purpose? Because they are monastic. Ah, for what purpose? They don't come together. What is the general ethnosphere?

[51:15]

It is that of the glorification of God. And therefore I still remember the very feeling that I was in it, you know, when we had meetings in Berlin, and meetings in Sweden, and meetings in Geneva, Toronto. what really got us together and opened a new perspective, and was, let us look at our different, in the entity, let us say, practical, if you want, or better, spiritual aspect, you know, of our common worries, our deepest common concern. It was the worshiping glorification of God. for Luther, too. I mean, the origin for that way of Protestantism was the concern for the glorification of God. Yeah, in the monastic milieu among the monks, this is the one central concern, the glorification of God. So that our professor, I still remember, he was in 1932 when Karl Bauer, he was professor in 1,

[52:24]

And he gave to his student, he was from Maya-La, he was of the Maya-La, La was down there in Bonn, and we had discussion. And he had, you know, for the seminar for his theology students, what was the topic? It was the theology of the orations of the Roman mystery. It'd be a good topic. That's an extremely good topic, number two, absolutely. And in this sphere, in this atmosphere, you know, bone pressure, you can see it also in Newman. You can see it later on in the whole Anglican movement. The basic thing was the disconcern for the glorification of God. Why do we have, you know, a state of ecumenical movement on the Protestant side? What is it? The monastery of Pisa. So that you can see that, you know, how the monastic spirit, the monastic attitude, reaches out beyond the merely intellectual controversy.

[53:36]

And that is why what brought us back in the past was apologetics, and the accent on apologetics. And when one asks the question what that matter was, it's interested, that matter, in apologetics. I didn't learn anything about apologetics in Maria Lahr, but it was the thing in the monastery, it was for worship, then it was for thinking of liturgy, like Father Albert in Göttingen. So, I mean, therefore we should recognize that, you know, and we should, you know, we should accept it as one, you know, of the wonderful things, you know, for us today, out of the contemplative attitude of the monastic spirit, the ecumenical movement has practically has been born, as far as we are concerned. So, therefore, that is also in the future, we named the earth, we named the tremendous thing, and world will always be that, you know, in any context, world as part of it.

[54:45]

The contact is not made by the rectories in the city. I mean, a pastor, possibly a pastor, cannot invite, you know, his boy scouts, you know, I mean, to visit a rectory, you know, St. Patrick's in Elmira. Where does he find the church, you know? Now, I mean, you think, Montserrat? Ah, Montserrat. That's a different story, you think so. And they call me in buses, you know, from Buffalo, and from all kinds of places. And we have sometimes more Protestants in our vespers than Catholics, you know, because the admirants, as such, the Catholic admirants haven't woken up, didn't wake up yet, you know, to the myths of the liturgy. So, in that way, you know, therefore, there is this, but then it's, you know, we must be careful, we must really see that, you know. The ecumenical movement is today, thank God, on the level of the heart, not on the level of controversy.

[55:49]

Now, you understand very well when I say that on the level of the heart, and I don't say, you see, that we have to play around with truth. That's something completely different. But Saint Paul, and you know, it's the perfect formula, when he said, you know, do the truth in charity, that is exactly the monastic level. And that's what we mean, too, as Christians, as monks, when we say, let us make the mind the throne of the heart. And then let us make the heart the throne of God's glory, because it is the Spirit of God who glorifies the Father. The Spirit, or Holy Spirit for that matter, is in the order of divine processions. The Holy Spirit is the image of the Son, as the Son is the image of the Father. So when the Holy Spirit reaches us, what does he do? He prompted us the ellipse of Christ. That's what he is, you know. Wherefore he leads us to Christ.

[56:51]

And Christ leads us to the Father. And that is the movement of the Holy Spirit. Gloria Patri, Glory to the Father, to the Son, in the Holy Spirit. That is the whole, that is what we live for. That is really the very heart and center of our romantic existence. Therefore, so beautifully, always stuck so much in my mind, you know, is this little story on the back, we should then also, in this little story, you know, of Saint Jerome, in his letters, he wrote to Paula. Paula had difficulties with little Paulina, you know, and little Paulina was running around, you know, and singing, and they had the old Alexander in their house, and Alexander was the grandfather, and the grandfather was the high priest of Jupiter, the Pontifex Maximus, the Roman Pontifex Maximus. So he was the incarnation of the pagan cult, you know, of the...

[57:54]

And Eve, little Paulina, and then she was singing songs, you know, and Alexander got kind of grumpy about it all, you know, and so on, and then Paulina got a little scared, you know, about what would happen, and she wrote to St. Jerome, and then Jerome, St. Jerome said, you know, now teach little Paulina, you know, to sing a good, beautiful hallelujah. and then tell her the future, you know, just kind of, you know. get on her grandfather's lap, you know, and then sing this hallelujah into his ear. He was a little deaf, you know. And sing it into his ear. And I'm sure that will melt his heart. And it's a very good picture, you know. It's a very good picture. The Pontifex Maximus Alexander, he represents the world as world, and the world as world is always old, and in some way always grumpy, you know. And the little Paulina, that's us, you see.

