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DOMINICAN  MONASTIC  SEARCH 
Volume  4  November,  1985 

DOMINICAN  MONASTIC  SEARCH  is  published  by  the  Conference  of  the  Nuns  of  the 
Order  of  Preachers  of  the  United  States  of  America.   The  Conference  is  an  organ- 
ization of  independent  monasteries  whose  purpose  is  to  foster  the  monastic  contem- 
plative life  of  the  nuns  in  the  spirit  of  Saint  Dominic. 

PRESIDENT 
Sister  Mary  of  God,  O.P.  (North  Guilford) 

EDITORIAL  30ARD 
Sister  Mary  Catherine,  O.P.,  Coordinator  (Elmira) 
Sister  Mary  Martin,  O.P.  (Summit)  Sister  Mary  of  Jesus,  O.P.  (Bronx) 

Business  Management:  Sister  Mary  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  O.P. 

Sister  Mary  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  O.P.        '(West  Springfield) 


DOMINICAN  MONASTIC  SEARCH  is  a  spiritual  and  theological  review  written  by 
the  nuns.   Its  purpose  is  to  foster  the  Dominican  monastic  contemplative  life  by 
the  sharing  of  insights  gained  from  study  and  prayer.   It  is  published  once  a  year 
as  a  service  to  the  nuns.   It  is  also  available  to  the  wider  Dominican  Family  and 
others  UDon  request,  from  whom  a  donation  of  $4.00  to  aid  in  the  cost  of  printing 
would  be  appreciated,  when  possible. 

Contributions  to  this  review  should  be  researched  and  prepared  with  concern 
for  literary  and  intellectual  quality.   Manuscripts  submitted  should  be  clearly 
typed,  single  spaced,  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only.   The  deadline  for  manuscripts 
is .October  1st  of  each  year.   Minor  editing  will  be  done  at  the  discretion  of  the 
editors.   If  major  changes  are  desired,  these  will  be  effected  in  dialogue  with 
the  authors.   The  editors,  in  consultation  with  the  Conference  Council,  reserve 
the  right  to  reiect  inappropriate  manuscripts,  though  reasons  will  be  given  to 
the  authors  with  courtesy  and  encouragement.   The  Open  Forum  section  is  offered 
to  those  nuns  who  would  like  the  opportunity  to  express  their  ideas  briefly  and 
informally,  and  to  encourage  dialogue  among  the  nuns  on  spiritual  subjects.   Each 
separate  contribution (  to  Open  Forum  should  be  limited  to  approximately  500  words. 

All  book  reviews  and  poetry  should  be  sent  to  Sister  Mary  of  Jesus  (Bronx) . 
Open  Forum  contributions  should  be  sent  to  Sister  Mary  Martin  (Summit) .   All 
other  articles  should  be  sent  to  Sister  Mary  Catherine  (Elmira) . 


CONFERENCE  OF  NUNS  OF  THE  ORDER  OF  PREACHERS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

All  Rights  Reserved 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

CARLI:  Consortium  of  Academic  and  Research  Libraries  in  Illinois 


http://archive.org/details/dominicanmonasti04unse 


TABU  OF  CONTENTS 


Editorial 1 

Florilegia  on  Saint  Augustine's  Letter  211    5 

Sr.   Maria   Rose,   O.P.    (Summit) 

On  the  Love  of  God  and  Neighbor 17 

Sr.  Mary  of  Christ,  O.P.  (Los  Angeles) 

Augustinian  Themes  in  Our  Basic  Constitution  21 

Sr.  Mary  of  the  Precious  Blood,  O.P.  (Buffalo) 

Intimate  Encounter  23 

Sr.  Mary  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  O.P.  (West  Springfield) 

Comparative  Study  on  Regular  Observance  24 

Sr.  Mary  of  the  Annunciation,  O.P.  (Lufkin) 

Study  in  the  Dominican  Tradition 39 

Sr.  Mary  of  Jesus,  O.P.  (Bronx) 

Autumn  Scene  (Poem)  46 

Sr.  Mary  Regina,  O.P.  (West  Springfield) 

The  Role  of  Solitude  in  Dominican  Contemplative  Life 47 

Sr.  Mary  Bernard,  O.P.  (Summit) 

Truth 53 

Sr.   Mary  Joseph,   O.P.    (Los  Angeles) 

The  Father's  Word   (Poem) 55 

Sr.   Mary  of  the  Holy  Spirit,   O.P. 

Communio  and  Missio 56 

Sr.   Mary  Thomas,   O.P.    (Buffalo) 

In  the  Garden  of  Tomorrow  (Poem) 60 

Sr.  Mary  Rose  Dominic,  O.P.  (Summit) 

A  Trilogy 61 

Sr.   Mary  Margaret,   O.P.    (Buffalo) 

Mary's  Answer  (Poem)    67 

Sr.   Regina  Marie,   O.P.    (Syracuse) 

The  Sanctity  of  Curupira 68 

Sr.   Marie  Damien,   O.P.    (Brazil) 

Curupira' s  Rosary 70 

Translated  by  Sr.   Mary  of  the  Trinity,   O.P.    (Lufkin) 


A  Suitable  Place  (Homily:  Blessing  of  Washington  Monastery)  73 

Rev.  Augustine  DiNoia,  O.P. 

Father  Vicaire  on  Contemplative  Life:  Report  77 

Sr.  Myriam,  O.P.  (Zelem,  Belgium) 

Joseph 81 

Sr.  Mary  of  the  Assumption,  O.P.  (West  Springfield) 

The  Eternal  Now  of  the  Liturgy 85 

Mother  Mary  William,  O.P.  (Lufkin) 

The  Hidden  Life 90 

Translated  by  Sr.  Mary  of  the  Holy  Cross,  O.P.  (Buffalo) 

The  Fear  of  the  Lord  is  Our  Cross 92 

Sr.  Mary  Catherine,  O.P.  (Elmira) 

Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  (Poem) 97 

Sr.  Mary  Joseph,  O.P.  (Los  Angeles) 

Elizabeth  of  the  Trinity  and  the  Interior  Castle 98 

Sr.  Mary  Emily,  O.P.  (Lufkin) 

Reading  and  Prayer 112 

Translated  by  Sr.  Mary  Regina,  O.P.  (West  Springfield) 

BOOK  REVIEWS 

The  Beatitudes:  Soundings  in  Christian  Tradition  -  Tugwell,  O.P.  .  .  123 
Sr.  Mary  Thomas,  O.P.  (Buffalo) 

The  Summit  Choirbook  123 

Sr.  Mary  Magdalen,  O.P.  (Farmington  Hills) 

The  Way  of  the  Heart  -  Nouwen 124 

Sr.  Maria  Rose,  O.P.  (Summit) 

Ways  of  Imperfection  -  Tugwell,  O.P 125 

Sr.  Maria  Rose,  O.P.  (Summit) 

OPEN  FORUM 

A  Glance  at  the  Charism  of  Headship 127 

Sr.  Mary  Rose,  O.P.  (West  Springfield) 

Holy  Scripture(  in  Our  Life 128 

Sr.  Mary  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  O.P.  (Menlo  Park) 

The  Eucharist  Outside  the  Mass 129 

Sr.  Mary  Joseph,  O.P.  (Los  Angeles) 


-7- 

EDJTORJAL 


The  author  o^  the  Book  ofa  Proverbs   exhorts  us  to  that  izarch  ^or  wisdom 

which  is  -bach,  a  prominent  monastic  attitude  as   he  tells  us  : 

"la  you  seek  her  £^foe  bilver 

and  like  hidden  treasure  search  her  out: 
Then  will  you  understand  the  {^eaA  o{  the   Laid: 

the.  knowledge  of>  God  you  will  falnd"      [Paov.    2:4-5). 

Ai   Nuns  ol  the  QrdeA  ol  Preachers  we  are  dedicated  in  a  particular  way 
to  that  search  ^or  wisdom,   a  wisdom  gained  through  Study,    especially  cfa  the 
Word  o{,  God,   and  the  prayer  and  discipline  o^  lifie  winch  falow  out  Oq  it.     We 
ale  also  coiled  to  share  that  wisdom  with  one  another  in  simplicity . 

A  glance  through  the  o^erlngs  in  this,   issue  ofa  Vh\S  brings  the  above 
thoughts   spontaneously  to  maid.     These  contributions   represent  that  life- 
long inner  seaAch  &0A  wisdom,   and  also  the  joy  o&  sharing  the  insights 
received.     The  themes  oac  so  varied  that  at  fciASt  they  seemed  to  de^y  any 
oAdeA,    but  slowly  the  lines   ^eli  into  place. 

The  ftiASt  three  articles  center  on  the  thought  o{.  Saint  Augustine:   Ins 
Rule  as   expression  ofa  his  spirituality,   the  principal  tenet  o£  the  Rule  as 
love  oj  God  and  neighbor,   and  the  Augustinian  themes  in  oua  Basic  Constitution. 
The  next  thr.ee  deal  with  basic  observances  In  Dominican  monastic  li^e:    fairs  t, 
a  comparative  study  o{,  the  observances  In  general  as   they  oac  pAesented  In  the 
7  937   Constitutions  in  contrast  to  their  pAescntation  in  the  7  977   Constitutions; 
then,   a  hlstoAlcal  overview  ofa  the  place  ofa  study  In  the  lifae  ofa  the  nuns,    fol- 
lowed by  an  examination  ofa  the  role  ofa  solitude  in  Dominican  Lifae.     Afater  tills, 
some  chaAacteAlstlcs  ofa  Dominican  spiAlXuaLvtij  oac  considered:  trutli  as  it  is 
understood  in  the  light  ofa  Scripture.;  the  commu\iitarian  and  apostolic  aspects  o£ 
the  Dominican  way;   and  the  challenge  ofa  our  call  to  contemplative  Lifae  in  all 
iXs  purity.     At  tills  point  we  take  a  look  at  the  Lifae  ofa  a  modern  Dominican 
Nun  faAom  a  geographical  locality  gAowlng  In  pAomlnencc:   Curupira  ofa  Brazil  and 
at  a  AccoAd  ofa  heA  aosoalj  spirltjuallty . 

Afater  these  Acfalcctlons  on  Dominican  Lifae  pAesented  by  the  nuns  themselves, 
we  Insert  two  papers  describing  the  thouglit  ofa  our  bAetliren  on  our  tifie:  a 
homily  on  the  occasion  o&  the  blessing  o\  our  Washington  Monastery  with  a  chal- 
lenge to   bring  to  Lifae  the  Dominican  ideal  in  that  locaLLty;    followed  by  a  de- 
tailed AepoAt  on  a  woAkshop  on  'Dominican  contemplative  Lifae  given  by  our  well 
known  his  to  Alan,    Father  H.M.    Vicaire  to  the  Belgian  monasteries.     We  are  grate- 
faul  to  Sister  Wyrlam  ofa  lelem  faoA  preparing  tltis  report  faor  us. 

T-Aom  here  we  turn  our  attention  to  more  varied  perspectives.     There  is  an 
article  on  Saint  Joseph  as  patron  ofa  contemplative  Lifae  and  ofi  our  Eastern  Prov- 
ince.    Then  we  "Listen  in"  to  a  Cliapter  talk  on  the  contemplative  aspects  o{ 
the  liturgy,    followed  by  two  other  recorded  exhortations :   one  faAom  Olmedo   &0A 
the  relatively  recent  occasion  ofa  the  reception  oft  a  Nun  to  the  habit;  the 
other,   mucii  farther  back  in  time,    faoA  the  occasion  ofa  the  admittance  ofa  a 
brother  tjo  Egyptian  monastic  Hie.     Two  concluding  oAtlcles  pAcsent  oilier  des- 
criptions OjJ  monastic  prayer  and  living:    fairs  t,   a  penetrating  study  oi  the. 
newly  beatified  Elizabeth  o{  the  Trinity  as  she  exemplified  the  Carmelile  spir- 
ituality described  by  St.   Teresa  in  the  Interior  Castle;   and  finally,   a  trans- 
lation iAom  the  French  ofa  an  old  article  wilh  a  stAikingly  modern  thrust  con- 
cerning reading  and  prayer  In  monastic  Lifae. 


-2- 

Wlbdom' 6  ba.nqu.2X.  fiaAe  u>  nJLoh,  indttd.     We  eat  bat  axe  neveA  i>atijate.d 
bzcau&z  the  knowledge  ofi  God  aj>  the.  contemplative^  eveA  expanding  de&iAe.  and 
goal,     fox  ui>  ah  ChAtbtLaiu  and  Vomlntcanh  that  wisdom  Zb  containe.d  pximaAtly 
in  titt  Wosid  ofi  God  peAAonlfiie.d  in  Jeia6  Ckntbt.     We  axe.  eveA  Atntvlng  to  be 
among  thoi>e  who  "allow  the  i>2.e,d  which  ti>  the.  won.d  ofi  God  to  gtiow  tn   [ui>]    by 
the  powex  ofi  the.  Holy  SpiAtt;  and  coUbaboKjxtwig  with  it,  aAe.  n.enewe.d  inteAtonZy 
and  mono,  and  mone.  confionmed  to  ClvuAt"    (Const.   #108).     We  tAni>t  tiiat  thti>  Wold 
will  contume.  to  gxow  within  2jac.li  ofi  ui>  not  only  by  pondeAing  it  in  qua.  own 
henAti  but  by  i>haAing  that  fimiit^al  pondeAing  with  one  anotkeA  by  the  written 
wond  in  fiutuAe.  l66ueA  ofi  VMS.     TliiA  li>  one  o&  tlie  wayi,  in  which  God,  who  hai> 
bejgun  a  good  wonk,   wilt  b\Zng  it  to  peAficction. 

SlbteA  WaAy  Catherine,   O.P. 
ElmiAa 


as  Lovers  of  <m  Ecautu  of  ^&  spiritual  life 
ani  Srcoimrw  form  dm  sweet  okor  of  Canst 

in  tfiu  holiness  of  vour  \<fci/s, 
IJou  cnau  fkimfalUj  observe  <truse  <mirLQ5j 
not  like  staves  ura^er  *tae  boaoaoe  of  m  taw 
But  liu  cailirea 
fret  in  <t(u  U&crtu 
of  divine  orace." 


RuU  of  St  Aixau^ti'na 


-5- 


FLORIIEGIA  OS  SAIN?  AUGUSTINE'S  LETTER  211 


Sister  Maria  Rose,  O.P 

Surnr.it  Monastery 


Introduction 

The  practice  of  writing  during  lectio  divina  has  been  part  of  the  prayer 
tradition  of  the  Church.   Writing  a  lectio  journal  is  one  -way  of  ruminating  or 
"chewing  the  cud"  by  going  .  ack  to  the  text  that  one  has  jotted  down.   For  the 
early  monks  and  nuns,  to  internalize  is  to  verbalize.  They  gleaned  the  fruits 
of  their  holy  reading  in  a  mosaic  of  scriptural  quotations  and  doctrinal  excerpts 
called  florilegia  or  "culled  flowers". 

The  florilegia  is  a  literary  genre  that  originated  in  the  Greek  and  Latin 
classical  schools.   These  are  collections  cf  doctrinal  gems  for  the  purpose  of 
quaestio  and  disputatio.  The  compilers  used  these  materials  for  study  and  research. 
Later  on,  the  florilegia  flourished  in  the  monastic  school  of  lectio  divina.  The 
ancient  monks  adopted  it  a£  a  creative  growth  tool  for  wholeness  and  depth  in  their 
prayer  life.  This  type  of  journaling  harmonized  with  the  silence  and  solitude  of 
cloistered  life. 

These  collections  are  called  sententiae,  extracts,  excerpts  or  scarapsus . 
Peter  Lombard's  famous  sentences  are  an  example  of  this.   Poetic  titles  are  also 
used:  "Flores",  "Book  of  Sparklets  *',  "Floral  Bouquet ",  "Deflorationes"  and  others. 
The  lectio  journal  bears  this  flower  symbolism,  a  medieval  metaphor  for  bees 
sipping  honey  from  flower  to  flower . 

In  this  article,  we  are  going  to  concern  ourselves  with  journaling  within  the 
context  of  listening  to  the  word  being  addressed  to  us  in  the  Letter  211  of  Saint 
Augustine.   The  eight  florilegia  correspond  to  the  eight  principal  precepts  in  that 
letter .  The  key  sentences  are  underlined,  and  interwoven  with  these  are  verbal 
citations  from  Scripture  as  well  as  allusions  and  extracts  from  Saint  Augustine's 
numerous  works.   This  approach  aims  to  arouse  interest,  and  perhaps,  point  out  to 
others  a  field  of  Augustinian  studies  that  would  yield  fruit  in  prayer . 

Letter  211,  the  best  known  and  most  controversial  of  Saint  Augustine  's  letters, 
has  been  commonly  called  the  "Rule".   This  letter  is  addressed  to  a  convent  of 
women  who  had  set  up  a  strife  against  their  Superior,  Mother  Felicitas,  who  had 
succeeded  Saint  Augustine's  sister  upon  the  latter 's  death.  There  is  a  broad  hint 
in  the  beginning  of  this  letter  that  the  source  of  the  conflict  was  a  new  chaplain, 
Brother  Rusticus  .  The  English  title  given  to  this  letter  is  "Letter  of  Aurelius 
Augustine  to  the  consecrated  virgins",  dated  U23 .   There  is  no  title  of  address 
in  the  text . 

Technically,  Letter  211  is  not  a  religious  rule.   It  is  possible  that  there 
was  already  an  existing  Rule  before  this  letter  was  written.  However,  Letter  211 
is  always  referred  tp  as  the  "Regula  Sorcrum"  written  by  Saint  Augustine,  Bishop 
of  Hippo. 

The  florilegia  is  an  attempt  to  show  the  general  spirit  and  character  of  the 
Rule.  The  spirituality  of  Saint  Augustine  Is  based  on  the  revealed  word  of  God. 
His  thought  and  language  are  shot  through  with  scriptural  citations  and  allusions, 
which  shows  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  the  influence  of 
Egyptian  monasticism.   In  the  realm  of  theology,  Saint  Augustine  drew  on  Neoplatonic 
philosophy  in  order  to  explain  the  gradual  movement  of  man  from  the  material  to  the 
spiritual,  and  from  the  temporal  to  the  eternal. 


-6- 


Letter  211  is  remarkable  for  its  beauty,  simplicity  and  adaptability.  It  is, 
in  fact,  the  core  and  inter iorizat ion  of  lav,  -whereby  the  ascesis  of  monastic  life 
is  presented  by  Augustine  as  a  victory  over  self-seeking  for  the  upbuilding  of 
Christian  community.  The  letter  has  heart -expanding  dimension;  it  is  a  protest 
against  pride,  greed  and  power  (Acts  2:kk-k5;   U-.32-35)-  Direction  is  given  between 
I  and  We,  and  between  person  and  community.  For  Augustine,  the  primary  motive 
of  community  is  fidelity  to  God's  word,  once  a  person  freely  chooses  to  live  the 
reality  of  commitment  (Chapters  1  and  8) .  One  commits  oneself  to  the  Word  by 
yielding  to  another  or  to  others  a  claim  on  oneself  (Chapters  5  and  7).  Pride  is 
deeply  entrenched  at  the  centre  of  our  rational  nature.  Pride  survives  even  when 
all  other  vices  have  been  cornered.  Renunciation  of  goods  is  rooted  in  dispossession 
of  self  and  in  humility (Chapters  1  and  7).  In  Chapter  5>  the  image  of  the  members 
of  one  Body  comes  up  to  illustrate  the  duty  of  mutual  help  (Ephesians  22:2). 
Active  service,  for  Augustine,  builds  up  the  earthly  city;   it  must  also  nourish 
love.   The  most  generous  and  gifted  person  is  not  the  one  who  performs  the  greatest 
number  of  tasks,  but  rather  the  one  who  gives  the  most  of  herself  to  others 
(Mark  12:hl-kk) .     For  Augustine,  prayer  cannot  be  separated  from  community, 
charity,  asceticism  and  justice  (Peter  3:  6-7;  Matthew  17:21). 

Saint  Augustine  was  an  original  thinker  and  lover.  His  letter  211  and  his 
other  writings  -  Confession,  sermons,  treatises  -  show  his  sensus  catolicus, 
that  is  to  say,  the  essentials  of  our  faith.  He  united  heart  and  mind  in  his 
endless  search  for  God. 

FLORILBGIUM  1  The  Basic  Ideal:  Acts  U:31-35 

The  main  purpose  for  your  having  come  together  is  to  live  harmoniously  in 
your  house,  intent  upon  God,  in  oneness  of  mind  and  heart. 

How  good  and  pleasant  it  is  when  sisters  live  in  unity;  through  the  fire  of 
love  they  are  of  one  mind  and  one  heart  on  the  way  to  God  (l) .  Those  who  live  in 
unity  in  such  a  way  that  they  form  but  one  Person  are  rightly  called  "mono6"  - 
one  single  person.  They  fulfill  in  their  lives  what  is  written,  "of  one  mind  and 
one  heart",  that  is,  many  bodies  but  not  many  minds,  many  bodies  but  not  many 
hearts  (2).  Many  upright  people  have  only  one  heart,  while  a  single  deceitful 
person  has  a  double  heart  (3)  .  Love  then,  must  Join  you  together,  so  that  you  may 
follow  the  One  in  unity,  and  not  fall  back  into  multiplicity  and  be  divided  among 
many  things  (U) . 

How  we  wish  to  arrange  our  life,  and  how  with  God's  help  we  are  already  doing 
so,  is  known  tc  many  of  you  from  Sacred  Scripture.  None  the  less,  in  order  to 
refresh  your  memory,  listen  and  meditate  on  these  words:  "There  was  no  one  who 
called  any  of  his  possessions  his  own  property.  On  the  contrary,  they  owned 
everything  in  common".  A  nun  no  longer  seeks  her  own  interests,  but  she  serves 
the  interests  of  Jesus  Christ.  She  now  lives  in  the  community  of  those  who  are 
of  one  mind  and  one  heart  on  the  way  to  God,  such  that  no  one  can  still  speak  of 
her  own  possessions t% but  all  own  goods  in  common  (5).  For  if  a  person  love6  the 
whole,  then  everyone  who  possesses  anything  has  something  for  herself.  Take  envy 
away,  and  what  I  have  is  yours;  take  envy  away  and  what  you  have  is  mine.  Possess 
God  and  you  possess  the  All  (6) .  I  would  wish  that  you  place  yourself  with  all 
your  love  under  Christ,  and  that  you  follow  no  other  way  in  order  to  reach  and  to 
attain  the  truth  than  that  which  has  already  been  paved  by  Him  who,  as  God.  knows 
the  weakness  of  our  steps.   This  way  is,  in  the  first  place,  humility;  in  the 
second  place,  humility;  in  the  third  place,  humility  (7). 


-7- 


Let  all  of  ycu,  then,  live  together  in  oneness  of  Kind  and  heart,  mutually 
honoring  God  in  yourselves,  whose  temples  you  have  be c one .   For  you  are  his 
temple,  collectively,  and  as  individuals.   God  wishes  to  dwell  in  the  union  of 
all  and  in  each  person  {?) . 


FLORILEGIUM  2  Prayer  and  Community 

Be  assiduous  in  prayer  at  the  hours  and  times  appointed.   With  gratitude  in 
your  hearts  sing  psalms  and  hymns  and  inspired  songs  to  God;  be  persevering  in 
your  prayers  and  be  thankful  as  you  stay  awake  to  pray  (Colossians  3:l6;  ^l2). 

At  certain  times,  we  call  our  spirit  back  to  prayer  from  the  other  cares  and 
activities,  which,  in  some  way  cloud  our  yearning  for  God.  .  Longing  is  always  at 
the  root  of  prayer,  even  though  the  tongue  is  silent  (l) .   At  particular  hours, 
we  pray  to  God  with  words  that  through  these  verbal  signs  of  divine  reality,  we 
may  impel  ourselves  to  greater  effort,  help  ourselves  become  aware  of  how  much 
progress  we  have  made  in  this  desire  and  rouse  ourselves  to  grow  in  it  with 
greater  vitality  (2).   Therefore,  your  conversation  with  God  should  focus  on  what 
you  bear  in  your  hearts,  on  the  attention  of  your  spirit,  on  a  pure  love  and 
honest  yearning.   It  is  with  words  that  Our  Lord  has  taught  us  these  essential 
things  (3) .   To  pray  for  a  longer  time  is  not  the  same  as  to  pray  by  multiplying 
words  .   Lengthy  talk  is  one  thing;  a  prayerful  disposition  which  lasts  a  long 
time  is  another.  Did  not  Our  Lord  give  us  an  example  of  this?  In  time  He  prays 
when  it  is  appropriate;  and  in  eternity,  He  hears  our  prayers  with  the  Father  (k) , 

When  the  Apostle  says,  "pray  without  ceasing",  he  means  this:  desire  un- 
ceasingly that  life  of  happiness  which  is  nothing  if  eternal,  and  ask  of  Him 
who  alone  is  able  to  give  us  this  life  (5) .  The  desire  of  your  heart  is  itself 
your  prayer.  The  constancy  of  your  desire  will  itself  be  the  ceaseless  voice  of 
your  prayer.  And  that  voice  of  your  prayer  will  be  silent  only  when  your  love 
ceases.  The  chilling  of  the  heart  means  that  the  heart  is  silent,  while  the 
burning  love  is  the  outcry  of  the  heart  that  is  constantly  fixed  on  God  (6) . 

When  you  pray  to  God,  therefore,  let  the  words  spoken  by  your  lips  be  alive 
in  your  hearts.  Live  what  you  pray.   Sing  to  the  Lord  a  new  song.  His  praise 
is  in  the  assembly  of  His  chosen  ones.   It  is  in  the  singers  themselves.   If  you 
desire,  then,  to  praise  Him,  then  live  what  you  sing.   Live  good  lives  and  you 
yourselves  will  be  His  praise  (7) . 


FLORILEGIUM  3  Mutual  Health  Care 

Subdue  the  fle%h,  so  far  as  your  health  permits,  by  fasting  and  abstinence 
from  food  and  drink.   While  we  are  on  a  journey  in  this  mortal  life,  we  are  being 
weighed  down  by  the  demands  of  an  earthly  existence .   The  body  has  its  revolts 
which  are  manifest  and  are  oftentimes  dangerous  to  the  spirit,  for  the  flesh  is 
still  corruptible  (Galatians  5:17);  it  has  not  yet  had  its  resurrection  (l) . 


The  mind  tendc  upwards:  it  is  caught  up  by  love,  but  it  is  slowed  down  by 
weight  (Wisdom  9:1^).  We  lighten  our  load  or  cast  off  the  ballast  of  this 
earthly  baggage  when  we  fast  (2) . 

However,  do  not  think  that  the  flesh  is  at  odds  with  the  spirit  as  if  there 
were  one  creator  of  the  flesh  and  another  of  the  spirit.  It  is  true  that 
"the  flesh  lusts  against  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh"  (I  Cor.  15*53)* 
and  it  is  also  true,  and  eve.,  more  important  to  say  that  "no  one  ever  hates  his 
own  flesh,  but  nourishes  and  cherishes  it,  as  also  Christ  does  the  Church" 
(I  Galatians  5*17) •  Both  views  are  in  harmony  (3). 

Remember  also:  there  ic  no  value  in  fasting  unless  one  gives  to  the  poor  what 
is  thereby  saved  (4) .  For,  whoa:  do  you  seek  to  please  by  your  fasting?  Will  your 
fast  be  approved  by  God  wher.  you  do  not  recognize  your  neighbor?  I  do  not  ask 
fron  what  food  you  abstain,  but  what  food  you  choose.  Do  you  hunger  and  thirst 
for  justice  (5)? 

Let  not  your  souths  alone  take  nourishment  but  let  your  hearts,  too,  hunger 
for  the  Word  of  God .  Therefore,  since  there  is  an  earthly  food  on  which  the  weak- 
ness of  the  flesh  feeds,  there  is  also  a  heavenly  food  by  which  the  devotion  of 
the  mind  is  nourished.  The  earthly  food  belongs  to  the  physical  life;  the 
heavenly  food,  to  the  life  of  the  Spirit  (6) . 

Each  of  you  must  do  what  she  can.   If  one  person  is  not  capable  of  as  much 
as  another,  then  she  can  still  attain  it  in  the  other  who  is  more  able.  You  have 
to  render  an  account  to  God  alone.  The  or.ly  thing  that  you  owe  to  one  another 
is  mutual  and  abiding  love  (7)  . 

To  leave  the  world  behind:  this  means  to  renounce  what  you  have  and  what 
you  desire  to  have.  Greater  possessions  do  not  slake  people's  thirst  but 
increase  it .  Such  people  despise  a  cup  of  water  because  they  want  to  have  a 
whole  stream.  Therefore,  consider  as  rich  the  person  who  is  least  consumed  by 
desire  for  material  goods  {£) . 


FLORILSGIUM  k     Mutual  Responsibility  in  Good  and  Evil 

You  should  not  seek  to  please  by  your  apparel  but  by  a  good  life^  Seek  no 
advantage  for  yourselves  when  you  aim  to  please  men.  We  want  to  take  our  joy 
in  men,  and  we  rejoice  when  they  take  pleasure  in  what  is  good,  not  because  this 
exalts  us,  but  because  it  benefits  them  (l) . 

A  new  commandment  I  give  you,  that  you  love  one  another .  From  'the  entire 
human  race  throughout  the  world,  this  love  gathers  together  into  one  body  a  new 
people,  to  be  the  bride  of  God's  only  Son.  She  is  the  bride  of  whom  it  is  asked 
in  the  Song  of  Songs:  "Who  is  this  who  comes  clothed  in  white?"  White  indeed 
are  her  garments,  for  she  had  been  made  new  (2) . 

Let  all  your  actions  conform  to  your  holy  state  of  life.  God  is  almighty  and 
all-seeing;  His  eyes  are  on  those  who  fear  Him;  every  human  action  is  known  to 
Him  (Sirach  15:18-19).  Can  He  who  made  the  ear  not  hear?  Can  He  who  formed  the 
eye  not  see?  (Psalm  94:9) 


-9- 


By  mutual  vicilance  ever  one  another  will  God  who  dwells  in  you,  grant  you 
His  protection  (2  Corinthians  6:16).   Admonish  one  another  bo  that  the  begin:.-"  .g 
of  evil  will  not  grow  mere  serious  but  will  be  promptly  corrected. 

