Roma and the Rock

Greetings from Rome!

As many of you know, I am spending most of the summer in Europe. I left Saint Meinrad on Monday, spent a day at our mother abbey of Einsiedeln in Switzerland, then took the train to Rome. I will be here until June 4, then return to Einsiedeln, where I will be for the majority of my time in Europe. This blog will be an unofficial travel log of sorts, I suppose, for any who are interested.

I am still a little travel weary -- wanting to sleep when it is daylight here and night at home, and staying awake when it is night here and daytime at home -- but I am slowly adjusting. It's also hard to sleep when everything is so new and exciting!

I've been to Italy and Rome before, but never on my own, and in the context of my monastic vocation. The last time I was here was in 2006 shortly before coming to the monastery. I was on pilgrimage with my mother and a group from my home parish of St. Michael's in Findlay, Ohio. At that time,I was seriously discerning the monastic life and just about ready to make the leap -- though I wasn't quite sure where or how. And now I am here as a monk of Saint Meinrad! It is a wonderful opportunity to futher solidify and deepen my vocation as I prepare (God willing) to make solemn vows in January 2011. I am visiting many monasteries and monks this summer, and praying and living with them is like seeing everything again from the inside of my call!

While in Rome, I am staying at Sant' Anselmo (pictured above), a Benedictine house of studies where a good number of student monks from around the world live and pray together while going to school. Among those currently living here are two monks of Saint Meinrad -- Fr. Ephrem (a teacher) and Fr. Paul (a student). It is good to see them both. Also here is Abbot Primate Notker Wolf, who heads the Benedictine Confederation of Congregations, as elected by the Congress of Abbots worldwide.

The highlight of the summer, of course, is Einsiedeln, the abbey in Switzerland from which Saint Meinrad was founded in 1854. However, I only stopped there for about 24 hours before coming to Italy for a "holiday" of sorts, and to visit with my confreres. Later, I hope to have more to say about Einsiedeln. I must say, though, that in my short time at Einsiedeln (which is visually stunning!), all the monks there displayed the highest degree of Benedictine hospitality. I was warmly welcomed, though many don't speak English, and I don't speak German. The liturgy there is entirely in German or Latin, and is quite beautiful to be a part of, even if I can't fully participate. Still, it's amazing how much people of different tongues can communicate person-to-person if they really want to!

Even in the few days I've been here, I have picked up a few German, and now Italian, words and phrases--particulary as it applies to the liturgy. When I return to Einsiedeln, one of the monks may spend some time teaching me a little more German.

The 9-hour train ride from Einsiedeln (via Zurich) to Rome (via Milan) was wonderful (though I did miss my connection in Milan and had to find another train). I am now a big fan of rail travel! The trains here are amazing -- you can go anywhere, and they're relatively clean, roomy, quiet, and comfortable. For four hours, my train wound through mountain passes of the Alps -- almost every mile a picture-perfect postcard!

On Thursday, my first full day in Rome, I set out on foot (I needed to stay off of planes, trains, and buses for a while, at least). I explored the Trastevere district of Rome directly across the Tiber River from Sant' Anselmo. It is comprised of many winding, narrow, cobblestone streets filled with shops and restaurants. My primary destination was S. Maria in Trastevere, one of the oldest churches in Rome, which was quite impressive. I also stopped at the basilicas of S. Sabina and S. Alessio, which are close to Sant' Anselmo.

Along the way, of course, I stopped for a slice of real Italian pizza, and some gelato -- fragole (strawberry) is my favorite. (The food around here, at Sant' Anselmo and at Einsiedeln, is excellent -- especially the soup, bread and cheese). In the afternoon, I took a siesta and spent some time time reading in the cloister courtyard at Sant' Anselmo.

Today, while Fr. Paul is in class (a pity), I am setting out on foot again, this time along the Appian Way to the ancient catacombs, which I didn't get to see my last time here. In 2006, I saw many of the "major" sights in Rome in quick succession, so my aim this time around is to be a bit more leisurely and selective. I'm undecided as of now about visiting the Vatican again, but I may take in the Pantheon (which I missed in 2006).