[58:59]

We can kind of get on the lap, you know, of the old grandfather. And what will we do? What is our mission? Just to sing the hallelujah into the hearts of the world, you see. That is the way in which we as monks, you know, and we to fulfill our mission in the way of redemption, because the joy in the Lord's remembrance brings us the last crown of our life. So, we end then the retreat with a little prayer of gratefulness, that the lips which have sung thy praises within the sanctuary may glorify thee forever. That the ear which has heard the voice of all thy songs may be closed through a voice of chatter and dispute. That the eyes which have seen the great law may also behold thy blessed court. That the tongues which sang the sanctus may ever speak the truth.

[60:02]

Grant that the feet which have walked in thy court may walk in the region of life. And let the souls and bodies of all who have tasted of our living bodies may be restored in newness of life. Through Christ, Amen. You don't know the trouble I'm in. I wouldn't have suggested it. But I thought it might help, you know, to get the idea of our buildings there. Perhaps you could start with that. I'll just give you a little history. of the daisies thing. Like the serpents, you know, talking to the serpents.

[61:05]

We were founded in 1951. And after 1950, you know, the whole thing developed this way. In 1938, I came over to this country together with Abbott Leo, who is now, has an abbey in Priory in Weston, in Vermont. And when we see times were getting very dangerous and tense in Germany and our abbot had kept in contact he had for a long time he had had the idea of maybe making a foundation here in the United States because he had started a liturgical academy in Marienach on liturgical and monastic academy. And that was around 1930, I believe, 29 or 30.

[62:10]

And now the world majority of the students for this academy were Americans. And there were Gottfried Dietmann, for example, there were Michael Ducey, And many others, Father Bussard, who later started here the Catholic Digest. For many people, most of them were American. And of course, then that called his attention to the fact that there was a great openness and eagerness in the state, especially for the liturgy. So he was kind of toying with the idea of a foundation in the state. in case that things would get bad, you know, in Germany. Ever since Hitler came into power, of course, the existence of the monasteries was more and more precarious.

[63:13]

And then he sent in 1934, and it was absolutely clear that, you see, in 1933, Hitler tried to conceal his true intentions, and he gave the solemn promise to build up the new Germany on the foundation of the two Christian churches, the Protestant and the Catholic Church. That was in the Garmisch-Zonk-Kirche in Potsdam, where Frederick the Great was buried. But it turned out that Frederick the Great was evidently not a good heavenly patron. And so, in 1934, It became evident that Hitler didn't want to have anything to do, especially with the Catholic Church. On the contrary, that was the cursing of the Jews. And therefore, the abbot decided to send a prayer.

[64:18]

Albert Hamm stated, the one I mentioned to you before, to send him to the United States and to see about the possibilities of a foundation. And he was received very kindly by who is now Monsignor Helwig. And he was, at that time, he was chaplain of the 5th and 6th Blood Dispatch. I remember Monsignor Helwig. Pontifex, you know, Pontificate. He was a great friend of ours. And so he went to O'Connor. Then Montaigne and Hewlett would hate them, and then they were looking around in Missouri. And then finally in Jefferson, particularly, there was the outside there, outskirts. There seemed to be probably a kind of a possibility, maybe, was to form a chicken farm, you know, and they used to camp chicken.

[65:28]

And so Father Albert sent a description of this property to the chapter in Maria Larsen. We immediately fell off our limbs, thinking that the monks could count cannon chickens. So it kind of came through, and I think it was good, you know. But then, what I thought, Father Albert came back, and he still was very enthusiastic about the general situation in the state, and he was very eager to have this idea of a foundation go through. But as I say, the members of the chapter were not too enthusiastic about it at all. In Europe, you know the skyscrapers of New York, and you think United States, it's all practical and utilitarian, and there's nothing really idealistic about it.

[66:29]

That was their, of the majority at least, their attitude. I belonged to the minority right from the start, because I was in Finland, and I made my studies there, and there I learned to know the American students, and of course, especially, also, Gottfried Dieckmann, who became a great friend. And I always had to think that the United States would be a tremendous opportunity for the church and for the development of the church. when it came to the point where our avid words that Hitler had decided on a war against Poland. That was in 1938 and around May, June. Then he called me in. He said, because I was, you know, in Germany yesterday, I was involved in the Catholic student

[67:37]

After returning from Rome, I was engaged in the work of Catholic students who came up to Mariana, and I tried to communicate to them, you see, the philography I had learned in Rome. Didn't go over too well. And then, in the course of it, We got, of course, into conflict with Hitler, because Hitler had then forbidden all activity among the students and any student associations that were not National Socialists. But we had continued anyhow. And in 1937, in November, we had a meeting of all the leaders of our Catholic student movement in the Rhineland. And it was in Cologne. I went there. It's the first time that I, during the Nazi time, that I had something written in a manuscript and typed my talk.

[68:43]

It was about Berlin, about National Socialism, and in a relation to communism and to the totalitarian movements of the time. So it was really very dangerous stuff, so to say. And I had it in Briefeke, if I know this thing still. I mean, it was yesterday. I thought it was a turning point in my history. And I didn't know it. And so we had this meeting, and we started out, you know, with singing, which we usually did. And then I said to the fellows around there, about 25 student leaders there from the Weimann office, and then I said, now let's sit around this table so that you can take notes. And it was the idea of ours, we want to prepare the work during the winter, in the wildest groups.

