He has to be critical towards himself, towards his own institutions, or the customs, or the way, the routine, as it develops in the course of the centuries. That is one of the greatest dangers in monasticism, that so many people inter-intuit in that inner a tendency to have the problems of their life solved in just books, just like that. It's one act. And from then on, there is a completely new status and one simply follows the rules and the way of life as it is established. And that is, therefore, then the taking leave, as it were, from the various pros and cons, from the better or less good, that as long as we are here on the pilgrimage on earth, we always follow necessarily the Christian existence, and also that of the monk.

[01:25]

What I said was meant, first of all, against a kind of self-complacent settling down. This self-complacency, and that's also why I mentioned Mount Athos and the impression it had made on my brother Thomas. It's simply there, we see clearly one of the great dangers of the Gnostic life. to misunderstand the idea, the full idea of what the flight of the world, fuga mundi, in a monastic Christian context really is. And I think that if the fuga mundi idea comes down to this, that the monastic community, those who live the monastic life, lose all contact with the Also, let's say, the spiritual development of last times and of the church, then there is something wrong.

[02:32]

If the puga nunti is in any way based on a kind of contempt, then already the monastic life is simply condemned, you know, to against them in a petty self-complacency, which then begins to insist, yes, we are better because we do it exactly this way, we do it exactly this way, and so forth. I have to learn a lot about that in the course of my life. Now, if one say I have to pound it, you know, with the help of God, I mean, simply as a If one looks back at it, at least 15 years of Harlequin's great life, and they're running around in Rome, then they have the day under their bed, you know, and they're kind of threatening in the congregation of religions. One of our first acquaintances with those Holy of Holes.

[03:35]

And there came, you know, the dear old Chuck of St. Lucie, strutting along, and everybody pan, echelon inside, echelon inside, echelon inside. Then we found out that he was the secretary of the Congregational Religions. It really looked like the incarnation of past ages. But that was all, you know, I mean, so we were kind of in that way in a tiger's nest, you know, and then, and then, I don't know what you mean. And of course we must say, you know, if we look at it also together, as there was kidney and other, we thank God, you know, we are naïve.

[04:40]

We did this, so that is simply necessary. God almost has to earn something. you know, as the background of our little heads, you know, but there it is sure, I mean, that both of us, and we can say that with all sincerity and truth, you know, before God, that the, I mean, if we didn't believe in a monastic way of life, of course, the whole thing would have been, would have been impossible, impossible. We can't run away as soon as we saw the prefect of a province. But we did it. Why? Because there was that inner in our deep, in our faith, which also in the course of years and even here together in the United States, sharing many ideas, have of course deepened, have simply crystallized, and there it was.

[05:45]

But naturally, we did not, thank God, we did not foresee the, let's say, the shake-up, you know, and the intensity of, let's say, the test to which we are in our days exposed. That's a must. But the fact, you know, that this, the concept, this whole new beginning of puts monasticism to the acid test in no way. in no way changes the deep inner resolution, what one calls the monastic purpose, the proposito-monasticum, that inner resolve. That is simply something that nobody can give himself. It simply is there. It simply is a gift. It's not something that is based on any kind of human accomplishment.

[06:49]

It's there. But this inner resolve, this proposito, or voto, however one may express it, you know, what you find all through the history of monasticism, that's a kind of key word. who becomes a monk, who cannot become a monk without this purpose, you know, this votum, this reason. And that is, of course, it's something that is beyond human calculations, that is beyond human experience, that is beyond human learning. It simply is a gift. There it is. Lumen Christi Deo gratia. That is, you know, that you must remember that, you know, as members of this community. That's the root, you see. That's the root out of which this community grows. In fact, of course, the root out of which your life grows. You understand that?

[07:50]

And then we call it various names. You take the book on humility of St. Benedict. Well, this is the result. It's, as the old monks always used to say, what is the essence of the monk? Pasca, pasca, they used to say. We kind of consulate that, what it is. It's so absolutely you know, the nail on the head, to suffer Easter, to suffer the Pascha, Pascha, Pascha. Let's go through this transitus. This transit is simply possible, you know, as long as you hold on to yourself, as long as you try to bow them down and say, yes, I give a little here, but if I give a little here, oh, and it cracks here and there.

[08:53]

There is this resolve, it's simply a, one can say, a surrender. It's simply hissing the white flag. Resistance is meaningless before you, oh God. That's the root of it. And that is what we all have to experience in ourselves. And then if, for example, the impatience comes along. One should see that in the light of this ancient monastic resolve. What is impatience? Impatience is the rebellion of the old man who wants to do things on his own terms, who cannot wait. The thing has to be done up to then. It's not being done up to then. This inner resolve is explained clearly in the chapter on humility. Death simply doesn't put conditions. which I can't see that so clearly, in the life of Brother Thomas.

