There's another week, this is already the third week of Lent. Time is just racing ahead. It's terrible. So there are several topics, you know, that we have to follow up on. It's the topic of our constitutional thing that we had last week, meeting on the idea of monasticism, and we have to continue that. Then there is one on the music. Father Basil is very eager to prepare for Holy Week, and what's the tune, in order to get a reaction, part of the community to the music which is being proposed. Especially that, what's it, you know, the English.

[01:05]

It's connected with the vernacular. Then they should have a meeting on the, we had a meeting on the novices, so that is necessary to have anything right away on that, but the biennial professed, there should be a meeting in the course of this week. And that already takes three nights. Then we have two optional recreations. We have Lectio on Friday. Then we have a conference on Saturday. That is the program of the week. Then we have a recreation on Sunday. So it's terrific. I know where the past or today would not be. The liturgy, the music, we couldn't have that today.

[02:08]

What could be today? Oh, can't be simpler or faster. That's the easiest way out. On Wednesday would be the other one. And then on, when is our another one? It says on Thursday. No. No, not very good. On Friday. No. Good. And then there is a little council meeting after this, right after this chapter. Is there any music today?

[03:09]

Maybe you don't mind if I just, it can't be very long, but that is only to your advantage, if I maybe just still, you know, put a few thoughts before you in connection with this, the idea of the enclosure, you know, Fugamundi. We had started on a Saturday and of course didn't get very far in it. But you must of course keep very, you know, keep in mind that And in speaking about it, not by any means would I underestimate or in any way kind of play down or exclude the element of solitude in monastic life. It's an integral part of it. There is absolutely no doubt about it.

[04:18]

I think the context, you know, in which we put it, however, that is the important thing. And I think it has, in many ways, also for our own understanding of the monastic enclosure, the withdrawal from the world, the apotage, renouncement, however you want to call it, you know, renouncing the devil. That is an aspect of our whole covenant with God which we made in baptism, which is acute for all the Christians, but which the monk follows in a specific way. in the way of the withdrawal. I would say the physical withdrawal, I think, is for the monastic idea is important.

[05:24]

So that comes under the idea of the monarchos this physical withdrawal, insofar as the monk in his relation to human society, to the, let's say, to the forms of society as the world offers them, for example, the political society, but also of course the, for example, the commercial society as we have it now in the capitalistic society in which we live. The world, you know, is to a great extent is regulated by by the business society when it comes to the great apocalyptic fall of Babylon in the apocalypse.

[06:34]

And now one of the suffering part, certainly there are the merchants. And of course, business is in itself, as it is after the fall, it is like money, you know, it is a kind of Christianization point of what we call the arrows of the self-will of the business is determined by interests. And these interests, of course, are always interests for gain. That's simply the very nature of the whole thing. So it's, for example, against that, you know, where the monarch calls his solitary in that way because he leaves that kind of society.

[07:36]

This whole thing, you know, smoking big cigarettes, you know, with the other executive friends, you know, that's not part of the monastic discipline. But it is, of course, in the world. It's an important thing. Without that, you don't get anywhere. You have to associate with the right people. And the monk says the heck with the right people, you see. I mean, he just, in that way. Of course, that is an act of, in itself, is an act of, we say, individual act. He is in that determination. He is alone, you see. He's alone. And so, there are other aspects, you know, of society. There is the society of glamour. The society of glamour, for example, is organised in fashion. Fashion is an important part of the social image that a man wants to project and again in which he wants to take his place then in that kind of society which is geared to glamour.

[08:56]

We cannot deny that either. If you don't want, and say again, you know, the heck with Glara, you are solitary, you are alone in that, you see. You separate yourself in a certain way. I don't say that this separation has to be in a monastic form of physical separation. That's again a completely different story. But, I mean, that's certainly one element, you know, in this physical separation. Then, of course, the society, one can say, of the flesh, that is, the family, the family, especially in the old sense, where the family really meant, and membership in the family was really a matter of death and life, you see, go on. And to leave the family, society as it still is, for example in Mohammedan society too, and in many others, you know, to me, for example in Africa, it's one of the most difficult things, you know, really in the present situation, for example, or the clergy or so on, you know, this relation to the family, because the family is simply, parents want their children to grow and they want their children

[10:21]

Well, they want to make their children have a better life than they have. That's the reason why the church has, as soon as Christianity comes into the picture and baptism comes into the picture, everyone dies, you know, the death of Christ, then One way to assure the continuity of baptismal vows is to put Godfather, Godparents, you know, next to the parents that gave physical life to the child. Simply because they represent, the Godparents represent a different point of view. So it's the sign, you know, of course. But here again, you know, of course, the monk leaves, you know, father and mother. And Christ has clearly explained it, you know, that he certainly doesn't expect that as a must or as a law from everybody.

