saying that our being together, and the mystery, I would say, of unity, what it is, which we don't know, we have to be open to new ways of what being united really means. And unity, because somehow the mystery of God is the mystery of union, and we're always into it. But our being together at the office, our being together here, we're being together, is not just simply rooted in a discipline, that it's not good for monks to be outside their monasteries, or that we should stay together in a disciplinary way, but it really is rooted in the mystery of the union of persons, which is the Christ, if you want. And that also, as we had in the scriptures a week or so ago, in the Genesis thing, there were two people designated who were out in the camp.

[01:03]

They weren't inside the cloud with Moses and the elders, but because they had been designated, they also received a spirit. So it doesn't mean of physical presence here, strictly enrollment. But anyway, that whole idea of being together with everything, being on time for the office, on time for meals, and really being here, saying that you want these brothers who are here to be, to exist, and all that. And the whole thing is really rooted in that mystery of Christ or of God gathering us. It's not simply a discipline. It needs a certain disciplinary thing, but that can also obscure the fact that there's a real that that's what it's about. In some way, our being together involves not simply being here then, physically, but that internal affection and this patient bearing with one another and so on.

[02:03]

So that whole thing has to do with our particular witness as monks. Somehow we present, as did the Incarnation, presented the Trinity to the world, you know, God's love of the world. So we really presented that by our presence. And somehow then, the reason that I would be the office, the reason I would that somehow we really should draw out those lines to Christ's speaking and prudence of wisdom, you know. But anyway, it's much more than simply a disciplinary thing. Oh yes, yes, yes. But it needs the, you know, there's again this tendency to be supposed to go our own way, to do our own thing and all that. That's a thing we have to fight, as also the simple, because I am here, everything is done. It's because I'm physically depressed, but my mind can be miles away, or my heart could be miles away. I'm forgiving and everything else. But we really do make visible and helpful and assimilatable with that, the kingdom of God's body and presence.

[03:10]

So the whole notion of stability, or, that wasn't exactly, it has to do with stability too, but it's this mystery of unity, our being all together, which is a part of our life, if you know, is really something which enables us to reach that depth which is God's action. I would say two. The first fundament is this, our union with God our Lord. established in him, and to be united in this community by the love of God. Also, if we bodily are not present here, stability in congregation, also if we are sent in obedience in our countries. I myself, I have been for so many years in Rome, and also sometimes already the fifth time now in the United States. I have been so often in France and in England. I was a Monarchus Vagabundus, and my brothers, my whole family say always, in the new world to come, they wish to become monks.

[04:23]

with the woe of stability and the possibility to go to the entire world. Therefore, the first would be, and I hope that I remain always a good monk of Maria Lara, of my Abbey, never forgetting it. Nevertheless, I would say, after this first theological fundament, or unity in Christ, or unity in the Spirit, or unity in prayer, or unity in obedience, there would be also As a realization of that, our really standing together, doing our duty in the house, in the difficulty of every day, is not so easy. And when I look to my confreres in my monastery, we have been always filled with the greatest admiration of the simple old brothers, who in their entire life did nothing else than to care for the potatoes.

[05:32]

Collecting them and during the winter trying to take away from the potatoes Yeah, the Utschulds, that we could eat it. Nothing else. Praying, praying, praying in this humble service. Good, good, holy sentiments. Very simple. We, the fathers, the priests, going out. Yes, preaching, but also enjoying a little bit. this purpose, here and there, and having some success, sometimes also not success. Therefore, to stay together, really, in the difficulty of every day, and when, as was said in Rome, vita communis penitentia maxima, this has a double meaning, I think. It is terrible to stay together. It's a terrible penance to stay always together, in the same place, never changing, always bearing the burden each of another.