[69:47]

And at the moment, maybe they're rising and gathering around the table, the door opened, and two Gestapo fellows came in, and they have these medics, how would you call them, running around their neck, you know, and they were kind of swinging them around like this, and they said, now you probably know who we are. And I said, yes, I have a fairly good idea. And then they said, you don't mind that we assisted your meeting, and what you are saying, what you need to say now, I said, no, no, that would be welcome. And so they sat down, and then one was sitting next to me, and the other fellow was sitting down at the table, and we were sitting with a view. And I had this briefcase with this talk about Goering, an international associate, and the whole thing. I had it in my hand.

[70:50]

For the moment, I was thinking, oh, what should I do? Should I make it kind of quietly disappear, you know, with a table or so? Or should I simply keep it there, put it on the table? It was a kind of fatal decision, you see. So I think they said, oh, watch me. You see, so I put it right there on the paper between him and myself. And then I started. He asked me, now, Prince, what was your idea, you know, to talk about now? And I said, oh, I wanted to explain the mass of the coming Sunday, which was Saturday. The mass of the Sunday was the 18th Sunday after Pentecost. And then he didn't know what math was, because these Gestapo fellows, those they used in the Rhineland came from East Prussia, usually, you know. And the people from the Rhineland were sent to Silesia. So that was one of the rules of the game.

[71:52]

So he didn't know what math was, you know, and so on. And then I started out, you know, about the math, and then He began to kind of think that Arnie wasn't too interested in my topic. Evidently, he took up the paper. We have various, we couldn't have any books anymore. We have just room yoga material. And these mimeographed things, you know, were kind of lying around as songs and things like that. Absolutely innocent, you know, in nature and all religious. So he started picking up one thing, looking at him, then putting it down, taking another thing, looking at him, putting into his pockets there. And I was thinking now, what are we going to do about those briefcase? And I talked and talked and talked, you know, I could do that already at that time.

[72:54]

I thought by myself, now let's see who has the longer breath. And then finally, it was too long. And he said, now let's move on. And so we interrupt. And I think I've heard enough. And so I said, simply, I'll put me on a mask and leave. And suddenly, I explained the mask piece by piece. And you can't do that in a very extinctive way. And then, uh, so in the end, you know, he called an end to it and then he took all our names and, um, and then they disappeared. And then we sent two fellows from the group, you know, after them to see if they had left the house or not, to make sure that they had left the house. We opened the briefcase, you know, I took all these things out so I could piece it, and we crushed the whole business. But that was enough, you know, I mean, to give an indication of what was in store.

[74:19]

So then in the beginning of 1938, there was the first sign of the approaching war. Because there we had all to go, you know, we had to be, how do you call it, I mean, if you end the military service. You are listed, you know, what your degree of how much you are serviceable in the nation, in the army, and so on. So all that, we went through all these things, you know, and to win, we were already tactically enlisted, you know, too. So things became, you know, then the abbot showed this thing that the war against Poland is planned for September. So the greatest leader of all times, you know, started on his way. And then the abbot said, this is now the time to leave.

[75:20]

And he didn't want, of course, Mariela, he wanted Mariela to continue, and he didn't want to give the impression that we, in any way, seemed we were leaving the country, so it was only myself, Mariela, and then the Abbot said that I could pick, you know, somebody would go with me. And I had this friend of mine, Brother Leo, from Galilee, in Westphalia, And I went there, and then the abbot there gave the permission that the two of us would go. And we left then in late August, and came here in September. And then I still remember the time. It was a beautiful day, the 9th of September, marvelous fall day. And in the morning, and New York, and these skyscrapers, and the morning sun in them, you know, and oh my, white mules, and all over the place. It was really beautiful, and these two fellows were there next to us, you know, one said to another, oh boy, oh, oh.

[76:25]

And we were a little sad, you know, but I mean, we weren't disappointed in anything like that in the country. We were very elated. And then we came to the pier, and then there was the Chancellor of the Newark Archdiocese there to greet us. He's now the Archbishop in Newark. And he said, yes, and the Archbishop wants to make you teachers in the seminary of the Immaculate Conception. And that's the first we heard about it. And it was supposed to start two weeks from our beginning, from our coming, landing in New York. So you can imagine, you know, the time we had. And Fr. Albert was there, and we were a little community of three, and later on another one, Fr. Thomas Michals, who is now in Salzburg, came also. So we were poor, so like a little community. And we had the most marvelous time when the first day in the United States, I shall never forgive it, you know, we were then rushed out, or how would you say, hushed out, you know, of New York, from the pier right over to Newark, and then on the Skyway, we call it Skyway, you know, Pulaski Skyway.

[77:40]

It's not exactly the sky, you know, but It goes over to all the rooms of New Jersey School of Justice and Advantage. I hope there's nobody here. Don't God tempt us. Well, we kind of, you know, to God's country, and we landed in Murbury Street in New York. You know, now, Murbury Street is in the thing. It's like something to see, with nothing to look at. But there it was, and there was the Chancery. And of course, that was for our European eyes and context, you know, it was just absolutely... There was a big gas station on one side, There was a brown screen, brownstone church, burst Gothic of the late 19th century on the other side, and there was the Chancellor, and the Chancellor was in Byzantine style, you know.

