Chapter 53, the rule. All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I don't know about you, but I went through classes on Benedictine spirituality, the rule, during my early years of formation in the monastery, and not once to my recollection Did I ever hear the subject of monastic hospitality treated at length? I recall we even got to chapter 53 in the rule and we had that very sensitive and searching treatment of the theology of hospitality and my novice master said, just don't get in the way of the guest master. And things have changed a great deal since. Every book you look at, the Preach of Benedictine Life, whether it's written by a Protestant or a Catholic, a layperson or a monastic insider, seems to have its obligatory chapter on hospitality.

[01:09]

And we see that ministries of hospitality are at the heart of what it means to be Benedictine. It might help just to go back and see how this is such a fundamental Christian virtue, as well as a monastic virtue. It certainly grew out, too, of the hospitality of the Middle East, which you can still encounter today. And it's so firmly rooted in our scriptural world, you know, they have that popular icon of Andrei Lugovlev's Trinity, and of course there's Abraham welcoming the three visitors there on the yoke of Mamre in Genesis. And we see the monks in the desert, you know, they're pretty ornery guys, depending upon how you look at them but if a visitor comes they are the quintessence of hospitality and I think that was truly something that was transmitted in a serious fashion and to maybe give you a feel for that I'm going to quote from a famous work, Palladius and his history of the monks in Egypt and it's the scene where Palladius himself and his companions are approaching the hermitage of the Abba Apollos

[02:28]

We were seen and recognized from afar by the brethren, who had already heard about our arrival from Abba Apollos. They came running to meet us, singing psalms. This is what they generally do with all their visitors. And when they had prostrated before us with their faces to the ground, they kissed us, and pointing us out to each other, said, See, the brothers have arrived about whom our father spoke to us. Some of them were in front of us, some behind, singing psalms, until we came nearer to where the saint was. When Father Apollos heard the sound of singing, he greeted us according to the custom which all the brethren follow. When he saw us, he first prostrated, lying full length to the ground. Then getting up, he kissed us, and having brought us in, prayed for us. Then, after washing our feet with his hands, he invited us to take some refreshment. It's not quite what you get at the Red Roof or the Best Western, but it's very similar to the ritual and the motivation that we find in Chapter 53 of the Rule.

[03:40]

And it's certainly there, the Cenobitic communities in the earlier centuries, especially with Basil the Great, they really institutionalized hospitality. And we see it in the hospitals, the orphanages, the hospices that were started. But we also see early on this fundamental tension, which I'm sure you've experienced here at Mount Savior. You have the contemplative aim of monastic life, and you have the inclusive obligation of extending hospitality to all persons. You can understand this tension, which is really between prayer and charity, when we understand visitors are not just one one-dimensional group of pious foolish. They come for a variety of motives. And we hope that for most, hospitality shared is truly a spiritual grace. And the visitors have the same motivation that we do, which is to unite ourselves to Christ.

[04:48]

For some visitors it may be a question of satisfying personal desires. Maybe asking for a handout because of a genuine need. at worst entering the community because of some selfish or even sinful intention. We need to deal with that and I hope to mention how we can in the course of this evening. But certainly we have to begin our reflection from the point of view that this idea of hospitality is a lived reality from the earliest monastic origins. And it's not simply a part of the institutional or the ecumenical life of the church, but it's the very context in which we live our monasticism. As we mentioned in the conference on stability, We come together as a community to create a space, and it's God's space, but it's one that's meant to be shared spiritually and materially with other people.

[05:57]

And once people enter this space, the hospitality given is not just one that manifests a material charity, a concern for physical needs, but it's one that has to be looking out for the spiritual needs of the people coming and how we can share our spiritual goods with them. And we shouldn't forget it works both ways. Guests can enrich the community. Saint Benedict tells us as much when he says that the pilgrim monk should be given food and shelter and be seen as a possible emissary from God with a message that the abbot and community may need to hear. Those were pilgrim monks, not retreat masters. And this presumes, of course, that the attitude of the host is one that is more than just tolerance or condescension. To see the guest as a sacramental encounter rather than an alien presence changes the chemistry considerably.

[07:00]

And those who arrive at the monastery, we know, will inevitably broaden the spiritual and intellectual horizons of those who welcome them. Gable and I were talking a little bit this afternoon about all the people that the Damasus brought in from his wide network. That really enriched, I think, Mount Savior and their understanding of the Church. And these people can lead us to change our way of thinking, welcome new possibilities, as long as they don't come to impose their agenda. As Benedict reminds us, they have to be content with the community as they find it, not as they would like it to be. Which I think allows us to see chapter 53 in a better perspective. Again, recall how that chapter starts. All guests are to be received as Christ. We're reminded, of course, of that Last Judgment scene in Matthew 25. And we're reminded, through Benedict's use of the Latin word omnes, all,

[08:08]

of the radical equality that is given to the guest. No distinction of rank or privilege. As he says, the rich are going to have no trouble being accepted. If you're going to make distinctions, make it for the poor. And then two, the abbot is the one who seats the guest. And the only other people in the community allowed to associate with them are those who are going to be able to give a cura, solicitude. And this is very different than what you see in the Rule of the Master, where, you know, he has what amounts to a surveillance team. If you've ever read the Rule of the Master, he's really paranoid, but, you know, they're just there to see if he's going to lift any silverware, and they're going to come down on him. Benedict, you know, wants the guest to be able to have a certain freedom. And, you know, there are sacred obligations. Somehow, we will find Christ in these people.