[06:43]

And on the other side also it has the meaning, if you stay really in the wonderful unity of a community, you don't need many other works. That is your penance, to do it, to do it really, and also enjoying it. But sometimes it is awful. So that really requires, when our being here requires getting rid of all of our, say, our hostility, our angers, and not falsely, or saying I have a rash, but really trying to work through it. But to stay here, physically, and not stay here spiritually, going out, is nothing, nothing, nothing. It would be a, how do you say, a mendacium, a lie, yes. A terrible lie. We have the appearance of being monks and saints, and we don't be it. And therefore, I remember always, perhaps I said it already, this day in 1930, when in a reading of Father Garrigou-Lagrange, the great French Dominican in Rome, in a great hall, more than 100 students of every nation,

[07:59]

He said, speaking about the conversions, the first conversion and the second conversion, which is the duty of our entire life, we were beginning with the first conversion. when we were children of the First Communion, when we were beginning the priestly life or the religious life. And then, Major Numerus, he said in his French Latin, Major Numerus, Omnium Regius Orum, etc. etc. etc. The greater number of all the religious people and of all the priests are anime, beings, animals, no, souls, retardate. Going on. And nothing of fire, nothing of life. Retardate. Retardate is retarded. The meaning is souls which go now on, they stay, they remain in the same place, they don't convert themselves.

[09:12]

In their entire life they must convert. They are never perfect. Every day again, every day again. Today, if you hear your voice, today, again, again, again. Talking about religion in general. Yes, yes. But we, the young people, we all have been monks or religious or priests, candidates of, let me see, 23, 24, 25 years. We have been terrified. It was a perfect silence when you said it. Yes, we are admiring his French Latin, strange Latin, but nevertheless also taken by these words. The reality is the great army of brothers and sisters in the world, all must be saints and they are nothing. And then again, in the mercy of God, they are much. Well, there are verses that say lethargic, which is a good word.

[10:19]

Lethargic. And perhaps nevertheless they are poor people, they are doing their duty more or less, and God will be merciful in the end. It's a little bit difficult to say so about the great army of the brothers and sisters in the world. It's dangerous to judge. Father, I have a question. You mentioned this morning and many times before that we have to share the burden of one another. Now, how can I share the burden? in this life, this particular life. Most of the time I am alone. Sharing for me is more than being in the office, being during the mass, during the meal. All the time I cannot talk. I cannot share whatever is in me with somebody else, my brother.

[11:20]

So I would like you to give me a practical way in which I can share with my brothers whatever is happening or happening to me. Be patient. For example, I am nervous, I see my brother cleaning his nose in a terrible way. I take it, yes, with a finger in his nose. And then all my Anger comes and then we, oh, it doesn't matter. Oh, he is eating in a terrible way. And these little weaknesses of my body in a little community. We become nervous and then, oh, I am reacting against him and not do so. Or, spiritually, somebody, one of my confreres, wishes always to be the first.

[12:26]

He must tell, unless he does not allow another to tell his stories. Sir, again. The question is about communication. Communication. To me, community life means that everybody knows somebody else's needs or wants. If I belong to a community, that means that I don't have to ask my brother what he needs. I should know. You should not know? My brother needs. I don't have to ask him. Do you mean this? I just say I should know. He should know. He should know his brother needs. He should know. Yes, he needs. For example... How do we reach that point that we know everybody is sharing? For example, we learned in the monastery, we are not allowed to ask if somebody is missing on the table for the dinner.

[13:29]

My brother must see it. At least we are not doing so. Sometimes we say, oh, I have not what I need. But it's not allowed to do so. And therefore, sometimes we are also telling this story. I had a mouse in my soup. Did you do that? No, no, no, no. He was told so. A mouse. And therefore I could not eat it. Then nobody has seen it. And then, because I am not allowed to ask for a new soup, I asked my brother, please, do you have also a mouse in your soup? Then I must help you. Nevertheless, here is a great truth.

[14:30]

I must be attentive to the needs of my brother. I must see what he is missing. I must help him, not only in these little things in the refrigerator, but every day, attentively. His health, he is painful. The question is how? The question is how? In the office we are alone, we don't talk. We are silent all in all the morning. We need the best center in the monastic life to leave the silence. I am not putting the silence down. But when I am at work, I myself, I am alone. So, when is the opportunity for us to share? But you see your confrere very sad. I think also in the great silence of a very observant monastery, you can and you must ask him, why are you so sad? What do you have? Can I help you? And so in many things,

[15:35]

And perhaps it's not so necessary to ask him, but to see at least and to help him if he needs some help. I don't know. In the chapter 72, he said, infermitatis vive corporum, vive animarum, patientissime tolerant. We must bear the difficulties of the conference of body and soul in the greatest patience, all in silence. Here, that is the work to be the burden of the other, to be patient, and there are so many. I think it's true in every community, although in the most perfect community, we are all different. We come from different families, and now we stay together. He is sitting, he is acting, he is speaking in a way which does not please me.