Do  you  scorn  your  Sister's  wound?  You  see  her  heading  for  destruction,  and 
you  do  nothing?  Because  you  remain  silent,  you  are  worse  than  she  is  when  she 
reproaches  you  (3). 

You  are  not  tc  administer  correct! or.  until  you  have  removed  from  your  eye 
the  beam  of  envy  or  malice  or  pretense,  so  that  you  may  have  clear  vision  to 
cast  out  the  spec1/,  from  the  eye-  of  your  Sister .  For  then,  you  shall  see  that 
speck  with  the  eye  of  the  dove,  the  kind  of  eyes  that  are  commended  in  the  Spouse 
of  Christ  —  pure  and  without  guile  (h) . 

When  you  take  disciplinary  measures,  gentleness  ought  not  to  fade  from  your 
heart.   Indeed,  who  is  more  loving  than  s  physician  with  a  surgical  knife  in  .-.is 
hand?  Of  course,  the  pereor.  who  has  tc  undergo  the  operation  weeps.   The  doctor 
is  harsh  on  the  wound,  but  only  in  order  to  heal  the  person.  For,  if  you  are 
too  gentle  on  the  wound,  the  person  would  perish  (5). 

By  punishing  the  guilty  one  patiently,  you  give  her  a  chance  to  repent 
(Wisdom  12:10).  The  punishment  must  be  commensurate  to  the  person's  spiritual 
strength.   How  many  people  have  become  better  because  of  correction  and  how  ma:iy 
have  turned  out  worse  on  its  account?  And  what  is  one  to  do  in  this  case:  if  you 
punish  a  certain  person,  zhc   is  lost;  if  you  allow  her  wrongdoing  to  go  unchecked, 
another  person  is  corrupted  by  it?  What  darkness   (6)!'  Or  are  you  abusing  God's 
infinite  goodness,  patience  and  generosity,  not  realizing  that  this  goodness  is 
meant  to  lead  the  sinner  to  repentance  (Romans  2:k)7     It  is  exceptional  and  good 
to  love  the  sinner  and,  at  the  same  time,  disapprove  the  sin.  And  the  more 
justified  you  are  in  hating  the  sin,  the  greater  the  love  you  have  for  the 
human  nature  deformed  by  it .  The  person  who  loves  in  this  way  persecutes 
wickedness,  but  his  true  motive  is  to  free  the  person  from  the  bondage 
of  sin  (7). 

For  God  created  the  human  being;  love,  therefore,  the  person  created  by 
God,  not  the  faults  that  belong  to  the  person.  Even  though  you  are  sometimes 
obliged  to  take  harsh  action,  do  it  out  of  love  for  the  good  of  the  other  (8) . 

God  is  the  ultimate  judge.   For  though  no  one  knows  a  man's  innermost  self 
except  man's  own  spirit  within  him,  yet  there  is  something  in  a  man  which  even 
hi6  own  spirit  does  not  know.   But  God  knows  all  of  him,  for  He  has  made  man. 
Make  no  effort,  then,  to  conceal  your  wound  from  the  Physician;  all  of  us  are 
in  need  of  His  mercy  (9). 

For,  it  is  truly  God  who  forgives  all  your  guilt,  who  heals  eyery  one  of 
your  ills;  He  crown3  you  with  love  and  compassion  (Psalm  103:3,  5). 


-10- 


FLORILEGIUM  5     Active  Icve  ir.  Service  of  One  Another 

In  loving  your  Sister  and  caring  for  her,  you  are  on  a  journey.  Where  are 
you  travelling  if  not  to  the  Lord  God,  to  Him  -whom  you  should  love  with  your 
whole  heart,  your  whole  soul  and  your  whole  mind?  You  have  not  yet  reached  His 
presence,  but  you  have  your  own  Sister  at  your  side.  Support,  then,  this 
companion  of  your  pilgrimage  if  you  want  to  come  into  the  presence  of  the  one 
with  whom  you  desire  to  remain  forever  (l) . 

It  is  not  love's  air:,  to  serve  only  its  own  interests.  Love  is  not  self- 
seeking  (I  Corinthians  13 :>)  •  Love  each  other  as  much  as  Sisters  should,  and 
have  a  profound  respect  for  each  other.  Work  for  the  Lord  with  untiring  effort 
and  with  great  earnestness  of  rpirit.   In  the  temporal  necessities  of  life, 
something  sublime  and  permanent  reveals  itself,  namely,  love  (i  Corinthians  13:31) 

No  one,  therefore,  will  seek  her  own  advantage  in  her  work.  Everything  you 
do  is  for  the  service  of  the  community,  and  you  are  to  work  with  more  zeal  and 
enthusiasm  than  if  each  person  were  merely  working  for  herself  and  her  own 
interests .  Love  puts  the  interests  of  the  community  before  personal  advantage 
and  not  the  other  way  round.  The  way  of  love  is  exalted  above  all  other  ways. 

What  a  nun  earns  through  her  work,  she  should  be  willing  to  own  in  common 
with  her  Sisters .  If  she  lacks  anything,  she  must  be  prepared  to  be  supplied 
with  it  from  community  property,  following  the  words  of  the  Apostle,  whose 
precept  and  example  she  fellows :  "we  must  be  as  people  who  possess  nothing, 
and  yet,  have  everything "(2) . 

One  must  love  and  esteem  in  the  other  the  gifts  and  skills  which  she  herself 
does  not  possess.  Thus,  the  person  with  fewer  capabilities  ought  not  to  impede 
the  person  with  more;  neither  should  those  who  are  more  gifted  put  pressure  on 
others  who  are  capable  of  less  (3) . 

Therefore,  the  degree  to  which  you  are  concerned  for  the  interests  of  the 
community  rather  than  for  your  own,  is  the  criterion  by  which  you  can  judge  how 
much  progress  you  have  made  in  love . 


FLORILEGIUM  6  Love,  Conflict  and  Reconciliation 

Everyone  who  hates  his  brother  is  a  murderer  (I  John  3*15)«  Love  is  our  life 
If  love  is  life,  then  hatred  is  death.  When  someone  fears  hating  a  person  whom 
she  loves,  she,  in  fact,  fears  death;  and  this  death  is  more  merciless  and  more 
radical  than  the  death  of  the  body,  for  in  this  death,  the  soul  itself  is  killed. 
Your  Lord  ha6  give%  you  assurance  with  the  words :  Do  not  fear  those  who  kill  the 
body.  By  their  brutal  cruelty  such  people  kill  a  body;  but  by  harbouring  hatred 
you  kill  a  soul.  You  have  first  killed  your  soul  and  then  your  Sister's  (l) . 


-11- 


Sisters  who  have  insulted  each  other  should  forgive  each  other's  trespasses 
(Matthew  6:12);  if  you  fail  to  do  this, your  praying  the  Our  Father  is  a  lie. 
When  the  Lord  says  "you  must  forgive  your  brother  from  the  heart",  He  did  not 
add  the  words  "from  the  heart"  for  nothing.   Let  us  then  daily  and  with  a  true 
heart  pray  the  Our  Father.  And  moreover,  let  us  xj_ve  our  prayer.   You  enter 
into  a  covenant  with  Sod.   The  Lord  your  Cod  says  to  you:  "forgive,  then  I 
forgive  you.   If  you  do  not  fcrgive,  then  you,  not  I,  uphold  your  guilt  against 
yourself  (2)  . 

Perhaps  you  have  offender,  someone  and  now  wish  to  be  reconciled.   You  wish 
to  say:  "Sister,  forgive  me  for  I  have  sir.r.ed  against  you".  But,  she  has  no 
wish  to  hear  of  forgiveness  or  to  remit  your  debt.   She  should,  however,  be 
careful  when  she  prays.  If  your  conscience  troubles  you,  then  pray  "Forgive  us 
our  trespasses";  but  remember, the  prayer  does  not  end  there.  You  do  not  want 
to  forgive  your  Sister,  and  still  have  tc  say  "as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass 
against  us".   Or  would  you  prefer  not  to  utter  these  words?  If  you  do  not  say 
them,  however,  you  dc  not  receive  anything  either.  Or  if  you  say  them  just  for 
the  sake  of  saying  them,  you  are  lying.   Do  say  them  then,  but  speak  the  truth 
and  live  lovingly  for  the  other  (3)  . 

Be  cautious  of  harsh  words .   Should  you  utter  them,  then  do  not  be  afraid 
to  speak  the  healing  word  with  the  same  mouth  that  caused  the  wound. 

If  you  wish  to  receive  mercy,  be  merciful  before  He  comes;  forgive  one 
another  and  give  of  your  abundance .  Of  whose  mercy  do  you  give  if  not  from  His? 
If  you  were  to  give  from  your  own,  it  would  be  largess;  but  since  you  give  of  His, 
it  is  retribution.  For  what  have  you  that  you  have  not  received?  These  are 
the  sacrifices  most  pleasing  tc  God:  mercy,  humility,  praise,  peace,  charity  (U) . 

Authentic  self-love  consists  in  loving  one's  neighbor.  People  must  learn 
to  love  themselves  by  not  loving  themselves  (5) • 

Blessed  is  the  person  that  loves  you,  0  God,  and  his  friend  in  you,  and  his 
enemy  for  you.  That  person  alone  loses  no  one  who  is  dear,  if  all  are  dear  in 
God,  for  God  is  never  lost  (6) . 

FLORILEGIUM  7  Compassionate  Love  in  Authority  and  Obedience 

Obey  you  Superior  as  a  mother.  She  is  the  one  who  watches  over  you,  knowing 
that  she  has  to  render  an  account  of  you;  make  this  a  joy  for  her  to  do  and  not 
a  source  of  grief.   Otherwise  you  yourselves  will  be  the  losers  (Hebrews  13:17). 

Help  her  both  by  your  prayers  and  by  your  obedience,  for  then,  it  will  be  a 
pleasure  for  her,  not  to  preside  over  you,  but  to  serve  you  (l) . 

By  your  loving ^obedience,  therefore,  you  not  only  show  compassion  to  your- 
selves, but  also  to  your  Superior.  By  pleasing  God  through  your  obedience,  you 
show  compassion  to  yourselves;  seek  distraction  from  your  cares,  console  your 
heart,  chase  sorrow  away;  for  sorrow  has  been  the  ruin  of  many  (Sirach  30:24). 


-12- 


Your  Superior  should  not  think  herself  fortunate  in  having  power  to  lord  it 
over  you;  the  first  among  you  must  be  the  least  and  the  person  who  leads  must 
serve  the  most  (Luke  22:25-26).  For  the  Sen  of  roan  did  not  come  to  be  served 
but  to  serve  (Mark  10:^5).  Let  her  show  herself  an  example  of  good  works  among 
you  that  the  Word  of  God  will  not  fall  into  disrepute  (Titus  2:7). 

She  is  to  advise  those  who  neglect  their  duties,  give  courage  to  those  who 
are  disheartened,  support  the  weak  and  be  patient  with  all  (I  Thessalonians  5:  4). 
If  there  is  virtue  in  one  who  obeys,  there  are  also  some  for  her  who  commands  to 
observe:  humility,  patience,  wisdom,  prudence,  discretion,  charity  and  equity 
(2  Timothy  k:2)  . 

And  let  her  strive  to  be  loved  by  you  rather  than  to  be  feared,  although 
both  love  and  respect  are  necessary .   For  it  is  not  the  person  of  the  Superior 
who  ha6  to  be  feared  but  the  Word  of  God  in  her .   Let  her  glory  in  God  alone 
and  if  she  is  loved  by  you,  let  it  be  in  the  Lord  and  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord  (2) . 
Your  Superior  is  in  the  flesh.   In  nerself,  she  is,  when  you  think  of  it,  simply 
a  human  being.  But  it  is  true,  that  you  make  her  something  more  by  giving  her 
honor  and  respect;  it  is  as  if  ycu  are  covering  what  is  weak  and  lacking  in  her  (3) . 

Always  esteem  her  more  highly  than  yourself;  this  holds  true  even  in  your  rela- 
tions .among  yourselves.   Because  you  make  her  your  Superior  through  free  choice  and 
commitment,  God  makes  her  the  least  of  all,  since  she  has  been  charged  with  the 
care  of  all  (Fhilippians  2:3).  And  you  roust  remember  that  even  though  she  appears 
to  address  you  from  a  higher  place,  yet  in  fear  before  God,  she  lies  at  your 
feet  because  of  the  great  responsibility  that  her  office  requires  of  her  (k) . 
The  roost  severe  judgment  will  be  set  aside  for  those  in  high  places  (Wisdom  6:6). 
If  much  has  been  given  to  you,  much  will  be  demanded  of  you;  more  will  be 
expected  of  one  to  whom  more  has  been  entrusted  (Luke  12:US). 

To  love  God,  to  live  in  goodness  from  the  love  which  God  has  given  us : 
this  is  the  first  act  of  charity  which  we  can  perform  for  ourselves.  Authority 
and  obedience  go  hand  in  hand  in  the  context  of  mutual  love  (5). 

You  have  been  called  to  freedom.  Do  not,  however,  abuse  it  as  a  pretext 
for  self-seeking.  Serve  one  another  through  love.  If  you  are  led  by  the  Spirit, 
you  are  not  under  the  law.  The  signs  of  the  Spirit's  presence  are  love,  joy, 
patience,  kindness,  generosity,  faith,  mildness  and  chastity. 


FLORILEGIUM  8  Love  is  the  Fulfillment  of  the  Law 

Observe  the  precepts  in  a  spirit  of  charity  and  as  lovers  of  spiritual  beauty, 
The  desire  for  spiritual  beauty  or  the  spirit  of  loving  obedience  is  linked  to 
the  joy  of  contemplation.  From  divine  beauty  you  go  to  Christ  who  surpasses 
everyone  in  beauty,  but  who,  for  your  sake  became  a  man  of  sorrows,  without  looks 
or  beauty  to  attract  the  eyes.   Likewise,  you  shall  come  to  possess  beauty  by 
loving  Him  who  always  remains  faithful.   According  as  love  grows  in  you,  beauty 
grows  too.  For  leve  is  the  beauty  of  the  soul  (l). 


-13- 


Live  in  such  a  way  that  you  spread  abroad  the  life -giving  aroma  of  Christ 
(2  Corinthians  2:1?).   If  there  is  anyo..e  among  you  who  wishes  to  be  known  for 
her  wisdom  and  learning,  she  must  prove  such  a  claim  by  the  excellence  of  her 
life  (James  3=13)  • 

Do  not  be  weighed  down  like  slaves  straining  under  the  law,  but  live  as  free 
persons  under  grace;  for,  where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  freedom. 
Love  is  the  fulfillment  of  the  law.   Bear  one  another's  burdens,  and  thus  you  will 
fulfill  the  lav  of  Christ  (Romans  6:lU-22);  for  you  are  no  longer  under  the  lav,' 
which,  while  it  commands  the  good,  is  ur.able  to  give  it.  On  the  contrary,  you 
are  under  grace,  which,  in  making  you  love  vhat  the  lav  commands,  can  reign  over 
you  as  free  people  (2).  Love,  holiness  and  freedom  are  the  marks  of  Christian 
love  in  religious  community  life  and  in  the  person's  quest  for  God  (3). 

Whoever  listens  to  the  word  but  does  not  obey  it  is  like  a  mar.  who  looks 
at  his  own  face  in  a  mirror,  and  then,  after  a  quick  look,  gees  off  and  immediately 
forgets  what  he  looked  like.   But  vhoever  considers  himself  in  the  light  of  the 
perfect  law  of  freedom,  and  n.akes  that  his  habit  -  not  listening  £nd  then  forget- 
ting, but  actually  putting  it  into  practice  -  vill  be  blessed  for  what  he  does 
(James  1:23-25). 

Even  your  merits  are  God's  gift.  The  good  in  you  ought  to  be  a  cause  for 
gratefulness  (U) .  For  those  who  love  God,  He  works  all  things  for  good.  And 
this  "all"  takes  in  so  much  that,  even  if  a  person  deviates  from  and  leaves  the 
right  path,  she  is  enabled  to  make  progress  in  good,  for  she  returns  more  humble 
and  more  experienced.   Let  her  prayer  be:  Forgive  me  my  trespasses  and  lead  me 
not  into  temptation  (5). 

Offer,  then,  your  thanksgiving  to  the  Lord  your  God,  from  whom  every  best 
and  perfect  gift  comes,  for  He  gives  to  those  of  good  will  both  the  desire  and 
the  fulfillment  of  things  that  belong  to  Him  (6) .  Address  Him  thus  :  Behold, 
Lord,  I  cast  upon  You  my  concern  that  I  may  live,  and  I  shall  meditate  on  the 
wonders  of  Your  lav;  though  poor,  I  want  to  be  filled  with  it  in  the  company  of 
those  who  eat  and  are  filled;  and  they  who  seek  the  Lord  shall  praise  Him  (7)  . 

CONCLUSION 

This  Augustinian  florilegia  is  not  an  attempt  to  fix  the  lines  for  historical 
and  spiritual  exegises  of  the  Rule.   This  lectio  journal  is  one  form  of  listening 
to  the  word  being  addressed  to  us  through  biblical  and  monastic  writers  . 

We  have  used  Saint  Augustine's  Letter  211,  the  first  written  account  of 
rules  for  female  monastics .   The  legislator  had  established  a  monastery  for 
women  after  his  return  from  Italy  to  North  Africa  and  had  appointed  his  Bister 
as  Superior.   The  next  Superior  had  problems  with  her  subjects,  and  thus, 
Letter  211  was  written. 
» 

The  "gleanings"  have  been  laid  out  according  to  thtir  contextual  message  and 
affinity  of  themes.  Through  extracts  from  Saint  Augustine's  letters,  treatises, 
sermons  and  his  confession,  ■  we  can  draw  deeper  meaning  from  his 
Rule.  We  have  followed  the  consistent  rhythm  of  his  "anima  una  et  cor  unum  in 
Deo" 


-14- 


To  this  lectio  journal  can  be  added  our  personal  reflections  and  responses. 
This  would  vary  according  to  one's  disposition,  needs  and  background.  The 
response  may  take  the  form  cf  a  letter,  a  dialogue,  a  prayer -poem  or  an  art 
symbol.  If  our  response  is  brought  in  willing  obedience  to  the  truth,  then  the 
word  can  penetrate  our  heart  until  we  open  up  to  the  freedom  of  God.  Our 
response  would  flcv  from  who  we  are  and  into  what  we  can  become. 

The  Scriptures  and  the  Fathers  provide  food  for  soul  and  light  for  life. 
A  word  or  verse  calls  for  reflection,  lights  up  the  heart,  clears  up  a  doubt, 
demands  a  renunciation  or  promises  hope  of  moving  closer  to  God.   In  order  to 
preserve  this  graced  moment,  the  reader  can  write  down  the  inspired  and  inspiring 
word.  At  some  tirr.e  in  the  future,  she  might  go  back  to  this  source  of  life  for 
her  spiritual  strength  and   that  of  others.  The  florilegia  are  verbal  witnesses 
to  our  monastic  search  for  God. 


*********** 


NOTES 


FLORILEGIUM  I 

(1)  Against  Faustus   5,  9;   cf.  Psalm  133:1 

(2)  Sermon  on  Psalm  132,  6 

3)  Sermon  11,  7;   cf.  I  Corinthians  12:12 

h)  Sermon  284,  k 

(5)  Sermon  356;   cf.  Acts  4:32-35;  2:44-45;  Luke  14:26,  33;  Matthew  l6:24; 
Also:  Treatise  on  Manual  Labour  of  Monks  32,  8 

(6)  Sermon  on  St.  John's  Gospel  32,  8 

(7)  Letter  118,   3,  22 

(8)  The  City  of  God  10,  3 

FLORILEGIUM  2 

(1)  Letter  130,   9,   18 

(2)  Ibid 

(3)  On  the  Lord's   Sermon  on  the  Mount,    2,    3,    13 
(U)  Letter  130,  9,   18 

(5)  Ibid;      cf.  Jeremiah  29:13;      James   5 :L3-l8;     Romans  1:10 

(6)  On  Psalm  38,    13-lU 

(7)  Sermon  34;  cf.  Luke  1:46-56;   I  Peter  1:1-17;  2:22-24;   Romans  11:33-36; 
16:25-26;  I  Timothy  6:15-l6;  Revelation  1:6-7;   5:9-12;  11:17-18 

FLORILEGIUM  3 

(1)  Treatise  on  Farting  3,  3 

(2)  Op.  cit.,  2;   of.   Cicero,  De  Senectute  18.66.1 

(3)  Op.  cit.,  4 

(4)  Sermon  209,  2 

(5)  Treatise  on  Fasting  5,  2 

(6)  Op.   cit.,   2 

(7)  Letter   130,   l6  .       _ 

(8)  Sermon  50,  4,    6;      cf«      ^tter   ^    ^    39 


-15- 


FIjORILEGIUM     k 


(1 
(2 
(3 
P» 
(: 
(6 
(7 
(8 
(9 


Sermon  U7,  12 -lU 

Treatise  or.  the  Gospel  of  John,   25,  2;   cf.  On  Holy  Virginity,  3k,    34 

Sermon  82,  k,   7 

On  the  Lord's  Sermon  or?  the  Mount;   cf.  Matthev  7:5;   Song  of  Songs  4:1 

Sermon  83,   7,  8 

Letter  95,  3 

Letter  3  53,  1,  3 

Sermon  on  I  John,  7,  11 

Confessions   10,  5,  ^0 


FLORILEGIUM  5 

(1)  Treatise  on  the  Gospel  r.f   John,  17,  7-9 

(2)  On  the  Manual  labour  cf  Monks  25,  32;   cf.  Corinthians  6:10 

(3)  Letter  130,  31 


FLORILEGIUM     6 

(1)  Sermon  on  Psalm   5U,   7;      cf.     Matthev   10:28 

(2)  Sermon  56,     9,   13 

(3)  Sermon  211,   3,   3:     cf.     Matthew  18:35 
(k)  Sermon  on  Psalm  95,    15 

(5)  Sermon  96,  2,  2 

(6)  Confessions  k,   9 


FLORILEGIUM  7 

(1)  Sermon  3*+0,  2 

(2)  Confessions  10,  36,  59 

(3)  Sermon  k6,     6 

(U)   Sermon  on  Psalm  66,  10 
(5)   The  City  of  God,  21,  27,  2 


FLORILEGIUM  8 

(1)  On  I  John  9,  9  ;   cf.   Isaiah  53:2-3;   Sirach  kk:6 

(2)  On  Continence  3,  8 

(3)  The  Way  of  Life  of  the  Catholic  Church  1,  33,  70 
(U)  Sermon  298,  5,  5 

(5)  On  Rebuke  and  Grace  9,  2U;   cf.   Matthew  6:12-13 

(6)  Confessions   10,  4  3 

(7)  Op.  cit.,  6e-yo 


-16- 


WORKS  CONSULTED 

The  Liturgy  of  the  Hours,  Volumes  I  -  IV.   ICEL  Translation .   (New  York: 

Catholic  Book  Publishing  Company,  1975) 

Saint  Augustine,   Treatise  on  Various  Subjects.   (New  York;  Fathers  of  the 

Church,  Inc.,  1952) 

Saint  Augustine,   Letters,  Volume  V.   (New  York:   Fathers  of  the  Church,  Inc., 
1956)   pp.  Xiii-xiv,  kl 

Pierre  Mandonnet,  O.P.,   St.  Dominic  and  his  Work.   Translated  by  Sr  .  Mary 
Benedicts  Larken,  C  .P .   (St.  Louis,  Missouri,  B.  Herder 
Book  Co.,  19UI4) 
Note:  Mandonnet  has  brought  to  light  the  genesis  and  authenticity 

of  a  more  primitive  Augustinian  Rule,  the  Disciplina  Monasterii 
(about  3^8) .   A  Commentary  was  added  to  the  Disciplina  by 
St.  Augustine  himself,  end  the  two  together  formed  one  Rule. 
The  Disciplina  was  suppressed  in  the  12th  century;  only  the 
Commentary  remained.   Letter  211  is  a  Transcription  of  the 
Commentary.   For  further  study,  please  see  pp.  211-253. 

Jeau  Leclercq,  O.S.B.,   The  Love  of  Learning  and  the  Desire  for  God.   (new  York: 
Mentor  Omega,  1962)  pp.  1B5  ff. 


Jf  *\   71  W  K  A  n  91 


-17- 


ON  LOVE  OF  GOD  AND  LOVE  OF  NEIGHBOR 

Sr .  Mary  of  Christ,  Los  Angeles 

"Our  chief  concern. ..is  the  love  of  God,  and  after  this  to  love  our 
neighbor,  for  these  are  the  two  greatest  commandment s .. .The  first  aim  of 
community  life  is  the  ideal  of  unity  in  community  -  all  our  thoughts  and 
desires  united  and  centred  on  God."l 

This  paper  is  intended  to  explore  some  of  the  meaning  in  this 
beginning  of  the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine.   Unity  in  community  flows 
naturally  out  of  the  commandments  of  love  of  God  and  neighbor  and  is 
theologically  derived  from  it. 

Love  forms  the  innermost  dynamism  of  the  human  character.   The 
integrity  of  a  personality  centers  on  the  object  of  love.   Self  love 
spirals  the  personality  inward  on  itself.   "For  in  common  with  everybody 
else,  every  man  loves  what  he  thinks  he  is. "2 

Love  forms  a  bond  of  identification  .   Clinging  to  created  goods  warps 
the  personality:   in  the  end  it  would  mean  that  persons  would  find  their 
meaning  in  things. 

"The  divine  essence  itself  is  charity  even  as  it  is  wisdom  and 
goodness.   Now  we  are  said  to  be  good  with  the  goodness  which  is  God. 
So,  too,  the  charity  by  which  we  love  our  neighbour  is  a  sharing  in  the 
di  vi  ne  char  i  ty . "3 

It  is  the  love  of  God  which  is  to  form  in  us  this  "spontaneous 
movement  of  the  lover  toward  the  beloved"4  and  DY  Jt  we  cling  to  God, 
Himself . 

Original  sin  is  a  lived  reality.   Woundedness  makes  it  difficult  to 
pursue  the  true  good.   Yet  "...it  is  impossible  that  these  two  should  be 
simultaneously  true,  namely  that  the  Holy  Spirit  wills  to  move  a  person  to 
make  an  act  of  love,  and  that  such  a  person  should  lose  charity  by 
commi  1 1  ing  sin. . . "5 

"Listen  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  the  one  Lord,  and  you  must  love 
the  Lord  your  God  with  all  your  heart,  with  all  your  soul,  with  all  your 
mind  and  with  all  your  strength"  and  "...You  must  love  your  neighbor  as 
yourself . "6(Mark  12:30). 

We  have  chosen  to  pursue  this  love  in  the  life  of  a  monastic 
community.   Monastic  orders  have  tried  to  relive  the  life  of  the 
Jerusalem  community  who  were  "united,  heart  and  soul;  no  one  claimed  for 
his  use  anything  that  he  had,  as  everything  they  owned  was  held  in 
common."  (Acts  4:32).   The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  commonly  considered 
the  Gospel  of  the  Holy  Spirit.   Scripture  commentators  repeatedly 
underline  this  theme  in  the  Acts.   For  example,  G.W.H.  Lampe ,  in  PEAKE ' S 
COMMENTARY  ON  THE  B IBLE .  writes:   "..The  presence  of  the  Spirit  is 
expressed  in  two  ways,:  externally  in  the  mission  to  Israel,  internally  in 
the  unity  of  the  brotherhood  itself,  where  perfect  harmony  is  given 
practical  expression  in  the  sharing  of  property."? 

Monastic  life  as  such  is  an  expression  of  the  presence  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.   It  is  a  witness  to  the  Church  and  to  the  world,  a  witness  of  the 
unending  mutual  self-giving  of  the  Holy  Trinity.   It  mirrors  the  oblation 
of  Christ  who  loved  us  and  sacrificed  Himself  for  us  (cf.  Gal. 2:20). 

"Because  we  share  in  the  mission  of  the  apostles,  we  also  follow  their 
way  of  life  as  St.  Dominic  conceived  it."8  Tne  fullness  of  perfect 
charity  in  the  lives  of  the  nuns  is  to  bear  fruit  in  the  salvation  of 
souls. 


-18- 

The  charity  of  God  is  poured  forth  into  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
dwelling  within  us  (Rom.  5 :10 ) .   Accordingly,  St.  Thomas  regards  charity 
as  an  effect  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  virtue  which  enables  us  to  share  in 
the  very  charity  of  God. 

"According  to  Aristotle  not  all  love  has  the  character  of 
friendship,  but  that  only  which  goes  with  well  wishing, 
namely  when  we  love  another  as  to  will  what  is  good  for 
him"  9 
Since  God  shares  His  happiness  with  us  it  is  possible  to  have  a 
relationship  of  friendship  with  Him:  friendship  is  based  on  this  mutual 
sharing.   This  love  unites  us  to  God  and  He  is  its  principal  object.  It 
is  in  Him  that  we  love  our  neighbour.   God's  gift  of  love  in  us  flows 
both  into  love  of  God  and  love  of  neighbor. 

"Now  the  light  in  which  we  must  love  our  neighbour  is  God, 
for  what  we  ought  to  love  in  him  is  that  he  be  in  God.   Hence 
it  is  clear  that  it  is  specifically  the  same  act  which  loves 
God  and  loves  ne i ghbour . "10 

St.  John  writes  that  "This  commandment  we  have  from  God  that  he  who 
loves  God  should  love  his  brother  also."  (Uohn  4:21).   Once  our 
affections  are  set  in  order  the  charity  infused  by  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
unite  us  not  only  to  God,  but  to  our  neighbor  as  well:   God's  gift  makes 
it  possible  easily  and  pleasantly  to  fulfill  His  law. 

St.  Thomas  lists  the  five  characteristics  of  charity  given  by 
Ar  i  stot  le  : 

"First,  every  friend  wishes  his  friend  to  be  and  to  live; 

secondly,  he  desires  good  things  for  him:   thirdly,  he  does 

good  to  him;  fourthly,  he  takes  pleasure  in  his  company; 

fifthly,  he  is  of  one  mind  with  him,  rejoicing  and  grieving  " 

over  almost  the  same  things.  "H 

If  charity  is  to  will  what  is  good  for  the  other,  how  then  must  one 
will  good  for  God,  who  is  goodness  Himself?  Perhaps  in  this  way:  the 
greatest  good  for  God  is  to  be  Himself,  to  do  what  He  does,  to  will  what 
He  wills.  One  can  do  this  by  every  act  which  assents  to  this  goodness 
of  God,  by  obeying  His  laws  -since  they  stem  from  what  He  is-,  by  acts  of 
virtue,  of  faith  and  of  hope,  by  any  other  such  thing  which  by  its  nature 
gives  consent  to  the  goodness  of  God  and  the  order  in  which  God  has 
established  all  that  is.   To  will  this  is  to  will  what  is  good  for  God. 