[11:27]

He says, who cannot, you know, I mean, interiorly doesn't have any of this disposition, you know, to even separate himself from his family, he cannot be my disciple. It's one of those indications that what is radically in Christianity and in which the Christian laity has the part, the part is simply clearly and univocally expressed and proclaimed and witnessed to by the monk. The monk simply draws out certain lines which are in the Christian laity. It's the reason why The wonderful thing would be if the Christian lady would come to the point where they would kind of recognize themselves in the monk. But of course, there are other questions. I don't want to get into that. But it is that living society.

[12:29]

We have that wonderful exemplar, you know, example of Arsenius. Arsenius was a member of a senatorial family in Byzantium, and he knew all the splendors of the imperial court. He had a marvelous career before him, and he was already up the ladder, you know, quite high. and decides leaving, and goes to the Egyptian desert. But really for a man from Byzantium, that really meant the end of the world. And then, people come to him from the court, you know, this anthem, all this fine, nicely dressed, you know, courtiers. And they tell him, now your father, the senator, died, you know. And he has, in this last will, you know, you are the executive.

[13:33]

And Arsenyev said, just concern me, because I died before you. That is, you know, that is, that, that's the, of course, you see right away that we are seniors. If one is, you know, goes, let us say, in the line of death, one aspect of it is that one is absolutely alone. So again, I would say there is the monochrome. St. Anthony does the same thing. He first, you know, for a while, hovers around at the outskirts of his little hamlet there in Egypt, but then that still is too much for him, so he makes another step and he ends up in a tomb. And that, of course, too, that is a monarch. Of course, he is all alone.

[14:34]

There's no doubt about it. But you see, why is that? That is, of course, that is the, one can say, the protest against the city of the devil. It isn't a protest against the city of God. And I think that is very, very important. that we realize that right away, that the arrival, one wouldn't have in the antiquity, one wouldn't have called monks, people who then in the desert associated, you know, with one another and formed communities. if one had considered, you know, let us say, the aloneness or the physical solitude of the individual as the only element of monasticism. So we must realize that from right from the beginning, from the very beginning, that the enclosure leaves room for

[15:39]

association, for community, but of course on a different level, not on the court level, not on the society level, if you put that in quotation marks. But that is another thing, of course, you see the monk leaves, therefore, and he breaks with society And I would say that is an act of an individual, see. A monk has really to be an individual to do it, you know. So there is a great deal of individualism in monasticism. And that is another aspect, of course, that in this matter of solitude, this matter of fugamuldi, we have to consider that this fugamuldi means this getting out of the cobweb of secular society and is a concentration on the individual.

[16:49]

Even St. Anthony goes there and gets a little hut, you know, outside at the outskirts of his little place there in Egypt. For what purpose does he do that, Saint Athanasius is very explicit in pointing it out, so that he would be able to now take care of himself, to self-custody. this concentration on himself, but in the way, you know, now, give he to yourself. Concentrate, therefore, on what we would call, God-given salvation. He said, Anthony's whole story is so clear, you know, that he is struck, you know, by the word leave, you know, everything.

[17:51]

Leaving, but all the goods, you know, all the things. Not, you know, simply and only because he for the sake of solitude, but as an act of renouncement. And therefore, it was for him, today, when you hear his word, don't harden your heart. Therefore, monasticism is simply, in the church, represents and is a sign of this general law, conversion must be an individual act. Conversion cannot be a contagion. It is an individual act. It begins with yourself. And that, of course, is the important thing, you see, an aspect that, again, the enclosure, the fuga mundi, gives to the world.

[18:57]

It's a clear witness. to this decisive thing, if you want to be a Christian, you have to begin with yourself and in yourself. And therefore this is not a matter, you know, of saving one soul, you know, by less implication and involvement with other souls, But it is this saving use, or so often one can say, just yesterday I had a little talk, you know, with our guest there. who were from Weltsburg in Pennsylvania. And he said yes when he told his fellow student that he was coming here. He said the reaction of this friend of his was, oh yes, these monks, they are selfish. They want to take care of themselves.