[09:13]

And that's not just the presumption. That's what we need to believe. There is, too, this idea that the porter has. It's that wonderful expression I love in chapter 66. The porter is to welcome everyone with all the gentleness that comes from the fear of God. Vervore caritatis, the warmth of love. That's just a very tender way of expressing how we should expect to see Christ coming. But again, Benedict is dealing with this tension as well. The love for the guest has to be set next to the order and peace of the community. And so, I think to help reduce the tension, Benedict has a special place for the guest that is physically apart from the community, and a special person to take care of. There's even a separate kitchen for the superiors and the guests.

[10:13]

I think all this detail is so that the community itself will not be unduly disturbed. And it's the same concern about avoiding disturbance and avoiding the peace of the community that prompts the warning that we get at the end of chapter 53. Let no one, without special permission, associate or converse with the guests. That's an admonition that may sound very jarring today, but Benedict was building upon the wisdom of experience and anticipating the problems that inevitably arise in monastic houses from guests who are free to roam and fair game for those community members who display a rather compulsive need to vent on the unsuspecting guest. Sure, it doesn't happen here, but it's been known to happen in other monasteries. And it works the other way as well. We get some guests who are just looking for verbal backboards in the community. And Benedict has the wisdom to see we don't need this.

[11:18]

We have to have a place in the monastery where the guests cannot enter. This notion of hoist is sacred. Michael Casey, who has so many great quotes here, says, if hospitality involves habitual compromises of our monasticity, then we are the losers and our visitors stand to gain nothing. I'm thinking of compromising our monasticity. we can learn from the guests. When Benedict says that they can make reasonable criticisms or observations in chapter 61, we can see too that with their oblates there's an indication of a deep love for both the people in the monastery and the space in the monastic community. And they want to be able to revere that space. I think a more effective dialogue to take place and trust, or shared prayer and a listening heart, we have to really see that these people are God's emissaries.

[12:31]

But then again, remember what Benedict says in verse 4, pray first so that the delusions of the devil will be eliminated. Certainly, you know, Benedict's prescription for hospitality is a useful model not just for 6th century Italy, when the barbarians were at the gates, but for our contemporary culture. You know, we should expect to encounter Christ in the guest and the stranger who comes to the door. And over the monastic centuries that has happened. You know, you think of how many monasteries in the Middle Ages, especially those in the Qubran groups, they were the one means of security and safety and spirituality for the people who were traveling. And it really, I think, helps us understand why hospitality is such a monastic charism. And it's a charism that should be fostered and should be given appropriate rituals that convey its inner meaning.

[13:37]

Now, the ritual for Benedict's time was foot-washing of the guest upon arrival, the accompaniment of the psalm response. God, we have received your mercy in the midst of your temple. It's a beautiful ritual. But today, you know, if we have the guest take off their shoes and wash their feet, we probably, you know, have people being called to the monastery very quickly. So we have to come up with something that is you know, appropriate and incorporates this understanding that, again, it's a sacramental encounter. God's mercy is coming to us. We need to acknowledge that. Retrieving the sacramental character of the encounter with the guest is so important. I think, too, you know, of Benedict in chapter 53, verse 8, when he's speaking of the guest, he uses the Latin verb suscipere. to receive, but think, too, as the same verb uses in chapter 58 in the profession formula, suscipe me domine.

[14:45]

And we need to make that connection. The monk who has professed himself in a rite before all the monastery has to receive the guest with the same total embrace of faith. You know, there's something of an irony with monasticism today. We have diminishing numbers of professed members and increasing numbers of those who come seeking hospitality. And again, understanding the history of monasticism in this country, the first century, roughly 1850 to 1950, education was the dominant apostolate and ministry, and in a certain sense, if hospitality was exercised, it was in welcoming the student. And My Savior really came in right at the point where I think there was a conscious embrace of hospitality as a primary dimension of the work of the community.