[78:44]

It was the 7th or 8th floor building in Byzantine style. So we were just mumbling. And so we saw the Archbishop. He was very kind. He had no clear idea where Maria Lach really was, but that didn't matter. He was really very kind to us, and took us in as refugees, you know, from Hitler and so on. So we were really very much enclosed to his heart. Otherwise, how would I feel? So we were very much Encouraged by that, the men were brought out into the country in Father Albert. knowing our European reactions, you know, had arranged us the whole thing about Pulaski Skyway and that whole path that we did in New York and then out into the country to Morristown, you know, and the more elegant places around there. And there we were introduced to the first American rectory, and there was a monseigneur.

[79:44]

And the monseigneur was very famous, you know, for the gracious way in which he poured tea. He was very appreciated, you know, by the kind of more English-orientated upper 10,000 around there. And we had a famous housekeeper, and when we came there, the housekeeper wasn't there to make the tea because she was playing tennis. That was our introduction, you know, to the American sort. And then we went all the way up to Boonton, you know, and Boonton, and there we saw the first country club, you know, an American country club. And with all these, you know, these tremendous, you know, soup pots, you know, and all these things around. And we were quite taken by that, and butlers all over the place, you know, and so on.

[80:48]

And all kinds of shades, you know, liquor from the hard to the soft. And all this kind of thing. And so that was the other aspect of the state, you know. Father Albert wanted to introduce it, you know, give a kind of summary of the whole thing. So we came from the highly civilized country club, then to our seminary. And our seminary was where the archdiocese had just bought it from a teller, a New Yorker teller, who had made, you know, loads of money, in fact here in California. One tried to come back and kind of crash society in New York in the east, but we didn't succeed quite, you know, but we built this tremendous mansion in Elizabethan style, and we were introduced there. We lived up above a third story. We had that all ourselves, the first story down at an enormous ballroom.

[81:48]

And a beautiful dining room, it was all wood carved, you know, all over the place. Absolutely money, no object, you know. So, we were shown, you know, this thing, this ballroom, and we came in there, and that served as a chapel. We looked around, we had never seen anything like it, you know, really, before it was. There was a gallery around, there was a place for the organ, there was a place for the orchestra. It was absolutely terrific. And this gallery was supported by nymphs, you know. And these nymphs, you know, of course, made the situation a little distracting to have a lot of temper. And if they wanted it, they could shatter it. You know, they have kind of, how would I say, turtle hangers around the nooks, you know. You know, they have this wonderful Gothic wooden altar, you know, in it, you know. We brought her up to be marvelous.

[83:05]

We had a wonderful time. And so then we were brought to our quarters and it was beautiful, just like Maria Love. Very, very beautiful clothes, really. Very isolated. And the young faculty, all young, they had just come back from Rome. Now one is Bishop R.S. Trenton, the other one is Bishop Dougherty, and John Dougherty, and many others. And we really, if I come to look back, you know, the state, Three years later, it is on here, the most wonderful, because the stones of God were all eager to kind of polish the apple, you know, in every possible direction, and make it, you know, agreeable to us, and we responded, you know, very... very eagerly. So it was a wonderful time, really, we had. The faculty was excellent. This group of young people, you know, started in and wanted to build up something.

[84:08]

And the, as I say, the student material were really wonderful. And we have still, you know, today, the greatest number of friends is still in Jersey. And there was the policy of the archbishop. that he thought if he made a foundation in the states or in the east that we should first learn really and get him to the kings of the church in the United States. And I understand I'm always grateful to him as Hartnett and Walsh. It was otherwise, it was of the American era. I remember when I first heard, first humming of an American bishop, was that I heard, you know, it was the, the, when the new building, a new seminary building, was, yeah, the, I think it was dedication or something, or foundations, I think the dedication. And he was there. And he gave a sermon, you know, and he described, you know, all the advantages and glories of his new seminary building.

[85:16]

And the high point was that there was a toilet between every two rooms. Part of, you know, he had a kind of a hoarse voice. Toilet. Toilet between every two rooms. How to bet, you know, it's a, you know, it's a little thing, and then you say, no, no, no. First class art. Every room, first class, that is an art. Two dollars a piece. He got me for nothing, you see. He had to kind of help the trade, you know. It was wonderful. So we had a marvelous time there, really. But then, of course, after two years, we had a contract for three years. And after that, our rector, you know, had become Bishop of Trenton.

[86:20]

I was Bishop of Trenton at the time. So after three years, we thought, you know, that we should stick to our purpose and try to get a foothold in the state. And we got a little place in New Jersey. We called it St. Paul's Priory at the time. And there was just a religious house. There was nothing canonical. We were cut off. The war had begun. And so we started there at least the common life, you know, to some degree. We always went to, we had to go, I mean, to make ends meet. We had to go for weekends into parishes and I went to Blomkirchen, New Jersey for years and years every weekend. And so that was a very good experience too. And so, um, And boom, you see, came the time when the war was over. That was in 1947. I got this thing with my back and they suddenly stopped, you know, working and I had to be kind of pushed into a hospital for this.

[87:27]

operation there with this gluonus and so on. That caused the trouble right around Christmas this year again, but I'm glad that I was able to make it and to be here with you. So then in 1947, I went over to Rome and I saw the abbot. In the meantime, Abbot Ildefons had died, my abbot, in 1946. And in 1947 I met then the new Abbot, Abbot Basil Ebel in Rome, and it was very strange, you know, together they are, so they were, all the Abbots came together to elect the new Abbot primates after the war, long before the predecessor had died, so We were so, you know, I was on the fringes there, you know, the small fly. And so we had a tremendous dinner that the Bishop Abbott of Subiaco offered to the Congress of Abbott. And we went all there with flying banners, you know, Subiaco.