[16:36]

I become nervous. I would like to protest against him. Father Berger, the problem that the little Teresa, the child Jesus, the Jew, faced is in some way that I realize that my humanity is also the humanity of Christ. And it is in love, the acceptance of my own limitations and situation, and really in a prayer which is not just words, but that total acceptance of the human condition for myself and for her, that puts me in contact with Christ, with His Spirit, with everybody in a way that ministering to them individually does not. I mean, as I say, to be a social worker in a You know, with 50 people who saw me today, I saw 50 people and I got them all jobs or something.

[17:43]

There is this different dimension, which is in our life, that is... I mean, it can be abused, and I just rationalize, as the gospels and epistles say, I see my brother in need, I say, oh, be warm, I've got to go to the choir and say my prayers for all the suffering people in the world. which is wrong, but there really is a genuine sense of which by reason of my contact with Christ and with the Spirit and the acceptance of my situation and the prayer that I do touch everybody but I don't... Really, here is again the theological and therefore the most profound fundament of our situation, but nevertheless it would be necessary to be attentive to the other and to help him For example, sometimes in the monasteries are divided into different offices. You must take care of the library, you take care of the kitchen, you take care of the door of the monastery. Today I am free.

[18:45]

I have nothing to do. But I see somebody who is today determined to do this office. Many guests are coming. It's not my duty. I go away. No, I must help him perhaps freely. I remember a certain experience of myself. I was in a very humble office. I was teaching philosophy, or Maria Laxa, per se, free from everybody. Nevertheless, I was nominated the third guest master. You have many guests. It was awful. I did not like this office. Therefore, on a certain day, I tried to go for the sixth, in a way where I could not meet any guests. Go to the office. Nothing must be proposed to the office of the work of God.

[19:50]

And then I met our Father Prior, Theodore Burckhardt. Father Burckhardt, be so kind, there is somebody on the door. I wish to go to the sixth. And Father Prior answered, Father Burckhardt, there is still an Ordo Caritatis. order of charity, which is much, I did not say anymore, but I realized immediately, which is more important, to go to the 6th or to go to receive a guest. I did it. Mourning and weeping. It is better to go to receive the guest. It is better to go to the kitchen and to work and to do everything, instead to go to the office if it is necessary to help somebody. It's not very often, it does not happen very often, but sometimes it happens so. It was a very good lecture for me.

[20:51]

But you cannot be aware of all the needs of all of your brethren. Only as far as you can see. Oh yes, yes. All is in the human discretion, yes. You have needs that you are not aware of. But some needs I must see then. My open must be open. to see the meat. Therefore, if my confrere has a mouse in his soup, I must see that. If he, no, if he is, at least we, in an obvious shade, we did it, really. So today we are a little bit more liberal. If my confrere does not have a knife, he cannot eat the meat. I must see that. I must excuse myself at the end of the table when I say he did not use the, he did not take the meat because he had no knife. And so, in many cases, many cases, and still today, sometimes, and then again, it's very human.

[22:07]

Therefore, I don't, today, the Baha'u'llah forgot to give me wine, or apple wine, yes. I cannot announce myself. My confidant did not see it. But in my heart, I think, in the end of the table, he will realize it, and then I shall be the holy man. It's also awful. Therefore, for myself, not see anything. I don't take the apple wine today. Nobody is seeing it, and nobody will see it later on. Only for God. Here I have a wonderful opportunity for me, myself, But per se, my brother must have seen it. But I must not blame him then. Must immediately forgive him his trespass. And in the monastery we don't very easy forget. The day will come when I will vindicate myself.

[23:10]

Not so powerfully, but a little bit we are thinking so. I think it's important, though, at least, to say that we will often have to ask our brother. I mean, somebody can't know what's in my soul and mind unless I tell them. I mean, they can see maybe a face, you know, but unless somebody asks, I can't expect people to know what's on my mind, precisely what's bothering me. I mean, they would have to be able to approach me. sometimes, at least to be able to say, you know, you seem sad for me, or something of the sort. But they don't have to, maybe that's what I got the impression, they should be able to know you internally as you know yourself, but you have to be able to reveal yourself, you have to ask for that, because they couldn't be... Would it be possible to have a certain time where the community can get together and really share communication?