[15:49]

And it's going to continue. how structured or unstructured it's going to be remains to be seen. But you know, we talk about education. Like the apostle of education, if you're into ministry of hospitality, you're not going to make a lot of money. And I think that's good. You know, we're again, mindful of what we said this morning, we're not there for the profit margin. We're there for the income. And we live in a world where monastic hospitality has its attendant threats. There's violence, there's terrorism, there's sexual assault, robbery, vandalism. I mean, you hear stories, I'm sure, from third world countries. I mean, I've talked to some of these monks of Africa, my goodness, you know, the garden gets robbed on a regular basis, people are breaking in. We, of course, mentioned already the tragedy of the monks of Tibhirine. And then, of course, in our own country, in 2002, just past the anniversary, in June, at Conception Abbey, you had this incredible, unexpected, a person comes in and just starts shooting.

[17:00]

And the way the monks reacted to that, I don't know if you can remember that, it was just so touching, Abbot Gregory, You know, the man, of course, who wound up shooting himself, the man in the church, was taken away in the same ambulance with some of the monks. The monks just went out of their way to try and establish some type of healing for all those who were involved in this, including the family of the man. But, you know, the reminder there was pretty graphic, you know. We know not the time or the hour, and boy, the last place in the world, if you've been to Conception, who would want to think about going to Conception to do something? And, you know, all of us have our lore. I'm sure you could recount it here. Guests who have exploited their welcome. But sometimes the enemies of hospitality can come from within the monastery. You know, we can be so busy, we can be so professional, we can be so standoffish that that's the only thing that stays in the memory of the guest.

[18:12]

And, you know, monasteries and fall victim to the people who just, you know, if they see a guest, and there was a monastery, I know, in this country where one monk, I don't mean, probably had a set of issues, as they say, but whoever, you know, came in sight, he could have had a habit on, and certainly if she had addressed, he would just have seen his face, try to get out of there as soon as possible. And that's not, you know, there's Puga Mundi, and then there's Puga Wastebeds, and that's just not right. You know, and I think maybe the best antidote for some dysfunctional behaviors is liturgy. Because liturgy, when it's truly transformative, is the setting apart of time and space where we have this intimate encounter between God and the other.

[19:17]

And I think at Mount Savior that's always been the case that if there's going to be some realization of what this place is about, it takes place when there are believers. And what we do is create a space where no one feels forced. Everyone should feel free enough to find closeness and distance to God. But a condition for guests feeling at home at prayer is that the host community feel comfortable at prayer. You can't have a good host who's not comfortable in their own house. It's the development of the notion that was long ago proposed by Henry Nowen that we can only be intimate with others if we're first intimate with ourselves and with God. It's interesting, you know, I was thinking about that today in your church. We built an abbey church at Muromian in 1998, and it really transformed a good part of our life. We had a small chapel, much smaller than yours before, and now it's open throughout the day, and we get quite a range of people who come in at the daily and Sunday Eucharist.

[20:30]

I mean, it's wonderful. You've got retired people, you've got mothers with kids, you've got just the whole range. You've got traditional people wearing their veils. And, you know, they wind up going to their favorite space, their favorite time, and we get all types of positive comments. I mean, we think, you know, the one lifeline they have. But, again, this idea of feeling free to find a space that is truly sacred. and that they don't feel as if they have to rigidly conform to some, you know, set of standards. We have science and so forth and the like, but once people get in there, they're very much aware of how this is special. And of course, it involves the monastic community in a different way, too. We have to be attentive to the people who are there. But we also have to really be ourselves and not be on show, but realize why these people are there.

[21:34]

It's the most sacred moment of their day. You know, I said we can learn from the guests. The guests want to learn from us. And, you know, monastic guests don't necessarily want to learn biblical theology or even Gregorian chant. But they want to develop the skill of listening and discovering how God speaks heart-to-heart in this special space we've invited them to. And for that to happen, you know, silence has to be maintained. And, you know, it's not just some type of dictated silence, but it's that atmosphere of receptivity for the Word. You know, if there's a lot of verbosity and opinions, that doesn't come through. There's a famous line of a Russian monk, Joseph Volotsky, he says, the monk who creates temptations for the visitor will not behold the light.

[22:35]

Occasionally I think about that when I do my exam. People come because they don't want any more wars. There's a diocesan priest I know from Chicago who heads out to New Mallory, and it's a long ride, it's two and a half, three hours, and he does it regularly, and he says it's just like going to a different universe, and he goes there for the silence, because he just doesn't have silence in his regular Romney ministry. And he said that's where he learned about how transformative silence can be. No need to have a list of prayers to say, just enter into the silence. And so people enter into our rhythm, and we do have this rhythm of the monastic world. They're leaving a world where there's all types of stress and congestion and white noise, and they want a saner rhythm and a quiet place. And if they come to a place with worries and jealousies and resentment and naysaying and busyness, we're not doing God's work.