[88:33]

And we had this real talent, you know, they had this big factory, and at the end, you know, people came with their backpipes, you know, and all these things, and it was tremendous. And then the small fire was collecting at the lower end of these tables, and there was one abbot who kind of accompanied us, you know, and we got to sit opposite to one another, And we got into talking, and we became really, in a short time, the best of friends. And I had no idea that the next day he would be elected out of parliament. but that it was, you know, it's the way it turned out. So, after he was elected, I said, now, on average, you absolutely have to come to the United States, because the Abbott primates, you know, and the European abbots should come, should come and make contact with the states, you know, and so on, and then he said he promised, yes, he would.

[89:34]

So, in 1948, he came over to the states, and he came to Regina Laudis, which is a foundation which was made by French nuns and I was their chaplain for the first three years to help them. And Albert Barrett and I agreed that I could do that because we had to dispose of the property in New Jersey too. And we didn't want to to rush this thing, but take our time and do it under good conditions, you know, because in these few years the poverty there had enormously had increased, you know, in value, you know how it is, if something could become suburban, you know, possibilities, my, you know, people go here, and then they didn't do it this way exactly, but I mean it was. So then the The other pilot came, and he came to Regina-Lauribus, and was very impressed, and he visited.

[90:36]

I think he came to Spain for a tour, at least to get fundamental before I did it. He saw me. That was the way, you know, of contemplative occasions, you know, came to. the monasteries, and I said, you see, now we have to have a benedictine house, you know, that works, you know, on similar principles, you know, get away from all these universities and colleges and schools, and just, you know, lead the monastic life. And he was right on Buddha then, that was necessary, and it's always good, you know, to get through to somebody who's just new in office, because he's full of initiative, and although He's open, you know, in every direction. So he was very, you know, very... But we had the big difficulty, who would make the foundation? Because the Abbot of Mayalah evidently couldn't do it. The chapter there would not be interested, because they had lost, you know, many people in Russia. So, on the other hand, there was no other possibility, canonically,

[91:42]

So, the thing got stuck there for a moment, and then, but then in 1949, the Lex Propria was published. And this Lex Propria was a special code of law that passed the church, published for the Benedictine Confederation. And in this Lex Propria, there was the provision that the Abbott Parliament could also make a foundation. if he had people, you know, from other habits and his other habits agreed. So that was our opening. I was there in 1949 again in Rome and then in 50 we went for the jump. We had a group up and we can upload and this group, you know, went. to Rome in 1950. And in the meantime, we had obtained from the Bishop of Rochester the permission to go to his, into his diocese. So everything was kind of settled. So in a few days, you know, we had our decree of the foundation of Mount Saviour with the right of the Norwich Gate.

[92:52]

and also with the provision that we would take the constitutions of Solem, but with its marvelous distinction, which has kept us every student, you know, immensely, in the Roman, in Latin. Non formaliter se directive. That means, you know, now you have these constitutions, but non formaliter. That means you don't have to stick to it, really, if you don't want. But directive, that means take it as a general orientation. You couldn't have anything better, you know what I mean? You have constitutions, make them directives, you see. So we took it, we laughed it up, we hit the light, you know, and we went home. And so then we started out first in Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, in Canada, that was our kind of part of benevolence.

[93:54]

And they helped us greatly. And then from there, in 1951, when we came down to Mount Saviour, and we started there, and we had bought this property, three farms, small farms, on what we later found out, the admirers called it Poverty Hill. So there we were, and we had these three little farms, you know, nothing in it, absolutely nothing. We didn't have a bed to sleep in, we didn't have a table. We found a table in one of the barns, but it was much too low, you know, and so on. So we got some bricks that we found there, and we put the table on the bricks, and that was our altar. Then we didn't, it was terribly dirty, and we had this one little house there, where we lived first, and we had all kinds of, all the dirt, you know, came right into the house, so we had this piece of rather solid big paper that we spread out, you know, and that was our carpet, you know, where we first lived.

[95:02]

We slept on the floor, just, you know, Well, first, I mean, I never have been practical in my whole life, you know. It's just, you know, really we call it the ditch age. You know, all we had were ditches. And these ditches, you know, were all around, and one day we had a tremendous cloudburst, and flood, and the whole road to lower end of it was taken off. We were cut off. from traffic completely there for three days. But all that belongs to the beginnings of a foundation. And so when we had young people who came, they were interested in it, they had been interested already before. We had a group of ombudsmen who were interested, you know, in helping the place. So in that way, we send our novices first to the seminary. And later on, in the novice months, I came to Monsalvia, so we were able to start a militia at our place.

[96:07]

But these first years, I think you have a brochure here, and in this brochure, you see several people there, and me also, and a cow. Rather, you know, poor-looking cow, but the better of the two we had. There was this cow and then suddenly, you know, we were building a small refectory in addition to one of the farmhouses because we needed one room and we could also have some gifts, you know. And while we were building this factory, we had no money whatsoever. And the bulls began to come in, and we didn't have the money to pay the bulls. So, the situation became a little, you know, tense. And the sheriff was around, you know. And so, one day, Frank Sugru showed up from the Haber Tribune.