[24:12]

to want to know what I feel, what I like, what I don't like. Here I would say not too much. For example, it's not good to communicate my difficulties with everyone. I can't freely speak with my superior, but to expose my inner tribulations to the entire community would not be convenient. Nevertheless, if I see somebody very, very, very, how do you say sad? Depressed. If I can, in a discreet way, not ask him, what do you have, but can I help you, or say him a good word, only a good word that he can laugh, why not? I think we had a concrete thing there, but I feel that there are two opportunities every day to share the burden. It's that when people ask for help, you know, at, let's say, in the refectory after lunch.

[25:16]

And then if, you know, like today, I'll answer, if I don't forget, I'll ask for somebody to put the stone windows and the guests out, because there's only three people. And from now on, after tomorrow, the house will be full all the time. If in a while there's nobody, I will ask helpers. But at the same time, If people are not aware, they ask for to pick up apples, to clean the house, to move the sheep, and to rake the leaves and all that, and there are only three guests right now. for all those things. I think that there's a sensitivity that has to be there to say that it's only twice a year that I ask somebody to change the storm windows, to put them on or to remove them. And I think there's a great deal of sensitivity there. But also, the other occasion every day is that there's optional recreation after vespers all the time.

[26:18]

I know for myself that I'm here most of the time after Vespers, whether it's official recreation or not. And it's very rare that we see people gathering here for, you know, talking or sharing or something. And, you know, those are occasions that are missed, I feel. And then, of course, sometimes at work, you know. that, you know, if you work by yourself, that's one thing, but very often you can, you know, complain with another one doing your work, and you see that you're kind of struggling with something. Very simple, you brought up a point which coincides with the other. If we know that you need, really, that the main thing today to go to the Stone Window, nobody else will ask for help. because we need all the help in the storeroom. But if we don't know, if I need in the laundry room, I will ask.

[27:20]

And we need help to take out nails or to throw rocks away. But now that we know that the main thing to put in the storeroom, then nobody else will ask for help. But if we don't know, that doesn't mean communication. But sometimes, it seems obvious to me, sometimes that something is mentioned, you only see one or two guests, and people have a list, you know, everybody needs helpers. Yeah, everybody wants to be first, of course. Yeah, but I think sometimes you say, well, I see that other people seem to have something more important than my request. back out. That's my request. I think it's our time to admit that. But I think what Alberto brings up though in this case is important.

[28:21]

I don't think we have an organ court or a way of doing it. For example, I can see somebody who sees a guest and maybe every guest wouldn't want to put up a floor manager, would you feel competent, or in this case, you know, and to offer that guest another possibility, say, you know, to push a group on the floor, to sit at the desk, and so on. So that without knowing that there really is a priority in the community for a job to be done, which we don't do, you know, so that somebody could say that today I have to leave. It really is a bit of a loss whether you're helping the guest, giving them another opportunity, or whether you're helping the brother You know, and just also again, just how important is it? Because you might say, well, he's got, you know, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, put two windows up. And some of you say, we've got all the way to November or something like that. But unless that's done in a way that the people realize this is a high priority for me and so forth, I think it Then what happens is, you know, you don't feel people would be sensitive, you'd be a little bit irritated with this, and other people don't realize it's that important, and so they're, you know, and they kind of wonder what you're all upset about, and so on.

[29:35]

It's kind of a complicated thing to talk through. Another thing would be that if I, when we ask for help, when you ask for help, you don't ask for help just from the guest. I mean, from the whole community, I think. So if I am doing something, like I'm doing something in the laundry, which doesn't have to be done, that's the norm. I can, if you ask for help, I can leave my work for something and do what is more important. Or you, if you ask for help, you are asking only from the guests. Oh, it should be for the whole community. But I think the tendency of this vote is to think we're only asking to guess. But it's to let the community know that there are needs. But without in some way interposing that this is really important for us, then I think, well, I've got work to do. Therefore, I'll go do my work. So I think there is a need there. I mean, we're deficient in that department of making clear needs and priorities.