[23:46]

We should also be mindful of the nature of the guest. They're the tubra. The nature of who they are is that they're passing through. We're stable. And we shouldn't confuse the two. We have to open ourselves to guests, not in some gushing or affected way, but as we would welcome Christ with reverence and respect. And that should encourage respect for the space we occupy. And, you know, providing hospitality, Hachi, my novice master, is a collective responsibility. And yes, we have a guest master and he does take care of all the details, but, you know, if we look at someone lost, we go up and we help them. We don't give them the number of the guest master and go on our way. I think a monastic community that welcomes a guest should also transmit a feeling of unity, of oneness. And here, too, I think this has a special resonance with Mount Savior, because we know of the importance of monasteries as places for ecumenical activity in recent years.

[24:55]

I think one reason for that is that Christian monasticism antedates all those historical ruptures in Christianity between East and West in the 11th century and then in the 16th century with the Reformation. In a monastery, I've seen this too in a lot of inter-religious dialogue, posturing is replaced by prayer. Proselytizing gives way to this peaceful reflective exchange of view. And it's amazing how our monasteries attract so many non-Catholic, non-Christian ministers at retreats. People seek spiritual direction. We have a Jewish businessman who just loves to come in and listen to the Psalms on weekday afternoons. And it's wonderful. You know, it's not by accident that Benedictine communities over the centuries have taken as a model the Latin word pots. I think Benedict expected in the monastery the social and class divisions of the society around him would crumble.

[26:04]

And in a monastic society that's based upon dispossession and harmony, the spiritual scars and antagonisms that the guests may have can be neutralized and healed by that experience. You know, we talked a little bit the last day about land stewardship. We could also add something about environmental awareness. But whether we get regular retreatants or the curious day-tripper, they're looking for a chance to come into a physical space that has both beauty and sacredness about it. And, you know, there's an aesthetic dimension to this, but there's also a theological one, because we know in our tradition beauty is never separated from the truth. I think a corollary to that is a beautiful space is often a source of envy, especially those for whom it's just not that fortunate to have land, to have an orchard, to have birds, to have sheep.

[27:17]

When that happens, I think we have to just think about, well, how can we both make our land, and you have plenty of land here, somewhat accessible and protected with responsible stewardship that we need to do? It's a question I'm sure that merits a lot of discussion. But it's connected with this, you hear this all the time, the access. Our community, I must say, especially in the summertime, you know, just to walk outside and you never know who you're going to encounter. There's going to be, you know, the suburban soccer mom walking her dog. There's going to be kids on their bikes. And, you know, they think we're kind of a thruway for Arcadia. And, you know, they always smile and, you know, okay, hi. They love what they're doing, but, you know, we need a time to reach the point where we don't want to put up signs saying, we used to have a sign outside our main entrance, positively, no women allowed.

[28:29]

And, you know, it was pretty emphatic. and it's been long since retired, and you know, that is absolutely the antithesis of all this, but I think we're back to that tension. We want to have some way in which a land that is beautiful can be used, but you know, if Joe Blow, you know, stops by with his golf clubs and wants to start, you know, chipping on the, you know, front lawn, we have to be able to go up there and let them know what this place is all about. So, in other words, we have to be able, in a kind way, to express why this land is special and not become a gated community in the process. And part of that is connected with what we were speaking about in poverty, the way in which we serve the poor. Again, we can't romanticize the poor, because those people I was talking about before, who were doing all that theft in third world monasteries, they thought they needed these things.

[29:40]

But, you know, we're going to be subject to people who, again, as I said, are envious. We think of the monks who were martyrs, you know, the hospitality say minor in the Swiss Alps, Macarius in Egypt. If you offer hospitality to the poor, I think we have to confront the thornier question of unequal distribution of goods and preserving that spirit of the rule in chapter 53 that wants to really reach out to the poor in a special way. Maybe, you know, to sum all this up, I think some words I found written on a door of a monastic guest room, if you have a good summer. If we devote our attention to the act of hospitality, we will see at once that to receive, if you will, is not to fill up a void with an alien presence, but to make the other person participate in a certain plenitude.

[30:53]

to provide hospitality is truly to communicate something of myself and Christ to the other, which is what makes the hospitality we give different from what the desk clerk at the Marriott gives. And if we take to heart the words I just quoted, transpose them to the monastic ideal of hospitality, I think it is to communicate to the other space and symbols that God has made sacred, and then communicate the presence of Christ to all who come to the monastery seeking Christ. Just an advisory. Tomorrow is going to be your day, so I am going to come open All the things I've said are fair game for you to respond or to ask questions, not to put you on edge, but I've got questions too, so just in case you don't have them.

[31:57]

But I'd like to have an exchange, a give and take, so please feel free. And the great thing about being a repeat master, I'm gone Saturday. So, you know, I can just take whatever you want to toss my way in terms of what you think about this, what you think about that. And it's one of the things I hope will be the vehicle for the Holy Spirit at work. So let's all praise the Holy Spirit that he'll help us on that. be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.