[97:13]

together with a photographer. And they wanted to take pictures, and Kancho Guru wanted to put an article into the Herald Tribune, it was in July, you know, and everything is in bold runs, you know, and one needs a little, you know, picture, some story of human interest. So, they were looking for human interest, and they found it at Mount Sevi. And, but there was the difficult, there was nothing to take a picture of, you know. So finally this man, you know, got this idea and actually wanted to go into what was our cow stable at that time and then take a picture out through the entrance gate, you know, out into the open. He thought he made quite an interesting picture, but then something had to be in there, you know, to kind of give the human interest to it, you know. So we were summoned, you know, Fr. Gregory and I, And one boy helped us, you know, with the palm shorts.

[98:18]

And the brother, the son of the former owner, who was always around and helped us. And then we had these two cows. One cow was unknown. That was the better cow. And the other cow we owned because it was a gift, you know. The one we owned couldn't possibly be photographed, you know. beyond that stage. And the other one, you'll see now, a little better. So we took this cow and then we have the whole picture taken out of this palm door there and the, what would you call it, the and the title of it read, you know, Half the Monastery's Cattle. And that picture was published in the Herald Tribune. And it came in July, and everybody was delighted about it all. And the article, and Thangshugwu described life of Mount Sebi and how the novices, you know, would sit on the steps, you know, to the farmhouse and peel potatoes, you know, the whole thing.

[99:31]

And people were absolutely delighted. Now the whole thing, and we got letters over letters, there was one dollar, there were two dollars, or five dollars, you know, we had that ten dollar, and then we had it all together, we had enough money really to pay for our for our refectory, the new refectory, so the sheriff disappeared, you know. And we were in position once again. And that was really, in some way, was the turning point in our whole history. Without that, we probably would have gone under, you know. But there, suddenly, we had a good support on the part of the people who were interested, saw the point, you know, of the monastery. And we are ready to kill. So you see how things in God's providence are eternal. And from then on, so that was in 1951. And then I wanted to show you, just give you an idea of the building.

[100:37]

We came to the point where we had one, one principle was, I think it was, more idealistic than practical, that was the first thing. If we were able to build anything, we want to build a chapel. And in order to have that, the house of God, you know, as the center of the monastery. And there we had the idea to put the altar into the center and then have the monks as the inner circle around the altar, but then have the gate, you know, too, in such a position that they were able, you know, to kind of enter into this Eucharistic action and feel at home in the house of God. So that was the general idea that we had. And with that we started and became this octagon, and I love octagons because they know that eight is the day of the messianic number, you know. It is all the symbolism of the Old and the New Testaments, you know.

[101:42]

And eight, you know, is if you have six is the bath number, you know. That is the number of working days. Full time sleep, you know, that is the antitrust, you know. in the Apocalypse, you know, but then the next day, the seventh day, that is the day of wrath. That is the day which consecrates the six other days. So six plus one, seven, you see, that is in the Old Testament, is the number which indicates God or both work under God. That's really the formula of the seven days, the seven-day week. And therefore the seventh day is the Sabbath, rest, the other work, stops, you know, and what man cannot do, God is there to do for him. So that is the general idea. Then comes, you know, there is the seventh, but that is the Word of the God, this visible Word of the God.

[102:43]

And then comes the eighth day, and the eighth day is then the one, the beginning of the new era. of the New Testament, that's the Messianic day. And eight is, in the Old Testament, really a Messianic number, a Messianic symbol. So we did that, you know, with this octagon, and it allowed us, you know, therefore, to kind of see the Messianic day in this little tabernacle, you know, tent tree that we started there to build. And then we came another, the next step was then that we built a little place, you know, for the monks, about 15 cells in it, and we count over that later on, might be a retreat house once we move into the definitive monastery. But then the plans for the monastery were this way, and then I just indicated to you, let's see, the monks' way. We went on to look at the quality of the And then, this big square is divided, you know, in this way, and in this way, and in this way.

[103:50]

And then you have, you have all together, you have nine squares. This here is the whole little square. The whole pendulum, you know, the pendulum. And then you have, here is the center, in this one. It's there in the place for the chakra. And then here in Mount Rainier, the visitors come from here, this direction. They come up. This is the only, because on this side, you know, the whole thing is this. Each slope, you know, goes down towards the Mount Valleys, and our property goes to the river. And on this side, it is here, and on this side over here, so this is in the most high level area, you know. enough, you know, to make this whole character in its best spirit, kind of, we wanted to, in some way, we wanted to view and deal with the monastery as an expression of what we had in mind for the monastic community.

[104:55]

And the one was, of course, that the altar was the center of the whole thing. And then, as I said before, the monastery, as people thought, We came to a great civil war, we came to the idea of having a Greek cross, and we must have an English cross as well, as we learned, as we occupied. And with the Greek cross, you see, all the Greek works you know, you build a chapel, Then, you know, what in our day, one of the difficult things is, you know, what to do with the room for semi-stochasticity, whatever you need, you know, in order to heal this blood pool. If the stochasticity becomes visible and somehow enters the body of the church, you just have to kind of tap it off, you know, I mean, you kind of glue it up somewhere.