We  do  not  thereby  add  anything  to  Him,  it  is  true.   But  now  ordinary 
acts,  things  that  might  seem  simply  a  matter  of  obligation,  beliefs  that 
seem  true  but  not  vibrant,  all  of  these  things  now  become  bonds  intimately 
uniting  us  to  the  love  of  God.  There  is  no  happiness  outside  of  the  order 
in  which  God  established  things,  ultimately,  because  there  is  no  true 
happiness  outside  of  God  Himself. 

From  this  it  follows,  that  acts  of  love  are  intensified  not 
necessarily  by  emotional  fervor  but  by  letting  oneself  be  ever  more 
completely  enveloped  'in  the  embrace  of  God.  What  we  are  to  love  in  our 
neighbors  is  that  they  be  in  God,  that  they  be  on  the  way  to  salvation. 
This  is  to  desire  good  things  for  the  neighbour.   By  the  common  life,  by 
good  example,  by  our  sharing  in  the  richness  of  the  same  God  in  the  bond 
of  a  religious  family,  we  do  good  to  them.   This  will  make  us  people  who, 
having  but  one  mind  and  one  heart,  find  pleasure  in  each  other's  company. 
Loving  God  and  after  Him  our  neighbor  will  itself  create  this  unity. 
"Wherever  there  is  love,  social  bonds  are  strengthened,  and  wherever  it 
is  not  found,  they  di s i ntegrate . . . "12 


-19- 


Li f e  in  community  involves  practical  choices  based  on  the  nature  of 
the  person  and  the  nature  of  life  shared  with  God. 

Our  Holy  Father  discusses  some  aspects  of  the  psychology  of  women  in 
some  spiritual  exercises  given  to  students  in  Poland  which  are  compiled 
in  THE-WAY  TO  CHRIST.  It  will  be  no  suprise  to  anyone  who  has  followed 
his  catechesis  that  he  draws  upon  the  Scriptures  for  his  descriptions. 

"The  first  thing  which  strikes  us  is  that  when  they  approached  Christ, 
these  women  acquired  a  certain  interior  autonomy ..."  13  Since  "women  are 
more  intuitive  and  feeling  than  men,  and  become  involved  in  things  in  a 
more  sensitive  and  complete  manner ...  they  need  a  support  (for  example,  in 
the  Gospel  we  find  them  Nby  Christ's  side'),  a  great  maturity  and 
interior  independence ." 14 

It  is  necessary  to  make  choices  which  enable  others  to  live  more  fully 
this  intimate  relationship  with  Christ,  -  and  since  we  are  women  our 
specifically    feminine  nature  itself  fosters  such  a  relationship.  One 
must  respect  the  interior  independence  of  others  and  offer  mutual  support 
allowing  each  to  know  deeply  the  love  of  all  their  sisters.  "That  human 
experience  of  love  can  help  us  fashion  that  "sharp  dart  of  longing  love' 
which  will  pierce  the  cloud  and  allow  the  warmth  of  God's  love  to  come 
through  to  us. "15  CS.  Lewis,  in  THE  GREAT  DIVORCE,  would  have  us  expect 

great  differences  between  one  holy  person  and  another: 

"We  are  not  living  in  a  world  where  all  roads  are  radii  of 
a  circle  and  where  all,  if  followed  long  enough,  will 
therefore  draw  gradually  nearer  and  finally  meet  in  the 
cent  re .. .Good ,  as  it  ripens,  becomes  continually  more 
different  not  only  from  evil  but  from  other  good. "16 

But  how  does  one  grow  in  this  life  of  holiness?  Human  perfection  is 
very  desirable,  but  it  is  not  an  adequate  basis  for  sanctity.   Father  Von 
Balthasar   remarks  that: 

"They  (the  real  saints)  grow  in  stature,  not  round  their 
own  centre  but  round  God,  whose  incomprehensible  grace  gives 
greater  personal  freedom  to  the  creature  wh'o  frees  himself 
to  exist  solely  for  God:  a  paradox  that  can  only  be  solved 
as  one  begins  to  realize  that  God,  in  his  se 1 f -sur rende r ,  is 
love,  as  jealous  as  he  is  unenvying,  as  exclusively  desirous 
to  gather  us  to  himself  as  he  is  to  distribute  himself 
uni  versal ly . " 1 7 

There  are  always  some  who  do  not  seem  to  respond  to  love,  and  so 
especially  as  contemplatiyes ,  we  are  unable  to  take  direct  and  effective 
action  in  the  case  of  many.   But  "when  we  abandon  our  neighbor  to  God  he 
continues  to  be  supported  by  our  love  and  the  pain  of  being  unable  to 
help  him  accomplishes  more  than  any  self-confident  action. "18  From  this 
Father  Von  Balthasar  concludes  that  the  contemplative  life  is  that  which 
is  spiritually  most  effective. 

And   so   we   have   come   full   circle.   Charity  comes  from  God  and 
leads  to  Him,  -and  it  is  charity  that  creates  unity  in  diversity.    All 
necessary  human  goods  are  supplied;  even  weaknesses  can  eventually  be 
healed  by  God.  Human  love  leads  others  to  divine  Love  and  also  mirrors  tha 
Love.    Not  only  is  contemplation  of  God  the  'bett'er  part'  ;  it  is  fully 
satisfying i  when  it  is  embraced  with  one's  entire  being. 


-20- 
NOTES 

1  RULE-  OF  -ST,  AUGUSTINE.H:-  A  Mo^rn  Render  -fn-g .  Seba  s  t  i  an  Bullough,  O.P., 

IX. 

2  SUMMA  THEQLOG I AE .  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  Blackfriars  and  Mc  Graw-Hill  Book 

Company,  Vol.34,  trans.  R.J.  Batten,  O.P.,  2a2ae, 25 , 7 , reply ,p. 101 . 

3  SjajMA,2a2ae,23,2,reply  ob  j .  1  ,pp  .  13  ,  15. 

4  SEMMA,2a2ae,25,2,reply,pp.85,87. 

5  SHM&2&,2a2ae,24,2.reply,p.71. 

6  THE --JERUSALEM  fllfll-Er-  Reader' S  EtJ  it  ion .  General  Editor  Alexander  Jones, 

Doubleday  &  Company,  Inc.,  Garden  City,  NY.   All  Scripture  quotations 
are  from  this  edition. 

7  Ed.  Black  &  Rouley,  Nelson,  Hong  Kong,  1962,  p. 892. 

8  CONSTI TUTONS  OF  TOE-  NUNS  OF  THE  ORDER  OF  PREACHERS .  Basic 
Constitutions,  SIV,  p. 5. 

9  Si2dMA,2a2a2.23, 1, reply, p. 7. 

10  Sjafl^,2a,2ae.25, 1,  reply, p.  83. 

11  SI2dM,2a,2ae.25,7,reply,p.l03. 

12  THE  WAY  -TO -CHRIST-.  Spiritual  Exercises.  Karol  Wo  j  t  y  1  a  ,  t  rans  .  L.Wearne  , 
Harper  &  Row,  San  Francisco,  1984,  p. 98. 

13  Ibid.,  p. 33. 

14  Ibid.,  p. 35. 

15  TO  g£  A  f  ItGRJMr  A  -§Ptrit^ariiotet>OQk,  Cardinal  Basil  Hume,O.S.B, 
Harper  <3c  Row,  San  Francisco,  1984,  p. 52. 

16  THE  -GREAT- DIVOROE .  C.S.  Lewis,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1971, 
11th  printing,  pp. 5-6. 

17  LOVE  ALONE .    Hans  Urs  Von  Balthasar,  Herder  &  Herder,  N.Y.,  1963, 
p. 98. 

18  Ibid.,  p. 194. 


-21- 


AUGUSTINIAN  THEMES  IN  OUR  BASIC  CONSTITUTION 

Sr.    Mary  of  the  Precious  Blood,   O.  P. 
Buffalo,  New  York 

In  the  monastic  tradition  we  have  inherited  through  St.   Augustine,  expression 
is  given  to  certain  insights  considered    basic  to  the  fullest  realization  of  Christian 
perfection.     The  primary  source  in  which  we  find  these  insights  is,   of  course,   the  Rule 
Augustine  authored.     However,  these  same  insights  are  offered  in  many  other  works  by 
the  saint,   even  in  works  which  antecede  the  Rule.     Two  of  Augustine's  central  points  — 
the  recognition  of  Christ,   living  and  present  in  the  monastic  community,  and  the  attain- 
ment of  the  vision  of  God  through  purity  of  heart  -  are  developed  in  the  Basic  Constitution 
of  the  Nuns.     In  these  first  paragraphs  of  our  Constitutions,   our  sisters  are  directed  in 
their  search  for  God  to  proceed  through  and  in  the  Word,   submitting  in  faith  and  purity  of 
soul  to  this  truth,   for  the  ultimate  attainment  through  grace,   of  union  with  God  in  Christ. 

Locating  our  vocation  within  St.    Dominic's  original  inspiration  in  1S1,   our 
Constitutions  encourage  us  in  the  following  lines  to  embrace  God  and  our  neighbor  in  one 
single  charity,   regarding  ourselves  first  and  foremost  as  true  members  of  Christ.     In  two 
of  St.  Augustine's  works,  The  Happy  Life,  and  his  Commentary  on  Psalm  41,  emphasis  is 
placed  on  the  theme  of  Christ  presiding  as  our  Head,  and  we,   the  faithful,  constituting 
His  members.     In  the  first  work  mentioned,  Augustine  resolves  a  discussion  on  wisdom 
by  concluding: 

This  is  the  happv  life  :  to  recognize  piously  and 
completely  the  One  through  Whom  you  are  led  to 
the  truth,   the  nature  of  the  truth  you  enjoy,  and 
the  bond  that  connects  you  with  the  supreme 
measure. 

Of  special  importance  in  this  quotation  is  the  first  line  :  to  recognize  piously  and  com- 
pletely the  One  through  Whom  you  are  led  to  the  truth.     We  are  reminded  of  the  exhorta- 
tion to  honor  God  in  each  other,  God,  Whose  temples  we  are,   establishing  the  ecclesial 
and  monastic  communities  as  the  visible  expression  of  our  mystical  incorporation  with 
Christ  through  His  incarnation. 

Augustine's  vision  of  our  incorporation  with  the  Word  opens  out  to  eternity, 
nourishing  within  us  the  aspiration  to  seek  more  earnestly  the  "glory  of  the  Lord  revealed 
in  His  Face"  (2  Cor     3*  18V     In  an  excerpt  from  the  saint's     Commentary  on  Psalm  41, 
the  mystical  union  which  Christ's  members  form  with  each  other  is  presented  as  a  para- 
digm, a  model  of  the  ideal  unity  in  which  is  revealed  an  inchoate  perception  of  the  life 
we  hope  to  attain  in  heaven. 

"1  have  poured  out  my  soul  above  myself,"  and 
there  remains  nothing  more  to  lay  hold  of  other 
than  my  God.     Indeed,    it  is  there,    it  is  above  my 
soul  that  the  house  of  God  is.     There  He  dwells, 
thence  He  arouses  me,  thence  He  calls  me,  thence 
He  directs  me,   thence  He  guides  me  ....    For  He 


-22- 


who  possesses,  beyond  the  highest  heavens,  an  in- 
visible mansion,  has  also  a  tent  on  the  earth.     His 
tent  is  His  Church.  . .  .It  is  here  we  must  seek  Him, 
because  in  the  tent  we  shall  find  the  way  that  leads 
to  the  house  (of  God).     I  will  enter  into  the  place  of 
the  tabernacle,  the  wonderful  tabernacle,  even  to 
the  house  of  God. .  .  .   The  tabernacle  of  God  on  earth 
is  made  up  of  His  faithful.  2 

While  we  must  regard  ourselves  first  and  foremost  as  members  of  Christ, 
we  are  urged  to  reflect  on  the  means  by  which  we  are  to  submit  to  the  Word  in  Whose 
life  we  participate.     The  search  for  God  in  purity  or  singleness  of  heart,   leads  us  to  sub- 
mit to  the  Word  we  recognize  in  our  midst,   doing  so  through  the  discipline  of  community 
life  and  the  celebration  of  the  liturgy.     Onlv  when  we  are  freed  from  the  concerns  which 
darken  the  soul's  sensitivity  to  His  presence  car  we  be  open  to  the  Spirit  of  God  animating 
our  spirit.     Using  the  gospel  text  from  Matthew  ^:8,     St.   Augustine  treats  of  the  necess- 
ity of  detachment  from  all  save  God  as  an  essential  prerequisite  for  the  divine  vision. 

"No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time.  "    God  is  an 
invisible  reality.     He  is  to  be  sought,   not  with  the 
eye,  but  with  the  heart.     If  we  would  see  the  light 
of  the  sun,  we  must  keep  clear  the  bodily  eye  which 
is  our  means  of  beholding.     So  if  we  would  see 
God,   let  us  cleanse  the  eye  with  which  God  mav  be 
seen.     And  the  place  of  that  eye  we  may  learn  from 
the  gospel      "Blessed  are  the  pure  of  heart,   for 
they  shall  see  God". 

Echoing  this  thought,  we  read  in  our  Basic  Constitution  1SIII  and  IV  that  in 
"purity  and  humility  of  heart,  they  (the  nuns)  love  Christ,  Who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Father.  "    Our  sisters  are  exhorted  to  be  "converted  to  the  Lord,  withdrawing  from  the 
solicitude  and  orientations  of  the  world.  "    With  single  hearted  devotion,  the  nuns  are  to 
"pray  together  daily,  (offering)  to  God  a  sacrifice  of  praise,  especially  in  the  celebration 
of  the  liturgy.  "    The  whole  of  our  lives  is  to  be  focused  upon  Christ,  for  we  are  called 
upon  by  God's  Word  to  become  what  that  Word  proclaims,  by  the  grace  which  this  Word 
provides.     All  the  individuals  of  the  monastic  community  are  united  through  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  liturgy,   concentrating  the  dynamism  of  their  spirits  on  the  praise  of  our 
Redeemer.     We  are  sealed  in  the  covenant  between  God  and  mankind  preeminently  by  our 
share  in  Christ's  sacrifice,  the  Eucharist,  the  focal  point  of  Jesus'  redemptive  action. 

The  themes  expressed  by  Augustine  and  presented  to  us  in  our  Basic  Constitutions, 
offer  a  pattern  of  interior  development,   intended  to  render  our  souls  porous  to  God's  grace. 
Christ,  present  in  the  monastic  community,  is  made  visible  to  our  spirits  through  detach- 
ment.    We  return  by  these  means  to  the  grace  of  His  Image  within  us.     Striving  to  respond 
to  our  vocation,  and  made  confident  in  our  response  by  the  example  and  help  of  our  Blessed 
Mother  and  St.   Dominic,  we  can  understand  St.    Augustine's  description  of  the  happy  life 


■23- 


and  apply  it  to  ourselves  : 

A  certain  admonition,   flowing  from  the  very  fountain 
of  truth,  urges  us  to  remember  God,  to  seek  Him 
and  thirst  after  Him  tirelessly.     This  hidden  sun 
pours  into  our  innermost  eyes  that  beaming  light. 
This  light  appears  to  be  nothing  other  than  God. 


Notes 

1.  St.  Augustine,  De  Beata  Vita,    Ludwig  Schopp,   (trans.  ),   Gima  Publishing  Co.  , 
(New  York,    194S),  p  S3. 

2.  Louis  Bouyer,     The  Spirituality  of  the  New  Testament  and  of  the  Fathers,     Desclee 
and  Co.,    Inc.    (New  York,    1963),     p  4'9,   480. 

3.  Epistle  of  Tohn    to  the  Parthians,  VII,   of  Augustine  :  Later  Works,   ed.   I.   Burnaby, 
(Philadelphia     1955),  p  317. 

4.  Op.   cit.  ,  p  83. 

*********** 


Intimate  Encounter 

Moses  asked: 

"May  I  see  Your  Face 
if  indeed 

I  have  won  Your  grace?" 

"No,  my  friend, 

you  would  die  in  awe 
Die  of  love, 

if  My  Face  you  saw.. 

Stand  you  will 

in  a  rocky  crack, 
When  I  pass 

you  may  see  My  back." 

Yahweh  passed 

in  His  glory  grand; 
Spoke  His  Name, 

then  removed  His  hand . 

-  Sr.  Mary  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  0.P 
West  Springfield 


-24- 


COMPARATIVE  STUDY  ON  REGULAR  OBSERVANCE  -  OLD  AND  NEW  CONSTITUTIONS 


Sister  Mary  of  the  Annunciation ,O.P, 

Lufkin 


It  was  recently  suggested  that  our  community  might  offer  another  comparative 
study  of  the  1930  and  1971  Constitutions  similar  to  that  which  was  done  for  an- 
other issue  of  DOMINICAN  MONASTIC  SEARCH.  This  suggestion,  together  with  our  own 
recert  workshop  conducted  by  Father  O'Donnell  on  Cassian  and  Dominican  Spirituality, 
was  the  impetus  for  the  writing  of  this  paper.  1") 

My  point  of  comparison  is  the  basic  and  dynamically  profound  shift  of  em- 
phasis from  regular  observance  (1930), to  common  life  supported  by  observance 
(1971),  as  the  primary  means  to  holiness.  To  state  that  the  shift  is  from 
"regular  observance  "  to  "common  life  supported  by  regular  observance"  may 
seem  like  playing  with  words,  but  the  new  emphasis  (1971)  has  made  a  tremendous 
difference  in  interpretation  and  in  practical  application  to  our  daily  life. 

In  the  1930  Constitutions  the  focus  was  almost  exclusively  on  faith- 
fulness to  the  WRITTEN  WITNESS.  Our  union  with  God  and  our  relationship  with 
one  another  in  the  context  of  community  was  not  dealt  with;  whereas  this  is  the 
main  thrust  in  the  1971  Constitutions,  which  focus  upon  the  personal  obli- 
gation each  of  us  has  to  seek  God  in  and  through  the  WITNESS  OF  LOVE  AND  RE- 
CONCILIATION that  Christian  community  requires. 

Although  both  Constitutions  stress  obieAvance.     as  a  means  to  interioriza- 
tion,  yet  the  stress  in  the  1930  Constitutions  upon  perfect  observance  as  the 
norm  could,  and  sometimes  did,  obscure  the  fact  that  observance  is  a  means  and 
not  an  end.  Perfect  observance  could  then  be  equated  with  holiness  of  life. 
The  manner  of  expression  and  points  of  emphasis  of  the  1931  Constitutions  re- 
flect the  thinking  of  a  particular  time  in  the  history  of  the  Church  and  a 
certain  cultural  orientation  which  is,  it  seems  to  me,  not  the  same  in  our 
present  culture. 

By  steeping  ourselves  in  our  Dominican  spirit  and  monastic  tradition  we 
should  have  a  clear  sense  of  where  we  have  been  and  where  we  are  going.  The 
1971  Constitutions  go  back  to  the  more  primitive  ideal  of  monasticism 
and  at  the  same  time  clearly  place  us  within  our  own  Dominican  spirituality. 
We  are  rediscovering  the  essence  of  our  call  and  working  to  shape  the  future 
with  courage,  while  hopefully,  not  fearing  to  express  the  essential  elements 
of  our  life  in  new  ways  that  will  foster  a  more  profound  interiorization.  The 
1971  Constitutions,  precisely  by  this  shift  of  emphasis,  call  us  to  deeper 
interiorization  and  personal  responsibility  for  the  quality  of  our  life  to- 
gether. Qua  ha.ah.oh  ^oa  God  taku,   place.  In  the.  school  o^  commuyuXy  Living. 
This  truth  has  many  practical  applications  of  which  we  are  becoming  increas- 
ingly aware  and  alroady  seeking  to  assimilate  more  completely.  The  present 
Constitutions  encourage  us  to  respond  actively  to  the  challenge  of  living  in 
a  more  responsible  manner  our  Dominican  monastic  life. 

Internalization  means  that  we  allow  our  life  in  community  to  touch  the 
inner  depth  of  our  being  in  order  to  heal  and  transform  us  into  the  Christ- 


-25- 


mystery.  We  are  not  undertaking  the  "search  for  God"  in  isolation.  Our  search 
for  God  is  irrevocably  linked  to  the  community  in  which  we  live.  Within  the 
context  of  fidelity  to  common  life  we  put  on  Christ  and  are  molded  into  his 
likeness  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.  The  growth  and  deepening  of  our  life  with 
God  is  bound  up  with  the  people  with  whom  we  live  and  is  not  just  a  set  of  ob- 
servances to  be  perfectly  kept. 

In  the  following  excerpts  from  the  1930  and  1971  Constitutions  I  have  cho- 
sen those  pertaining  in  some  way  to  the  theme  of  regular  observance  (1930)  and 
common  life  safeguarded  by  regular  observance  (1971).  Although  we  do  not  yet 
have  the  official  text  of  the  new  Constitutions  this  comparison  will  still  re- 
main valid  because  there  have  not  been  any  really  radical  changes  in  the  new 
text. 

UNITY 

The  1971  Constitutions  speak  of  the  "unanimity  of  our  life",  a  unity 
which  finds  its  source  in  our  love  for  God.  We  are  rooted  in  God's  love  and 
therefore  called  to  be  a  community  of  reconciliation  by  our  example,  the  very 
kind  of  community  that  our  brothers  and  sisters  preach  by  their  proclamation 
of  the  Word.  Here  we  have  one  of  the  many  instances  of  interiorization  that 
the  1971  Constitutions  presents.  Our  unanimity  is  not  the  result  of  uniform- 
ity of  observance  but  rather  a  living  relationship  with  God.  To  be  "rooted 
in  God"  is  a  powerful  phrase.  Our  rootedness  in  God  brings  about  reconcili- 
ation with  our  sisters  as  a  true  witness  to  the  God-life  in  which  we  parti- 
cipate. The  1971  Constitutions  tell  us  our  unity  finds  its  source  in  the 
Trinity  and  this  oneness  in  God  is  meant  to  go  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Monas- 
tery to  a  communion  with  the  Order  and  the  whole  church.  Regular  observance 
remains  important  in  the  1971  Constitutions,  but  it  is  seen  as  the  mzavu>   by 
which  we  are  faithful  to  our  vocation  and  not  the  main   4ouacc  of  our  unity  as 
stated  in  the  1930  Constitutions.  The  placement  of  regular  observance  in  the 
1971  Constitutions  confirms  this  observation.  The  1930  Constitutions  begin 
with  regular  observance;  the  1971  Constitutions  speak  of  it  in  a  separate  chap- 
ter and  place  it  later  in  the  text. 


1930  Constitutions 

Since,  by  precept  of  the  Rule  the  nuns 
are  commanded  to  have  one  heart  and  one 
mind  in  the  Lord,  it  is  right  that  since 
they  live  under  the  same  rule  and  under 
the  same  profession  of  vows,  they  should 
be  uniform  in  the  observance  of  the  same 
Constitutions:  for  uniformity  observed 
outwardly  in  our  manners  fosters  and 
brings  to  mind  that  unity  which  ought  to 
be  preserved  inwardly  in  our  hearts. 
-Prologue  #1 ,  p. 21 

...if  the  manner  of  life  be  made  plain 
to  all  through  the  written  witness;  if 
no  one  is  allowed  to  alter,  add  or  take 
away  anything  by  her  own  counsel;  lest 


1971  Constitutions 

...The  first  reason  for  which  we  are 
gathered  together  is  that  we  may 
dwell  together  in  unity  and  have  one 
mind  and  one  heart  in  God.  Reaching 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  monastery, 
this  unity  achieves  its  fullness  in 
communion  with  the  Order  and  the 
whole  Church  of  Christ. 

Pg.6,Sect.I,Chapt.l ,Art. I,  SI 

The  unanimity  of  our  life,  rooted  in 
the  love  of  God,  should  give  an  ex- 
ample to  all  of  that  reconciliation 
in  Christ  which  our  brethren  also 
proclaim  by  word. 

Pg.6,Sect.I,Chapt  1  ,Art.I,SII 


-26- 


1930  Constitutions 

by  neglecting  small  things,  they  fall 
way  little  by  little. 

-#2,  pg.21 

To  provide,  then  for  the  unity  and 
peace  of  the  Nuns  of  our  Order,  by 
command  of  the  Apostolic  See  we  set 
before  them  this  book,  which  we  call 
The  Constitutions  of  the  Nuns  of 
the  Sacred  Order  of  Preachers;  and 
to  its  prescriptions  we  command 
that  all  religious,  whether  subjects 
or  superiors  conform  their  manner 
of  life. 

#3,  p.  22 


1971  Constitutions 

a-  As  in  the  Church  of  the  Apostles,  so  a- 
mong  us,  communion  is  founded,  built  up 
and  stablized  in  the  same  Spirit  in  whom 
we  receive  the  Word  of  God  the  Father  in 
one  faith,  contemplate  Him  with  one 
heart,  and  praise  Him  with  one  mouth;  in 
Whom  we  are  made  one  body,  sharing  one 
bread;  in  Whom,  finally,  we  hold  all 
things  in  common. 

pg.6,  Sect.I.Chapt  I,  Art. 1, #3, SI 

In  order  to  remain  steadfast  in  their 
vocation  the  nuns  should  have  the  high- 
est regard  for  regular  observance, lov- 
in  it  in  their  heart  and  faithfully  en- 
deavoring to  carry  it  out. 
pg.lO,Sec.I,Chap.l,#40,SIII 


The  1930  Constitutions  fix  the  source  of  our  unity  first  of  all  in  "this 
book,  which  we  call  the  Constitutions"  and  to  which,  "all .. .whether  subjects  or 
superiors  conform  their  manner  of  life."  According  to  these  Constitutions  unity 
and  peace  come  from  the  faithful  observance  of  the  book  of  Constitutions.  In 
the  past,  deportment  often  became  too  much  of  a  preoccupation.  A  conformity 
that  is  too  rigidly  maintained  could  produce  the  illusion  of  unity  where 
in  fact  it  does  not  exist.  One  of  the  greatest  illusions  the  Fathers  of 
the  Desert  waged  war  upon  was  the  monk's  tendency  to  appear  good  rather 
than  really  to  be  good. 


The  common 
ment  to  live  th 
way  in  which  we 
tian  life.  The 
then  the  affili 
tians  is  stated 
1930  Constituti 
faithfulness  to 
out  any  mention 
monastic  commun 


life  to  which  the  1971  Constitutions  point  is  really  the  commit- 
e  Christian  life.  Our  monastic  life  expresses  the  particular 
have  been  called  to  dedicate  ourselves  totally  to  live  the  Chris- 
1971  Constitutions  situate  us  first  within  our  monastic  family; 
at ion  between  our  life  in  community  and  the  larger  body  of  Chris  - 
,and  this  is  reiterated  frequently  in  the  texts  that  follow.  The 
ons  do  not  contain  this  aspect,  but  rather  stress  the  need  of 
the  vows,  to  times  of  community  prayer  and  contemplation,  with- 
of  the  effect  our  personal  commitment  to  holiness  has  upon  our 
ity  or  the  Church  and  the  world. 


The  first  Article  of  the  1930  "Constitutions  and  the  first  Article  of  Chap- 
ter 1  in  the  1971  Constitutions  cite  the  precept  of  the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine. 
When  we  turn  to  the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine  we  find  the  concept  of  community  life 
put  before  us  in  a  way  similar  to  the  thought  of  the  1971  Constitutions.  The 
Rule  begins  with  charity  and  states  that  our  source  of  unity  comes  from  "being 
one  mind  and  one  heart  in  the  Lord."  The  first  sentence  of  the  Rule,  which  is 
so  familiar  to  us,  says  "before  all  else.. we  must  love  God  and  after  him  our 
neighbor;  for  these  are  the  principle  commands  which  have  been  given  to  us." 
Basically  wehave  here  our  Christian  vocation.  The  1971  Constitutions,  like  the 
Rule,  put  our  life  into  the  context  of  the  communion  we  are  meant  to  achieve 
through  our  unity  with  one  another  and  with  the  Order  and  the  Church.  The 
1930  Constitutions  do  not  relate  our  unity  to  charity,  but  rather  to  our  con- 
formity through  observance.  With  regard  to  the  wider  community  outside  the 


■27- 


Monastery  the  1930  Constitutions  speak  only  in  terms  of  caution,  warning 
against  the  dangers  of  involvement.  In  the  following  constitutional  texts 
one  can  easily  see  the  radical  shift  in  emphasis: 


1930  Constitutions 


1971  Constitutions 


Of  one  mind  through  obedience,  asso- 
ciated in  the  love  of  higher  things 
by  the  discipline  of  chastity,  de- 
pending more  closely  on  one  another 
through  poverty,  the  sisters  first 
build  in  their  own  monastery  the 
Church  of  God,  which  by  the  offer- 
ing of  themselves,  they  help  to 
spread  throughout  the  world. 

Sect. I, Chapt  l,Art. I,#3,SII 

In  order  that  each  monastery  may 
be  a  fraternal  community,  all  ac- 
cept and  regard  each  other  as  mem- 
bers of  the  same  body,  differing 
in  natural  dispositions  and  gifts 
but  equals  in  the  bond  of  charity 
and  by  profession. 