[10:09]

That's what I tried to explain yesterday, and of course you must always think that those explanations are out of the rubbish. But I mean, I cannot, you know, prepare every sentence, you know, I put down a report and then think now is this already balanced or not, you know. You must simply, in our dealings with one another, you must simply kind of take that for granted, you know. I cannot, you know, do that, you know. But in that way, we have to leave it to the moment. We are conscious that formulations there may be one-sided and may not take the whole, but after all, we have been together now for 15 years, so you have learned many sides. And me too. But you know, that simply is a gift of God, you know, not to this individual, to that individual. That's a gift of God to the church.

[11:12]

absolute confidence that belongs, you know, in that way, virginity. What is virginity? Into this freedom of absolute love and surrender to God, to Christ, to the Lord. It's virginity. And then thought of it, an expression of it. That simply is there. Without that, the Church would be, to my mind, not be capable, again I was estimating from Gauss, but to give witness of the fact that we are really, since the Resurrection, since Pentecost, living in the end of time, in the new messianic age. Because you can see that right away, wherever man prevails, his class and his designs, all things because God requests. And then, of course, the Messianic age, as an age of grace, as an age where the heavenly Jerusalem descends from above, is obscure.

[12:38]

Take this ovation that we say today. You are merciful to lead, direct, and take over our lives. We cannot please you without you. That's what one realises, and what one realises into the very inner root, the essential root of this being. As soon as you know that from your daily experience, as soon as you become proficient, become efficient in this work and that work, right away this idea Without you, we cannot please you, we can't blurt. We please him by what we are.

[13:42]

So often, it ends in one's life. Many people who enter into this complete surrender, of course, in some way, at moments, they actually ask themselves, my God, where is my identity? I want to be myself. Of course, absolutely right. It should not play. It should not act in that way. It's impossible. But still, that is there. Why not? I don't want to just lose my identity. There comes then the big jump, you know, into the dark. I think with my identity, I put it into the hands of the Divina Miserationes of God, into that working of Divine Mercy. And I'm absolutely sure of myself, but not in myself, but in God, in the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in our Holy Spirit.

[14:50]

And that is what the monk was. I do for that matter, you see, I'm absolutely, I wanted to, also on this birthday of my Saviour, I've strongly affirmed absolutely her faith in the dry way of life, you know, which the Holy Rule in this Holy Church teaches. It never repeats holiness, balance, wisdom, you know, discretion, and so on. And therefore, I know I have lots, but of course, and it comes to various practical realizations of this thing, there is where we should be critical. Because if you start from a radical principle, as one else has undoubtedly done, that's the question of being or not to be. Then, of course, one has to also have a deep inner detachment and elasticity, what we call to my mind, in a positive way or a white way, true freedom, a true freedom.

[16:03]

And this true freedom also consists in this, that one is able to question, see, question this or that, the realisation of what one is. What is conversion? It is constant, critically questioning of one's own way. Out of that, any kind of metanoia, any kind of change of mind, that's impossible, can't be done. You ought to realize that, of course, Ramsesian has been founded with a specific, specific approach on that. We were not going as the meaning of its foundation, we are not starting the monastic, to make a monastic life on the basis of a certain external work. In Denmark, which was constantly put before us, when we started here, every one of the Benedictines, emergent Benedictines, we came into contact with, you know, said, you are not going to do anything, you are not going to teach, you can't make Antony.

[17:10]

Their death, of course, was not our approach. I think we say making, and it's me of course, it's a squadron training. You know what I mean. Somehow, you see, it's very telling, you know, the work we do and the fact of our way of life. Then, of course, then this connection would have any meaning. So, all those who are here, you know, clearly see that, you know, that this monastery is based on the one principle, that the life, monastic life, as such, That is our purification and salvation and our peace and our glorification and transfiguration. That's what we want to see. And therefore we put that and all that. And therefore also, what is that, you know, and I always emphasize, thank you many for that, you know, that is the thing which has to

[18:20]

which has to be repeatedly repeated constantly in what we call the custodial practice, the custody of the heart. Custody of the heart, the word in itself is a kind of protective or defensive, but that's not the meaning of it. but clusterly, custodially accorded, you know, simply means, you know, this inner return of what we call into the peace of Christ, constantly. And then from there, you know, start all over again, you know, this inner readiness not to get stuck, for example, not to identify ourselves with our own opinions too much. What a trouble we have. had, and still have, you know, to arrive to that, you know, because that is the meaning of all our experience. We cannot expect that this type of thing, for example, all these things, not to get stuck with one opinion, not to feel sensitive with some of these tips of the toes of our opinions.

[19:32]

But in that way, to be what we call detached, again, we have that freedom. You cannot expect that that is simply there. That is simply a given thing that one doesn't have to worry about. It's there in the actual, but what distinguishes The most important thing is that we are constantly after that. Again, it's the most important thing. In other words, we come to Italy and leave, and there we have an approach to monasticism which says the meaning of monasticism is the puritas corres. Not that we, you know, sit back and say, I can have puritas corres as long as my name

[20:22]

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