Today in our weekly chapter meeting after Sunday Mass, we clothed another novice, the second one in 2 weeks. We now have a new Brother Antony. Last week we added Father Brendan.
In our abbot's talk he mentioned that this vocation is a rare one. There are only about 3000 Cistercian monks in the whole world. He recalled a picture in our calendar a couple of years ago that showed our novice master with 7 or 8 novices. I am the only one of the group who is still here. That rate of attrition is fairly normal.
I am not quite sure what it takes to stay. Most of what is found here -- prayer, quiet, simplicity -- can be managed in other ways away from here. In fact, I think I am part of a rather large carbon footprint -- my part being much larger than the carbon footprint I was leaving before I entered.
Over and over in my journal I have written about the necessity of accepting crazy decisions or weird processes or just general insanity. That certainly is one of the elements of a monastic vocation: this particular collection of men, with all their idiosyncracies and quirks and irritants, is really a means of leading toward God. In learning to love this irritating guy just as a person worthy of love I am an inch closer to loving God.
It all gets down to finding peace with the other. It is so easy to want people to be like me. Can I actually accept, affirm, welcome, and love those who are so wackily different?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Prayer, quiet, simplicity can be managed in the outside world, but it is harder when nothing around one (seems to support) or encourage this. The pace is maddening, and I seem all too often to succumb.
ReplyDeleteWhat must it feel like to look at that photo and realize that of those who entered with you, only you have been able to...surrender (is this the right word?)