Sect.I,Chapt.l ,Art.l ,#4, SI 

In  the  various  dealings  of  the 
monastery  with  neighbors,  guests 
and  those  who  come  to  them,  that 
charity  which  unites  the  nuns  lead- 
ing their  hidden  life  should  shine 
out  to  all  men.  The  Prioress  es- 
pecially should  be  mindful  of  this 
duty  of  charity,  and  those  sisters 
whose  task  it  is  to  communicate 
frequently  with  externs.  But  the 
whole  community,  living  together 
with  one  heart  in  God, should  be 
as  it  were  a  center  from  which 
that  charity  radiates  upon  all. 
Sect.I.Chapt.l ,Art.l ,#14 

The  community  established  in  the 
monastery  is  a  school  of  charity 
whose  teacher  is  Christ  the  Lord 
with  all  the  sisters  cooperating, 
each  according  to  her  status  and 
duty. 
•  Sectll  Chapt. I, #118, SI  1 1 

The  1930  Constitutions  repeatedly  stress  conformity  to  observance;  the 
1971  Constitutions  just  as  insistently  direct  observance  towards  its  end  ar)d 
purpose  as  a  framework  in  which  to  live  true  Christian  community.  Thereby  they 
firmly  establish  observance  as  a  MEANS,  not  as  a  goal.  The  goal  of  any 


...the  means  given  to  the  Nuns  by  the  Ho- 
ly Patriarch  Saint  Dominic  for  the  attain- 
ment of  this  end,  and  transmitted  to  us 
by  venerable  tradition,  are  especially: 
the  three  solemn  vows  of  poverty,  chas- 
tity and  obedience;  the  solemn  recitation 
of  the  Divine  Office;  certain  fasts  and 
bodily  mortifications;  and  the  devout 
and  constant  contemplation  of  Our  Lord, 
Creator,  Redeemer,  and  Sanctifier. 
pg  23,  Chapt  1 ,  #6 

Although  the  Nuns  are  not  bound  to  have 
perfect  charity,  yet  as  religious  they 
are  bound  to  strive  after  and  use  the 
means  to  acquire  perfect  charity:  obser- 
ving those  things  determined  and  pre- 
scribed for  them  according  to  the  Rule 
and  Constitutions  of  which  they  have 
made  profession. 

pg.69  Chapt  XI, Art. IV  f!47 

All   useless  intercourse  with  secular  per- 
sons is  full   of  dangers  and  is  therefore 
to  be  avoided  by  the  Nuns,  as   becomes 
virgins  consecrated  to  God. 

pg. 88, Chapt  XIV, Art. I ,#186 

Let  both  the  prioress  and  her  subjects 
earnestly  strive  that  their  intercourse 
with  externs  in  no  way  offend  against 
regular  observance,  religious  silence 
and  the  general  peace  of  mind.  All 
should  therefore  endeavor  to  keep  their 
Monastery  as  far  as  possible  removed 
from  the  world,  each  one  seeking  to  keep 
a  guard  over  her  soul  as  over  a  garden 
enclosed  for  the  Divine  Spouse. 

pg. 88, Chapt  XIV, Art. I, #187 


-28- 


Christian  life  is  always  charity.  The  Constitutions  give  structure  to  our 
vocation  to  become  Christian  through  the  medium  of  our  Dominican  monastic 
life,  and  then,  conversely,  show  how  our  particularization  of  the  Christian 
ethos  is  related  to  our  brothers  and  sisters  in  the  total  community  of  hu- 
mankind. In  other  words,  our  holiness  lies  in  being  a  Christian  community, 
living  the  message  of  the  Gospel.  We  simply  accomplish  this  within  the 
Dominican  framework. 

The  1971  Constitutions  do  not     lose  sight  of  the  importance  of  ob- 
servance as  the  means  through  which  we  are  helped  to  remain  steadfast  in 
our  vocation.  Observance  is  yery   necessary.  Observance  is  the  framework 
in  which  we  surrender  our  poor  "scoop  of  humanity  to  be  worked  upon  by  the 
grace  of  the  Lord,"  as  Father  Tugwel  1  has  so  well  expressed  it.  2)  The  com- 
munity has  the  first  responsibility  for  formation  (Sect.  II  ,Chapt.  1  ,#H8,SIII) 
Community  is  each  one  of  us,  striving  together.  In  the  commitment,  genero- 
sity, fervor  and  harmony  of  our  lives  together  the  young  will  "become  sta- 
ble and  grow  in  their  vocation."  (Sect. II , Chapt  I ,#121 ,SIII ).   In  the  1971 
Constitutions  all  monastic  discipline  and  each  of  the  vows  are  treated  from 
this  point  of  view. 

OBEDIENCE 

The  first  Article  on  obedience  in  the  1971  Constitutions  reminds  us 
that  Dominic  required  a  willing  obedience  of  the  brethren,  but  was  himself 
obedient  to  the  Chapter  as  it  formulated  laws  for  the  Order.  Our  thought  is 
therefore  directed  not  just  to  the  person  of  the  superior  (as  in  the  1930 
Constitutions)  but  to  the  more  complete  understanding  of  our  common  obedi- 
ence to  Dominican  life.  This  Article  on  Dominic's  obedience  inserts  our 
expression  of  obedience  firmly  into  the  Dominican  tradition,  which  then  col- 
ors our  approach  to  obedience  in  very  unique  ways.  It  safeguards  Dominican 
obedience  and  puts  the  role  of  the  superior  into  the  rightful  context  of 
community  and  Dominican  life.  The  superior  has  a  special  responsibility  for 
safeguarding  the  common  good  and  fostering  the  discipline  and  goals  of  Do- 
minican monastic  life.  That  is  why  she  has  been  elected.  But  each  one  of  us 
also  has  responsibilities  for  furthering  these  goals  and  the  common  good  of 
all. 

The  1971  Constitutions  state  that  the  principle  of  our  unity  comes 
through  obedience.  The  unity  concomitant  with  obedience  is  not  just  a  mat- 
ter of  the  command  of  the  prioress  and  the  conformity  of  the  sister,  but  al- 
so entails  an  exercise  of  personal  responsibility.  This  dimension-  of  the 
personal  responsibility  of  each  member  to  seek  the  common  good  and  to  place 
herself  at  its  disposal  expands  our  understanding  of  obedience.  A  new  di- 
mension in  the  1971  Constitutions  (not  included  in  the  1930  text)  is  the 
superior's  obligation  to  listen  to  the  sisters.  Personal  responsibility  on 
the  part  of  the  sisters  does  not  change  legitimate  obedience  to  authority, 
nor  the  authority's  right  to  command.  The  superior,  on  her  part,  has  an  ob- 
ligation to  exercise*  her  role  of  leadership  when  the  situation  makes  this 
necessary.  In  important  matters  her  final  decision  cannot  be  an  arbitrary 
one  but  must  be  one  based  upon  all  the  facts  and  information  at  her  dispo- 
sal ,  which  includes  the  insights  of  the  sisters.  For  this  reason  the  obli- 
gation to  listen  to  the  sisters  is  a  serious  one. 


-29- 


An  attitude  of  overdependency  upon  the  prioress  can  obscure  personal 
responsibility  in  a  way  that  is  not  healthy  for  the  community  or  for  the  in- 
dividual. Human  maturity  can  be  effectively  stifled  by  such  dependency.  Ma- 
turity in  decision  making  includes  the  ability  to  bear  the  responsibility 
for  our  decisions.   In  immature  obedience  we  seek  to  be  sheltered  from  the 
consequences  of  our  decisions  and  this  in  turn  fosters  further  immaturity. 
Obedience  of  this  type  can  easily  become  manipulative  and  can  isolate  us 
from  a  responsible  participation  in  the  real  life  of  the  community.  The 
1971  Constitutions  show  clearly  that  true  obedience  arises  from  our  common 
search  (both  the  superior  and  the  community)  for  understanding  of  and  commit- 
ment to  our  Dominican  monastic  life. 


1930  Constitutions 

Religious  obedience  is  primarily 
and  directly  concerned  with  those 
things  which  are  laid  down  expli- 
citly in  the  Rule  and  in  these  Con- 
stitutions or  in  the  ordinations 
of  Chapters.  But  secondarily  and 
indirectly  with  those  things 
whici  though  not  contained  expli- 
citly in  the  law,  are  however 
found  to  be  necessary  or  highly 
useful  for  insuring  the  obser- 
vance of  the  laws;  of  this  nature 
are:  the  ordinary  duties  withO 
out  which  the  religious  state 
could  not  be  maintained,  the  pen- 
alties due  for  transgression  of 
the  Rule,  and  the  ordinations  of 
superiors  that  make  for  the  pre- 
servation of  religious  life. 

pg.75,Chapt  XII , Art. Ill ,#171 


1971  Constitutions 

When  the  Order  began  St.  Dominic  asked 
the  brethren  to  promise  him  fellowship 
and  obedience.  He  himself  submitted  to 
the  decisions,  especially  the  laws, 
which  the  general  chapter  of  the  breth- 
ren  decreed  after  full  deliberation. 
But  in  governing  the  order  outside  the 
general  chapter  he  benignly  but  firmly 
required  a  willing  obedience  from  all, 
in  those  things  which,  after  due  deli- 
beration, he  himself  prescribed.   In 
order  to  continue  faithfully  in  its  spi- 
rit and  mission,  a  community  needs  a 
principle  of  unity  which  it  obtains 
through  obedience. 

Sect. I,  Chapt.I,  Art. 2, #22, SI 

Therefore  in  our  profession  we  promise 
obedience  to  the  Master  of  the  Order  ac- 
cording to  our  laws,  and  thus  unity  of 
the  Order  and  of  profession  is  preserv- 
ed, since  it  derives  from  the  unity  of 
the  head  whom  all  are  bound  to  obey. 
Sec. I,  Chapt.I, Art. 2, #22,  SII 

The  common  good  which  obedience  promotes 
also  requires  that  the  prioress  gladly 
listen  to  the  sisters,  especially  by 
appropriate  consultation  with  them  in 
matters  of  greater  import,  without  pre- 
judice however  to  her  authority  to  make 
the  final  decision.   In  this  way  the 
whole  community  as  a  single  body  is 
more  suitably  directed  toward  the  com- 
mon goal  of  charity. 

Sec. I, Chapt.I,  Art. 2, #25, SI 


-  30- 


TH  E  CHAPTER  OF  THE  MONASTERY 

Dominican  obedience  is  built  upon  mutual  trust  and  it  involves  dia- 
logue. In  the  1971  Constitutions  the  Monastery  Chapter  ("the  body  of  nuns 
having  active  voice")  is  seen  in  a  new  light  as  the  place  of  dialogue  and 
it  now  takes  on  a  much  greater  role  than  in  the  past.  In  the  1930  Con- 
stitutions the  more  important  decisions  were  left  to  the  Prioress  and  her 
Council  (which  consisted  of  several  ex-officio  members  and  other  members 
appointed  by  the  Prioress).   The  duties  of  the  Chapter  were  the  election 
of  the  Prioress,  the  admission  of  novices  to  the  habit  and  profession,  the 
admission  of  a  nun  from  another  Monastery,  certain  business  transactions 
involving  legacies,  loans,  the  alienation  of  property  or  precious  articles, 
and  also,  interestingly,  the  erection  or  suppression  of  a  school  for  the 
education  of  young  girls.  The  sisters  were  also  allowed  to  vote  on  the 
confirmation  of  the  ordinary  confessor. 

The  1971  Constitutions  give  the  Chapter  of  the  monastery  a  more  ac- 
tive role  in  the  life  of  the  community.  Most  importantly,  they  expand  the 
work  of  the  Chapter  to  include  the  election  of  the  councillors.  The  Chap- 
ter has  the  duty,  through  consultative  or  deliberative  vote,  to  express  its 
views  on  matters  previously  decided  either  by  the  prioress  alone,  or  the 
prioress  and  her  council.  Another  important  work  of  the  Chapter  is  the 
compilation  of  the  Directory  and  the  sending  of  petitions  to  the  Mas- 
ter of  the  Order.  The  Directory  (new  in  the  1971  Constitutions)  allows 
each  monastery  Chapter  to  formulate  the  particular  form  of  their  com- 
mon life.  These  changes  have  repercussions  on  the  way  obedience  is  viewed. 

1930  Constitutions  1971  Constitutions 

In  each  monastery  there  shall  be  Council  The  chapter  of  the  monastery  is 

Mothers  without  whose  consent  the  Prior-  the  body  of  nuns  having  active 

ess  may  not  treat  of  the  more  important  voice  in  the  monastery,  which  un- 

matters.  der  the  presidency  of  the  prior- 

Chapt.V,  Art. I,  #499  ess  has  the  power  to  examine  and 

T,   rv^r^„v,  ri,an  Ko  ™«w^bQ^  kw  +^Q  decide  on  matters  of  greater  im- 

The  Chapter  shall  be  convoked  by  the       .         .. .  3.u   _  „x 

n  •      u  j  portance  according  to  the  norm  of 

Prioress  whenever  necessary,  and  no-  the  law 

tice  must  be  given  of  it  a  day  in         ^p^TT  Chan  1  Art  ?   #??n 
advance  so  that  the  vocals , knowing         bee.  11  ,map.  I  ,Art.^,#^U 

what  is  to  be  discussed,  may,  be- 
fore God,  consider  the  matter  so  as 
to  vote  righteously.. 
Chapt  VI,  #521 

In  the  Chapter,  having  invoked  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  the  matter  having 
been  proposed  by  the  president,  it  is 
permitted  to  each  to  express  her  opin- 
ion, but  the  matter(shall  be  decided 
by  a  secret  vote,  and  this  under  pain 
of  null ity. 

Chapt  VI,  #524 

In  the  1971  Constitutions  obedience  has  a  relationship  not  only  to  the 
superior,  but  also  to  the  Chapter. 


-31- 


REGULAR  CHAPTER 

The  article  on  Regular  Chapter  in  the  1971  Constitutions  speaks  of  it 
as  being  a  vehicle  of  mutual  assistance  for  the  members,  an  aid  to  renew- 
al, and  a  means  for  developing  the  regular  life;  whereas  the  1930  Constitu- 
tions call  it,  "the  Chapter  of  Faults"  and  deal  with  it  accordingly.  Chapter, 
in  the  1930  edition, was  seen  primarily  as  a  gathering  of  the  community  to 
pray  for  benefactors,  acknowledge  blessings  received,  and  to  learn  religious 
humility  by  the  confession  of  faults.  The  concept  of  mutual  assistance  to- 
ward renewal  and  development  contained  in  the  1971  Constitutions  suggests  a 
new  orientation,  an  effort  involving  active  community  participation  which 
is  not  included  in  the  1930  Constitutions.  Renewal  took  place  there  through 
the  individual  being  renewed  at  Chapter,  and  this  in  turn  making  the  whole 
community  more  fervent.  In  the  1971  Constitutions  renewal  is  seen  as  a  con- 
certed community  effort.  Comparing  the  phrasing  of  the  two  documents,  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  change  of  emphasis  in  the  1971  Constitutions  could 
bring  about  a  far  more  dynamic  change  in  the  life  of  the  whole  community. 

In  both  documents  the  matter  for  Chapter  consists  in  light  faults  com- 
mitted against  the  Rule  and  Constitutions.  The  1930  Constitutions  make  the 
obligation  to  acknowledge  faults  more  serious  than  the  1971  Constitutions  do.  In 
the  former,  by  not  acknowledging  faults,  even  light  ones,  the  sisters  dis- 
pose themselves  to  sin.  Willfully  omitting  the  chapter  penance  is  declared 
sinful.  (1930, #347).  The  1971  Constitutions  omit  any  obligation  to  acknow- 
ledge faults  and  do   not  mention  at  all  the  matter  of  sin  in  regard  to  the 
failure  to  perform  the  chapter  penances.  Also,  the  format  for  conducting  the 
Chapter  is  left  open  in  the  1971  Constitutions. 


1930  Constitutions 

By  the  Chapter  of  Faults  is  meant 
the  calling  together  of  the  community 
by  the  Prioress,  to  tell  of  benefits 
received,  to  pray  for  benefactors,  and 
as  an  exercise  of  religious  humility, 
for  the  confession  of  daily  faults  or 
failings  against  the  Rule  and  Consti- 
tutions.  This  school  of  virtue  was 
held  in  great  esteem  by  St.  Dominic. 
pg.l31,Chapt  XXIII,  #341 

If  Chapter  is  not  held  every   day,  it 
should  be  called  at  least  once  a  week, 
and  after  the  manner  laid  down  in  the 
Ceremonial  of  the  Order.  But  if  it 
is  held  daily,  it  may  be  omitted  on 
days  when  a  general  Absolution  is 
given. 

pg.l32,Chapt.XXMI,  #344 


1971  Constitutions 

At  the  regular  chapter  the  nuns, in 
charity  and  humility,  fraternally 
gather  under  the  leadership  of  the 
prioress  for  mutual  assistance  in 
the  renewal  and  development  of  the 
regular  life. 

Sect. I ,Chapt.l  ,  Art. 5, #74 

The  time  for  holding  the  regular 
chapter  is  to  be  determined  in  the 
directories.   It  should  be  held  at 
least  once  a  month. 

Sect.I,Chapt.l  , Art. 5, #75 

The  regular  life  of  the  community  is 
to  be  considered  in  the  chapter  ei- 
ther by  self-accusation  of  failures 
or  in  some  other  way  conformable  to 
the  usage  of  each  monastery.  The 
one  presiding  may  appropriately  give 
a  talk  on  the  spiritual  or  religious 
life  and  make  corrections.  Also 
prayers  for  the  benefactors  are  to 
be  offered. 

Sect. I. ,Chapt.l  , Art. 5, #76 


-32- 


In  the  accusation  made  in  the  regular 
chapter  the  sisters  are  to  accuse 
themselves  only  of  those  failures  or 
defects  contrary  to  the  Rule  and  laws 
of  the  Order  which  do  not  involve  loss 
of  one's  good  name. 

Sect.I,Chapt.l ,Art.5,#77 

The  1971  Constitutions  state  that  the  regular  life  of  the  community 
should  be  considered  in  the  Chapter,  especially  in  the  light  of  renewal  and 
development,  and  this  is  something  well  worth  pondering.  The  1971  Constitu- 
tions leave  open  the  format  for  Chapter  by  stating  that  the  Chapter  can  be 
conducted  in  the  traditional  way  of  "self-accusation  of  failures"  or  "in  some 
other  way  conformable  to  the  usage  of  each  Monastery."  Could  we  not  also  con- 
sider the  article  on  fraternal  correction  in  this  edition  in  connection  with 
the  examination  of  the  regular  life  within  the  Chapter? 

"Zealous  for  each  other  with  the  zeal  of  God,  the  sisters  should  not 
be  afraid  to  help  each  other  by  discreet  admonitions." 

Sect.I,Chapt.I,#5 

By  this  I  do  not  mean  going  back  to  proclamations,  something  very  alien  to 
our  present  mentality,  but  rather  taking  the  underlying  meaning  of  this  text  and 
applying  it  to  the  consideration  of  the  regular  life  of  the  community  in  chap- 
ter. Regular  Chapter  could  be  a  time  when  we  discuss  together  our  vision  and 
goals  as  a  community  with  an  eye  to  calling  one  another  to  a  fuller  realization 
of  these  goals  and  ideals.  By  reminding  ourselves  of  these  goals,  we  are  en- 
riched by  the  insights,  strivings  and  struggles  of  our  sisters  as  expressed  by 
them  within  a  community  context.  A  greater  clarity  is  attained.  We  have 
placed  before  us  guidelines  by  which  to  see  the  truth  of  ourselves  and  the 
truth  toward  which  we  are  to  continue  to  strive.  Without  pointing  a  finger  at 
any  one  person,  each  one  of  us  can  come  to  know  ourselves  better  in  the  light 
of  the  goals  we  discuss.  We  are  able  to  challenge  and  to  encourage  one  an- 
other to  persevere  in  our  search  for  God  and  for  a  deeper  love  for  one  another. 
This  ongoing  challenge  of  seeing  ourselves  and  setting  clear  goals  prevents  us 
from  hiding  behind  our  observance  without  ever  really  surrendering  the  deepest 
part  of  our  humanity  to  the  Lord. 

We  can  call  one  another  to  recognize  the  graced  moments  of  conversion,  mo- 
ments when  the  Spirit  calls  the  community  to  deeper  faithfulness  and  to  new 
vitality.  Such  an  attitude  prepares  us  to  follow  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
as  he  guides  the  community  to  holiness.  By  heightening  our  consciousness  of 
the  guises  in  which  these  challenges  present  themselves,  and  at  the  same  time 
recognizing  certain  moments  of  change  and  decision  as  INVITATIONS  from  the 
Spirit  to  conversion,  both  on  a  communal  and  an  individual  level,  we  are  en- 
abled to  respond  with  greater  alacrity  and  faithfulness.  These  moments  of  de- 
cision keep  a  community  alive  and  vital. 

The  1971  Constitutions,  then,  have  opened  the  way  to  more  dialogue  within 
the  Chapter.  Our  community  chapter  meetings  are  the  time  to  discuss  and  say 
honestly  what  we  think.  Trust  is  presupposed  when  we  dare  to  take  the  risk  of 
sharing  our  thoughts  and  our  dreams  with  one  another.  Do  we  take  seriously 
enough  the  obligation  we  have  to  become  a  part  of  the  dialogue  of  Chapter? 


-33- 


This  is  an  obligation  for  all  of  us,  not  just  for  a  few.  If  those  who  easily 
express  their  views  need  to  exercise  self-restraint  on  occasion,  it  is  equal- 
ly true  that  the  quieter  members  of  the  community  need  to  exert  themselves  at 
times  and  to  take  the  risk  of  sharing  their  thoughts.   Those  who  find  it 
difficult  to  speak  before  a  group  might,  as  an  alternative,  write 
out  their  thoughts  to  be  read  at  Chapter.  All  of  us  need  to  develop  the  art 
of  listening  and  reflecting  upon  what  each  sister  shares,  thus  avoiding  the 
danger  of  merely  reacting  to  one  another.  The  ability  to  listen  critically 
to  the  thoughts  and  ideas  expressed  by  our  sisters,  combined  with  a  seeking 
of  the  truth  together,  could  be  wonderful  sources  of  growth  and  development. 
According  to  the  dictionary,  critical  listening  consists  in  "the  ability  to 
exercise  careful  judgment  and  judicious  evaluation".   In  our  close  communi- 
ty situation  I  think  we  need  to  strive  continually  to  be  good  critica"!  lis- 
teners, judging  not  by  the  personality  of  the  one  sharing  but  by  the  con- 
tent of  the  thoughts  shared  within  community  discussions.  Mutual  respect 
for  each  other  and  appreciation  of  our  varying  insights  are  always  two  impor- 
tant goals  towards  which  to  strive.  The  Chapter  as  a  forum  for  mutual  as- 
sistance could  indeed  be  a  very   practical  and  energizing  force  for  improv- 
ing the  quality  of  our  communal  life,  as  well  as  an  exciting  area  of  chal- 
lenge where  much  constructive  work  can  be  done. 

WORK 

This  seems  the  loaical  place  to  consider  the  Article  on  work.   In  addition 
to  the  conventional  interpretation  of  work  found  in  monastic  tradition , and 
included  in  both  the  1930  and  1971  Constitutions,  a  new  factor  appears  in 
the  latest  text,  which  is   the  accountability  of  each  member  in  promoting 
the  common  good.   The  1930  Constitutions  regard  work  mainly  as  an 
antidote  to  idleness  and  specify   that  the  prioress  or  another  nun  be  pre- 
sent as  a  sort  of  supervisor  while  the  nuns  are  working,  but  the  1971  Constitu- 
tions speak  of  work  by  using  such  terms  as  "awareness  of  responsibility", 
"willing  acceptance  of  tasks  and  offices",  and  "generously  lending  a  help- 
ing hand  where  it  is  needed."  Work  serves  the  common  good  because  it  is  a 
witness  of  a  Christian  community  in  which  each  cooperates  for  the  good 
of  all. 

The  1930  Constitutions  had  specified  that  the  sisters  should  "devote 
themselves. .. to  manual  work  for  the  common  utility",  and  in  that  way  stated 
that  work  must  be  done  for  the  good  of  all,  with  the  superior  placed  in  the 
role  of  overseer  of  the  work.  The  1971  Constitutions,  on  the  other  hand,  place 
superior  and  sisters  together  as  collaborators  seeking,  with  humil i ty  and  sound 
judgement,  the  common  good.  The  article  on  work  in  the  1971  Constitutions 
clearly  directs  the  sisters  towards  collaboration  in  tasks  performed.   This  sectio' 
on  work  must  be  viewed  in  connection  with  the  one  on  obedience  (Art. II, #25, SI, p. 8) 
Obedience  promotes  the  common  qood,  the  cooperation  between  superior  and 
sisters, and  helps  us  to  direct  all  our  activity  "as  a  sinqle  body... to- 
wards the  common  goal  of  charity."  (Ibid.) 

1930  Constitutions  1971  Constitutions 

Since  idleness  is  an  enemy  of  the  soul,  Aware  of  their  responsibility  to- 

and  the  mother  and  nurse  of  vices, let  wards  the  common  good,  the  Sisters 

no  one  in  the  cloister  remain  idle, but  should  willinq  accept  tasks  and 

let  each  be  always  occupied,  if  she  can  offices  in  the  monastery,  and  glad- 

in  some  good  work;  for  she  is  not  easi-  ]y   lend  a  helping  hand  to  others. 


-34- 


1930  Constitutions  1971  Constitutions 

ly  ensnared  by  temptation  who  is  intent  especially  to  those  whom  they  see 
on  some  worthy  employment.  to  be  overburdened. 

Part  I ,Chapt.XX,#297,  p. 120  Sect. I  ,Chapt.l ,#4,  SII,p.7 

Except  at  the  hours  and  times  in  which  Work  is  demanded  by  relgious  pover- 
they  must  be  engaged  in  prayer,  the  ty  and  serves  the  common  good  by 
office  or  other  necessary  employment,  begetting  love  in  cooperation, 
all,  with  the  exception  of  those  offi-     Sect. I,  Cnapt. IV, #111  ,SI I ,p.l5 
cials  who  may  have  been  dispensed  be- 
cause of  the  duties  of  their  charge,  The  superiors  and  the  sisters 
should  attentively  devote  themselves  should  with  humility  and  sound 
as  indicated  in  the  monastery  Horari-  judgment  willingly  cooperate  in  the 
urn  to  manual  works  for  the  common  uti-  common  work, 
lity,  and  this  even  in  the  novitiate.      Ibid.  #115 
Ibid.  #298 

The  Prioress,  or  Sub-Prioress,  or  an- 
other Nun  appointed  for  the  purpose  by 
the  Prioress,  should  be  present  with 
the  Nuns  while  they  work. 
Ibid.  #299 

CHASTITY 

The  Article  on  chastity  in  the  1971  Constitutions  begins  with  the  rea- 
son for  the  vow.  We  promise  to  be  celibate  for  the  sake  of  the  kingdom.  Celi- 
bacy expands  our  capacity  to  love  and  to  receive  the  love  of  our  brothers  and 
sisters.  The  Constitutions  place  before  us  the  example  of  Dominic  whose 
whole  life  "was  consumed  with  love  and  zeal  for  souls."  (Art. Ill ,#28) 

The  1930  Constitutions  stress  the  safeguards  to  chastity,  pointing  out 
those  things  which  should  be  avoided.  Although  these  Constitutions  put  be- 
fore us  the  spiritual  aids  to  chastity:  humility,  fervent  prayer,  the  sacra- 
ments, and  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  Mary,  St.  Dominic  and  all  the 
saints,  these  means  are  not  integrated  into  life  in  community,  and  common 
life  is  not  presented  explicitly  as  an  important  means  of  growth  in  our  celi- 
bate commitment. 

The  1971  Constitutions,  on  the  other  hand,  enumerate  similar  aids  to 
strengthen  celibacy,  but  do  not  isolate  them  from  our  life  as  it  is  lived 
with  our  sisters.  The  various  spiritual  helps  are  linked  together  in  a  more 
positive  way,  and  directed  towards  union  with  God  and  one  another.   For  ex- 
ample, chastity  is  to  be  seen  "as  an  exceptional  gift  of  grace  by  which  we 
are  more  intimately  consecrated  and  the  more  easily  united  with  an  undivided 
heart  to  the  God  who  first  loved  us."  (Art. II,  #29, SI).  Or  again,  "we  gradu- 
ally attain  to  a  mora  effective  purification  of  heart,  freedom  of  spirit  and 
fervor  of  charity."  (Art  II,#29,SII).  Also,  "our  sisters. . .should  in  all  the 
circumstances  of  life  maintain  intimate  communion  with  God  by  means  of  a  lov- 
ing union  with  Christ."  (Art. I II  ,#31  , SI)  Therefore  the  1971  Constitutions 
differ  from  the  1930  Constitutions  in  that   they  explain  the  role  asceti- 
cism, prayer  and  devotion  play  in  nourishing  our  goals  of  communion  with  God 
in  Christ,  and  with  one  another.  The  1930  Constitutions  concentrate  on  the 


-35- 


religious  means  which  help  us  to  give  ourselves  exclusively  to  God 


1930  Constitutions 

By  the  vow  of  Chastity  the  religious 
bind  themselves  to  observe  evangelical 
celibacy,  and  they  bind  themselves 
besides  with  a  new  obligation,  namely 
that  of  the  vow  itself,  to  abstain  from 
every  action,  interior  or  exterior,  con- 
trary to  chastity. 
Chapt.  XII,  #165,  p. 74 

To  preserve  the  angelic  virtue,  let  the 
Nuns  make  use  of  appropriate  means,  the 
chief  are:  to  avoid  unnecessary  inter- 
course with  those  outside  the  Monastery 
to  observe  modesty  in  word  and  action; 
to  restrain  the  senses;  to  take  the 
discipline  often,  after  the  example 
of  our  HOly  Father  St.  Dominic;  to 
cultivate  humility;  to  pray  fervently 
and  to  receive  the  Sacraments  frequently 
to  be  devoted  heart  and  soul  to  the 

Blessed  Sacrament,  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  St.  Dominic  and  all  the  other  saints 
of  our  Order. 

Ibid.  #168,  p.  75 

Let  them  avoid,  too,  every  familiarity 
even  with  our  Brethren  or  with  one  an- 
other, fly  the  occasions  of  temptation, 
watch  over  their  thoughts,  curb  the 
flesh,  and  ever  occupy  themselves  in 
good  and  useful  work. 
Ibid.  #169,  p.  75 


1971  Constitutions 

Likewise,  more  and  more  under  the 
insistent  love  of  Christ,  namely 
the  all  embracing  divine  friendship, 
they  should  become  all  things  to 
all  men;  and  in  the  common  life  of 
the  religious  family  to  which  they 
are  more  strongly  bound  by  chastity, 
they  should  cultivate  fraternal  and 
serene  friendships. 