Later during my time in Italy, I plan to make some day trips from Rome -- at least to Subiaco and Sacro Speco, where St. Benedict had his hermitage, and perhaps to Montecassino, the monastery he established. If time permits, I may also visit Norcia, where he was born and where there is a monastery headed by another Saint Meinrad confrere, Fr. Cassian.

Absolutely none of this, of course, compares with the joyous news I received via email this morning from my mother -- that my sister Shannon and her beau Ty are engaged!

As my mother tells the story, Ty took Shannon last evening to a romantic dinner and wine tasting party at a historic restaurant in Marietta, Ohio. After dinner they went out on the patio. The waiter brought a bottle of champaign out with an empty glass and said, "Would you care for a champagne on the Rock?" -- the ring was in the champagne glass. Ty then got down on his knee to propose. Happily, Shannon said yes!

Magnifico! Che bello! Dio ti benedica!

... and a prayer and a gelato to all!

ALLELUIA !!!

The Way of Gentleness

Calvary is Judo.
The enemy's power
is used to defeat him.

Peter Kreeft

God Stoops

I waited, I waited for the Lord
and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry.
Psalm 40:2

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

1 Corinthinians 11:23-26
John 13:1-15

One of the Lenten practices adopted by our monastic community is group lectio divina. Once a week during Lent, all the monks gather in respective groups of about 10 apiece to prayerfully read, meditate on, and discuss the coming week’s Gospel passage. It is an edifying and spiritually fruitful experience to hear and share one another’s insights.

A couple of weeks ago, as my group was discussing John 8:1-11 (the woman caught in adultery), I was struck by a particularly keen observation by a young novice (as St. Benedict says, the “Lord often reveals what is better to the younger”).

Novice Timothy noted Jesus’ bodily postures in the passage, noting how "down to earth" Jesus is:


-- “He sat down and taught [the people].”

-- “Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground” when the scribes and Pharisees brought the woman to him and questioned him about her.

-- “Again he bent down and wrote on the ground” after having straightened up to tell the crowd “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

-- After the crowd had filed away, “Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? … Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on do not sin anymore.”


Jesus, the Son of God, literally stooped down to flawed human beings and sinners to teach them and free them, not condemn. Can you imagine him squatting on the ground, allowing you to stand above him as he speaks, or simply listens to what you have to say? Is this the suspicious, ever-watchful, accusing, wrathful God so many of us mistakenly imagine and fear? In this passage, as throughout the Gospels, out of love God lowers himself in Jesus to restore the dignity that sin has stripped from us.

That’s all he wants for us, and cost is no object, as indicated by the Mass readings during this Holy Week. For the most part, they have focused on the ancient prophecies of Isaiah foretelling the coming of God’s suffering servant who will save the children of Israel.

“A bruised reed he shall not break,” Isaiah tells us. “I gave my back to those who beat me,” yet “it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings he endured, while we thought of him as stricken. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.”

And tonight at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper for Holy Thursday, we recall again God’s self-sacrificing love for us as demonstrated through posture. After hearing in the first reading from Exodus how the children of Israel stood during the Passover meal to eat the slaughtered lamb in front of them, we listen to the account of the washing of the disciples’ feet from the Gospel of John. Jesus, the Son of God, does something that even the lowliest slaves of the time did not do. He ties a towel around his wait, stoops down in front of each of his disciples, and washes their feet.

By doing this, Jesus alludes to the crucifixion that awaits him, but which cleanses and frees us—just as the slaughtered lamb at Passover saved the children of Israel in Egypt. “Do you realize what I have done for you?” he asks. The question is just as pertinent—more so, even—to us today. “As I have done for you, you should also do,” he then tells us.

To press this image into our hearts, after the homily tonight during the Mandatum, our abbot—who holds the place of Christ in the monastery—will stoop down to wash the feet of several monks and guests, including those of Novice Timothy.