[30:41]

At least I would say it is difficult to give the decision, which is more important, but in general, to be open for the necessities of the others. It may be that in many days, in many weeks, there is nothing of special. All is going on in a very regular way, but sometimes see, feel the burden, the necessity of somebody who needs help, and then be ready to do it. And if the reverse is true, some people will not accept help. I mean, the argument is out. And if you'd like to help, but you can't do it. And that happens, I think, here a lot. I mean, it's unable to accept help anyway. In that case, there is nothing I can do about it. The most I can do is to let everybody know that I am willing to help in any way. I cannot force my help to somebody else, as long As long as I know that you know that I am willing to help you, that's the far I can go.

[31:49]

It's up to you to accept it or not. I cannot. It's the same way with love. I cannot force you to accept my love. No, but there is a skill, I think, Alberto. We come to recognize the resistances of some people and able to really show them what we you know, that we really are willing to help you out, and that we gain in those kind of, if you want, communication skills, that somebody, you know, that somebody, that you really do mean it in this time when the person is... That's what I mean. We need to have those little kinds of communication that we can break through. our own barrier. It's like we build some defense. And it's very difficult to break to those defense. Because I want to protect myself. So I build a lot of things around me. I don't need any help. I can do it alone. God will come help. That's it. Somehow I really need help.

[32:50]

But As long as somebody is not able to break that barrier that I have built myself, I cannot be helped, and I cannot try to break it. I mean, it should be... I think communication will be the first thing to try. Could you say, Father, about realizing when help is asked for in a factory, It never occurred to me that when brothers said, I need help with so and so, that they are talking to the fellow monks. You know, I used to always just assume that they're talking to the guest that's present. And the reason I always kind of thought that way was that the community being so small, everybody at the beginning of the day got a work assignment. And like, my brother knows that. I'm already having given an assignment, or I know that my brother over there has already been given an assignment. So when I ask for help, I really never in my mind was even directing those comments towards brothers, because I know they either were already busy on the farm, or they're already busy with some already assigned tasks, and I can't expect them to do any more, because we're so few in numbers.

[34:06]

And maybe that was an ambition, and I thought in the sense that, you know, I've always been concerned with my own assigned tasks, that when somebody asked for help, I never kind of realized maybe I could stop doing what my assigned task was, going and note what they're saying. always thought that mechanism was a mechanism built for whoever was free, north side, has to do. Yeah, that's the way we're doing, Walter, to some degree, but I say I think there's a real deficient, we have a deficiency here in the utilization of time and personnel and a certain lack of structure to do that so that it can happen. There isn't a way in which either workers or scientific people say what they're doing with some degree of priority so that other people could ask or not ask. Our method of coping is everybody's kind of doing what they're doing, which goes well while there's a lot to be done.

[35:07]

But then when we slow down with things to be done, then people almost find things for themselves to do without really looking to one another. But they don't know what the other brothers need, or those brothers have difficulty accepting help. And then so you just kind of reinforce it. You're kind of doing your own. Your findings keep you busy. But as I say, there has to be some way of getting this need across. Normally, the request that's made at dinner is directed to the guest. Normally, that's what we got calls for. In the sense that most of the people would be free to do it, but I would intend that some of the brothers would be able to do it. But ultimately, never. The only time we expressly ask the brothers is if perhaps somebody beforehand said to you, I've got an urgent, like I did in Westfield, and moved books there, whatever. You've got an urgent thing, then you've got more involved.

[36:10]

But normally, it's as Brother Walter said, each one has its task to do, and if somebody does an explicit, urgent demand, then people will continue to do what they're doing for them. If it gets response, fine, if they don't, fine. It looks like it is very urgent, so that's why I think people have to be more aggressive. If I really need help today, you know, something, then I would make it sound urgent enough that people would respond. Yes, in that sense, you know, most of the things we do here are not that urgent. Even the window, at least, could be postponed. And if you put them too early, then people remove them. And if it's too late, then the furnace keeps going. And most of the works, nobody, myself, I never, you know, felt a real burden with, when it was an R&D.