[32:59]

Well, as advertised, this is your time to come before, so you're on. Questions that either are particular, general, comments, you know, it's the whole wide range. It's a very important question, and it's going to become more important in the future. I think the whole question of hospitality is very closely connected with how we witness to our way of life, and not just how people perceive us, but how people come to an understanding of what a monastic life is about.

[34:17]

So I do think that there's no perfect template there, you know, and certainly not one size fits all. I think that's it. You have to accommodate your charism of hospitality to the place where you are and the particular heritage that you carry. For those larger Benedictine communities that, for example, have a guest house, obviously there's a very clear way in which you can process the guest and delegate the work and maintain the necessary safeguards. A good example, take St. Mineret. They've had a guest house for some time, they just built a new one, It's a very popular place, not unlike, I mean, you have to want to go to St.

[35:21]

Minority, it's not that far off the interstate, but it's a popular place. But I think they really have a very good sense of the proper boundaries and everything else. And that doesn't discount, you know, the ways in which you're always getting people. And of course, you know, there are guests and there are guests. You have monastic guests, and sometimes the monastic guests can be a burden. Sometimes they can be an obvious benefit. The key is an ability to have them feel at home. So, I'm not just skirting around the question, but I think One of the keys of where it works is that everyone in the community is mindful of the demand in chapter 53. All guests are to be received as Christ, and you're a part of that responsibility. And inevitably, we're going to come across guests, whatever we're doing, and they have to see Christ in us.

[36:31]

You know, we're supposed to see Christ in them. They have to see Christ in us. And they have to somehow sense that they're welcome, that they're received, but they also have to know that the peace of the house is always something that needs to be respected. And I think at times, you have to have people tell the guest, we don't do that here. We have a couple of our obolates, they like to come, but they like to talk! And talk in the wrong places, and I just have to take them aside and in the most kindly way say, you know, it's really not conducive to be honest. So I think you have to have all those elements at work. It is more difficult when it's the you know you don't have someone who's officially in charge who's uh... you know you call computer uh... so-and-so and so-and-so are coming today that group is coming today uh... this group is coming but i do think it's important that the community is aware of what's happening you know when i mentioned yesterday but when i was a saint just don't worry about the gas you know that that someone else's business that that's not the way to do it

[37:58]

Guests are our business in the sense that we're praying for them and with them, we're mindful of them. When their names are put on the board, we should really have an interior sense of wanting to welcome them. But we have to maintain, you know, the charism of the house. Here, I think there is something that has to be transmitted to the guest that lets them be aware of the respect they have to have for the worship space and the rest of the space, quiet and all that goes with it. Yes? But after the Abbots meeting in February, when we had John Griswold, we left him from a monastic perspective on Archbishop Beloff.

[39:27]

He was an 18-year senior. And one of the things that we, we went through a whole list of how, sort of, the major themes and the principles of human identification could be interpreted in a monastic perspective. And one of them we talked about was the reception of gifts, and how that's a really powerful means of evangelization. So I've been thinking about how we would do something there a little bit more, because this is sort of, nobody knows what's going on, it's really the guest master, and you know, we talked about washing the hands that can affect the indoor, you know, all these different things, but I'm just wondering, have you seen other practices that sort of work for a really sort of communal welcome?

[40:30]

Well, the short answer is, not really. But I want to compliment you on having a prayer. I mean, that's exactly what I was calling it. There has to be something that at least puts it on the level of a sacramental encounter. And it can't be artificial or affected. We have a guest master who's very good, but he puts a little chocolate on the pillow. I say, come on, this is, geez whiz. It has to come from the community. And, you know, I was just thinking last night, in fact, you know, you've had this contact with Western. I mean, I would like to know, what they would have. Now, this is not to put Western in some type of special slot, but I'm sure it would be, I could imagine, this is Father Joel with his fantasy, you know, people being asked to dance their way into the, you know.

[41:38]

Well, and that would be kind of natural and expected, and in a certain sense it would be appropriate for that community, whatever else you want to think. And, you know, I think we have to see it in that sense. It has to be real, it has to be sincere, it has to be a communication of a Christ-like presence that exists in the place. And it certainly shouldn't be off-putting. and should remind the guest that, okay, this is a different place. This is a different space. So, I mean, it's challenging, but I think your instincts are good. You want to have more than just the guest master involved in this. And, you know, even if it's, you know, our abbot from time to time, if we have people who are going to be eating with us, he'll, before the meal, make mention of a welcome, and that's good, and I think that's incorporating the feel of the rule.

[42:48]

You know, again, I think, and no opposition to the New Evangelization, but you know, if our way of thinking is, okay, we're going to, not cross the ties, but we're going to really bring the gospel to these people who need it. That's not quite what we do either. I mean, they see the gospel at work in us, and they're touched by it. And there's a difference in tone in how that works. And I think that's actually the point. in an outreach of one's own lived experience of the Gospels. So that's what Jeremy was speaking up on. How can our non-ordinary monastic practices, can we see those, as we were going to penetrate into that section, can we suggest?

