Transcript of Abbot Clement's Talk on Wednesday, February 25, 2004

        The abbot’s work shop was given by Fr. Michael Casey, a Trappist from Australia. He does a lot of formation work besides writing all his books. What he did was give us ten commandments of Benedictine way of life taken from the Rule. The real issue of that presentation was to keep before us our purpose.

        Who are we? If we are unique, that is, we’re Benedictines, then it ought to be shown that way and the place to find that uniqueness in its fullness as in the Rule and the way that we live it. The question is how seriously do we take the Rule? How much do we make it our way of life? Basically the Rule is a short compendium of the gospel.

        The first one he took was Chapter 4 verse 20 which reads in Latin: Saeculi actibus se habere alienum, five words which can be translated in a number of ways. Some people say, "Don’t live a worldly life." Which is a fair translation. But if we try to stay as close as possible to those five words we would have to say that the monk is to be a stranger or to put distance between himself and the ways of this age. It would be a very strict translation but I think more insightful. What are the acts of this age that we should be avoiding, putting distance between ourselves and those acts?

        Father Michael went through a number of interesting things. I think most of his actions that he pointed out that need to be separated from are people that come to the Trappist monasteries because I don’t think we run into these things, but I want to read some of them to give you an idea of what’s happening in our world.

        He finds that some of the incoming monks that are applying for the Trappist way of life are filled with the new age. So they’re filled with all kinds of zones of potency and astrology and they really have a sense that this is real. They have to let go of those things.

        Another is the certain life style. Some come with full practice of Zen or yoga. And they expect to continue doing this as the way to awaken their consciousness. Very interesting. We should all sit in a lotus position and start repeating "Om". I don’t know how far that will get us but it will be different.

        People also come with a devotional attitude. They have their devotions and they expect that this is the only way they could live the spiritual life. So they have their devotions. There’s nothing wrong with devotions, I recommend some of them myself. He means here it has become a way of life and they can’t be open to the monastic practices and way of life.

        A certain fundamentalist attitude toward scripture and very much relying on that fundamental attitude. It’s not the same thing as saying that the scripture is the Word of God and we have to obey it. It is ultimate judgement of our life. No, it’s not that, it’s fundamentalism. Which means it’s certain kind of apocalyptic attitude toward life. We’re in absolute danger, we’re going to be blown up tomorrow, we better do these things.

        Or the other side, people come with too much education, especially science, so they can’t be open to the monastic way of life. They have to prove everything.

        Some people come in as cool as a cucumber and they want to have a cool attitude toward monastic life. They are cool. Which means it’s hard for them to be touched by what’s going on in the monastery.

        Today there are a lot of people who come in from dysfunctional families in which the problematic’s of co-dependence is real. There needs to be some freedom in those people.

        Others come from abusive systems of education in which they are put down or constantly negated so they have a hard time to accept authority. There’s another dimension to that too - they live in a climate that their parents or their school constantly degrades and knocks down authority so they have a problem with authority.  

        Another experience is that people are now career oriented and therefore very strong with ambition, rivalry, and willfulness for success. Which makes it very hard for them to be open to the Spirit.  

        Then there is oppressive state of affairs when the environment in which you are raised is strongly stressing economic security and priority so that you don’t even evaluate as persons are more important than things and money. Which means every time the monks get together and discuss things they are going to argue, can we afford it?

        Then there is a lack of commitment. I guess one of the problems we have now in most areas of the United States is loved as much as 120 channels so we have trouble settling for one, you sit there surfing all afternoon going from one channel to the next. It’s an expression of behavior that also can be followed through in terms of not having commitment in life being unable to follow through any particular goal especially when it comes to fidelity and loyalty to each other.

        These are some of the things he brought out. The sad part is we didn’t go after he presented them we sit around and talked about them because I think we would have come up with a lot more and different ones. He has this experience across the Trappist communities so he’s not just talking about people coming to his house, he’s talking about what he’s experienced all over the world. But the statement is something like this then: whether we like it or not, we are inculturated. Since we are inculturated we have a certain amount of bringing the world with us into the monastery. What’s the shape of that worldly way, those ways of this age, in which I grew up that still are a block? I need to make myself a stranger to them in order for me to be more open to God.

        If you were to reflect on this our world has basic elements in it; people, things (possessions) and events (what’s happening). When you look at these areas in your life you have to ask yourself, "are you attached to certain persons?" Maybe your relatives, maybe your mom and dad, etc. In such a way that it’s a block toward being open to God.

        When it comes to events, are you a gossipy person always trying to find out what’s happening. You get all excited and bent out of shape about every little thing that happens. Instead of being focused on what is God’s will for me?

        Things, possessions of all kinds, we can put our heart on anything. I always think of the example of a relative of mine who collected salt shakers. They had every possible shape of salt shakers. That was their life, they talked about them, showed them off. Where’s God in their life? I had another friend who collected beer bottles. I know I have strange friends.

        The issue then if we’re going to look at the Rule and our identity how much do we really radiate a healthy distance from the world? From people, things and events in such a way that they are not a denial and a negativity toward these things. If you look at whole Rule, Benedict is not negative toward the world. He is fully aware that it is a gift from God and we must use these gifts for the glory of God.

        Some people when they interpret the Rule say that if we’re really going to understand Chapter 4 verse 20 about the ways of this age we must connect it with the next verse which says, prefer nothing to Christ. In other words where’s your focus?

        So how do we show that our life is focused on Jesus? If that’s true then it’s going to have a tone in it, a correct tone, of not being absorbed in attached in, bogged down and held back, and diminished by the ways of our age. If you look at the life of Jesus this should be clear. Jesus was focused on the Father and He loved the Father and He couldn’t do enough for the Father. He came to love the Father more than anyone could possibly love the Father, therefore, He radiated a certain kind of wholeness and richness and that should be with us the same way because we’re focused on Jesus. I would say that the most dominant negative characteristic of our present world is lack of charity, loneliness. We have to look at how this shape of loneliness, having two thrusts to it: selfishness and I’ve got to be fulfilling all my potentials for me, fully, as first and foremost and the heck with others. So I don’t really focus on the other, especially the deepest other God himself.