Then, monks and guests will proceed to the altar, where we will commemorate the Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, recalling the words of St. Paul in the second reading: “Jesus took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’

God stoops down to us, allows himself to be broken and shared among us, so that we who are so broken may together become the whole Christ, blessed and shared with all.

To stoop down means to bend down, to lower oneself, to condescend, to yield, to submit. It is to willingly become small in order to provide another dignity. Our Incarnate God debases himself, becoming an infant sleeping in a feeding trough, a man crucified as a common criminal, and seemingly ordinary bread to be broken and eaten. His is the “chastisement that makes us whole.”

And so, like the woman caught in adultery, we are raised up, we are restored to dignity by having our feet washed by the Master, who asks “Do you realize what I have done for you?”

The answer, once claimed, is the true source of Easter joy, and is what provides peace and everlasting life.

One can do no better than reflect on the words of Pope Benedict XVI:

“When the Lord of the world comes and undertakes the slave’s task of foot-washing—which is an illustration of the way he washes our feet all through our lives—we have a totally different picture. God doesn’t want to trample on us, but kneels down before us so as to exalt us. The mystery of the greatness of God is seen precisely in the fact that he can be small. Only when power is changed from the inside, and we accept Jesus and his way of life, whose whole self is there in the action of foot-washing, only then can the world be healed and the people be able to live at peace with one another.”

May our good and gracious God grant to all this peace.

A most Holy Triduum and Joyous Easter season to all.

Whatever We Do

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the father through him.”
Col. 3:16-17

St. Benedict does not refer explicitly to the above Scripture passage in his Rule for monks, but it succinctly expresses what the Rule embodies. The monastic day is designed to carry with it the word of Christ throughout its hours. In gratitude to God, we pray and we work. We do this as a community that strives to make Christ present to one another and the world in everything we do.

As human beings, we naturally tend to compartmentalize our lives. We have our work life, our family life, our social life, and (if we have it at all) our spiritual life. But how do these areas intersect and affect one another? The Christian life is one of unity. It is about making the whole of life holy. We worship a God who is incarnate—the Word made Flesh. All that we think, say, or do should radiate Christ.

Since monks are not immune to the temptation of living fragmented lives, the Benedictine motto ora et labora—pray and work—expresses the ideal of the Rule of St. Benedict. Faithfully lived within the context of community, it is a sacred rhythm that provides structure and direction for our daily lives and (hopefully) keeps us on the path of life everlasting.

Our common prayer, our personal prayer, our various works, and our day-to-day living with one another are not disparate elements, but strands woven together like those of a rope to give the whole of life strength and sacred purpose. All of this requires commitment, humility, and the love of God.

One concrete symbol of this ideal is the corridor (or slype) that connects the monastery and church. Each day, after praising God in church, the monastic community processes down the slype and directly into the monastery dining room (refectory) at the corridor’s other end for our meals together. It is a reminder that whatever we do, we do for the glory of God, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 10:31; 1Pet. 4:11).

All this, of course, is with the recognition that the Kingdom of God is not yet fully realized. This path toward life everlasting is a journey we make each day.

Pray for Us

What is a Friend?

Dear Friends,

Preparing for a retreat later this year on the subject of spiritual friendship, I am interested in hearing how others define it. Perhaps you have some insight to share that will be helpful as I explore this issue with retreatants.

If you like, please post a comment on this blog to the question:

What is a friend?

My ability to respond to provided comments is limited, but please know of my gratitude in advance.

PAX
Br. Francis

P.S. If it is helpful, below is the description of the retreat I will be giving late next summer:

Friendship with God:
God is Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, but is He also a friend?
Does God call human beings to friendship with Him? If so, why and how? This retreat will briefly explore these challenging questions. We will look at the nature of true friendship, listen to what Scripture and the tradition of the Church say about how it applies to our relationship with God, and discuss common objections. Moreover, we will discover what friendship with God means for our life of prayer, and how it bears fruit. Our focus for meditation will be what Jesus tells His disciples and all Christians in John 15: “I have called you friends.”