[20:00]

They let the rest of the world just go. That's of course absolutely not the meaning. It's what the monk expresses. It's again something that every Christian has to follow. Christianity simply cannot get anywhere if we consistently, if the church would be a society of people who are eager to take care of everyone, you see, except themselves. It's impossible. And in the line of priority, the individual conversion simply has the priority. Why? Because Christianity is not communism, where you simply can produce a mass, organized mass, you know, through power, no matter what the individual position is, you know, it's simply that inner freedom of the spirit is denied, you know, and the whole

[21:10]

and a whole army is set in march towards a social goal. No matter, you know, what I've got there. Their private life is so-called private life. That doesn't matter in a communist society. It's even one of the attractive features. The entire thing is the state, is the community. Therefore, religion is a private affair. But of course, in Christianity, that's not so. If Christianity is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is simply by the very essence, it's a personal affair. The Holy Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Wherever the Holy Spirit touches, you know, He doesn't, you know, chain people from the outside.

[22:16]

It's not a law, as they say. But He is an inner motor. So it's an interior, it's an interior dimension, the Holy Spirit, and therefore a personal thing, but therefore it is the absolute priority of start with yourself. And what the monk does, you know, is clearly before the world say, you know, before I can save society, I have to do something for myself. Again, I say, to put it in this form of physical separation, that is of course not necessary. But I mean, that is the meaning that the monk only does the same emphatic way as an exclamation sign, so to speak. Again, what every Christian has to do. Therefore, if a Christian in his right senses sees a monk leaving,

[23:19]

He says, now he's doing right, he really takes seriously what we all should do, start our reformation with ourselves. So there's another element, you know, of the solitary and the monarchists, you know, the fuga mundi. Another element is the eschatology. It's the eschatological element. See, it's not waiting. not turn around, you know, and sleep, you know. But today, when you hear his voice, don't harden your heart. So it's today in the sense of kind of telescoping time, as it were. Eschatology is simply the one, you know, in the eschatological dimension, the one who moves in it, you know, knows that this is the moment where the bright room comes. and where the door has to be open, and where the lamp has to be burning.

[24:22]

One cannot say in this eschatological, in this urgency of the closeness and the presence of the Kingdom of God, our Lord says the Kingdom of God is at hand. One cannot say, now, I mean, it took 2,000 years, it hasn't come yet, so we have to do first something about, you know, this and this and this, and then, you know, we think about that, and the last day, another time, and that's impossible. At least again, you know, for every Christian, but in different degrees. But for the monk, it is simply this, you know, that he decides to live a life before God's judgment, in what we call in the presence of God. He says the kingdom of God is here now. And it is a matter, you see, between me and God. The Father of our Lord is Christ, Christ himself as the judge.

[25:27]

That, of course, you can see that that is the whole root for St. Benedict, out of which this whole life of humility as life of the monk grows. Simply don't, I mean, flee oblivion. Flee forgetfulness. That is the fuga mundi, you see, the interior. Three forgetfulness. Remember that at every moment the angels are there and at this very moment they report your deeds to God. That is cathological. And that of course again you know is in itself it is a fuga mundi, a flight from the world in this sense, you know, that being in this kind of usual human society now is always manana, especially where, let us say, where the presence of God is concerned.

[26:36]

Because one is taken up, one has to finish this work, one has to finish this project, and one project after another comes. And these projects, they make the time, either business projects, political projects, or anything like that. And of course, therefore, communism in that way has, how would I say it, marvellous time, insane. Now, we haven't reached it yet, you know, but today it doesn't count because today, yes, there is no freedom, but, I mean, communism in the end, you know, it will be so. Not in this generation, maybe in the next generation. So therefore there is that time involvement in any human society, necessary time involvement. Of course, the withdrawal from this society means that one withdraws from that kind of timing.

[27:47]

The decisive element in our timing is simply that the kingdom of God is there. The pausea is here. That's for the monk. That's what the monk, out of his freedom, he does that. But of course one can again say that eschatology in itself is a way of thinking which again is tremendously and highly social because judgment is in one way an absolute personal affair in which I am concerned myself in one way, but of course in the other way we know that the meaning of judgment in Holy Scripture is always putting the one who is being judged into the communion of saints. That is really the meaning. So, now we continue another time. Otherwise it takes too much time.

[28:49]

Then we have the work.

[28:50]

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