[37:19]

Even at the time that the cars are leaking, you know, the pipe near the cars are leaking, there were three or four people who really worked hard. But, and the other things can be postponed. But very often I find kind of unfortunate that people don't kind of offer themselves when it seems that they could. It's more of an organizational kind of thing, isn't it? I mean, the arrangement that we have now, the dinner, the work meeting kind of thing, isn't too pritchy. Not all the details can be explained, at least we don't. Now, formerly we had, in some ways it was a better way of doing it, we had a work meeting, like now, I have to ask. Arranged all the things for the day. The problem with that was that that got into being a too prolonged kind of meeting. Everybody started reacting against one another, so we had big prolonged discussions or reactions, I think, and then we never got to do the work.

[38:31]

It just took too long for the meeting. I think that kind of knocked that out. And also the people had work and they weren't free to do anything else but that work, and so we were just kind of reviewing what we were doing. But even there, it was possible to find out at that point what Reggie's needs were for the day, so that when someone asked for a help later from guests, something easy was known of what was on the program for the day. It was helpful in that sense. But then the prolongation of the meeting got too long. Can't we just change a lot of things then? My experience is that we need a lot of that fight that took place at those meetings, and we're doing it to some of the personalities that are no longer here. Certainly is part of it all, Jerry. There's a level of, even after you've gotten done explaining how urgent you think your thing is, there's a level of trust that You know, you may not, a person may not sometimes say, some of those jobs are that important.

[39:37]

But, you know, if you give up, then you have to just go up to the prison and say, I don't understand. But the report, well, it appears says, well, I don't know if everything's that urgent. But if I got the first part of that whole thing, if he or another brother sees that his thing is urgent, and everybody else is thinking, wait, I'm not sure that's healthy either. Because if another brother could say, you mentioned, wait, four minutes down, how much longer will it take? Will it take two extra minutes? No, but there were four other things he said, now this could wait, this could wait, this could wait, and this could wait. There's a lot of sheep, but I... Well, maybe we'll be keeping them. Maybe we'll be keeping the floors and making an apple. I could say... I've got to get... I'm just telling them that there's ram lambs that are intact.

[40:40]

They've got to get out of the meadows or we're going to have not fat lambs, but we're going to have something else. Red lambs. And I've got to get them up to so-and-so in the morning, let's say. And it's urgent. Well, he may not, the peer may not understand that. Maybe, or someone else may not understand that. Why does it have to be done now? Unless you're either in it, or unless you ask the brother, you know, I don't, you know, I can't let rest. It seems to me you either ask, or you accept the fact that the other brother's got an urgent job. We can just go. To me, it's too urgent just to move this ship, or what we're talking about, and go this long way. If all we go to do that job, it will be done one third of the time.

[41:43]

And then we come back and pull the storm window. Everything that was urgent is being done the same day. And we do it. It's a question of teamwork, cooperation, and communication. How long it will take for a person to pull the storm window? An hour, two hours. Four people, ten people, we'll do it in half an hour. Everybody for a week. And then we go to the farm, to mountain ranch, to help the other brother with his job. And this one, he has to be done at twelve o'clock sharp. Both things, so we can be, we have to split. But I don't think that happens. But we can move from here to where as a community. We do this and then the whole community will bow to that. It's an idea that I had a lot of drawbacks. I noticed when you have too many people and becoming in the way of each other, then those who would like to talk has more opportunity to talk and not work and everything.

[42:54]

That's why I used to say that people are at work but they are not working because they were... just yagging, yagging. I said it so often that, you know, when there's a team work, that's something that people don't seem to be aware of. Could I get your clarification this morning? I thought Alberto, maybe your understanding But in the text, let's say, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, we think that more than a negative one, you know, so putting up with patience. I thought your idea of sharing was not so much in the negative way, it was just enduring. I try to think positive, and the negative, it can't be there, we don't have to think about it.

[43:57]

But the positive, we only have to bring it up. Sharing everything. Sharing nothing means... I think it's important to think in sharing, it's bad. To me, I mean sharing everything. If I am happy, I would like to be able to share my happiness with my brother. I mean, everything. But, as you were saying, I was thinking from the positive. I think we should try something organizational-wise that would maximize our opportunity, our ability to use our time in a way so that some of the communications and priorities do get out ahead of time. That this is possible. For instance, the sign on the board for this day, for the retreat day, is, I think, prayer, discounts, and personal needs.