[105:59]

Therefore, we have to learn, our will, our tools, our mood. We have, first of all, two stories. You know, I have a crypt, and I have an upper church. And the two stories, the lower story, the crypt, that is the place, you know, which, in the whole economy of salvation, in churches, you know, in Europe, throughout, over, signifies, you know, the birth of the Savior. And it's because that is the womb of the earth. That is, therefore, the representation of our Lady. And then the Upper Church, that is then devoted, dedicated, you know, to the Risen Savior. And that is, therefore, light, and that is the Spirit of the Resurrection, so that the Spirit of the Incarnation and the Spirit of the Resurrection are indicated in this group. If you do that, and if you take the form of the Great Cross, then you have the advantage, you know, that people do a lot And you can see the four cuts that have here the sacristy value first, and right here the woodwork sacristy, the black rule.

[107:12]

And as you do have a score of this in our law, quite we have an organic example here, and we have both here, the end points here, for the metric fraction. And also the distribution is higher than the score of it. One we have here in the center, our lozenge with the chard. You know, that is kind of center office. And then, in the old time, we still have it here, and we still have it here in our gates. Now, we have orcas, you know, probably for private benefit. Then we up here, that's just the center orca, and it's nothing else. So, in that way, it's kind of the plan who better, later on, proved to be quite practical and also compatible with the Constitution on religion. One who can't, in the ultimate, is one who doesn't understand such a way that recirculation is possible, and that the enclosure is kind of grand.

[108:19]

In the chapter, you know, two, it's a place where resistance and death and one's mate along the long table. Here on this side, you know, this here is where we do all the activities. That means here is the refectory, and here is the chateau, and here is the common room, and here is the kitchen. So that is in the upper storey, then there is another one in the lower storey, and then we have power, and then we have all the work rooms, so we know the laundry, the cloth, here is the internally, and here is where we sell the outfits and so on. And then we have all the, let us say, contact with the outside world, you know, it's in the mirror, In the upper one you have the activities of the community, kitchen and so on.

[109:22]

And you separate the activity building from this, and that is what we call strictly the community building, and that is brick and clover. This is going to be exclusively for the monks, But that controls them being sleeping quarters of the monks on the lower floor. They are in the earth, they are kind of paved, so to speak. Then you have the upper thing, and there is the night building, and at night we have to spend time, too, with these splendid facilities. So that people don't have in books to those on the lower floors that is so often the case. I remember in Mariana he had kind of pious and kind of proud always. was a true or truelating book, you know, and then on Ash Wednesday, on a daily basis, that was usually a critical day, and everybody was in TN planning. I was the only one that had stored up all the ammunition, you know, for Ash Wednesday conference, and we were retaking, you know, and then

[110:32]

to pass, you know, and they have to go and learn all about the books, you know, and now books should be brought back to the library. And then you could speak about a pile, you know, piles of books going to the library. Dumping them into the lap of the librarian. You know, they do the rest, you know. On Easter Sunday, you would go back to the other direction. Everything went to good all the way. Everything went to good all the way. And we once was boys, you know, building an excavator, and we had already quite a lot of books. So we built, you know, simply as a Then here like this, lift and boost here are going to be your stack, your whole library, and the boost you want.

[111:42]

Here and here are based, you want the same part, whole library. And then here in the program is always a little benefit. The foot and that is then a little importance control. Go to now, that's a little powerful in there. There's no water now because we have the glass. In other words, it doesn't fit to that. But at least the idea is there. And then it's, you know, that's it. Then you can finally, in other buildings, we will be just the top of an L, bring here, and then we'll be in the building, the screen, which is for the of the rest of the monastery and especially for priests, given the possibility of the meeting of the other monks. And then on this point here, that is the old building that we have built, you know, already before, and it's been there for a few.

[112:46]

And while from here, this is the entrance, you know, where the people come into it, into the chapel. So we have, you see, you have this thing, a square, you have five, you know, buildings with chapels in the center. You have the gate, you have the proof, you have the activities, and you have your, uh, loyal steps in there. And then you have these open, see this here? Now, this here is logical, that is the entrance to the chapel, or the cathedral, but here is the middle, garden for the monks, you know, and these poor men also like vegetables, all kinds of things. That's why this is mostly my place. And then, both here is the cemetery, you know, that's for the cemeteries. And, you know, this here, then, is for the youth or the dead, you know. In that way, you have a kind of a logical thing, you know, you have on this end here, where the most people see are dead and of nuns,

[113:52]

You have to be a little secluded, you know, for the most part. And you have to go to the land that they are on. So it's, you know, a free unit, with troops, and then you have to go mostly for food only, because we are on a piece of wood. is they want to take power. One of the great things coming for the section of clergy today is the feeling that they have been mistreated. So that led to the idea, the idea that was used, you know, to, you see, we were confronted with the, you know, with the kind of thing, because you remember that the, of course, the traditional way of doing it was, you know, in the law, we, the church, the Baptist Church, that was a protection too, from the way, you know, the law,

[114:55]

At the same time, it gives the possibility of the east, which then is the resurrection, and then that's where the quiet is. The west, and this is Mariola, the same thing, the east is open to the resurrection, but the south, the west here is like a fortress, because this here is where darkness comes from, that's where the devil is, you know, and there you build your monastery like a fortress. And, you know, I had very often spoken in that way, you know, I feel like a spirit, you know, before you go into the church, you go through this, I feel, and that was the place that I had very good, you know. I'm glad we had it and so on. It was supposed to be, you know, some kind of water for drinks, and, you know, all kinds of mints, you know, water, and things there. And it's good. On this side here, the east, we have the dormitory, the arrangement.