Sect.  I,  Chapt.  1,  #31 ,  SII 


A  radically  new  aspect  in  the  1971  Constitutions  is  mention  of  the 
positive  value  of  friendship  as  an  excellent  help  towards  fostering  chastity. 
Both  our  friendship  with  God  and  with  one  another  are  highlighted  as  the  way 
and  the  goal  of  our  perfection,  "more  and  more  under  the  insistent  love  of 
Christ,  namely  the  all  embracing  divine  friendship, they  should  become  all  things 
to  all  men.. .in  the  common  life  of  the  religious  family. .. they  should  culti- 
vate fraternal  and  serene  friendships."  (See  above)  The  section  on  chastity 
situates  celibacy  in  the  traditional  context  of  a  free  and  universal  love  for 
all  our  brothers  and  sisters  and  then  declares  that  we  owe  a  special  friendship 
and  love  to  those  with  whom  chastity  binds  us  more  strongly,  namely,  our 
religious  community. 

Sharing  and  sisterly  exchange  on  the  whole  are  viewed  with  a  certain 
amount  of  distrust  in  the  1930  Constitutions.  The  present  Constitutions,  on 


-36- 


the  contrary  encourage   a  "unanimous  sharing"  in  order  that  "the 
contemplative  life  and  sisterly  union  may  bear  more  abundant  fruit, 
(Sect.  I,  Chapt.  I,  #7, p. 7) 


1930  Constitutions 

Let  the  Prioress  however  be 
cautious  against  readily  giving 
leave  to  speak  without  a  reason- 
able cause. 

Chapt.  XV,  #204,  p.  93 

Excluding  the  places  and  times 
aforesaid,  the  prioress  can  give 
the  Nuns  permission  to  speak:  nay 
more  a  recreation  is  allowed  to 
all  the  Nuns  after  dinner  and, 
whe^e  it  is  customary,  after 
supper. . .This  recreation  is  to 
be  held  at  the  appointed  place, 
and  no  one  must  absent  herself 
from  it  without  special  permission 
of  the  Prioress. 
Ibid.  #203,  p. 93 


1971  Constitutions 

In  Order  that  the  contemplative 
life  and  sisterly  union  may  bear 
more  abundant  fruit,  a  unanimous 
sharing  should  be  of  the  great- 
est importance  to  all  the  sisters, 
"for  a  good  that  is  commonly  ap- 
proved, is  swiftly  and  easily  pro- 
moted. 

Sect.  I ,  Chapt.  I ,  #7,  p.  7 

Mutual  knowledge  and  sisterly  union 
are  fostered  by  various  recreations 
and  excahnges  either  of  a  general 
or  special  character,  at  determined 
times... the  example  of  Father  Dominic, 
of  whom  it  was  said  that  "no  one 
was  more  of  a  community  man... 
Ibid.  #6,  p.  7 


In  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  our  present  constitutions , the  opportunities 
for  sharing  and  conversation  may  be  something  we  need  to  look  at  more  closely 
and  honestly  in  order  to  work  out  new  possibilities  of  sharing  with  one  an- 
other within  the  framework  of  the  monastic  silence  and  solitude. 


POVERTY 

The  1971  Constitutions  give  us  a  rich  theology  of  poverty  (Sect. I  , Chapt  1 
Art.  IV,  #32  and  #33).   Poverty  is  described  as  a  freedom  from  servitude  to  pos- 
sessions in  order  that  we  may  "more  fully  devote  ourselves  to  God."  Through 
the  deprivations  of  the  vow  of  poverty  we  are  reminded  of  the  actual  poverty 
of  our  brothers  and  sisters  throughout  the  world  which  we  are  meant  to  share 
and  be  identified  with.   The  1930  Constitutions,  on  the  other  hand,  have  a 
more  juridical  approach  to  poverty.  The  1971  Constitutions  complete  the  pic- 
ture of  poverty  by  affirming  our  commitment,  not  only  as  a  duty  of  the  whole 
community,  but  also  as  something  "to  which  we  are  committed  as  individuals.1' 
(Sect. I, Art  IV, #34, SI ,  p. 9) 


1930  Constitutions 

All  the  Nuns,  without  exception,  are 
forbidden  to  have  temporal  goods,  ex- 
cept alone  for  their  use  and  with  the 
permission  of  the  superior. 

Chapt. XII,  Art. I,  #150, p. 71 

Common  life,  which  is  urged  and  com- 
manded by  the  Sacred  Canons,  by  the 
Rule,  and  by  our  Constitutions,  and 


1971  Constitutions 

With  a  vibrant  confidence  in  the  Lord, 
this  spirit  of  poverty  impels  us  to 
make  our  riches  consist  in  the  justice 
of  God's  kingdom.   It  is  a  freedom 
from  servitude  and  from  the  care  of 
worldly  affairs  so  that  we  may  more 
fully  devote  ourselves  to  God  and  have 
more  time  for  Him.  Consequently,  it 


-37- 


1930  Constitutions  1971  Constitutions 

has  been  so  often  insisted  on  by    means  for  us  a  deprivation  by  which  we 
General  Chapters,  should  be  observ-   more  closely  share  with  the  poor  who 
ed  with  care  by  the  Nuns,  and  the    are   to  be  evangelized;  but  it  is  also 
Prioress  must  permit  no  deviation    a  generosity  towards  the  brethren  and 
from  it.  our  neighbors  since  for  the  kingdom  of 

Chapt  XII,  Art. I,  #160, p. 73      God  we  freely  spend  all  that  we  have 

"so  that  in  the  needs  of  this  lifewhich 
pass  away  that  charity  may  reign  which 
abides  forever. 

Sect. I. Chapt. I  ,Art.4 

Therefore  in  our  profession  we  promise 
God  to  have  no  personal  possessions  but 
to  hold  all  things  in  common  and  to  use 
them  under  the  direction  of  the  supe- 
riors for  the  common  good  of  the  monas- 
tery, the  Order  and  the  Church. 
Sect. I, Chapt. 1 ,Art  4 

Nor  in  the  community  is  the  amassing  of 
of  common  goods,  which  do  not  contri- 
bute to  its  purpose,  admissable  since 
this  is  contrary  to  the  poverty  to 
which  we  are  committed  as  individuals 
and  as  a  community. 

Sect. I  ,  Chapt. 1. Art. 4,  #34, SI 1 1 

CONCLUSION 

I  believe  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  at  the  heart  of  the  new  direction  in 
which  our  communities  are  now  going.  It  is  only  with  our  cooperation  and 
participation  that  the  work  of  renewal  will  be  completed.  We  need  to  prepare 
for  the  future  and  not  simply  to  allow  the  future  to  happen.    To  be  satisfied 
with  certain  things  because  "we  have  always  done  them  that  way",  is  not  ade- 
quate for  our  present  time  in  history,  as  we  are  realizing.  We  need  the  cour- 
age to  question  and  to  search,  not  in  order  to  create  doubts,  but  rather  to 
increase  the  quality  of  our  monastic  life.  This  surely  is  a  vital  attitude 
which  will  foster  growth  and  holiness.        We  should  not  be  afraid  to 
challenge  one  another  with  our  questions  and  our  searchings. 

The  Basic  Constitution  of  the  Order  expresses  this  spirit  \/ery   aptly: 

"The  essential  purpose  of  the  Order  and  the  way  of  life  in- 
spired by  it  have  their  importance  in  every  age  of  the 
Church's  life.  Nevertheless,  as  we  learn  from  our  history, 
in  times  of  great  change  and  evolution,  it  is  urgent 
that  we  rightly  understand  this  life  and  purpose. 

"In  this  situation  it  is  the  genius  of  our  Order  to  re- 
new and  adapt  itself  courageously.   It  must  seek  out 
and  examine  all  that  is  good  and  useful  in  the  aspira- 
tions of  contemporary  man  and  draw  these  things  into 
the  stable  fabric  of  its  own  life..." 


-38- 


The  Order,  then,  encourages  us  to  adapt.  That  does  not  mean  a  mind- 
less adaptation,  but  one  by  means  of  which  we  reflect  upon  our  present 
situation  in  the  light  of  tradition.  In  such  an  atmosphere  we  are  encourag- 
ed first  of  all  to  seek  to  understand  the  true  meaning  of  our  vocation  and 
then  to  adapt  courageously,  drawing  these  adaptations  into  the  stable  fabric 
of  our  life.  May  these  few  reflections  generated  by  a  comparative  study  of 
the  1930  and  1971  Constitutions  add  just  a  little  to  the  common  reflection 
that  we  have  undertaken  at  this  time. 


NOTES 

Quotations  from  the  Constitutions  are  all  taken  from  Constitutions  of  the 
Nuns  of  the  Sacred  Order  of  Preachers,  1930  edition,  Polygot  Vatican  Press 
and  Constitutions  of  the  Nuns  of  the  Order  of  Preachers ,  1971  ed i t i on , 
translated  by  the  Promoterate  of  the  Province  of  St.  Joseph  and  approved  on 
behalf  of  the  Master  of  the  Order. 

1)  Gabriel  O'Donnell,  O.P.  Workshop  on  "Cassian  and  Dominican  Spirituality1 
given  at  the  Monastery  at  Lufkin,  March  2-8,  1985. 

Father  O'Donnell  in  his  workshop  introduced  and  developed  some  extremely 
important  thoughts  on  community  in  the  Dominican  tradition.  He  spoke  of 
community  in  our  Dominican  life  as  the  primary  authority  and  nurturing 
ground,  as  well  as  the  principal  tool  of  spiritual  formation:  in  the 
Dominican  tradition  the  community  carries  out  the  function  which  is 
the  proper  role  of  abbot  or  abbess  in  early  monastic  tradition..  Our 
growth  in  holiness  is  bound  up  with  our  decision  to  surrender  our  life 
completely  within  the  community.  He  challenged  us  to  work  towards  a 
clear  vision  of  our  goals  in  order  to  take  an  active  part  in  shaping 
our  future,  in  clarifying  our  understanding  of  what  Dominican  mon- 
astic life  is  in  essence.  He  felt  that  understanding  of  the  early 
tradition  was  a  great  help  towards  this. 

2)  Simon  Tugwell,  O.P.   Workshop  on  Dominican  Spirituality  given  at  the 
Monastery  in  Lufkin,  August  31  -  September  5,  1985 

Father  Tugwell  presented  an  historical  overview  of  different  approaches 
to  observance  in  the  monastic  tradition.  He  singled  out  a  type  of  ob- 
servance based  on  skepticism  about  the  motivation  of  people  in  general. 
Observance  itself  tended  to  be  sacramental i zed  so  .as  to  be  the  way  of 
putting  off  the  old  man  and  becoming  a  new  creation  in  Christ.  He  said 
that  this  was  the  ideal  of  Cluny  and  Citeaux  and  that  while  it  is  a 
legitimate  option  it  risks  becoming  empty  and  mechanical  without  lead- 
ing to  real  conversion.  Then  he  cited  the  more  primitive  style  as  that 
of  the  desert  Fathers  who  were  concerned  with  the  basic  facts  of  human 
nature  and  how  one  could  be  saved,  a  'scoop  of  humanity  being  worked 
on  by  the  grace  'of  God',  as  he  put  it.  Father  Tugwell  thought  that 
St.  Dominic  tended  towards  this  more  primitive  style,  that  he  did  es- 
tablish a  fairly  strict  monastic  framework  but  expected  it  to  be  a 
means  of  facing  our  real  human  reality  and  situation  and  handing  it 
over  to  the  work  of  God's  grace;  the  framework  was  not  to  become  a 
protective  device. 


*********** 


-39- 

STUDY  ITj  THE  DOMINICAN  TRADITION 

Sis- 
Part  I  -  The  Friars  "Bronx 


Sister  Mary  of  Jesus,  0. 


The  Dominican  Order  has  a  lone;  tradition,  indeed  from  its  very  in- 
ception, of  a  deep-seated  need  for,  constant  attention  to,?,  nd  a  well- 
developed  use  of  study  as  a  means  of  fostering  the  spiritual  growtn  of 
its  members. 

To  twentieth  century  ears,  this  is  doubtless  a  strange-sound ing 
point  to  emphasize,  but  one    must  consider  the  background: 

Dominic  Guzman  died  in  1221 5  the  Nuns  had  been  founded 

in  1206?  the  friars  in  1216. 

Education  in  general  was  the  prerogative  of  the  wealthy 

merchant  and  upper  classes. 

Preaching-  was  the  official  task  of  the  bishops. 

The  Scriptures  were  not  available  in  the  vernacular. 

Seminaries  were  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.   Most 

priests  learned  their  "trade"  through  an  apprenticeship  to  ar. 

older  man  whom  they  would  eventually  succeed.   A  systematic 

schema  of  studies  was  not  adopted  until  the  Council  of  Trent. 
Religious  life  was  generally  monastic,  or  of  the  military 

orders-- engaged  for  the  most  part  in  manual  labor  or  hospital 

work  . 

Dominic's  vision  was  that  his  followers  were  to  be  preachers,  hence 
a  need  for  education,  for  a  deep  spirit  of  prayer  and  holiness  of  life, 
and  an.  insatiable  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  in  Dominic's  own  life  that  nearly  ten  years 
were  spent  in  STUDY  in  Palencia';  another  ten  years  were  devoted  to  PRAYER 
and  meditation  as  a  canon  in  the  Chapter  of  Osma,  and  ten  more  years  were 
engaged  in  PREACHING  among  the  Albigenfiians  of  the  Midi.   In  the  six  re- 
maining years,  it  could  be  said  that  he  developed  the  framework  of  the 
Order  from  personal  experience. 

Without  entering  into  a  lengthy  discussion  as  to  the  sources  of  the 
Constitutions  and  the  lifestyle  subsequently  adopted,  suffice  it  to  say 
that  the  Chapter  of  1216  chose  as  its  Rule  that  of  St.  Augustine,  aug- 
menting it  with  the  Customary  (1216)  and  Institutions  (1220),  the  former, 
the  code  of  regulations  formulated  to  run  the  local  house  and  establish 
its  observances--drawn  largely  from  the  Rule  of  Premontre;  and  the 
latter,  an  original  body  of  laws  defining  government  and  apostolate .  ■*■ 

St.  Dominic  has  often  been  portrayed  as  a  cold  intellectual--prec ise 
and  detailed;  there  is  little  of  the  delightful  grace  of  a  Francis  about 
him.   Abstractions  and  dry  study  can  lead  to  a  removal  from  reality,  to  a 
distorted  view.   It  is  perhaps  for  this  reason  that  study  for  the  Domi- 
nican is  always  subordinated  to  the  purpose  of  the  Order:  the  salvation 
of  sculs,  and  that  charity  is  its  prime  justification.   It  is  moved  by 
charity  for  neighbor  that  one  seeks  to  aid  him;  charity;  for  the  Dominican, 
calls  forth  the  sacrifice  of  religious  observance  and  the  discipline  it 
entails  to  this  end:  the  other's  good. 

That  Dominic  put  people  first  can  be  seen  from  a  story  told  of  his 
student  days--how  he  'sold  his  annotated  manuscripts  to  obtain  money  for 
the  starving:  "I  will  not  study  on  dead  skins  when  men  are  dying  of 
hunger . "2 

Study  was  and  is  seen  as  a  striving  for  God  and  those  things  that 

would  lead  others  to  him.   Contemplation  could  develop   out  of  the  un- 
derstanding grasped  and  both  together  would  feed  the  efficacy  of  the 
apostolate . 


-40- 

In  this  sketch.  I  would  like  to  consider  several  aspects  of  study, 
all  of  which  are  certainly  interwoven:  study  as  a  means  of  fostering 
one's  individual  spiritual  growth;  dispensation  as  it  was  used  to  further 
study,  and  the  need  for  study  in  preparation  for  the  ministry  of  preach- 
ing. 

Vicaire  related  a  story  of  the  early  preachers  reported  by  Alexander 
Stavensby,  theology  professor  of  the  Chapter  of  Ste.  Etienne  in  Toulouse, 
dated  to  about  1215: 

The  master  was  divine  his  course.   He  saw  the  preacher 
come  in  with  six  companions,  all  wearing  the  same  habit. 
They  assured  him  that  they  wanted  to  enroll  in  his  school 
and  greatly  desired  to  attend  his  classes.   They  were 
not  all  equally  in  need  of  them.   After  this,  for  a  long 
time  to  come,  the  master  enjoyed  their  familiar  friend- 
ship and  instructed  them  as  his  pupils.-^ 

Having  excluded  the  trimmings,  this  story  has  actual  historical 
foundation.   One  enjoys  the  view  of  the  leader  shepherding  six  little 
friars  to  school;  but  the  story  demonstrates  graphically  the  attention 
paid  by  the  Saint  to  theological  studies,  that  source  of  preaching  and 
wellspring  of  contemplation. 

Related  to  this  is  the  fact  repeated  by  many  witnesses  at  the 
canonization  process  that  throughout  St.  Dominic's  travels,  he  was 
never  without  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  and  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  and  that 
he  derived  great  benefit,  also  from  the  Conferences  of  Cassian.^ 

St.  Augustine  says,  "In  the  study  of  created  things,  we  must  not 
exercise  a  mere  idle  and  passing  curiosity,  but  must  make  them  a  step- 
ping-stone to  things  that  are  immortal  and  that  abide  forever ." Clearly, 
study  was  to  foster  prayer  and  contemplation  and  lead  to  a  closer  union 
with  God. 

In  the  Chapter  proceedings  of  1216,  St.  Dominic  was  found  giving 
a  strong  impetus  to  preaching,  but  always  as  the  outgrowth  of  prayer  and 
study.   Contemplation  was  to  overflow  into  activity.   Among  those  ob- 
servances especially  sought  was  silence  to  provide  and  maintain  an 
atmosphere  conducive  to  prayer  and  study. 

That  study  was  one  of  the  observances  geared  to  forming  the  young 
religious  may  be  seen  in  the  results  of  the        1216  Chapter  dis- 
cussions dealing  with  the  role  of  the  novice  master: 

the  novice  master  teaches  his  novices  humility  of  heart... 
to  behave .. .with  what  care  they  must  handle  the  books... 
what  application  they  should  have  in  study .. .read ing  or  medi- 
tating, striving  to  retain  all  they  can... and  what  fervor 
they  will  have  in  preaching  when  the  time  comes... -> 
or  as  Tugwell  corrects  it  "whenever  is  appropriate"--more  consistent 
with  the  fact  that  novices  in  the  early  days  (prior  to  the  Chapter  of 
1236)  could  be  and  were  called  upon  to  preach. 

Despite  a  strong  bent  towards  things  monastic,  the  friars  preachers 
were  innovative  to  a  large  degree.   Study  and  the  ministry  of  souls  re_ 
placed  the  manual  labor  of  the  earlier  Orders.   The  list  of  faults  was 
taken  from  the  Premonstratensians ,  but  added  a  number  of  new  possibilities 
The  master  commits  a  fault  by  neglect  in  teaching;  the  student  by  neg- 
lect in  study,  if  he  fall  asleep  during  lectures  or  study,  and  others. 

In  1220  then*  appeared  a  notation,  "the  superior  has  the  right  to  dis- 
pense himself  and  the  brethren  from  anything  that  might  get  in  the  way 
of  study  or  preaching  or  the  good  of  souls."' 

Dispensation  was  granted  not  merely  for  reasons  of  health  as  in  the 
older  Rules,  but  that  the  salvation  of  souls  might  be  better  effected. 
Fasting,  abstinence  and  attendance  at  the  choral  office  (private  re- 
citation was  still  obligatory)  could  be  dispensed  "l^st  study  be  impeded." 


-41- 

Thomas  Merton  has  an  oversimplified  but  nevertheless  succinct 
description  of  the  obligation  of  study  in  The  S  ign  of  Jonas  : 

1  admire  3t.  Dominic  above  all  for  his  love  of  Scrip- 
ture and  for  his  respect  for  the  STUDY  of  Scripture.   Scrip- 
ture was  the  heart  of  his  contemplation  and  of  his  preaching... 
In  St. Dominic's  first  Friaries  they  were  brief  and  quick  about 
the  Off ice... in  order  to  get  to  their  booKs,  and  the  friars 
were  encouraged  to  prolong  their  vigils  in  study.   Study  was 
not  precisely  the  essence  of  the  Dominican  vocation,  never- 
theless each  house  was  a  house  of  study  and  tne  study  was  to 
lead  to  contemplation  that  would  overflow  in  preaching." 
This  brines  us  to  the  third  area  of  importance:  study  for  the 
preaching  apostolate,  and  study  in  forming  the  preacher. 

From  a  purely  practical  point  of  view,  it  is  easily  seen  that 
study  was  required  in   order  to  preach,  debate  with  heretics  or  demon- 
strate the  truths  of  the  faith. 

To  this  end,  the  house  in  Paris,  Ste .  Jacques,  became  the  stud  ium 
generale  for  the  Order  in  1221,  conferring  as  it  did  the  universal 
license  to  teach  theology.   And  subsequent  foundations  would  be  located 
in  major  university  towns  such  as,  for  example,  Oxford. 

Jordan  of  Saxonv,  St.  Dominic's  immediate  successor,  coined  the 
descriptive  phrase  of  the  nreachers,  "rioneste  vivere ,  d  iscere  et 
docere"  (to  live  honorably,  to  learn  and  to  teach ) .   Houses  of  study 
were  set  up  in  all  the  provinces,  and  despite  tne  severity  of  the  mendi- 
cant poverty,  books  took  first  priority  in  the  use  of  tithes. 9 

Study  acted  as  a  formative  guide  for  the  developing"  preacher. 
This  can  be  seen  in  the  Prologue  to  the  Primitive  Constitutions: 
Because  a  precept  of  our  Rule  commands  us  to  have 
one  heart  and  one  mind  in  the  Lord,  it  is  fitting  that  we, 
who  live  under  one  rule  and  under  the  vow  of  one  profession, 
be  found  uniform  in  the  observance  of  canonical  religious  life, 
in  order  that  the  uniformity  maintained  in  our  external  con- 
duct may  foster  and  indicate  the  unity  which  should  be  pre- 
sent interiorly  in  our  hearts... 

It  is  known  that  our  Order  was  founded,  from  the  begin- 
ning, especially  for  preaching  and  the  salvation  of  souls. 
Our  study  ought  to  tend  principally,  ardently,  and  with  the 
highest  endeavor  to  the  end  that  we  might  be  useful  to  the 
souls  of  our  neighbors. 

Once  again  it  can  be  seen  that  study  and  contemplation  ar-e 
the  true  sources  for  apostolic  preaching.   This  entails  the  sharing 
of  the  fruits  of  one's  intellectual  and  spiritual  endeavors. 

Summary 

St.  Dominic  was  innovative  in  several  ways.   Founding  an  Order 
dedicated  to  preaching,  he  did  away  with  the  manual  labor  of  earlier 
Orders  and  replaced  it  with  the  ministry  of  souls,  based  on  a  back- 
ground of  study  and  'contemplation.   He  utilized  dispensations  not 
only  for  reasons  of  health,  but  also  for  the  good  of  the  apostolate, 
that  the  individual  might  profitably  spend  time  in  study  even  at  the 
cost  of  other  religious  observances.   Study  was  seen  as  an  important 
part  of  the  life-style  developed  and  fostered  throughout  the  novitiate, 
and  nurtured  throughout  one's  life  since  knowledge  aided  prayer,  and 
prayer  with  knowledge  vivified  the  preaching. 


-42- 

Ir.  an  address  to  the  Dominican  Educational  Association  in  1972, 
Father  Fabian  Parmisano  pointed  out: 

Dominican  study  was  not  to  be  a  sterile  affair,  a  matter 
only  of  the  mind... Ex  amore  Dei  proxima  was  the  qualification 
attached  to  Dominican  study ..  .grounded  ir\  prayer  and  showing 
prayer's  depth  and  reverence.   And...  Like  Dominican  prayer, 
it  was  to  be  ordained  to  an  end  beyond  itself.   Truth  for  its 
own  sake,  yes,  but  always  with  the  further  view  to  reaching 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  man  with  it. 

Part  II  -  The  Nuns 

The  first  branch  of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic  to  come  into 
existence  was  that  of  the  Nuns,  the  Sister  Preacheresses  of  the  Mon- 
astery of  Prouille  in  Toulouse  who  were  organized  in  1206,  ten  years 
earlier  than  the  friars. 

In  this  section  of  the  paper,  I  would  like  to  consider  the 
Dominican  tradition  of  study  as  it  was  understood  and  observed  by  the 
Nuns  of  the  Order.   To  do  this  it  is  necessary  to  trace  briefly  the 
history  of  the  Nuns'  Constitutions  and  the  legislation  or  lack  of 
it  regarding  study.   This  has  presented  many  problems,  due  mostly 
to  a  lack  of  materials  easily  available. 

The  Constitutions  of  Prouille  (J206)  do  not  exist  except  in  the 
Primitive  Constitutions  of  San  Sisto,  where  Dominic  adopted  the  earlier 
model.   This  was  accomplished  as  he  consolidated  several  groups  of  Ro- 
man nuns,  under  the  instruction  and  governance  of  sisters  sent  from 
Prouille.   By  1232,  there  was  added  a  separate  supplement,  entitled 
the  Statutes,  based  on  the  more  developed  legislation  of  the  friars: 
clearly  an  early  attempt  (between  1228-32)  on  the  part  of  the  Nuns  to 
bring  the  Second  Order  into  greater  conformity  with  the  Brethren. 13 

A  period  of  rapid  expansion  in  the  number  of  monasteries  followed 
the  death  of  St.  Dominic  (1221);  he  himself  had  founded  houses  at 
Prouille,  Rome  and  Madrid,  and  a  fourth  was  planned  for  Bologna.   By 
I25O  »  thirty-two  houses  existed  in  the  German  province  alone.   Numer- 
ous other  communities  sought  to  affiliate  with  the  Dominicans:  Father 
Hinnebusch  mentions  Cistercians,  August inians  and  Sister  Hospitallers 
to  name  a  few.   Others  were  placed  under  the  Order  by  papal  decree. 

With  affiliations,  adoptions  and  new  foundations,  there  came  to  be 
a  wide  range  of  legal  codes  in  effect,  enough  that  Humbert  of  Romans, 
the  fifth  Master  General,  lamented  the  "variety  of  constitutions"  in 
use.   He  obtained  permission  from  Rome  to  unify  the  laws.   In  1259.  he 
promulgated  new  constitutions,  obligatory  to  the  point  of  the  Nuns* 
retaining  their  Dominican  identity.".   According  to  Hinnebusch,  these 
remained  with  virtually  no  great  revision, until  the  'new'  Constitutions 
of  1930  under  Master  General  M.S.  Gillet. 

We  can  see  from  the  San  Sisto  Constitutions  that  study  did  not 
play  any  role  in  the  legislation  of  the  Nuns  as  it  had  for  the  friars: 
there  is  only  one  mention  of  study  made: 

...with  the  exception  of  the  hours  which  the  Sisters  ought 

to  consecrate  to  prayer,  to  reading,  to  the  preparation  of 

the  Office  and  chant,  or  to  study  (l'etude  des  lettres),  they 

should  devote  themselves  to  some  manual  labor  as  shall  be 

judged  good  by  the  Prioress.  * 
It  would  seem  that  study  was  at  least  allowed  for. 


-43- 

vvith  Humberi.'s  codification,  even  this  scanty  reference  disappeared, 
and  was  presumably  missing  in  the  seventeenth  century  revision  by 
mahuet.   In  Potton's  revision  (1st  edition,  3  864;  2nd,  1 878 ; .  this  sec- 
tion allows  for  "prayer,  the  Office  or  any  other  necessary  occupation," 
but  makes  no  mention  of  study.   This  must  be  emphasized  because  Hum- 
bert's original  intent  was  to  bring  the  Nuns'  Constitutions  into  con- 
formity with  that  of  the  friars.   Nothing  is  legislated  about  study  in 
1930  although  a  lone-  prefatory  letter  accompanies  tne  Constitutions 
wherein  Master  Gillet,  in  response  to  a  directive  from  the  Sacrec 
Congregation  of  Religious,    gives  the  reasons  for  the  Nuns  to  study 
Christian  Doctrine  and  the  Truths  of  the  faith. 

As  a  point  of  fact,  nothing  seems  to  have  existed  in  the  legisla- 
tion dealing  with  study  for  the  Nuns  until  1971  when  the  section 
"Keeping  and  Hearing  the  worc\    of  God"  was  added  with  its  directives 
toward  the  Nuns'  role  in  the  ministry  of  the  Word;  the  need  for 
spiritual  reading  and  study,  tending  to  "real  dialogue  with  God .  ' '  ' 

Exclusive  of  legislation,  what  was  the  actual  experience  of  the 

Nuns  regarding  study?   Once  again,  resource  material  is  difficult  tc 
locate  . 

It  would  seem  that  the  Nuns  never  lost  the  desire  for  close  ties 
with  their  brethren:   they  were  co-operators  in  the  ministry  of  souls. 
One  has  only  to  recall  the  tales  of  St.  Dominic  giving  conferences  at 
San  Sisto,  and  the  very  extensive  exchange  of  letters  between  Jordan 
of  Saxony  and  Diana  D'Andalo  and  the  Nuns  of  St.  Agnes  in  Bologna, ^ 
to  catch  a  glimps-e  of  the  mutual  ties.   Certainly  the  Latin  posed 
no  problem  for  them.   They  shared  in  the  preaching  through  their 
prayers,  interest  and  support. 

Even  if  the  monasteries  were  to  be  no  more  than  houses  of  ac- 
commodation for  the  friars   (as  Tuei/vell  seems  to  suggest;,  the  Nuns' 
vecation  was  such  that  they  had  to  share  intellectually  in  at  least 
some  of  the  friars'  endeavors. 

The  influence  of  Eckhart,  Suso  and  Tauler  is  evident.   Many  of  trie 
Nuns  were  involved  in  the  mystical  movement  of  the  14th  Century  in  Ger- 
many: the  Monastery  of  Toss  particularly  comes  to  mind,  and  the  Ebner 
sisters,  Margaret  and  Christine.   A  literary  style  developed!  the  Nuns 
wrote  of  their  own  or  their  s ister %  v is i ons  and  mystical  experiences ,cU 

Large  libraries  suggest  at  least  an  interest  in  reading  and  study. 
St.  Gall  in  the  1.5th  Century  had  about  325  volumes,  18?  of  these  in 
Latin.   Pre-Ref ormat ion  Dartford  in  England  listed  a  wide  variety  of 
titles  including:  collections  by  Richard  Rolle?,St.  John  Fisher,  a  life 
of  St.  Kateryn  of  Sene  and  the  Legend a  Aurea .    Both  Latin  and  the  ver- 
nacular seem  well  represented. 

