Earlier this month, on a gloriously sunny Sunday, punctuated by clear blue skies, one of the monks here at the hermitage, Brother James, made his profession of simple vows, that is, temporary vows. After a year as a postulant and then a year as a novice monk, he vowed, or promised, that for the next three years, he will keep living as a monk in this community.
He vowed that he will continue living a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. Insofar as this is a community of Benedictine monks, and all Benedictine monks also make a vow of stability to a particular monastery, he is also agreeing to live as a member of this particular monastic community here at this specific hermitage.
In this life of poverty, no monk is earning money to keep for himself. In Chapter 33 of the Rule of Saint Benedict, Saint Benedict directs monks to hold all property in common, aspiring to emulate the Apostles of Jesus Christ who, as is described in Acts 4:32, freely shared their property with each other.
Chastity requires refraining from sexual activity, but it entails much more than simply abstaining from sexual relations. A chaste person holds people and possessions in right relation with himself or herself. One who is chaste respects other individuals and property; he or she properly treats persons and things.
Obedience is reflected in various ways. One is called to be obedient to God. A monk is required to show obedience to the prior, or head, of the monastery. Yet as Father Cyprian, the prior, noted in his homily the day Brother James made his profession of simple vows, a monk vows obedience to the other monks of the community, as Chapter 71 of the Rule of Saint Benedict instructs.
I found compelling and moving Brother James' profession of simple vows. It was powerful to witness him, before a church full of people, including much of his extended biological family, vowing to keep living a life of poverty, chastity, obedience and stability in this hermitage for another three years.
And what is the next step for me? Whether or not it is a day on which I take a big step, every day presents many little steps, or choices, or decisions, for me. Each day I am presented with opportunities which have the potential to help whittle down my ego. The more we relinquish our conceptions of ourselves and let go of our own ideas, and the less we insist on being right and the less we cling to our perceptions of situations, the more we can give to God. To draw closer to God, we have to unlearn what we think we know. We must have the humility to realize that there is a great deal which we have been getting wrong and which we do not know.
A person could easily become quite uncomfortable when faced with these types of psychological demands which are entailed in dismantling one's defense mechanisms. One must be courageous to persist in such a spiritual endeavor. Yet a person becomes less anxious in the midst of such otherwise unnerving challenges if he or she remembers that God is always faithful and without a doubt will be true to His Word. He will help us draw closer to Him.
Thus the question really becomes one of what I want. In discerning whether I take the next step, whether I continue in this monastic life, I recall how one of the new monks here framed this very question evaluating whether to keep living this monastic life: "Do I like the changes which are taking place in me?" One could rephrase this question so that one inquires, "Do I like the work which God is doing in me?" Alternatively one could ask, "Do I like who I am becoming?"
In posing these questions, and in responding how we do, we are choosing how we shape our eternal destiny. Therefore, I assert that each and every one of us everyday should be asking ourselves such questions.
He vowed that he will continue living a life of poverty, chastity and obedience. Insofar as this is a community of Benedictine monks, and all Benedictine monks also make a vow of stability to a particular monastery, he is also agreeing to live as a member of this particular monastic community here at this specific hermitage.
In this life of poverty, no monk is earning money to keep for himself. In Chapter 33 of the Rule of Saint Benedict, Saint Benedict directs monks to hold all property in common, aspiring to emulate the Apostles of Jesus Christ who, as is described in Acts 4:32, freely shared their property with each other.
Chastity requires refraining from sexual activity, but it entails much more than simply abstaining from sexual relations. A chaste person holds people and possessions in right relation with himself or herself. One who is chaste respects other individuals and property; he or she properly treats persons and things.
Obedience is reflected in various ways. One is called to be obedient to God. A monk is required to show obedience to the prior, or head, of the monastery. Yet as Father Cyprian, the prior, noted in his homily the day Brother James made his profession of simple vows, a monk vows obedience to the other monks of the community, as Chapter 71 of the Rule of Saint Benedict instructs.
I found compelling and moving Brother James' profession of simple vows. It was powerful to witness him, before a church full of people, including much of his extended biological family, vowing to keep living a life of poverty, chastity, obedience and stability in this hermitage for another three years.
And what is the next step for me? Whether or not it is a day on which I take a big step, every day presents many little steps, or choices, or decisions, for me. Each day I am presented with opportunities which have the potential to help whittle down my ego. The more we relinquish our conceptions of ourselves and let go of our own ideas, and the less we insist on being right and the less we cling to our perceptions of situations, the more we can give to God. To draw closer to God, we have to unlearn what we think we know. We must have the humility to realize that there is a great deal which we have been getting wrong and which we do not know.
A person could easily become quite uncomfortable when faced with these types of psychological demands which are entailed in dismantling one's defense mechanisms. One must be courageous to persist in such a spiritual endeavor. Yet a person becomes less anxious in the midst of such otherwise unnerving challenges if he or she remembers that God is always faithful and without a doubt will be true to His Word. He will help us draw closer to Him.
Thus the question really becomes one of what I want. In discerning whether I take the next step, whether I continue in this monastic life, I recall how one of the new monks here framed this very question evaluating whether to keep living this monastic life: "Do I like the changes which are taking place in me?" One could rephrase this question so that one inquires, "Do I like the work which God is doing in me?" Alternatively one could ask, "Do I like who I am becoming?"
In posing these questions, and in responding how we do, we are choosing how we shape our eternal destiny. Therefore, I assert that each and every one of us everyday should be asking ourselves such questions.
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