[45:13]

So, you know, now if somebody asks for help at any time, I mean, for this day, not tomorrow, but the people are going to see them. For instance, I thought, gee, I just want to be there. But instead of here, it's there. as an urgent need to put up stone, then this is the problem. Today we wouldn't do any work except something that really was kind of urgent, like the root falling out or something like that. This day is to have a day of retreat. I mean, if somebody would want to, for an hour or so, would really feel that some kind of work keeps him awake at night, unless we just, whether it's some of the laundry, for example, or some other period, just as a little

[46:16]

You know, I mean, that's not one of those Sabbaths that if anybody's touched anything, they're dead, because there may be some things we would want to do. But it should be that we take this day as a real retreat to reorient ourselves in those values, you know, the Christian living that are more important to us than simply the kind of material things, the sympathics, that we really do. So I wouldn't think any of that was, except something that's really urgent, should be done today, or else we sort of wanted to do something ourselves. That's not how I feel. In my situation, watching, you have to watch those films. And then when you have guests in those rooms, then you have to remove all their things, invade the room, remove all their things, and knock at the door while they are taking their nap.

[47:21]

And you have all kinds of complications. And it's more peaceful for me just to go there when there's nobody. You know, even if I'm by myself, I do what I can. And, you know, it's not a question of God to me. I certainly think like another person. And I know that I mentioned some of my concerns about things around building. And when I was on the front, I used to do that. I used to complain that after a week or two when my concern were not taken care of, then I was taking care of the concern myself. It was not my domain, so to speak. But I would just grab a tractor and get to the harvest, even though it was supposed to be something else. Those are things how we are going to measure.

[48:23]

Like myself, you know, just as a very concrete example, myself, today, if I had nothing to do, I would be tempted, you know, to take a tractor and put all the harvesting equipment inside the wine. You know, I've been seeing those things for those things for two months now, outdoor. And, you know, I know how expensive they are to replace and to repair wine. And I mentioned to Brother Bruno, I mentioned to Brother James, I mentioned to Brother Martin, and they are all there. Even at some point, even after the person gives you an explanation, you either, one either accepts it or doesn't accept it. And what you do with that after you know, I mean, it may not be a good reason in that way to deal with it. I guess if you don't accept it, one doesn't accept whatever a person says about something, then you know it.

[49:32]

And then that's the problem. I don't think the answer is. Turn around and do it on the person because then that's not alone. The other person. Reading the responsibility, then you almost. Or even one's not really making a judgment on the person, saying, oh, but he's being irresponsible. When in fact, he may have very good, he may in his mind, have very good reasons for doing it. I'm not saying the person has good reasons, I'm just saying in the person's mind, he has good reasons for doing it. But for you all to take on whatever it be, you mentioned that. That's the way you often did it. You said you did it before. That's my point of the thing. It seems to me you have to leave room for the other person to make a difference. I think it boils down to a question of judgment, which is not easy.

[50:34]

I think when you find two or three people who agree with the problem, And the one that's responsible doesn't seem to be doing it. I think something has to be done at that point, which is not easy. Yeah, that's another thing. Because we have other departments also. People say, well, something should be done. And we just kind of wait, [...] and kind of endure. but not in a very willing way. We stay where we knew, but we wish that that thing would be changed. It's a question of responsibility. You know, how much also is just personal responsibility or communal responsibility? I think that's the very point that Alberto brought up. We should have a way in which that can be expressed in other words, so that brothers so and so know that five people are really, you know, irritated about something and there's a real burden to them.

[51:35]

That just kind of thing would help. him or them to make another way of doing the thing, perhaps we wouldn't do it. But I mean, I think that does, some of these things have to be taken up. So that precisely that point could be made known. Say in this case, you know, six or seven people are really disturbed and upset by the fact that the equipment is all done okay, then there's maybe another way of arranging it. Or any department in the same way. A number of people are really upset. Sometimes somebody who is just brothers-in-law is upset because he doesn't want to talk. But it isn't to everybody, and they don't have an opportunity to say, you know, really, it bothers me too. And I say, I think we have to have something where that kind of thing can happen. And then some other possible solution, some option, somebody, very often we don't do something because we don't, we only have one option. Something like that. But if other people bring up other options, then it will flow. But I don't think that can happen without some kind of