[43:59]

I was a little offended at that. I mean, I clearly said, instead of saying it loud in the front door, we say it in the factory. Each and every one of us, first try, and we're not going to love it the first time. That's a way of being, you know, the creator of the whole thing, or the music, or whoever you are anyway. But certainly, I mean, you need to be on board with the fact that hospitality is an essential element of the charism of Mount Savior. and at the same time you're in this some of the same places that let's say uh... disseminate your new mallory is uh... finding and some of the other trappers that he's popping up into and they're inundated with gas there they're tired of gas you know that i've seen it uh... these places are bigger here comes some more gas uh... that [...]

[45:23]

detachment from the world. And that's appropriate and understandable. So I think that the tension we described yesterday is good. It needs to be kept in mind. And somehow, that is always part of what has to be communicated to the guests, the respect for the the contemplative space of the community and how that is their space and we have some permeable boundaries but we also have some pretty set boundaries that have to be there. Om Namah Shivaya.

[46:44]

I was running around in the West End, and I was in a tent, and I was walking, [...] and I was Well, I think, you know, it's good to read through chapter 53 and get a sense of both sides.

[48:45]

And it's good to know we're the ones setting the parameters. It's our space. We're the host. and i don't want to be too melodramatic here, but we kind of set the ground rules and we have to be clear on what the ground rules are and we have to practice them ourselves you know, i'll take my situation, we're we used to be in a rural area, we're in a suburban area We've got a super Walmart within five minute walking distance. We've got everything you'd want. We also have our school. I mean, I walk two minutes. I'm at the school. So and so. Yeah. And it's busy. And, you know, it's on some weekends, you know, you just the traffic and everything else. Good grief. Is there nothing that's not happening at this place?

[49:47]

But All the students and the faculty and staff at the school know that when I go over to the monastery, that is a very different place. And if they want to get me at the monastery, that's very different than getting me at the school. And they have a great respect. I mean, part of this is the the aura of the monastery. And we actually take the students to the monastery, okay, there's no skeletons in the closet or, you know, who's there, it's normal people living a normal life, but we have the cluster, we explain what that is. And, you know, when I leave the school in the afternoon and go back to the monastery, people know, okay, That's the end of my day. We have an emergency, but that's a whole different atmosphere.

[50:50]

they wouldn't even think of oh I need to file something so I'm going to run over to the school and just not know. That just doesn't happen. And that's communicating. We don't say that in bullet points, but they get the message. And I think we have to convey that in some way. And it's not all that difficult, but we have to respect it ourselves. We have to set the ground. And when you talk about one is saying too much words, Well, that's where fraternal correction comes in. And the situation that I talked about yesterday, when you get those people who are just hobnobbing with the guests because, you know, this is, I'm tired of around here. It's more interesting to talk to the guests. Well, you have to have someone go in and say, you know, that's probably not good for them or for you. And certainly not good for the community. to be part of it.

[52:42]

Well, there's different gradients and I would say apply some of the principles of the rule. You have Oblates who've been here for, you know, almost from the time you started. And, you know, they've been here frequently, they feel at home, they're close to the community, not just individual members, but they've invested a good part of their time, perhaps money and volunteer gifts. They will have a different connection than, you know, person on the weekend getting away for the first or second time. That's understandable. I think too, you know, if you're going to create some type of a paradigm for, well, how do we receive guests Benedict's principle at the beginning of chapter 58 tests their spirits to see if they are from God. You know, we don't need to have some type of vetting mechanism to see if you qualify for being a guest at Mount Saviour, but you have to, you know,

[54:12]

One of the things we do, and of course it's all on the website, people are applying for spiritual direction, and I'm kind of a filter for that. And I have to try and at least have them give me the pertinent information to know if this is an appropriate request and something about their background and everything else. And I usually have them come in for an initial, you know, interview, if you will. something along those lines has to be there for the gas you know uh... benedict does have you know the these qualifications you know okay people of the faith have a certain priority the port of some priority but you you have to be able to know that they're there for the right reasons and if they're not yet to protect the community from that and you have to try and let the person know that you know We're not here if you're just gawking at some strange people who sing.

[55:17]

And again, the trust is our responsibility. Yeah. Yeah, we can convey that.

[56:36]

That prayer I quoted at the end of the talk on hospitality was from a guest room, and it told me something about how guests were treated in that monastery. We can make these distinctions. You know, New Mallory, for the longest time they had uh... and they were not necessary oblates but they were frequent retreatants who wanted to work and they would sometimes stay a week with the monk, and this is when they still had a lot of work in the orchard, they don't do that anymore in the farm and they would work and the monks were assigned, you know, you would take so-and-so from the guest house and go out and work for the afternoon and I mean that was, it's very formative and the the people who were there in retreat like that. They got to know the monks in a good sense, and they got to see the work of the monastery. But that requires a lot of care and preparation, too.