[115:58]

On the south, here, you have the refrigerator and the kitchen. And on the west, here, you have the pool and the whole infinite, you know, complex. So this is your nightly labor. Here's your eating. Here's your sleeping. Here's your playing. And in this here, of course, I go to the Middle Ages, all that kind of And it just occurred to me, Calvin, who would be schooled when they participated. And then that is there. But of course, the one thing is that you don't have a rule, for example, for a lion breed. Now that was usually done from the courts, so there was an armory, and they would put Well, I'm going to fix his clothes, he can't even walk over his clothes. Well, we have about, you know, a little place, 20,000 books, and so on and so on, and what to do with it. So in some way, this whole thing has to be thought over again and again, and then also to connect with your working idea of a certain purpose.

[117:04]

I have talked enough. Now, please, do ask me questions. Or share with me, for I have a few more questions. Well, would you ask something to Max Weber? Well, the new foundation. Yeah, that is, we started that, you know, because It is building this thing here, you know, because in some way, you know, it's, you know, it's construed on a little, rather square, but this here is the square, you know, it's enough room for 40 people. We have in each of these types, in the individually, these are, they are here, you know, they are Hidden beds behind the dormitory, there are ten beds, two on the dormitory.

[118:06]

This usually is used for the mother's bed. This here is used for the child and that's her face. And then we have hidden pillows, you know, behind this tile and then on this tile. And then it's for people, you know, who want to sleep on it. Some of the songs are just two. There's two of them to put in, not to put in next to each other. and the dormitory. We had a terrible time to determine do we want dormitories or do we want facilities. It was a terrible time. And finally ended up with a compromise. Because now there are some people who just need a spell, but they don't have a spell. You know, if they are through, some people are tense, and they come, you know, all sorts of things, and if the moon comes, you know, they get restless, they'll watch, you know, and And so that's what we do.

[119:10]

And of course, you know that in our, the Benedictine thing, the tradition in there is simply split. That's the, in fact, the empire of the Confederation, right? All the terms, you know, to sell under the influence of the Carmelites, of the, what we call, the Rothschilds were there. But that has become simply a kind of tradition. And therefore it's difficult. to establish any kind of dormitory, and then of course, Christian, you know, again, how can these things really be placed, you know, the evil souls, and so on and so on. So I didn't want to be too apodictic about it, you know, and then face the entire Benedictine cause, and thinking, oh, you are trapped. And therefore we have made that there is a difference, you know, in poor people and poor people.

[120:13]

We are, too, still have certain values, I mean, for people, you see, for any kind of counseling, anything like that, and so on and so on. So, we've been delighted, it's compromised, but you see, there are still, you know, there still is quite a number. And we were living in these improvised houses this year, Very nice, very simple, we had a lovely little factory there. It was all very good. We lived there for practically 13 years. In these quarters, there's still another little farmhouse right here, which we built. And this here was built, of course, there was too much for us to undertake. I mean, we couldn't build it ourselves. We had to build this here ourselves. But this year it was too much. We couldn't do it. And therefore, we had to have contractors. As soon as we had contractors, we went to our school board.

[121:14]

I mean, you know how it is. You get three lines, and it says, of course, you know, on three and two sections, homes, but you really don't particularly care for them. And then, of course, next year, this year, Each link, you know, we have there is 120 feet, you know. There was magnetic type of each link, you know. And so probably at 120 feet here, we arrive at quite a big building. Before you know it. And this whole band that we've got in Vienna, you know, we've got all of us, you know, We have lost our amendment rules, interruption on the Congress of Congress, and all that. So that was a difficult time. And remember, it's also, you know, I noticed so much in our community, there are some people, you know, that really for their spiritual development really need, you know, community, and they need also a certain, let us say, larger community.

[122:26]

See, as far as you have it, I think we all agree, you know, that we don't want to become an institution. And if you get, you know, beyond the fifties, then, you know, things become difficult. And so we didn't want to go into that, certainly. But on the other hand, you know, have a possibility where we, you know, where we really could have, you know, for those who need it, you know, a little larger, big, you know. And so, that was our... But then there were also those, you know, who, you know, have this tendency of more, let us say, greater simplicity. Now, if you build a thing like this, you know, now you have to take care of your, for example, heating. That would be a big problem. We have the whole heating business, you know, here, under the theatre, in the upper storey, and in the lower storey there is the whole heating plant, you know, here.

[123:33]

beneath, and that takes care of all those, you know, but of course, you know, you have to have good coverage, you know, against the elements, you know, it's all right, the wind's here, all right, bad, you know, winter, you know, all those kind of things. So, you arrive, as I said, right, without knowing it, you know, it's quite a thing. And, you know, there are others, you know, who really want, you know, a more, how would you call it, you know, simple, you know, life. As I just thought, I think our life is not very elaborate to tell you the truth. But anyhow, I feel very strongly that the, especially the Southwest, you know, of this country,

[124:19]

@Transcribed_v004
@Text_v004
@Score_JJ