It  was  quite  natural  for  many  houses  of  nuns  to  have  a  scrip- 
torium for  reproducing  books.   The  illumination,  binding  and  calli- 
graphy are  in  themselves  a  technical  art,  but  the  knowledge  needed 
to  write  and  copy  certainly  required  skill  in  reading  and  comprehending 
Latin  and  the  vernacular  which  would  in  turn  require  a  certain  amount 
of  study. 

Many  earlier  monasteries  had  taken  children  for  education,  but 
the  Dominican' Nuns  never  considered  this  a  primary  aim.  Several  places, 
including  Dartford,  did  this  on  a  routine  basis,  but  these  houses  would 
seem  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  (Education  and  teaching  be- 
came primary  with  the  Third  Order  Sisters,  not  the  Second  Order  Nuns . J 
For  their  own  education,  the  English  freacheresses  demanded  and 
received  masters  in  Latin  and  Grammar  (Literature)  from  among  the 
friars  in  1481. 


-44- 


The  solution  in  Germany  to  the  problem  of  providing:  intellectual 
and  spiritual  education  for  the  nuns  led  Provincial  Herman  (1286-90; 
to  give  them  fratres  docti  t    lectors  or  masters  in  theology  for  con- 
fessors and  preachers  on  holidays,  Sundays  and  vigils  (when  the  schools 
were  closed);   these  expounded  at  the  grille  what  was  taught  in  the 
lecture  halls. 


bummarv 


The  history  seems  to  imply  that  the  daughters  of  St.  Dominic 
sought  to  emulate  their  brothers  in  their  intellectual  pursuits--all- 
beit  to  a  different  end. 

Study  never  played  the  same  role  for  the  nuns  as  for  the  friars. 
Although  sharing  deeply  in  the  ministry  of  preaching  through  prayer 
and  penance  and  in  supporting  the  friars,  the  nuns--product  of  a  morp 
monastic  trad  it ion--reta inea  the  manual  labor  dropped  by  the  friars  in 
favor  of  preaching  and  study. 

Neverthe  less,  study  plays  a  vital> format ive  role  for  the  as- 
piring candidate  and  indeed  provides  both  intellectual  and  spiritual 
stimulation;  knowledge  for  the  Nun,  no  less  than  the  Friar,  enhances 
the  life  of  contemplation. 

In  a  day  when  more  and  more  candidates  enter  at  a  mature  age, 
when  education  is  widely  available  and  sought  after,  it  seems  important 
to  remember  the  role  study  can  play  in  fostering  the  developing  vocation 
and  in  strengthening  and  nourishing  deeper  prayer  and  dialogue  with 
God.   It  must  be  seen  that  our  Dominican  heritage  is  rich  in  bringing 
forth  the  Truth,  in  contemplation;  and  in  all  the  modes  and  practices 
of  achieving  these,  including-  study. 

These  examples  are  drawn  largely  from  the  very  early  days  of 
the  Order,   This  is  not  because  none  exist  today--one  has  only  to 
consider  the  beginnings  of  the  Dominican  Study  Week  sponsored  by  the 
Conference--but  as  a  challenge  to  the  Nuns  to  discern  for  themselves 
the  ways  study  is  applicable  in  this  day  of  rapid  communication  and 
expanding  knowledge,  and  to' realize  the  ever  present  value  of  study  in 
deepening  prayer-life  and  as  a  means  of  sharing  and  supporting  our 
brothers,  St.  Dominic's  other  offspring. 

The  Nuns,  no  less  than  the  brethren,  share  the  Dominican  heritage i 

St.  Dominic  may  be  taken  as  the  Living  symbol  of  the 
aspirations  of  human  nature:  an  intense  intellectual  curio- 
sity, exalted  and  made  glorious  by  faith:  a  yearning  for 
repose,  for  a  kind  of  sabbath  calm  felt  by  the  human  heart: 
and  the  need  for  outlet,  for  expansion  and  action.   These  are 
the  three  spiritual  dimensions:  the  life  of  the  mind  in  study, 
the  absorption  in  God  by  prayer  and  contemplation}  and  the 
outflow  of  the  soul  into  apostolic  action.   These  three  are 
not  mutually  exclusive  or  contradictory:  they  are  the  height 
and  depth  and  breadth  of  the  soul's  life.   Hence  we  know  what 
characteristi7s  to  look  for  in  St.  Dominic's  Order.   His  true 
children  will  bear  the  family  likeness.   They  will  be  con- 
templatives,  teachers  and  apostles.  ^ 


-45- 


Kootnotes 


Marie-Hubert  Vicaire,  OF,   St.  Dominic  and  his  Times.  i*icGraw-.ni  11 
Book  Company.  NY,  1964,  pp.  208,  ff. 
^St.  Dominic:  Biographical  Documents.  Francis  C.  Lehner,  ed .  The 

Thomist  Press,  Washington,  DC,  1964,  p.  123. 
3vicaire,  p.  178. 
^Documents ,  p.  118.   Dom  Jean  LeClerq  suggests  the  extensive  use  cf 

Cassian  to  be  due  to  the  lack  of  books  available  on  spirituality, 
except  for  the  Conferences . (Private  discussion  with  Dom  LeClerq, 
.     LaCrosse,  1980) 
^Vicaire,  p.209- 

"Simon  Tugwell,  Or,  The  Way  of  the  Preacher.  Templegate  Pub.,  Spring- 
7     field,  111.,  1979.  p.  83. 
Albid..  p. 17. 
"Thomas  Merton,  The  Sign  of  Jonas.  Image  Books,  Doubleday  &  Co., 

Garden  City,  NY,  P.  209.     For  another  reference  to  Study  as 
Vigil,  see  "Sermon  on  St,  Dominic,"  by  Thomas  Agni  of  Lentini, 
Early  Dominicans:  Selected  Writings,  Simon  Tugwell, OF,  ed .  Faulis: 
o    Press,  Ramsay,  NJ,  1982 ,  pp.  61-65,  especially  p.  61. 
Vicaire,  p.  178. 
••^Documents  1  p.  212  (Prologue  to  Primitive  Constitutions). 

Rev.  Fabian  Parmisano,  OP,  "Dominican  Relevance,"  DEA  Address,  4/5/72, 
Philadelphia.  Printed  by  Monastery  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary, 
j 2    Summit ,  NJ. 

Early  Documents  of  the  Dominican  Sisters,  Vol.  I  "Primitive  Constitu- 
tions of  San  Sisto,"  Translated  from  the  French  &  printed  at  Our  Lady 
of  the  Rosary  Monastery,  Summit,  NJ,  1969.  pp.  5-22. 
•^William  Hinnebusch,  OP,  The  History  of  the  Dominican  Orcer:  Origins  a".: 
Growth  to  1500.  Alba  House,  Staten  Island,  1965,  p.  380. 
Ibid. ,  pp.  384,  406.   From  1259  to  1930,  there  was  no  major  revision. 
There  were  some  modifications  in  the  17th  Century  by  Fr .  mahuet,0F. 
and  some  others  in  1864  by  M.A.Potton,  OP.   The  second  edition  of 
this  1864  work  (in  1878)  eliminated  all  the  ceremonies,  a  Ceremoni- 
al having  been  published  in  1872.   I  made  use  of  this  latter  text 
in  translation.  Constitutions  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Dominic,  with 
Notes  and  Commentaries  of  Marie-Ambrose  Potton,  OP.  Translated 
1892,  Church  News  Publishing  Co.,  Washington,  DC. 

The  revision  by  Humbert  of  Romans  appears  in  Early  Documents  of  tr.e- 
Dominican  Sisters,  Vol.  II,  pp.  5-39.  Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary  Monas- 
tery, Summit,  NJ,  1969. 
}£"San  Sisto"  #34,  p.  20. 

Instruction  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Religious,  11/25/29;  Preface 
Constitutions  of  the  Nuns  of  the  Sacred  Order  of  Preachers,  Poly- 
.     glot  Vatican  Press,  1930,  pp.  xviii-xx. 
'Book  of  the  Constitutions  of  the  Nuns  of  the  Order  of  Preachers,  1971 1 

Translated,  edited  and  prepared  by  St.  Joseph's  Province  Promotorate, 
1fl     #102,  S  I. 
°To  Heaven  With  DiaJnat  Letters  of  Jordan  of  Saxony  to  Diana  D'Andalo  an: 
the  Nuns  of  St.  Agnes,  bologna.  Gerald  Vann,  OP,  ed . ,  Pantheon 
Books,  NY,  I960. 
^Tugwell,  p.  85. 

William  Hinnebusch,  The  History  of  the  Dominican  Order:  Intellectual 

and  Cultural  Life  to  1500.  Alba  Hous,  Staten  Island,  1973.  pp.304, ff. 


-46- 


21Dartford  Priory:  the  Higtory  of, the  English  Preacheresses ,  by  Dominican 

Nuns  oflliadTngton.  Blackfriars  Publication.  Oxford,  19^5.  PP-  23 

and  following. 

-Ibid..  P.  17«  .  .     r       D     a    r   * 

23Uu^ert  Clerissac.  Thp_Snirit  of  St<  Dominlc'   London:  Burns  &   Gates, 

1939. 


*********** 


AUTUMN  SCENE 


Speak,  colored  leaves 
In  your  beauty  mute  yet  loud. 
'Tis  autumn  now  and  Yhwh 
With  His  majestic  brush 
Has  splashed  your  dainty  frames 
With  tints  of  yellow  orange  and  red.  j 

Speak,  little  stream. 

From  where  did  you  come  and  how  long  has  it  been  1 

For  you  to  reach  this  place?  | 

In  concert  you  trickle 

And  laugh  as  you  dance 

In  step  to  charm  this  glorious  scene  I 

You  drown  my  hearing  with  your  message 

Of  end,  fulfilment  and  closing.  | 

Yes,  'tis  autumn  now  and  soon  Yhwh  * 

Will  pluck  your  plush  ripeness 

And  cover  you  with  cold  bleak  whiteness.  g 

You  glow  carries  me  not  unwillingly  ft 

And  hushes  me  with  peace. 

I 

Sister  Mary  Regina,  O.P. 
(West  Springfield,  Mass.)  _ 

I 


I 


-47- 


THE  ROLE  OF  SOLITUDE  IN  DOMINICAN  CONTEMPLATIVE  LIFE 

Sister  Mary  Bernard,  O.P. 
Summit 

"An  elder  said:  Go  back  to  your  cell,  sit  down  and  stay  there,  saying  your 
prayers.   When  you're  hungry,  eat;  if  you're  thirsty,  drink;  if  you  feel  drowsy, 
well,  go  to  sleep.   But  stay  in  solitude.   Stay  patiently  in  your  cell  and  it 
will  teach  you  everything."  1 

This  and  many  like  sayings  from  the  desert  tradition  may  almost  sound  sim- 
plistic to  modern  ears;  but  with  their  characteristic  bluntness,  they  can  still 
alert  us  to  the  surpassing  value  of  monastic  solitude.   In  fact,  this  element  of 
our  life  might  easily  be  overlooked,  in  the  light  of  the  renewed  emphasis  on 
Christian  community  and  the  psychological  dimensions  of  group  dynamics  and  inter- 
personal communication.   Yet,  even  clinical  psychology  testifies  to  the  exceptional 
value  of  solitude.   Provided  it  is  desired  in  a  healthy  way,  the  experience  of 
solitude  often  leads  to  a  new  and  more  profound  integration  of  the  personality. 

The  stress  on  Christian  community  is  very  good,  for  Christ  Himself  tells  us, 
"This  is  how  all  will  know  you  for  my  disciples:  your  love  for  one  another 
(Jn  13:35).  However,  within  the  broad  context  of  the  Christian  life,  the  Dominican 
Nun  has  a  special  vocation  to  mirror  Christ  withdrawn  in  prayer.   "Through  them, 
Christ  should  be  shown  contemplating  on  the  mountain  "  2  (Lumen  Gentium  46  )>  With- 
out ever  denying  the  intrinsic  communality  of  Christian  life,  the  Church  documents 
clearly  point  to  solitude  as  one  of  the  most  essential  and  defining  characteristics 
of  contemplative  institutes.   Solitude  and  withdrawal  from  the  world,  for  the  sake 
of  prayer,  distinguish  it  from  other  forms  of  consecrated  religious  life.   Thus, 
we  find  the  Fathers  of  the  Second  Vatican  Counei 1  summoning  us  to  a  highly  spec  if ic 
mode  of  Christian  life:  "Members  of  those  communities  which  are  totally  dedicated 
to  contemplation  give  themselves  to  God  alone  in  solitude  and  silence  and  through 
constant  prayer  and  ready  penance.   Such  communities  will  always  have  a  distinguished 
part  to  play  in  the  Mystical  Body  of  Christ,  whose  members  do  not  all  have  the  same 
function  "  3  (Perf ectae  Caritatis ,  #7). 

This  fundamental  exhortation  was  expanded  a  few  years  later  by  the  Sacred 
Congregation  in  Venite  Seorsum.   The  instruction  is  replete  with  references  to 
solitude,  beginning  with  the  most  familiar  introductory  paragraph :"' Come  away  by 
yourselves  to  a  lonely  place  '  (Mk  6:31).  Numerous  are  those  who  have  heard  this 
call  and  have  followed  Christ,  withdrawing  to  worship  the  Father  there."  4 

What  part,  then;  does  solitude  play  in  Dominican  contemplative  life?   Surely,  we 
are  not  hermits  like  the  Carthusians,  nor  do  we  have  the  eremitical  spirit  of  the 
Carmelites.   Venite  Seorsum  allows  for  a  great  diversity  among  the  various  in- 
stitutes which  arises  from  the  practical  emphasis  laid  upon  mental  prayer,  liturgy, 
common  life  and  solitude. 

i 

I  believe  that  the  Dominican  brand  of  contemplative  life  flows  naturely  from 
a  twofold  source:  the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine  and  the  example  of  St.  Dominic  himself. 
Dominic's  choice  of  the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine  is  significant,  for  Augustine  gave  to 
the  world  a  new  interpretation  of  "monachos"  from  which  we  derive  monk  and  monas- 
tery.  Originally,  monachos  meant  alone  or  solitary.   The  monk  or  nun  was  one  who 


-48- 


lived  alone  with  God.    In  the  new  usage  of  Augustine,  monachos  is  now 
derived  from  monos,  "one",  which  signifies  unity  among  many.   Hence,  those 
who  dwell  in  the  monastery  should  be  intimately  united  to  each  other. 
"The  main  purpose  for  your  having  come  together  is  to  live  harmoniously 
in  your  house,  intent  upon  God  in  oneness  of  mind  and  heart  "   (Rule,  Ch . 1), 
This  emphasis  upon  fraternal  charity  in  the  "one  body"  is  profound  and 
gives  to  Dominican  monasticism  its  familial  and  communal  flavor.   In  any 
case,  solitude  was  the  original  inspiration  of  monasticism  going  back  at 
least  as  far  as  St.  Anthony's  successive  flights  into  the  desert.   But  for 
us,  the  spirit  of  solitude  is  tempered  by  the  spirit  of  the  Rule.  It  has 
constantly  to  be  carried  out  within  the  setting  of  a  very  deep  community 
life.   The  nun  can  never  become  severed  from  the  community,  even  in  atti- 
tude, without  by  that  very  fact,  becoming  something  other  than  Dominican. 


pie 

more 

p  e  r  v 

cove 

c  i  a  t 

a  vo  i 

moth 

Late 

by  n 

the 

c  onf 

ing 

to  c 

the 

soli 


Our 
of  sol 
a  c  om 
ad  e  d  h 
r  ac  c  o 
e  h  ims 
d  e  d  t  h 
er  ,  th 
r  on  i 
ight  , 
1 e  i  su  r 
ine  s  o 
j  our ne 
ommune 
f ac  i  1  i 
tud  e  a 


Fat 
i  tud 
mun  i 
is  e 
un  t  s 
elf 
e  wa 
e  Ch 
n  li 
d  e  vo 
e  f  o 
f  th 

ys , 

wit 
t  y  w 
nd  c 


her, 
e  in 
t  y  ma 
n  t  i  r  e 
of  h 
with 
nde  r  i 
ur ch  , 
fe,  " 
t  ing 
r  con 
e  mon 
Dom  in 
h  God 
i  t  h  w 
ommun 


St  . 
c  omm 
n  j  n 

1  if 
is  1 
t  h  o  s 
ngs 

and 
as  a 
h  ims 
t  emp 
a  s  t  e 
i  c  w 

a  1  o 
h  i  c  h 
ity, 


Dom  i 
unit 
o  on 
e  . 

0  ve 

e  wh 

of  E 

the 

c  an 

elf 

1  a  t  i 

ry." 

ou  1  d 

ne  . 
our 
mo  v 


n  i  c  , 

y  ■ 

e  mo 
Yet  , 
for 
o  '  w 
s  au  , 
h  om 
on  a 
c  e  a  s 
on  , 
6 

oft 
Al  1 
Fat 
ing 


is  an 
Humber 
re  joy 

in  Jo 
s  o  1  i  t  u 
alk  f  r 

pr  e  f  e 
e  1  y  t  e 
t  Osma 
e  1  e  s  s  1 
he  h  a  r 
Finall 
en  go 

of  th 
her  wa 
back  a 


exc 
t  of 
ou  s  , 
rdan 
de. 
i  vo  1 
r  r  i  n 
n  t  s 
s  h  e 
y  to 
dly 
y »  e 
ap  a  r 
is  t 
s  ab 
nd  f 


elle 

Rom 

"  an 

'  s  L 

"In 

ous  1 

g  to 

of  s 

h  au 

p  r  a 

ever 

ven 

t  fr 

ak  en 

le  t 

or  th 


n  t  em 
an  s  s 
d  thi 
ibell 
chil 

y';  1 

r  ema 
anc  t  i 
n  ted 
y  e  r  . 

show 
du  r  in 
om  h  i 

t  oge 
o  b  a  1 

be  tw 


bod  imen  t 
ays  of  h 
s  spirit 
u  s  ,  wee 
dh  ood  :  h 
ike  qu  ie 
in  in  th 
ty  and  r 
the  chur 
C 1 aimin 
ed  h  ims  e 
g  his  ex 
s  c  omp  an 
t  h  e  r  ,  s  e 
anc  e  the 
een  them 


of  thi 
im:  "No 

must  h 
an  also 
e  did  n 
t  Jacob 
e  1  ap  o 
epo  s  e  .  " 
ch  by  d 
g  for  h 
If  outs 
tens  i ve 
ions  in 
ems  t  o 

two  p  o 

with  e 


s  p  r i nc  i 
one  was 

a  ve 
d  i  s  - 

0  t  a  s  s  o- 
,  he 

f  his 

5 
ay  and 
imse 1 f 
i  d  e  the 

preach  - 

order 
indicate 

1  e  s  of 
a  s  e  . 


Thus,  solitude  and  community  need  not  be  viewed  as  antithetical 
elements  but  rather  as  means  to  be  balanced  and  integrated,  in  order 
that  they  may  lead  us  to  the  true  goal  of  perfect  love.    "By  the  wonder- 
ful favor  of  God's  loving  care,  in  this  solitude  of  ours,  we  have  the 
peace  of  solitude,  and  yet  we  do  not  lack  the  consolation  and  comfort 
of  holy  companionship.    It  is  possible  for  each  of  us  to  sit  alone  and 
be  silent,  and  yet  it  can  not  be  said  of  us:   'Woe  to  him  who  is  alone, 
if  he  should  fall,  there  is  none  to  pick  him  up. '   We  are  surrounded  by 
companions,  yet  we  are  not  in  a  crowd  "  (Guerric  of  Igny  ). 

Let-  us  consider  now  the  nature  of  solitude  in  itself.   Firstly, 
it  does  not  seem  to  be  the  sole  property  of  c on t emp 1  a t i ve s  .   Gabriel 


Marcel  claims  that  solitude  is  man's 
municable  as  they  are  impenetrable, 
because  of  his  being  human."  7 


vocation.     "People  are  as  incom- 
Thus,  solitude  is  inherent  in  man 


But  why  should  the  nun  seek  a  greater  solitude,  even  beyond  this 
fundamental,  existential  solitude  common  to  all  humankind?  The  great 
doctor  of  the  church,  Teresa  of  Avila,  gives  us  a  very  succinct  answer. 
"To  accustom  ourselves  to  solitude  is  a  great  help  to  prayer,  and  since 
prayer  is  the  mortar  which  keeps  our  house  together  and  we  come  here  to 
practice  it,  we  must  learn  to  like  what  promotes  it."  8   Solitude  is  never 


-49- 


the  necessary  cause  of  grace  which  always  depends  upon  God's  initiative, 
but  it  does  seem  to  provide  optimum  conditions  for  the  kind  of  prayer 
which  transforms.    It  is  so  necessary^  then,  for  one  to  know  how  to  seclude 
oneself  in  order  to  let  oneself  be  touched  by  God,  in  order  to  open  one- 
self to  His  word,  to  His  request sy  to  His  sanctifying  and  healing  grace. 

Solitude  can  be  alternately  desert  or  paradise,  but  usually  it  is 
a  place  of  severe  struggle  before  it  is  a  place  of  encounter  with  God. 
William  Johnston,  S.J.  describes  very  clearly  this  condition  of  struggle. 
"For  when  one  enters  the  desert  without  books  and  magazines,  when  one's 
senses  are  no  longer  bombarded  by  all  the  stimuli  to  which  we  are  or- 
dinarily exposed,  when  the  top  layers  of  the  psyche  are  swept  clean  and 
bare  and  empty,  then  the  deeper  layers  of  the  psyche  rise  to  the  surface. 
the  inner  demons  lift  up  their  faces."  9   In  solitude,  it  is  the  heart  of 
man  that  inevitably  comes  to  the  surface  with  its  innate  discord  and  com- 
pulsions.  The  fantastic  stories  of  demonic  appearances  that  we  find  in 
the  accounts  of  the  early  ascetics  are,  for  the  most  part,  externally 
projected  images  of  what  they  uncover  within:  sin  and  human  frailty. 
This  is  the  reason  why  the  Desert  Fathers  consistently  say  that  even  if 
every  other  ascetic  discipline  were  abandoned,  persistence  in  the  cell 
would  alone  suffice  to  bring  one  to  spiritual  maturity.   The  piercing 
experience  of  the  depth  of  sin  and  weakness  within  oneself  is  very  pain- 
ful indeed,  and  one  that  we  would  rather  avoid  at  all  cost.   Yet  it  is 
only  in  allowing  our  own  personal  darkness  to  come  into  God's  light,  into 
the  radiant  beams  of  His  infinite  love,  that  we  will  slowly  experience  a 
deep  inner  healing  and  uprooting  of  sin.   External  practices  are  power- 
less to  reach  this  level  of  purification  which  only  God,  encountered  in 
solitude,  can  bring  about.    "If  the  cell  is  a  tomb,   it  is  also  a  womb. 
a  space  within  which  the  new  creature  in  Christ  can  come  to  full  maturity 
(William  of  St.  Thierry). 

In  the  famous  "Life  o_f  An  th  ony "  ,  we  can  discern  a  progressive 
pattern  of  development  corresponding  to  Anthony's  flights  ever  farther  intc 
the  desert,  until  at  last  he  returned  to  become  the  spiritual  father  of 
numerous  disciples.    There  are  degrees  of  solitude.    From  the  existen- 
tial solitude  consequent  upon  human  life  itself,,  we  move  on  to  a  solitude 
freely  chosen.    "I  will  stand  at  my  guardpost,  and  keep  watch  to  see 
what  He  will  say  to  me  "  (Habakkuk  2:1),   We  go  apart  and  in  the  quieting 
of  our  soul,  hear  the  still  voice  of  another  sphere.   Yet  even  our 
choosing  to  go  apart  is  in  reality  a  free  response  to  God's  prevenient 
action,  for  He  says:  "Lo,  I  will  lead  her  into  the  desert  and  speak  to 
her  heart  "  (Osee  2:16).   Gradually,    we  move  even  farther  into   the 
desert  ,  a  desert  not  of  our  own  choosing  ,  but  experienced  passively.   This 
desert  is  created  by  God's  incomprehensible  presence  within.    St.  John 
of  the  Cross  wrote  much  about  this  kind  of  desert-  but  briefly;  it  seems 
that  a  very  intense  sense  of  isolation  can  spring  from  the  experience  of 
a  spiritual  light  that  is  as  yet  beyond  our  capacity  to  receive.    All  the 
spiritual. faculties  of  the  soul  are  irresistably  drawn  inward  without. 
however,  knowing  what  it  is  that  is  attracting  them,  and  are  thereby 
unable  to  "pay  attention"  to  anything  without.    The  soul  can  neither 
bear  God  within,  who  is  inaccessible  light,  nor  find  comfort  or  compan- 
ionship outside  itself.    It  is  in  a  spiritual  desert  and,  as  it  were, 
crucified  between  heaven  and  earth.    All  that  can  be  done  is  simply  to 
wait  upon  the  Lord  until  the  passive  purification  has  run  its  full  course. 


-50- 


"Let  him  sit  alone  and  in  silence,  when  it  is  laid  upon  him.   Let  him 
put  his  mouth  to  the  dust;  there  may  yet  be  hope  "  (Lam.  3:28-29). 

At  last,  the  desert  will  bear  fruit,  and  in  the  wilderness   water 
will  flow  from  the  rock.    In  proportion  to  the  vastness  of  the  solitude 
and  isolation  experienced,  sowill  be  the  joy  of  communion  with  God  and 
all  creation.    Solitude  is  here  transformed  into  a  profound  solidarity 
with  all  that  is.    "For  those  who  enter  into  the  absolute  relationship 
with  God,  nothing  'particular'  retains  any  importance;  neither  things, 
nor  beings,  neither  earth  nor  heaven,  but  everything  is  inc luded  in  the 
relationship.   Everything  is  seen  in  God.   To  have  nothing  besides  God 
but  to  grasp  everything  in  Him,  that  is  the  perfect  relationship."  10 

One  is  amazed  to  find  that  those  who  have  entered  most  deeply  into 
solitude  have  also  entered  most  intensely  into  solidarity  with  all  human- 
kind.  The  Russian  hermit  (Poustinik)  of  old  had  no  latch  on  his  door 
manifesting  that  he  was  not  there  for  himself  but  for  others.   Our 
Western  tradition  has  the  marvelous  example  of  Dame  Julian  of  Norwich. 
The  English  anchorite  affectionately  refers  to  her  "fellow  Christians" 
many  times  in  her  writings.   "If  I  pay  special  attention  to  myself,  I 
am  nothing  at  all;  but  in  general  I  am  in  the  unity  of  love  with  all  my 
fellow  Christians.   For  it  is  in  this  unity  of  love  that  the  life  consists 
of  all  men  who  will  be  saved."  11   This  quality  of  "relationship"  is 
the  hinge  that  links  together  solitude  and  community;  for  when  alone  we  are  not 
inclined  to  introspection  but  rather  drawn  out  of  ourselves  toward  God 
in  loving  self- transcendence.   In  community,  this  very  same  self-tran- 
scendent relationship  with  God  must  bear  fruit  in  self-giving,  loving 
service  to  others.   Thus  love  is  neither  self-seeking  in  solitude  nor 
in  community,  but  burrows  out  a  great  space  in  our  hearts  for  God  and  all 
the  world  to  enter.   There  is  a  tremendous  difference  on  this  point  be- 
tween Christianity  and  Buddhism  (and  the  many  meditation  techniques  flow- 
ing from  it).   Buddhism  and  its  derivatives  can  lead  to  the  unifica- 
tion of  the  soul  in  its  center  (an  intermediate  goal),  but  it  can  never 
lead  the  unified  being  further  into  that  supremely  personal  encounter 
with  the  supremely  personal  God.   All  mystical  doctrines  outside  of 
Christianity  seem  to  be  based  on  this  gigantic  delusion — of  the  human 
spirit  bent  back  upon  itself  >but  the  Christian  contemplative,  even  in  her  seclusion  ii 
intimately  present  to  God,  to  the  Church  and  to  the  entire  world.   Her 
very  being  is  a  plea  for  the  salvation  of  all  humankind. 

In  our  communities,  we  can  imitate  Christ  who  was  not  a  hermit, 
but  lived  among  men  as  we  do.   Jesus  did  withdraw  for  frequent  periods  of  solitary 
communion  with  his  Father  and  we  too  can  do  this  without  necessarily 
altering  our  community  structures  or  even  building  hermitages!    For  the 
Constitutions  state:  "A  nun  should  willingly  return  to  the  solitude  of 
her  cell  when  duties^  work  or  obedience  do  not  require  her  presence  else- 
where "  (LCM  #58).   Ingenuity  will  find  many  hidden  places  perfect  for 
time  alone  with  God,  in  the  garden  or  elsewhere  .   And  we  always  have, as 
St.  Catherine  tells  us  that  "interior  cell  of  the  heart"  from  which  we 
need  never  depart.    "When  your  prayer  has  gained  such  stability  that  it 
keeps  you  always  face  to  face  with  God  in  your  heart,  you  will  have 
seclusion  without  being  a  recluse.   For  what  does  it  really  mean  to  be  a 


-51- 


recluse?   It  means  that  your  mind,  enclosed  in  the  heart,  stands  before 
God  in  reverence  and  feels  no  desire  to  occupy  itself  with  anything 
else  "  12  (Theophan  the  Recluse). 

In  our  communities  there  will  also  be  a  certain  diversity  with 
some  members  needing  more  solitude  and  others  more  togetherness.   All 
the  members,  however,  "live  in  community  so  as  to  protect  one  another's 
solitude  both  from  deteriorating  into  loneliness  and  from  being  in- 
fringed upon  by  misguided  togetherness."  13   We  are  the  guardians  of 
each  other's  solitude  both  to  the  right  and  to  the  left. 

Finally,  we  are  essentially  a  pilgrim  people,  so  that  no  matter 
to  what  extent  our  communion  with  God  and  one  another  grows,  it  will 
never  be  complete  in  this  life.   There  will  always  remain  a  strong 
sense  of  eschatological  longing  for  the  fullness  that  is  not  yet.   'For 
here  we  have  no  lasting  city;  we  are  seeking  one  which  _s  to  come  " 
(Heb  .   13:14). 

I  would  like  to  conclude  with  a  short  meditation  of  Father  Karl 
Rahner.    It  is  much  like  a  lyric  hymn  from  which  we  might  take  the  theme 
for  our  own  lives. 


"The 

eternal 

future  has 

come  into  our  time. 