[57:37]

And these days, as every superior knows, then you get into this litigation thing. Okay, if you're going to work in the archery, you're going to have to sign up, blah, [...] blah. So, yeah, you don't want to create more problems than you need. But you do have these different layers, and we can create them, and it's appropriate to do so. So, I mean, we're kind of staying with hospitality so far. We can go elsewhere. Yes? You know, and the Trappists have done that. Well, you go to Gethsemane, or New Malory, or Mefkin, and they've got those things spelled out. Yeah.

[58:39]

certainly a practice that we have been going down for years. Now we're trying to reverse that a little bit. It's, you know, you've got to physically act out of that, but you reasonably stop bringing us into these issues. People who never come here are doing that, which is very good, and you learn a lot from it. But, you know, you get too many people, and there is a table of people all around the station. So we had to look around, and so we made this cave, but people had stopped, you know, for our song. that's a good example and i would say if you have a guest who was told the reason why i'm not saying all chatty kathy's we don't do that in a bit we have a spirit which we do that this is this is pops us if they can respect that then they should be there

[60:06]

And our presentation has to do with the attitude of the Lord. The Lord's finding of the coming of Jesus comes from a miraculous nature. I mean, what did He mean by that? The founder of the liberal arts is a person who's fallen in love with literature, and with theology, and with mathematics. So my question is, in terms of the American field, how does that

[61:31]

He certainly is a different character. Let me give you a parallel example, which I know pretty well, that occurred in this country at the time of the Damascus. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the name of Richard Felix. He was a monk of Conception Abbey who wanted to found a monastic house and really start a monastic congregation that would be missionary in orientation and incorporate a lot of clear visions of how to do monastic life. So he actually was given permission to go to Bennett Lake on the border of Illinois and Wisconsin and start the house. And then, heck, I just found, going through some of the things this week, that Richard Phoenix, was in Rochester, it's about 1954, looking at properties, and Damasis got wind of that, and Damasis writes to the private and says, I don't think, you know, you should encourage Richard Felix, and he was right.

[62:47]

But again, it was, he had This was partly Richard Felix, it was partly this very innovative vision he had of what monasticism could be for this new house and this new missionary congregation. And it's a lot more difficult from that point of view. And it's a lot more dicey, because you have to rely more upon one person, especially at the beginning, and some faithful transmission of that vision. First of all, it has to be transmitted in an authentic, integral way and implanted. And, I mean, we don't need to do any pathology reports on Richard Felix and his houses, but it became a cropper, and part of it was largely because of him, I would say. And I think what the D'Ambassys did was, and you know, he had an experience at Keyport that already was kind of a trial run, and he knew things not to do.

[64:00]

you have to have some assurance of maintaining that ideal and using the resources available to be sure it's going to take place. And I would say one of the things that happened here that I think was evidence of how for him this was the real thing was formation. to go and have, you know, he realized especially, okay, we may have to go outside the house, so he gets Father Peter, who comes from somewhere, blah, blah, blah, to come in and help, and have a solid, and then you have the two-year novitiate there, I think, for a time, too, and it was, you know, it was serious stuff, and if you came, and of course you had people coming for all types of reasons to Mount Savior in the first decade, you know, it was, It was certainly not any easy go.

[65:05]

Not just the living conditions, but you had serious formation. That was good. And you had the sense that you were being accountable i think uh... a great tribute to for the damascus was how we encourage the apartment come visit us tell us what we need uh... let us know that we're doing things right in that there are things that you think we we should change let us know that type of openness is is very important uh... and in a the real sense you know what happened about savior you had different climates uh... i think All of them recognized the authenticity of the place and were willing to honestly say, okay, you're doing this well, you probably shouldn't do that. And, you know, we need to look at your books. that you know we hear transparency today but i think there was a real transparency about the place which is is always a good sign because i mean go back to Richard Felix it was you know a shell game he was dealing with all of his houses and money and all that you have to be open so those helpful at least some of the things and of course you had to somehow allow the vision to be articulated and that's what

[66:31]

of the Damascus did. He did regularly articulate that with his notion of the school, with the whole integration of the paschal mystery of the liturgical movement, and then of course, you know, when Vatican Council II came, my sense was, and some of the people here can respond to that, people said, oh yeah, that's what Philodemus has been talking about, the signs of the times and all this. This is exactly what they're doing now, and he was really anticipating a lot of that back in the fifties. Other areas to touch upon? Yeah.