[52:36]

communication with people, so at least that the problems get put out in a way that somebody can feel the importance of it, the urgency, you know, the priority of the thing that people want. Wouldn't that be similar to the old chapter on the boats kind of thing, though? You know, away from the storm, maybe? Well, not necessarily false from the boat, but it would be some kind of a meeting of some kind, that the people could be appraised of, or, you know, that no one, whether it be The chanter idea, not the false part. The only problem, the problem maybe is a little bit different because there's three people working on it, but where in other things you only have one person, let's say four other people are upset with one person, at some point someone has to make a decision. Everybody can express their upsetness in a person, but just the bond isn't

[53:38]

Let's say I'm upset, let's say there's four people upset and Brother Pierre is going to start a window. So we all get together with Brother Pierre. At some point, someone has to make a decision. It's either Brother Pierre, either you allow Brother Pierre, that's the one in charge, of the storm windows or the guest house or however you look at it. Or the superior, I guess, if he happens to be in a telephone station, but I don't know if that's the... No, the one space I'd say we're missing is that there would be a stage in which options are brought up. Here's a problem that's bothering us. Okay, now you do something, you decide to use it, obviously. What are the options? I know. And then this group is going to generate it. the number of options that maybe the one person didn't think of, or even in the case of farm to three persons. And once you've got some options to move with, then the state should be... It's that point, I'm not saying the options won't put in, I'm saying who chooses the options?

[54:50]

Well, this would be the group where you may have to be the person in charge of the department, or if it's really still bothering people, you may have to push it up higher to the chapter or to myself. That's what I'm saying. Let's say the group cannot come to an agreement about the options. You've got four different options, and let's say you've got four different channels. Did you have to just upgrade the thing until it would make it a chapter? But if it's not being known in any way, it's all, the urgency, the burden on the rest of the people isn't being communicated. Here we're all suffering in a state of needlessness. I think that's the point. We're all willing to suffer needfully, but I think some of our suffering could be eased if there was a better communication procedure. I realize the fact that it's true. Like Joe Corker came the other day and he said, it's just amazing how well the place looks.

[55:54]

It looks well-kept and everything. Just amazing to do it. And I think we should be able to take a certain amount of vibes out of it, good vibes out of it. You know, it is amazing and we're doing an amazing job. Out of that context, you know, couldn't we do something better other than to say, you know, everything's terrible and then, you know, make it worse. And the fact, we have a way of coping which is Moderately effective, quite effective. But I think there's better ways now, again, as we shift things. And when you're doing that, you're just trying to, again, relieve the unnecessary suffering, agitation, and increase the flow of telecommunications. My only problem is, I think there's, in a decision-making process, still, whoever makes the decision, you still got to give that person, even if it's a short period, you still got to give him the space to make that decision. And to trust that that's what he's going to go with, even if you don't like it.

[56:55]

I mean, you can make a decision and Phil, then somebody's Xing you. That point you made is true. There's a faith and trust in baseball. Without it, you can't work. Unless somebody has something that might be a contender. What about putting up a fresh paper each day on the bulletin board for people to put down the things that they feel they need help for, you know, in the afternoon. And people come inside and then the superior looks at it and decides which is the highest priority. The difficulty with that really is that no one of us or myself would know sufficiently the variety of things that are being done to be able to make a decision like that, I don't think, without some kind of help.

[57:59]

So that's, in that way, I think it would be good if we met once a week or something and planned some things in advance that were to be done. read on, and then it could be modified. But just simply for myself to look at it, you know, it has a variety of things, let's say, you've got house things in terms of insulation and electricity, so something like that. Brother Pierre with some things with the wood of the guest house and the people with the farm and the business office. I wouldn't have the detailed knowledge of what's At least it would advertise with the needs, so that others coming along, looking at it... Yeah, I think if a thing like that was done earlier, say at the end of the week for next week or something, as of what was to be done, that would be a good step. And then out of that we could bring it. But what I'm saying is without some evaluative thing by a group, at least in the community, it would be a little hard to.

[59:08]

Well, it's something like these priorities meetings. But I don't think it would have to go very long. It wouldn't take much time, but it's something that needs a little bit of evaluation. Yeah, just planning ahead. Planning ahead. That's when priorities come in.

[59:26]

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