Its 

light 

still 

d  az  z  1 

e  s  us, 

s  o 

mu  c 

h  so  that  we  think 

it  is  night. 

But 

it  is 

a  blessed 

nigh  t 

;  a  n  i 

ght 

wh  ich  is  alrea 

dy  fill 

ed  with  warmth 

and 

light 

;  full 

of 

beaut 

y  and 

mysterious  and  protective 

because  of  th 

e  eternal 

day  wh 

i  ch 

it  carries 

in  i 

t  s 

d  ark  womb  . 

It  is 

a  holy  night, 

if  we 

let 

the  ho 

]  y 

silence  of 

this 

n  i 

ght  into  our  inwar 

dness,  if  our 

heart 

s  too 

keep 

lonely 

watch 

by  n  i 

ght  . 

W 

e  are  lonel 

y.   There  is  an  inner 

count  ry  in  our 

hea'rts 

wh  ere 

we  are  a  1 

one 

,  wh  ere  no 

one  but 

God  can  dwell 

Th 

e  question 

i  s 

only 

whe  th  e  r  we 

do 

not  avoid 

i  t  in  f 

ear.  .  .bee  au  s  e 

no  one  and 

no  part  of 

all  that  we 

tru 

s  t 

in  on  earth 

can  go 

there  with  us 

We 

mu  s  t 

enter 

sof  ti- 

ly an 

d  close  th 

e  d 

oor  behind 

us  .    Th 

ere  we  must  listen 

to  th 

e  un  i  q 

ll  e 

mu  sic 

p  lay  e 

d  in 

th 

e  silence  o 

f  the  n 

igh  t  wh  ere  the 

quiet  and 

soli: 

ary 

soul 

sings 

to  the 

God  of  its 

heart . 

There  it  sing 

s  its 

softest  an 

d 

mo  s  t 

inwa  r d 

mu  s 

i  c  . 

It  k  n  ow  s 

that  Go 

d  is  listening 

as  i 

t  sin 

gs.    C 

od 

is  c  1 

o  s  e  to 

u  s  , 

a  n 

d  the  word 

of  love 

,  the  softest 

word 

in  th 

e  noiseless 

space 

of  th 

e  h  uman 

heart,  reaches  th 

e  ear  and  heart  of 

God.  " 

14 

*********** 


-52- 


FOOTNOTES 


1.  Ward,  Sr.  Benedicta,  SLG,  "The  Wisdom  of  the  Desert  Fathers"  1977 
(Oxford,  SLG  Press),  p.  22 

2.  Abbott,  Walter  M. ,  S.J.,  "The  Documents  of  Vatican  II",  (Guild  Press, 
New  York,  1966),  p.  77 

3.  Op.  cit.,  pg.  471 

4.  Sacred  Congregation  for  Religious,  "Instruction  on  the  Contemplative 
Life  and  on  the  Enclosure  of  Nuns,"  (United  States  Catholic  Conference 
1969),  p.  1 

5.  Jordan  of  Saxony,  "On  the  Beginnings  of  the  Order  of  Preachers", 
(Parable,  USA,  1982),  p.  2 

6.  Op.  cit.,  p.  3 

7.  Cf.  Guardini,  "Freedom  and  Grace",  (Pantheon  Books,  New  York) 

8.  Teresa  of  Avila,  "The  Way  of  Perfection",  Translation  by  the  Bene- 
dictines of  Stanbrook,  (London,  Thomas  Baker,  1919),  p.  14 

9.  Johnston,  William,  S.J.,  "Christian  Mysticism  Today".  (Harper  and  Row, 
San  Francisco,  1984),  p.  153 

10.  Buber,  Martin,  "I  and  Thou",  (Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York, 
1970).  p.  127 

11.  Julian  of  Norwich.  "Showings".  Translated  by  Edmond  Colledge.  O.S.A. 
and  James  Walsh.  S.J.  in  Classics  of  Western  Spirituality.  (Paulist 
Press,  New  York.  1978).  p.  134 

12.  Ware,  Timothy.  "The  Art  of  Prayer".  (Faber  and  Faber  Limited,  London, 
1966),  p.  252 

13.  Steindle-Rast ,  David,  O.S.B.,  "Contemplative  Community",  (Cistercian 
Publications)  Consortium  Press,  Washington,  D.C.,  1972),  p.  300 

14.  Rahner,  Karl,  S.J.,  "Meditations  on  Hope  and  Love",  (Seabury  Press, 
New  York,  1977),  p.  72 


-53- 


TRUTH 


Veritas ,  the  motto  of  the  Dominican  Order,  carries 
and  direct  message  for  each  member  of  the  Order, 
directed  to  Dominican  contemplative  nuns  is  a  very 
demanding  one.   Was  it  not  intimate  and  demanding 
all  as  the  One  who  came  to  reveal  to  mankind  the  t 
head  even  to  the  mystery  of  the  inner  life  of  the 
Persons?   Only  Jesus,  as  God-man  and  divine  Son  of 
able  to  do  this.   He  'was  made  flesh'  and  took  on 
human  person  so  that  he  might  teach  humanity  the  w 
expressed  his  humanity  in  a  very  concrete  way  by  s 
out  of  thirty  three  years  in  a  hidden  life  of  labo 
the  will  of  his  Father.   At  the  end  of  his  life,  w 
with  apparent  failure,  he  spoke  eloquently  of  trut 
discourse  at  the  Last  Supper.   Let  us  look  at  the 
to  St.  John  to  see  what  Jesus  has  to  say  of  truth. 


Sister  Mary  Joseph,  O.P, 
Los  Angeles 

with  it  a  special 
That  message,  as 

in t  ima te  yet 
for  Christ,  above 
ruth  of  the  God- 
Trinity  of  Divine 

the  Father  wa  s 
the  ways  of  a 
ays  of  God .  He 
pending  thirty 
r,  accomplishing 
hen  he  was  faced 
h  in  his  final 
Gospel  according 


During  his  public  life  Jesus  had  told  the  Jews  who  believed  in  him: 
"If  you  make  my  word  your  home,  you  will  indeed  be  my  disciples, 
you  will  learn  the  truth  and  the  truth  will  make  you  free"  (John  8:45-46; 
Elsewhere  in  this  episode  he  had  spoken  of  the  devil  as  the  father  of 
lies,  of  whom  he  said:  "He  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  he  was 
never  grounded  in  the  truth"  (John  8:44).   The  contrast  is  evident. 
To  his  own,  his  chosen  ones  at  the  Supper,  and  to  us  Christ  says  even 
to  this  day:  "I  am  the  way  and  the  truth  and  the  life.   No  one  can  come 
to  the  Father  except  through  me"  (Johnl4:6). 


Jesus 

developed  his  thought  further  when 

he  explicitly  gave  his  reason 

for  leaving  his  disciples:  "Still  I  must 

tell  you  the  truth:  it  is  for 

your  own  good  that  I  am  going  because  unl 

ess  I  go,  the  Advocate,  the 

Spirit 

of  truth,  will  not  come  to  you,  bu 

t  if  I  go,  I  will  send  him 

to  you 

"  (John  16:7).   About  the  Advocate, 

his  own  Spirit,  he  said 

further:  "When  the  Advocate  comes,  whom  I 

shall  send  from  the  Father, 

the  Sp 

irit  of  truth  who  issues  from  the  F 

ather,  he  will  be  my  witness" 

(John 

15:26).   The  oneness  and  continuity 

of  truth  comes  from  the 

Father 

through  Jesus  as  the  revelation  of 

God  in  man  and  is  continued 

in  the 

Spirit.   Thus  Jesus  could  speak  of 

himself  as  the  truth  and 

the  Sp 

irit  as  the  one  who  would  continue 

to  make  the  truth  revealed 

in  the 

mystery  of  the  God-man  known. 

In  his 

priestly  prayer  Jesus  prayed  for  h 

is  disciples:  "I  am  not  asking 

you  to 

remove  them  from  the  world,  but  to 

protect  them  from  the  evil 

one  . 

They  do  not  belong  to  the  world  any 

more  than  I  belong  to  the 

world . 

Consecrate  them  in  the  truth;  your 

word  is  truth"  (John  17:15-1' 

His  disciples  must  be  protected  from  the 

falsity  of  evil  which  the 

devil 

promotes  and  the  world  often  enshrines.   But  Jesus  first  of  all 

consecrates   himse'lf  ,  "so  that  they  too  may  be  consecrated  in  truth" 

(John 

17:19).   The  note  in  the  Jerusalem 

Bible  on  the  verb  'consecrate' 

reads  : 

"The  verb  means  literally:  'to  set 

aside  for,  dedicate  to  God', 

'To  sanctify  (in  the  original  sense  of  th 

e  word)'".   Jesus,  and  his 

dis  cip 

les  after  him,  must  be  dedicated  to 

the  work  of  truth  in  some 

way . 

We,  as  Dominican  cloistered  contemp 

latives,  each  in  her  own 

hidden 

way,  is  sent  out  of  self  into  the 

heart  of  Christ,  the  truth, 

and  th 

rough  him  into  the  heart  of  the  Church  to  serve  truth  in  what- 

ever  way  he  wills.   Only  our  holiness,  th 

e  holiness  of  the  truth,  our 

total 

self  giving  will  be  productive  in  and  through  him.   Mary  will 

■54- 


always  be  our  concrete  example.   Mary's  faith  was  constant  and  grew 
gradually  in  depth  from  her  first  fertile  'fiat'  to  her  momentous 
'stabat'  on  Calvary. 

"The  Spirit  teaches  all  truth"  (John  16:13).   Every  truth,  whether 
natural  or  supernatural,  really  comes  from  the  First  Truth,  God  him- 
self in  the  Trinity  of  Persons.   All  that  the  Creator  made  was  good, 
was  part  of  truth.   Scripture  is  the  font  of  all  truth  and  it  will 
never  be  exhausted  in  expressing  that  truth.   The  Church  will  always 
be  lifting  out  hidden  truths  that  were  always  there.   God  has  also 
put  his  truth  within  each  of  us,  like  a  hidden  tresury,  and  we  must 
'dig'  to  unearth  it.   We  must  study,  meditate,  pray  and  contemplate. 
We  must  apply  our  minds  and  hearts  to  the  work  of  our  san ctifi cation 
in  whatever  way,  position,  work,  capacity  or  incapacity  we  may  find 
ourselves.   There  we  must  serve  in  love  and  obedience.   There  we  will 
find  the  truth . 


In  Lume 


hearts 
witness 
all  tru 
with  hi 
and  enr 
Spirit 
the  six 
respons 
feet  ex 
that  is 
leged 
impelle 
truth  e 
the  tru 
with  th 


n  G_e 
of  t 

in 
th  a 
erar 
iche 
of  t 
teen 
ibil 
erci 
>  be 
to  b 
d  by 
spec 
th  o 
e  de 


n  t  ium 


he  f  ai 
them  t 
nd  giv 
chical 
s  i  t  w 
ruth  1 
th  doc 
i  ty  to 
se  of 
ing  en 
ear  pe 
natur 
ially 
nee  it 
mands 


we  r ead : 
thf ul  as 
o  their  a 
es  it  uni 

and  char 
ith  his  f 
eading  th 
ument  of 

truth  of 
free  dom . 
dowe  d  wit 
rson  resp 
e  and  a  Is 
re ligious 

is  known 
of  truth. 


"The  Spi 

ri  t 

dwe lis 

in  the  Church 

an 

d  in  the 

in  a  t em 

pie 

He  p 

rays  in  them  and 

b  ears 

dop  t ion 

as 

son  s  . 

He  leads  the  Church  into 

ty  in  communion  an 

d  se  rvi  ce .   He 

en 

dows  it 

ismatic 

gifts,  directs  it  by  their 

means , 

ruits . " 

(1) 

Here 

we  find  the  action  of  the 

e  Church 

in 

to  the 

whole  of  truth 

. 

And  in 

the  Council 

,  Dignitatis  Humanae, 

th 

e  personal 

each  human 

person 

is  expressed 

as 

the  per- 

"In  accord 

ance  wi 

th  their  dignity 

as  persons, 

h  reason 

an 

d  free 

will  and  there 

fore  privi- 

onsib  ility , 

that  a 

11  men  should 

be 

at  once 

o  b  ound 

by 

a  moral 

ob ligation  to 

seek  the 

truth. 

Th 

ey  are 

also  bound  to 

adh 

ere  to 

and  to 

ord 

er  their  whole  lives 

in 

accord 

"  (2) 

Our  own  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  gives  us  the  essence  of  truth  when  he  says: 
"Contemplation  is  a  simple  vision,  a  spiritual  intuition  of  the  divine 
truth."  (3)  And  he  goes  on  to  explain:  "If  then,  anyone  studies  merely 
to  know  and  not  that  he  may  become  better  and  increase  in  the  love  of 
God,  he  must  realize  that  he  is  living  the  contemplative  life  not  in 
the  theological  but  only  in  the  philosophical  sense."   Truth  must  be 
experienced  and  as  true  contemp latives  we  are  to  "taste  and  see  that 
the  Lord  is  sweet"  (Ps.  33). 

Meister  Eckhart  in  his  commentary  on  Genesis  says:  "Christ,  the  Truth 
himself  in  parabolical  fashion  in  the  Gospel  both  gives  moral  instruc- 
tion and  also  transmits  the  general  roots  of  profound  hidden  truths 
to  those  who  have  'ears  to  hear'".   (4)   We  all  know  how  St.  Catherine 
in  her  great  love  ,for  the  Church  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  our  holy 
Father  St.  Dominic  in  upholding  truth  and  sound  doctrine.   (5) 

Forever  will  Mary,  our  Mother,  be  our  concrete  example  in  her  devotion 
to  truth.   In  her  cry s tal- clear  soul  she  refracted  the  pure  rays  of 
faith  and  love  that  she  received  from  the  Godhead  and  then  reflected 
the  truth  she  received  as  the  moon  reflects  the  light  of  the  sun. 
Only  Mary,  our  Mother,  could  have  shown  such  queenliness  in  her  hunil- 
ity  and  such  humility  in  her  queenliness  as  Mother  of  the  Truth. 

St.  Paul  urges  us  all:  "You  must  speak  the  truth  to  one  another,  since 
we  are  all  parts  of  one  another"  (Eph.4:25). 


-55- 


FOOTNOTES 
All  Scripture  quotations  are  from  the  Jerusalem  Bible 

(1)  Lumen  Gentium  Ch.  1,  Nos.  4  and  12 

(2)  Dignitatis  Human ae  Ch.  1 

(3)  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  ST  11  -  Ilia  q.  180  a  1 

(4)  Meister  Eckhart  Commentary  on  Genesis ,  translation  from  Latin  Works 

(5)  St.  Catherine  of  Siena   Truth   Nos.  98  -  100,  p. 184 
and  Letter  No.  64,  p.  121  Cavallini; 

Prayer  8  in  Suzanne  Noffke,  O.P.,  English  translation 


*********** 


The  Father's  Word  is  my  music 

His  Masterpiece  my  Art 

His  Poem  of  single  Word 

My  inspiration 

The  lilting  joy  of  my  heart 

Sing  through  me  Song  of  the  Father 

Utter  in  me  Your  Love 

Mirror  Yourself  in  my  barren  heart 

Shine  through  me,  Mystic  Love. 

Sister  Mary  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  O.P, 
Menlo  Park 


-56- 

COMMUNIO  AND  MISSIO 

Sr.  Mary  Thomas,  Buffalo 

Followership  in  a  dance:   this  is  how  I  see  ,Communio*  and  'Missio,1 
those  two  musical  words,  so  rhythmic,  so  contrasting.   'Communio'  is  a 
word  to  lean  into,  a  word  which,  lengthening  into  a  murmur,  gives  rest. 
'Missio,'  on  the  contrary,  strikes  sparks,  flashes  upon  your  inward  ear 
and  impels  you  to  movement.   Or  if  you  see  them  in  color,  'Communio'  gives 
off  cool  tones  —  pensive  blue,  quiet  gray-green,  a  touch  of  deep  rose,  the 
heart  of  violet.   'Missio'  vibrates,  startles  with  its  scarlet,  flame-orange, 
sun-gold  overtones.   They  go  well  together,  these  two:   there  must  be  move- 
ment, infinite  movement  in  this  dance,  and  there  must  be  eternal  repose. 

What  is  followership?  An  illusive  art,  a  subtle  science.   If  you  love  to 
dance,  you  will  know  at  once  what  it  is.  You  will  know  what  it  means  to 
fit  your  every  movement  to  the  movement  of  another,  until  you  move  as  one. 
Dancing  alone,  interpreting,  you  bend  to  the  music's  rhythm,  even  sheerly  to 
the  flow  of  the  image  in  your  heart.   In  the  delight  of  a  square  dance,  you 
are  drawn  to  the  center  of  the  pattern,  then  flung  out  to  its  limits  like  a 
flower  petal,  deeply  responsive  to  the  caller's  voice.  Dancing  is  an  authen- 
tic expression  of  followership  and,  pursuing  this  concept,  followership  is 
gradually  perceived  to  be  in  a  sense  the  creator  of  leadership,  for  how  can 
there  be  a  leader  without  a  follower? 

'Communio'  and  'Missio,'  those  underlying  currents  in  our  life,  drawing  us 
to  our  center,  sending  us  forth  "to  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  (l)  then  calling 
in  the  voyaging  heart  once  more,  are  carefully  delineated  in  our  Basic  Consti- 
tution.  Number  V  unfolds  them  with  deceptive  brevity,  leaving  us  to  explore 
them  in  depth  if  we  so  choose. 

"Withdrawn  from  the  world  ...."  (2)  It  is  good  to  step  back  far  enough  to 
encompass  the  entire  world  in  mind  and  heart,  to  try  to  see  it  through  the 
eyes  of  God.   "And  God  saw  everything  that  he  had  made,  and  behold,  it  was 
very  good."  (3)  Already,  for  a  brief  moment,  we  may  enter  into  the  joy  of  our 
Lord: 

As  the  Creator  loves  his  creation, 
so  creation  loves  the  Creator. 

Creation,  of  course, 

was  fashioned  to  be  adorned, 

to  be  showered, 

to  be  gifted  with  the  love  of 
'  the  Creator. 

The  entire  world  has  been  embraced 
by  this  kiss.  (4) 


-57- 

Glance  at  the  sun. 

See  the  moon  and  the  stars. 

Gaze  at  the  beauty  of  earth's  greenings. 

Now, 
think. 

What  delight 

God  gives 

to  human  kind 

with  all  these  things. 

Who  gives  all  these  shining,  wonderful 
gifts,  if  not  God?  (5) 

Continuing  to  gaze,  we  see  the  dark  shadow  of  evil  falling  across  this  prime- 
val world.  "And  God  saw  the  earth,  and  behold,  it  was  corrupt,  for  all  flesh 
had  corrupted  their  way  upon  the  earth."  (6)  In  the  light  of  God's  unchanging 
love,  we  trace  the  swift  course  of  the  Son  "coming  forth  as  a  bridegroom"  (?) 
for  the  rescuing  and  warming  and  nourishing  of  our  world,  for  its  re-creation 
and  ultimate  glory.  Even  now,  before  the  "eager  longing  of  creation"  (8)  can 
be  fulfilled,  we  may  rediscover  "the  dearest  freshness  deep  down  things,"  (9) 
and  know  in  unfaltering  faith  that  the  Spirit  of  God 

". . . .  over  the  bent 
World  broods  with  warm  breast  and  with  ah!   bright  wings."  (lO) 

So  fair  a  world,  and  shall  we  withdraw?  But  the  gift  is  for  the  Giver,  and 
would  tell  us,  itself,  of  its  lovely  littleness,  that  we  might  prize  it  all 
the  more,  as  Juliana  prizes  the  hazel-nut  in  the  palm  of  her  hand  —  all  that 
is  made.   "I  marvelled  how  it  might  last,  for  methought  it  might  suddenly  have 
fallen  to  naught  for  littleness.  And  I  was  answered  in  my  understanding,  'It 
lasteth,  and  ever  shall  last  for  that  God  loveth  it.'"  (ll)   Here,  ultimate- 
ly, we  find  the  reason  for  withdrawal:   "It  needeth  us  to  have  knowing  of  the 
littleness  of  creatures  and  to  naughten  all  thing  that  is  made,  for  to  love 
and  have  God  that  is  unmade."  (12)   In  calling  us  to  withdraw  from  the  world, 
"Love  is  his  meaning."  (13) 

The  dance  goes  on,  weaving  a  pattern  in  deft  agility.   Hither  and  yon,  to 
the  left,  to  the  right,  inward,  outward,  in  stillness,  in  motion,  "they  seek 
God."  (14)   'Communio:'  in  enclosure  and  silence,  searching  the  Scriptures, 
instant  in  prayer,  God  is  sought.   'Missio:'   working  with  their  hands,  doing 
ready  penance,  in  purity  of  conscience  and  the  joy  of  sisterly  concord,  in 
"the  freedom  of  the  Spirit,"  (15)  it  is  God  who  is  sought. 

"Freedom  of  the  Spirit  seems  the  key  phrase  here.   It  is  the  freedom  of  the 
Spirit  which  makes  for  the  essential  contrasts  in  our  life,  the  interplay  of 
varying  factors  building  up  to  one  harmonious  whole.   'Communio*  and  'Missio' 
are  reflections  of  the  one  God  who  calls,  the  triune  God  who  is  sought. 

Enclosure  and  silence  are  mysterious  concepts  for  us,  and  for  all  the  world. 
Perhaps  it  is  because  they  are  incomplete,  quite  unfinished  in  themselves, 


-58- 

and  their  reaching  out  for  fulfillment  is  like  an  unanswered  question  or  an 
empty  hand.  Because  of  this  quality  they  tell  us  truly  that  they  can  never 
be  our  goal,  that  we  must  look  beyond  them,  that  their  role  is  simply  to 
point  the  way.  This  is  not  to  deny  the  importance  of  their  role:   only  when 
we  move  as  they  direct  us,  do  we  discover  their  deepest  values.  Enclosure 
makes  it  possible  for  us  to  journey  beyond  the  world's  edge,  to  leave  space 
behind  and  to  discover  experientially  that  "our  citizenship  is  in  heaven. "(l6) 
Silence,  when  freely  chosen,  is  again  a  guiding  angel: 

Elected  Silence,  sing  to  me 
And  beat  upon  my  whorled  ear; 
Pipe  me  to  pastures  still ,  and  be 
The  music  that  I  care  to  hear.  (17) 

Searching  the  Scriptures  must  be  done  with  "an  eager  heart,"  (18)  one  open 
through  a  habitual  attitude  of  prayer,  and  ready  to  be  filled.   Intimated 
here  is  the  fine  instrument  of  monastic  study,  designed  to  train  the  whole 
person,  mind,  heart.,  imagination,  to  a  precision  of  aim  variously  known  as 
detachment  or  discipline.  As  in  other  contexts,  we  will  find  what  we  seek, 
and  our  searching  is  to  be  truly  God ward. 

There  is  a  sharing  in  all  of  this.  Together  we  live  enclosed  and  silent, 
together  we  study,  read,  pray.   'Communio'  reaches  its  deepest  when  it  brings 
us  together  in  God  as  we  dwell  in  unity  in  his  house. 

The  work  of  the  hands,  the  ready  penance,  the  purity  of  conscience  and  the  joy 
of  sisterly  concord  point  to  our  'Missio,'  our  mission  of  service  to  one  an- 
other and  to  God  in  the  Church. 

Work  of  the  hands  need  not  designate  manual  labor  exclusively:   we  conceive 
of  work  as  the  endeavor  of  the  whole  person,  engaged  in  whatever  activities 
may  call  forth  our  total  human  effort  to  collaborate,  so  to  speak,  in  God's 
own  creative  activity  —  to  bring  healing  and  health  to  others,  to  strengthen 
their  spiritual  vitality  with  whatever  resources  have  been  given  us,  to 
evoke  their  awareness  of  their  own  potentialities  through  our  spontaneous 
articulation  of  beauty  and  truth.   There  are  no  limits  to  the  extent  of  this 
service.  The  "work  of  our  hands"  may  precede  us  to  the  city  gates  and  far 
beyond,  since  it  is  God  who  defines  our  borders,  and  he  is  infinite  lar- 
gesse. 

Nor  is  there  any  pre-set  limit  to  "ready  penance,"  which  may  well  mean,  pre- 
dominantly, our  readiness  for  whatever  may  befall.   Real  penance  is  not  con- 
trived; it  need  not  be  sought  after;  it  is  built-in.  The  operative  word  is 
"ready."  This  is  intimately  linked  with  purity  of  conscience,  and  out  of 
this  blend  flows  the  "joy  of  sisterly  concord"  which  is,  as  it  were,  the 
crowning  peak  of  this  progression.   It  is  the  definitive  wedding  of  •Commu- 
nio' and  'Missio.'  , 

Delightful  is  the  thought  of  a  wedding  here.   It  relieves  the  mind  and  heart, 
perhaps  at  one  time  constrained  by  a  concept  of  'Communio*  and  'Missio'  as 
two  opposites,  tugging  at  us  and  dividing  our  loyalties.  Martha  was  so 
filled  with  love,  Mary's  activity  went  so  deep.   We  need  both,  to  become 
whole,  and  we  need  them  precisely  in  the  measure  designed  by  our  unique  vo- 


-59- 

cation.  If  it  has  been  suggested  that  action  is  for  this  life  and  contem- 
plation for  the  next,  we  may  also  recall  that  there  is  in  our  midst  an 
interpenetration  of  both  worlds:   God's  eternity  distilled  for  us  in  the 
droplet  of  our  now.   Here,  we  may  rest.   There,  we  may  enter  into  the  dance 
depicted  by  our  brother  Blessed  Fra  Angelico,  joining  hands  in  fields  bright 
with  small  flowers,  following  steps  now  unimaginable  to  us. 

The  deep  communion  lived  within  a  monastery  cannot  fail  to  bear  witness,  for 
the  whole  Church,  to  the  joy  received  through  grace  in  this  life  and  leading 
to  glory  in  the  future.  Charity  leads  to  fruitfulness,  hidden  now  but  to 
shine  forth  later,  when  we  shall  all  be  gathered  by  the  Spirit  from  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth  and  brought  together  as  a  purchased  people  into  the  holy 
city.   'Communio'  and  'Missio*  will  have  found  their  ultimate  fulfillment  in 
this  final  movement  of  return  to  the  center,  where  "God  shall  be  all  in 
all."  (19) 


NOTES 


(1) 

Ps. 

47 

11 

(2) 

LCM 

Bas.  Const. 

SV 

(3) 

Gen 

1 

31 

St. 

Hildegard 

of 

Bingen, 

Meditations 

ill 

ib. 

Gen 

6 

11 

(?) 

Ps. 

18 

5 

(8) 
9) 

Rom 

8 

19 

Gerard 

Manley 

Ho 

pkins ,  Poems 

do" 

)  ib 

(11)  Juliana  of  Norwich:   Revelations 
of  Divine  Love 

(12)  ib. 

(13)  ^. 

(14)  LCM,  Bas.  Const.  SV 

15)  ib. 

16)  Phil.  3:20 

(l?)   Gerard  Manley  Hopkins,    Foem: 

(18)  LCM,    Bas.    Const.    SV 

(19)  I  Cor.    15:28 


-60- 


IM  THE  GARD3N  OF  TOMORROW, 


In  the  garden  of  tomorrow 
Shall  my  memory  linger  on, 
Like  the  fragrance  of  the  flowers 
Vv'hen  the  evening  light  has  gone? 


Shall  remembrance  of  my  kindness, 
Of  the  things  I've  said  and  done, 
Guild  the  golden  halls  of  memory, 
Like  the  light  of  setting  sun? 


Shall  my  footprints  trace  a  pathway 
For  some  weary  pilgrim's  weary  feet, 
Through  this  vale  of  earthly  shadows 
To  the  glistening  mountain  peaks? 


Where  the  mists  of  Time  dispersing, 
There  shall  break  upon  the  sight 
Vision  blest  of  Home  Eternal, 
And  God's  everlasting  light? 


Sr.  Mary  Rose  Dominic  Of  Jesus  O.P, 
Summit 


-61- 


A  TRILOGY 


-5r.  Mary  Margaret  of  the  Trinity  O.P 
Buffalo 


I  -  A  CALL  AND  A  COVENANT 


God  said  to  Abram,  "Leave  your  country,  your  family  and  your 
father's  house  for  the  land  I  will  show  you."(l  )   Abram  obeyed.   When 
Abram  was  ninety— nine  years  old,  God  made  His  covenant  with  him.   He 
changed  his  name  to  Abraham  and  told  him  he  would  be  the  father  of  many 
nations.   The  chancing  of  his  name  signified  the  changing  of  his  destiny. 
Abraham  remained  faithful  to  God  and  His  covenant  and  when  God  put  him  to 
the  test  commanding  the  sacrifice  of  his  son,  Isaac,  Abraham  immediately 
set  out  to  fulfill  the  command.   At  the  crucial  moment,  God  intervened 
and  blessed  Abraharr  for  his  obedience:   "I  will  shower  blessings  on  you; 
I  will  make  your  descendants  as  many  as  the  sta::s  of  heaven  anc  the  grains 
of  sand  on  the  seashore ."( 2 )   5cripture  thus  reveals  the  drama  of  a  voca- 
tion, a  call  from  God,  yes,  but  also  a  call  to  fidelity. 

The  call  of  God  to  souls  never  ceases.   Does  not  "the  fidelity 
of  the  Lord  remain  forever"?(3)   Could  the  crisis  in  the  area  of  vocations 
find  its  source  in  a  lack  of  fidelity  on  our  part  to  correspond  with  God's 
terms  of  the  covenant,  namely,  "Se  perfect  as  also  your  heavenly  Father  is 
perfect"?  (4) 

As  a  springboard  for  launching  out  into  the  deep  on  the  problem 
of  vocations,  let  us  simply  cite  a  key  paragraph  in  our  Constitutions: 
"Since  the  hope  of  the  monastery  depends  greatly  upon  the  successful  for- 
mation of  the  Sisters,  care  must  be  diligently  taken  that  those  who  desire 
to  follow  Christ  in  our  way  of  life  may  be  led  to  the  fullness  of  the 
cloistered  life."  (5)   A  prayerful  study  of  this  text  will  indicate  a 
marked  crescendo  in  the  dynamics  of  this  statement  reaching  its  "fortissimo" 
at  the  word  "fullness." 