[68:08]

Yeah. Yeah. What has been put in place, that we know, the mission, the conversation, the way in

[69:14]

Actually, I like what you just did. You connected silence with conversatio. I think that's key. And we need to appreciate, again, differentiation. This is what Benedict would want. We've got extroverts, and we've got a bunch in our monastery. uh... and those of us who are not extroverts or not you know i can't pay to eradicate them from uh... you know as the flight there has to be this this mutual respect for uh... who we are but also for the space that we create you know again i i i see it And now I'm at the point where, okay, what constitutes being an elder, but I'm one of the people who've been around long enough in a pretty unbroken scheme. Okay, well, they ask, well, what were we doing back in 1970?

[70:26]

I said, well, okay, at least I can say this much. I have a responsibility for somehow transmitting what it is that we do. I'm not doing that by writing down things or again sending, okay, this was something in the archives we have, I could do that, but for silence, okay, I think the great silence, night silence, is important. So I know when, we don't have our first prayer until 6.15, but there are some of us who are up and around quite a bit in the early morning hours, and You know, if I'm up and around, whatever it is I'm doing, getting coffee or maybe even doing laundry, I'm not going to talk. I mean, I'm going to acknowledge people, and when I was in formation I did that, and I think it's very important that there's an aspect of monastic life that is formative by observing silence.

[71:36]

You know, if I were to have people sit down and I say, this is why it's warm, they'd probably roll their eyes and say, okay, let them talk. But if they see me observing it and they somehow sense that this is important for me and my spiritual life and the life of the house, Eventually, they'll get it. I don't expect them to get it right away. But it has to be lived and respected and, you know, I can't get all out of sorts if, you know, I come to the kitchen and there's, you know, a brother so-and-so yapping away at, you know, 545, talking about how the squirrels are jumping in the birdbath. Well, okay. You know, that's what they're doing. But they see me going on and they just know, okay, yeah, the clergyman is doing that stuff. Okay. I think, you know, I can handle that, as long as, you know, if you were to sit us all down and you were to ask, if silence is an important aspect of your conversatio, everyone would say, yeah.

[72:40]

And they would be sincere, and the extroverts would say, yeah, I've got to work on that. Okay, I can handle that. you know if it's a matter of uh... we need to have those uh... guest back to have more talking when we do dishes well we gotta go sit down and redo our understanding of silence so again i think we have to have we we can impose some type of rigid scheme you know uh... we we just uh... Father so-and-so was talking with the guests out there by the door of the church again. Whoa. If that gets in your craw, go to your room, go to the chapel, and just pray. And try to be silent. And you know, I think today, and if you're coming from a world where, you know, it's just wraparound noise, that's not too consequential. It doesn't matter how you love him.

[73:46]

It doesn't matter how you love him. It doesn't matter how you love him. and that value was in my life. And coming to Europe, it's, I had one woman that I knew over a long, long time, and I'm sorry, but the person that I'm talking about here, it is, I'm getting out of my shell.

[74:50]

That's part of the number of already moderated Well, there's a lot of work here. And I would say, for starters, when you nod your head, don't take that as something that's without meaning or slight. honoring our conferee. That's all we have. Our motive, and you have to presume the good motives, is I recognize your presence, I value your presence.

[76:02]

And precisely because of that, I'm going to maintain silence. As far as communication skills, you know, we're all crippled in terms of, you know, we have our problems. if there's one thing that we need to witness, it is that our immediate opinion is not worthy for the whole world to hear. Whether we want to have our daily blog or if we want to have a reaction. Okay, 545 the kitchen, there are the squirrels splashing around, so we have to announce how wonderful that is, and it's great, and it reminds me You know, you can probably value that much more interiorly, rather than just going out in this, you know, paroxysm of words and disturbing other people. The fact of the matter is, and you know this, I really am, feel strongly about this, if we value language and words, we should be very careful in how we use them.

[77:12]

And I'm excited. Again, this is what happens when you teach adolescence time most of the year. You know, they're just going away, and I just have to say, say what you want to say, and otherwise, just cut it. And I've heard people, Father, I'm glad you said that, because, you know, if I hear that word like one more time, you are cut off from further communication. That's one of the things we can do. And I really think, again, Benedict speaks of the quality of speech. And the more we speak, the more liable we are to say something sinful or offensive. It's that simple. I suppose it all goes on and on. So let it go at that. Other comments or questions? He's not in the line, couldn't be here.

[78:16]

And for her that was a big revelation. She loved it. I was, you know, I thought that there was a lot of people, not as much as I thought. And in some ways, what happened is that they were always going to always come in here. When they didn't want to do it, they didn't want to do it. And, well, you know, sometimes they wanted to have the news, and you'd hear of them, and then that's part of it.

[79:44]

Sometimes it's anger, sometimes it's talking to somebody on the phone, you know, I remember that. But, you know, they want to get involved in all their problems and pretty much they don't have anyone to help them. So, they have to deal with it. So, I'd like to thank you all for your support.

[80:20]

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