What  is  the  fullness  of  cloistered  life  if  not  contemplative  life? 
If  our  aim  be  directed  to  "cloistered"  life  rather  than  "contemplative"  life, 
undoubtedly  we  shall  fall  short  of  our  goal  for  we  will  be  aiming  at  the 
means  rather  than  the  end.   Fullness  is  synonymous  with  perfection.   Perfec- 
tion is  positive.   Therefore  only  a  positive  striving  after  perfection  in 
all  its  aspects  anc  details  of  our  contemplative  life  can  satisfy  this  full- 
ness which  those  who  come  to  us  in  their  search  for  union  with  God  have  a 
right  to  find  in  our  monasteries.   Can  we  satisfy  this  right  with  a  mediocre 
observance?   with  using  "loopholes"  in  the  letter?   with  depreciation  rather 
than  appreciation  of  such  safeguards  of  contemplative  life  as  enclosure, 
silence,  communal  prayer,  regular  observance  etc.?   or  by  making  dispensa- 
tion the  rule  rather  than  the  exception  to  it?   If  we  find  ourselves  guilty 
of  these  negative  qualities,  let  us  be  honest  and  admit  that  we  are  failing 
in  our  part  of  the  "covenant." 

While  examining  our  "community  conscience"  on  this  question,  we 
might  ask  ourselves  if  we  really  draw  the  wherewithal  to  nourish  and  sustain 


-62- 


our  candidates  in  their  search  for  God  from  Him  in  prayer.   Is  the  motto, 
"To  contemplate  and  tc  give  to  others  the  fruits  of  contemplation"  a 
truism  in  our  monastic  life? 

Perhaps  a  fitting  conclusion  to  these  thoughts  on  the  crisis  of 
vocations  is  no.  55  of  Pope  Paul's  apostolic  exhortation  " Qn  Renewal  of 
the  Religious  Life  according  to  the  teaching  of  5econd  Vatican  Council" 
(June  29,  1971 ): 

"The  joy  of  always  belonging  to  God  is  an  incompar- 
able fruit  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  one  which  you  have  already 
tasted.   Filled  kith  the  joy  which  Christ  will  preserve  in 
you  even  in  the  rridst  of  trial,  learn  to  face  the  future  with 
confidence.   To  tne  extent  that  this  joy  radiates  from  your 
communities,  it  will  be  a  proof  to  everyone  that  the  state  of 
life  which  you  have  chosen  is  helping  you  by  the  threefold 
renunciation  of  _.3ur  religious  profession  to  realize  the 
greatest  possible  expansion  of  your  life  in  Christ.   Seeing 
you  and  the  life  you  lead,  the  young  will  be  able  to  under- 
stand well  the  acpaal  that  Jesus  never  ceases  to  make  among 
them.   The  Council,  in  fact,  brings  this  to  mind:   'The  exam- 
ple of  your  life  constitutes  the  finest  recommendation  of  the 
institute  and  tha  most  effective  invitation  to  embrace  religious 
life. '(6)   There  is  no  doubt,  moreover,  that  by  showing  you  pro- 
found esteem  and  great  affection,  bishops,  priests,  parents  and 
Christian  educators  will  awaken  in  many  the  desire  to  follow  in 
your  footsteps,  in  response  to  that  call  of  Jesus  which  never 
ceases  to  be  heard  among  His  followers." 

"Again  the  angel  of  the  Lord  called  from  heaven  to  Abraham  and 
said,  'I  swear  by  myself,  says  the  Lord,  since  you  have  done  this  and  have 
not  withheld  your  only  son  I  will  indeed  blass  you,  and  you  will  surely 
multiply  your  descendants  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  as  the  sands  on  the  sea- 
shore.  Your  descendants  shall  possess  the  gates  of  their  enemies.   In 
your  descendants  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  shall  be  blessed,  because 
you  have  obeyed  me'."  (7) 


II  -  A  RESPONSE:  FIAT 


"...  and  in  your  descendants  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
shall  find  blessing  — all  this  because  you  obeyed  my  command."  (8) 

Mary,  true  daughter  of  Abraham,  sang  in  joy  of  the  fulfillment 
which  her  immortal  'Fiat'  set  in  motion:  "He  has  upheld  Israel  his  ser- 
vant, ever  mindful  of  his  mercy;  even  as  he  promised  our  fathers,  promised 
Abraham  and  his  descendants  forever."  (9) 

"Fiat!"   "Fiat  mihi  secundum  verbum  tuum."   She  could  have  used 
other  words,  but  she  cid  not.   With  quiet  deliberation  flowing  from  her 
pure,  virginal  heart,  Mary  (ever  our  "leading  Lady")  bowed  in  acquiescence 
to  the  Will  of  Him  who  was  at  once  her  Creator,  her  Redeemer,  her  Sancti- 
fier  —  her  Father,  her  Son,  her  Spouse.   "Be  it  done  to  me  according  to 
Thy  word. "(10)   The  promise  of  Redemption  was  bursting  forth  into  bloom 
as  a  bud  opens  its  petals  to  the  light  of  the  sun. 


-63- 


"Fiat!"   This  is  a  word  to  be  pondered  for  it  is  a  key  word  in 
the  vocabulary  of  every  contemplative  and  a  dominant  note  in  the  great 
symphony  of  religious  life.   "Mary  treasured  all  these  things  and  reflec- 
ted on  them  in  her  heart."  (11)   What  things?   The  Word  of  God  in  the 
writings  of  the  prophets  and  psalmist,  the  mysteries  in  the  life  of  her 
Son,  the  Word-made-flesh,  unfolding  daily  before  her  eyes  —  truly  this  Korc 
was  God's  own  Divine  Son  and  her  Son  too.   Mary  contemplated  His  conception, 
His  birth,  the  words  of  Simeon,  the  finding  of  her  Child  in  the  temple,  and 
later,  His  life  at  Nazareth,  His  teaching,  His  miracles,  His  passion,  death, 
resurrection  and  ascension  to  the  Father.   It  is  because  she  uttered  her 
'fiat'  that  we  are  enabled  to  ponder  in  our  hearts  these  mysteries  also. 

"Fiat!"   We  also  make  this  word  our  own  as  the  "yes"  to  the 
daily  manifestations  of  God's  Will  in  our  lives.   Hewn  from  the  rock 
of  Dominic,  we  too  must  utter  only  the  truth  and  the  spoken  "yes"  must 
become  e  reality.   "None  of  those  who  cry  out,  'Lord,  Lord'  will  enter 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  only  the  one  who  does  the  Will  of  my  Father 
in  heaven."  (12)   And  so  the  spoken  fiat  is  above  all  a  word  to  be 
lived. 

"Fiat!"   This  word  is  fittingly  the  key  to  salvation  history. 
The  creation  of  the  universe,  the  world  and  mankind  was  accomplished  by 
the  "Fiat"  of  their  Creator.   As  related  in  Genesis,  when  God  said  His 
"Let  it  be"  so  it  was  done.   The  fiat  of  Mary  at  the  Incarnation  brought 
to  mankind  its  Savior  and  Redeemer  whose  whole  life  as  Son  of  God-made- 
man  was  one  fiat  to  the  Will  of  His  Heavenly  Father.   "The  Dne  who  sent 
me  is  with  me.   He  has  not  deserted  me  since  I  always  do  what  pleases 
Him."  (13) 

"Fiat!"   " Cons ummat urn  est!   Now  it  is  finished!"  (14)   The  su- 
preme sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  the  cross  merited   for  a  fallen  race  the 
supreme  gift  of  its  Redemption.   God,  as  it  were,  hastens  to  meet  His 
prodigal  children  to  clothe  them  with  the  heavenly  gift  of  adoption  into 
His  kingdom  of  light,  of  peace,  of  love,  of  eternal  happiness. 

"Fiat!"   We  do  well  to  ponder  these  words  of  Lumen  Gentium  re- 
garding Mary's  fiat  and  the  part  it  played  in  our  Redemption:   "The  Fa- 
ther of  Mercies  willed  that  the  consent  of  the  predestined  Mother  should 
precede  the  Incarnation,  so  that,  just  as  a  woman  contributed  to  death, 
so  also  a  woman  should  contribute  to  life.  .  .  .    She  gave  to  the  world 
that  very  Life  which  renews  all  things.  .  .  .    She  devoted  herself  to- 
tally as  a  handmaid  of  the  Lord  to  the  person  and  work, of  her  Son.   In 
subordination   and  along  with  Him,  by  thn  grace  of  Almighty  God,  she 
served  in  the  mystery  of  Redemption."  (15)   Parallel  to  these  words  are 
those  of  our  Constitution:  "Among  the  counsels  the  vow  of  obedience  is 
outstanding ,  that  vow  by  which  a  person  consecrates  herself  wholly  to 
God,  ana  whose  acts  approach  more  closely  to  the  end  of  our  profession, 
which  is  the  perfection  of  charity.   By  this  the  nuns  share  in  thair  own 
way  in  the  work  of  our  Redemption,  following  the. example  of  the  Handmaid 
of  the  Lord,  who  through  her  obedience  was  made  the  cause  of  salvation 
for  herself  and  for  the  whole  human  race.  (St.  Irenaeus,  Adversus  Haere- 
ses  III,  22,4)"   (16) 


-64- 


"Fiat!"   This  one  word  encompasses  and  integrates  every  phase 
and  aspect  of  our  lives  making  of  them  a  living  prayer  to  the  Father  in 
Christ  through  the  intercession  and  example  of  Mary.   Every  joy,  sorrow, 
failure,  success,  sickness,  health,  and  even  death  itself  is  made  holy 
and  filled  with  love  by  a  ceaseless  'fiat.' 


Ill  -  WITNESS:  MONASTIC  VALUE5 

We  come  to  the  third  element  of  this  "mini"  trilogy  intro- 
duced by  the  successor  of  St.  Peter  toaay.    He  speaks  to  our  hearts: 
"It  is  especailly  in  Mary,  Mother  of  God  and  Mother  of  the  Church, 
that  religious  life  comes  to  understand  itself  most  deeply  and  find  its 
sign  of  certain  hope.  .  .  .   Mary  showed  throughout  her  life  all  those 
values  to  which  religious  consecration  is  directed.   She  is  Mother  of 
religious  in  being  Mother  of  Him  who  was  consecrated  and  sent,  and  in 
her  'fiat'  and  'magnificat'  religious  life  finds  the  totality  of  its 
surrender  to  and  the  thrill  of  its  joy  in  the  consecratory  action  of 
God."   These  words  of  our  Holy  Father,  Pope  John  Paul  II,  to  religious 
mark  the  rhythm  of  our  religious  contemplative  life  as  a  baton  in  the 
skilled  hands  of  the  maestro. 

"Mary  showed  throughout  her  life  all  those  values  to  which 
religious  consecration  is  directed."   This  sentence  from  the  above 
cited  quotation  sets  the  tempo  of  the  following  notes  on  monastic  values. 

Thomas  Merton   D.C.5.0.  concluded  his  treatise  on  the  "Basic 
Principles  of  Monastic  Spirituality"  with  the  words:  "In  the  night  of 
our  technological  barbarism,  monks  must  be  as  trees  which  exist  silently 
in  the  dark  and  by  their  vital  presence  purify  the  air."  (17)   This 
statement  vividly  portrays  the  raison  d'etre  of  the  monastic  calling 
which  is  no  small  challenge  in  contemporary  society. 


Society  is  in  turmoil  and  the  human  heart  is  restless.   The 
cause  of  this  restlessness  is  a  failure  in  some  respects  to  understand 
and  pursue  a  truly  human  goal  in  its  most  authentic  sense.   St.  Augustine 
described  it  well:  "You  have  made  us  for  Yourself,  D  Lord,  and  our  hearts 
are  restless  until  they  rest  in  You."   Today  the  pace  of  life  is  ever 
more  rapid  and  noise  fills  every  moment  with  distractions  of  every  sort. 
Unless  God  is  the  sought  after  end  of  the  human  journey  that  journey  is 
misdirected  and  the  human  person  does  not  reach  his  or  her  full  capacity 
in  God.   When  the  conscious  goal  is  atheistic  materialism,  science, 
politics  and  even  violence  become  powerful  means.   Perhaps  this  is  what 
Father  Merton  meant  when  he  labeled  this  age  the  "night  of  our  techno- 
logical barbarism." 
i 

In  contrast,  the  psalmist  compares  the  just  man  to  a  "tree 
planted  by  the  rivers  of  water  that  brings  forth  fruit  in  due  season. "(18) 
Here  is  the  contemplative  ideal,  that  monastic  rttrees"  watered  by  the  river 


-65- 


of  divine  grace  should  "exist  silently  in  the  dark  and  by  their  vital 
presence  purify  the  air,"  of  alien  and  destructive  elements.   As  con- 
templatives  we  need  always  to  assess  our  values  and  keep  our  eyes  fixed 
on  the  true  goal  so  as  to  use  aright  the  traditional  means  given  to  us. 

Some  of  the  values  proposed  for  our  consideration  at  the  West 
Springfield  meeting  in  June  1 962  —  prayer/work,  silence/community, 
sclitude/hospitality  —  at  first  glance  seem  polarized  and  a  common 
denominator  must  be  found  to  reconcile  one  with  the  other.   The  solution 
is  simple.   We  have  only  to  turn  to  the  basic  values  of  religious  life 
to  find  the  answer,  namely,  the  evangelical  counsels  based  on  the  theo- 
logical virtues.   From  these  flow  the  very  ones  chosen  for  this  review. 

Prayer  and  Work:   Prayer  and  work  are  united  in  an  obedience 
based  on  faith.   "When  you  pray,  pray  thus:   Our  Father  .  .  .  your  Will 
be  done  .  .  .  ."(19)   "Not  everyone  who  says  to  me,  Lord,  Lore,  shell  en- 
ter the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  only  the  one  who  does  the  Will  of  My  Father 
who  is  in  heaven." (20)   Is  there  a  better  praye:  than  that  uttered  by 
Mary  at  the  Annunciation,  "Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord.   Be  it  done 
to  me  according  to  Thy  Word"?(21 )   So  fruitful  was  the  prayer  of  her 
life  that  her  grace-filled  soul  drew  down  from  Heaven  the  very  Son  of 
God.   In  these  instances  and  rrany  more  can  be  found  the  reconciliation 
of  prayer  and  work  through  obedience  based  on  faith.   The  vowed  reli- 
gious merits  doubly  by  every  act  of  religion:  the  merit  of  obedience 
and  the  merit  of  the  virtue  of  religion.   Her  life  is  a  prayer,  her 
prayer  is  her  life.   "To  contemplate"  (prayer);  "to  give  to  others  the 
fruits  of  contemplation"  (work). 

Silence  and  Community:  At  the  heart  of  all  silence  is  that 
interior  silence  that  cries  out  "Nescivi"  —  the  emptiness  of  all  that 
would  clamor  in  the  heart  and  take  possession  of  one's  soul,  rather  than 
fill  the  void  with  Him  Who  Is.   "Be  still  and  know  that  I  am  God."  (22) 
Be  still  with  the  silence  of  nothingness.   Our  Heavenly  Father  told  our 
sister,  St.  Catherine,  "I  am  He  Who  Is,  you  are  she  who  is  not."   This 
is  possessing  the  poverty  of  nothingness.   A  poor  religious,  i.e.,  a 
religious  endowed  with  the  riches  of  poverty,  possesses  all  things  for 
"Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." (23) 
Small  wonder  then,  that  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  requested  for  his  reward  from 
the  Lord,  "Nothing  but  Thyself,  0  Lord."   Isaias  tells  us,  "In  silence  and 
in  hope  your  strength  lies." (24)   The  silent  religious  loses  her  identity 
in  her  community  for  her  life,  hidden  with  Christ  in  God  in  the  silence 
of  her  communion  with  her  Beloved,  is  enveloped  by  the  communal  family 
of  which  she  is  a  part  since  she  loses  her  'self  in  her  zeal  for  the 
common  good. 

Solitude  and  Hospitality:   "Martha,  Martha,  you  are  anxious 
and  upset  about  many  things.   One  thing  only  is  necessary;  Mary  has  cho- 
sen the  better  poiition  and  she  shall  not  be  deprived  of  it."  (25)   Mary 
is  portrayed  as  the  contemplative  totally  absorbed  in  the  solitude  of 
contemplating  the  Master.   Solitude  is  not  mere  aloneness  but  an  alone- 
ness  with  God.   This  was  Mary's  choice;  this  is  supposedly  the  choice  of 
everyone  entering  the  contemplative  life  in  a  monastery.   Mary's  soli- 
tude was  her  hospitality  for  she  centered  her  entire  attention  on  her 
Lord  and  Master  while  Martha  served  but  with  the  anxiety  of  the  many 
things  to  divide  her  attention.   Would  we  say  Mary  was  less  hospitable 


-66- 


because  she  sat  at  the  Master's  feet  while  Martha  served?   The  Lord  did 
not  think  so.   It  was  Martha  he  chided  when  she  complained  about  her 
sister.   Another  example  we  might  cite  is  that  of  Our  Blessed  Mother, 
who,  after  she  heard  of  her  cousin's  pregnancy  in  her  old  age,  immedi- 
ately set  out  into  the  hill  country  to  visit  Elizabeth  and  help  her  in 
her  need.   5urely  no  one  was  more  absorbed  in  contemplation  in  the 
solitude  of  her  heart,  now  the  tabernacle  of  her  God  and  Son,  than  Mary, 
the  handmaid  of  the  Lord,  serving  Him  in  the  person  of  her  aged  cousin. 
These  two  examples  of  charity  from  which  flowec  a  chaste  love  for  God 
and  neighbor  are  not  beyond  imitation  in  monastic  living.   One  need  not 
leave  the  monastery  to  find  solitude  or  practice  hospitality. 

In  summary,  prayer  and  work  are  unitec  in  an  obedience  based 
on  faith;  silence  and  community  are  fused  in  poverty  founded  on  hope; 
solitude  and  hospitality  are  wedded  in  chastity  rooted  in  charity.   It 
will  be  for  the  individual  to  "seek  (God)  in  secret,  to  ponder  and  pray, 
so  that  the  word  which  has  come  forth  from  the  routh  of  God  may  not  re- 
turn to  Him  void,  but  may  prosper  in  those  things  for  which  He  sent  it." 
(26)   To  glean  the  riches  of  these  values  in  our  Dominican  contemplative 
life,  then,  we  must  study  them  in  the  light  of  Truth,  the  Word  of  God, 
Who  said,  "I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the  Life." (27) 

Reverting  to  Merton's  "Basic  Principles  of  Monastic  Spirituality" 
(cf.17)  we  conclude  this  trilogy:  "In  our  age  in  which  everyone  else  is 
carried  away  with  the  exigencies  of  a  great  cultural  and  political 
struggle,  the  monk  has,  as  his  primary  function,  the  duty  to  be  a  monk  — 
to  be  a  man  of  God,  that  is  to  say,  a  man  who  lives  by  and  for  God  alone. 
Only  by  doing  this  can  the  monk  preserve  what  is  rich  and  vital  in  his 
monastic  and  Christian  tradition.   In  order  to  be  what  he  is  meant  to  be, 
the  monk  must  rise  above  the  common  ethical  level  of  humanitarian  pagan- 
ism, and  live  the  'theological'  life  centered  on  God,  a  life  of  pure 
faith,  of  hope  in  God's  providence,  of  charity  in  the  Holy  Spirit.   He 
must  live  in  the  'Mystery  of  Christ'."  ' 

*********** 


NOTES 

Gen.    12:1  11)Luke    2  1 1 9,51  19)Matt.    6:10 

Gen.    22i17  12)Matt.    7i21  20)Matt.    7l21 

Pe.    116:2  13)John    B:29  21 )Luke    1i3B 

Matt.    5:4B  14)John    19:30  22)Ps.    46:10 

1971    LCM   #11B    51  15)LurnBn    Gentium   #56  23)Matt.    5»3 

Perfectae    Caritatie    #24  16)1971    LCM  #24    SI  24)Ib.    30:15 

Gen.    22:15-18  17)DB8ic    Principles    of    Monastic      25)Luke    10:41,42 
Gen.    22:16  Spirituality    by    Thomas    Merton , 26 )  1  971     LCM,    Basic    Consti- 

Luke    2:54,55  O.C.S.O.    Abbey    of    Gethsemene ,  tution    of    Nuns    #1    SII 

Luke    1 i 38  '  copyright    1957  27) John    14:5 

1B)Pb.    1:3 


-67- 


Mary  '  s  Answer 


Mary,  when  Gabriel  uttered  God's  sublime  request, 
To  your  divine  Maternity,  you  meekly  answered,  "Yes". 
So  hold  Him  in  your  arms,  and  never  let  Him  go: 

"I  must;  for  Jesus  came  to  save  the  world,  you  know. 

Mary,  did  not  the  ancient  prophets  one  and  all 
Foretell  what  dreadful  things  the  Savior  would  befall? 
And  did  not  Simeon  warn  that  sorrow  would  be  thine? 

"Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord;  His  Will  is  mine." 

0  Mother,  see  these  tender  tiny  hands  and  feet; 
This  little  curly  head,  this  baby  smile,  so  sweet. 
Won't  you  be  sad  to  watch  this  lovely  infant  grow? 

'The  marks  of  toil,  his  likeness  to  ourselves  must  show." 

Is  it  not  sad  that  He  must  leave  your  sweet  abode? 
To  seek  His  sheep  through  every  rough  and  rugged  road? 
Would  you  not  spare  Him  all  this  loneliness  and  pain? 

"No!  I  would  share  them  with  Him,  o'er  and  o'er  again." 

This  helpless  babe  now  clings  to  you  so  trustfully; 

God  wills  that  helpless  you  must  stand  beside  the  tree; 

And  when  He  says,  "behold  Thy  Son,"  what  will  you  say? 

"Into  my  broken  Heart,  all  men  must  find  their  way." 

"For  gladly  I  accept  the  task  of  motherhood 
which  Jesus  gave  to  me  when  by  His  Cross  I  stood; 
Nor  shall  I  ever  leave  Christ's  Mystic  Self  alone 
until  in  you,  His  members,  Christ's  Life  is  fully  grown. 


(By  Sister  Regina  Marie  Gentry,  OP) 
Syracuse,  New  York 


*********** 


-68- 

THF  SANCTITY  OF  CURUPIRA 

Curupira  !  do  Tuba  was  born  January  22,  1901  in  the  village  of  Carariaca, 
Para,  Brazil,  the  child  of  Amazon  Indian  parents.   Baptized  three  years  later, 
she  was  adopted  in  1911  by  a  Brazilian  family  of  European  descent  and  raised  as 
a  fervent  Catholic.   She  entered  the  Monastery  of  Christ  the  King,  Sao  Paulo,  in 
1935,  taking  the  name  of  Sister  Mary  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  and  was  solemn- 
ly professed  in  1944.   After  nearly  forty  years  as  a  Dominican  nun.  she  passed  to 
her  eternal  reward  on  September  19,  1974.   The  following  is  a  brief  account  by  her 
own  community  of  her  life  and  holiness. 

Curupira  was  the  only  person  in  the  community,  indeed  in  the  world,  who  had 
any  thought  of  the  holiness  of  Curupira...   And  this  thought  she  held  with  an 
unshakeable  certitude,  the  certitude  of  those  who  know  that  God  alone  is  Holy. 
She  never  doubted  that  the  Heavenly  Father  loved  her  enough  and  was  powerful 
enough  to  hold  her  nothingness  in  his  arms.   Yes,  we  think  that  recognition  of 
the  sanctity  of  Curupira  on  the  part  of  the  Church  would  prove  ver\  interesting 
as  an  effort  to  convince  people  that  it  is  not  the  saints  who  are  saints,  but  God 
in  them,  in  the  very  measure  that  they  are  convinced  of  their  own  nothingness  and 
allow  themselves  to  be  invaded  by  love. 

Her  virtues  were  admittedly  rather  strange,  but  none  the  less  heroic  for  all 
that.   Here  is  one  example  out  of  a  thousand:   she  reached  the  point  of  slapping 
a  sister  who  had  the  nerve  to  come  into  "her"  refectory  while  she  was  washing  the 
floor.   But  before  Communion,  with  what  tenderness  did  she  embrace  her  victims: 
"My  dear  little  sister,  you  know  it  is  because  I  am  an  Indian,  but  I  do  really 
love  you!" 

She  used  to  say  that  purity  and  joy  were  her  favorite  virtues.   Once  she 
confided  that  she  had  never  sinned  against  purity.   Such  Dominican  virtues! 
In  fact,  one  found  her  always  and  everywhere  cheerful  as  a  bird,  except  in  her 
terrible  moments  of  anger...   She  was  especially  pure  of  heart:   very  affectionate, 
tender,  winning  even,  but  never  possessive.   Although  deeply  attached  to  Mother 
Reginald,  she  knew  how  to  accept  her  other  prioresses  with  the  same  respect  full 
of  affection,  and  on  the  death  of  that  particular  one,  she  gave  proof  of  an  ad- 
mirable supernatural  spirit. 

Possibly  as  early  as  her  first  call  to  the  religious  life  at  the  age  of 
eighteen,  the  day  of  her  first  Communion,  she  had  had  an  intuition  of  her 
"sanctity,"  for  at  that  time  she  began  to  write  her  life,  unfortunately  thrown 
on  the  fire  out  of  fear  that  it  would  prove  an  impediment  to  her  admission  to 
the  novitiate.   But  it  was  particularly  on  the  famous  day  when  she  assisted  at 
Mass  in  our  chapel  and  someone  said  to  her  that  it  was  the  feast  of  St.  Rose  of 
tima,  the  first  saint  of  Latin  America,  that  she  made  this  formal  reply:   "As 
for  me,  I  will  be  the  first  saint  of  Brazil."  And  a  little  later  on  she  added: 
"A  one-hundred  per  cent  Brazilian  saint,  without  a  single  drop  of  European  blood, 
except  for  the  blood  of  the  Franciscan  missionaries  whom  my  ancestors  ate." 

During  her  fina'l  illness,  she  advised  us  to  preserve  carefully  all  her 
"relics":   a  collection  of  straw  hats,  feather  dusters  and  brooms.   One  day,  she 
happened  to  notice  that  someone  was  burning  her  belongings  in  the  garden:   "I  see 
very  well  that  you  do  not  understand  me..."  She  also  enjoined  us  to  transform 
her  cell  into  a  chapel  because  many  people  would  come  there  to  pray. 


-69- 


WE  REQUEST  THAT  ANYONE  OBTAINING  EAVORS  THROUGH  THE  INTERCESSION  OE 
CURUPIRA,  PLEASE  COMMUNICATE  WITH  US: 

Mosteiro  Cristo  Rei 
Caixa  postal:   85 
18130  Sao  Roque  S.P. 
BRASIL 

contributed  by:   Soeur  Marie  Damien  du  Sacre  Coeur,  O.P. 

Editor's  Note:   As  this  issue  of  DMS  was  going  to  the  press,  we  received  the 
following  communication  from  Sr.  Marie  Damien: 

"We  thank  you  for  the  excellent  translation  of  the  article  on  Curupira.   I  have 
one  correction  to  make:   Curupira  never  actually  slapped  any  of  her  sisters. hut  as 
she  spoke  with  much  gesticulation  and  would  come  closer  and  closer  to  the  sister  in 
her  efforts  to  make  her  understand,  one  could  easily  believe  that  she  had  slapped 
the  person!   A  sister   who  had  worked  closely  with  her  on  various  different  jobs 
has  Drought  out  the  truth  of  the  matter." 


-70- 


CURUP IRA'S  ROSARY 
"My  rosary  ought  to  be  the  favorite  joy  of  my  heart." 

THE  JOYFUL  MYSTERIES 


1.  THE  ANNUNCIATION  Fruit:  Humility 

0  my  Mother,  give  me  a  great  humility  so  that  I  can  resemble  my  Divine  Master  I 

2.  THE  VISITATION  Fruit:  Charity  for  my  neighbor 

My  Mother,  impregnate  my  heart  with  this  holy  virtue,  because  when  everything 
else  disappears,  it  alone  will  last  forever. 

3.  THE  BIRTH  OF  OUR  LORD  Fruit:  Poverty 

My  Mother,  give  me  a  great  love  for  the  poverty  of  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

4.  THE  PRESENTATION  Fruit:  Obedience 

My  Mother,  give  me  a  holy  obedience,  an  unquestioning  obedience,  as  befits 
a  good  religious,  especially  one  belonging  to  the  Order  of  our  beloved 
Father  St.  Dominic. 

5.  THE  FINDING  IN  THE  TEMPLE         Fruit:  The  seeking  of  Jesus 
My  Mother,  in  everything  may  I  seek  only  Jesus,  my  Beloved. 


THE  SORROWFUL  MYSTERIES 

1.  THE  AGONY  IN  THE  GARDEN  Fruit:  Contrition 

My  Mother,  give  to  my  spirit,  a  spirit  of  penance;  to  my  soul,  contrition; 

and  to  my  eyes,  a  fountain  of  tears,  after  the  example  of  our  Father 

St.  Augustine,  the  Father  of  our  Rule,  so  that  I  may  weep  for  my  great  sins 

2.  THE  SCOURGING  Fruit:  Mortification 

My  Lady  and  my  Mother,  grant  that  I  may  be  mortified  even  in  the  least 
things,  to  please  only  you  and  my  Beloved  Master. 

3.  THE  CROWNING  WITH  THORNS  Fruit:  Love  of  humiliations 

My  dear  Mother,  you  know  that  I  have  a  great  horror  of  humiliations... 
Give  me  the  grace  to  love  this  precious  virtue  with  all  my  soul. 

4.  JESUS  CARRIES  THE  CROSS  Fruit:  Patience 

i 
My  Mother,  give  me  a  great  patience  in  all  that  happens  to  your  daughter, 

particularly  in  the  most  sorrowful  hours. 

5.  THE  CRUCIFIXION  Fruit:  Love  of  the  Cross 

My  Mother,  give  me  a  generous  love  of  the  Cross  of  my  Divine  Master,  so 
that  I  can  say  without  fear  that  I  am  a  faithful  spouse. 


-71- 


THE  GLORIOUS  MYSTERIES 

1.  THE  RESURRECTION  Fruit:  Faith 

My  Mother,  give  me  a  great  faith,  a  living  faith,  full  of  true  love  and 
of  confidence  in  my  Lord,  Jesus  Christ. 

2.  THE  ASCENSION  Fruit:  Hope 

My  Mother,  grant  me  this  great  and  strong  hope  of  being  in  heaven  with 
you  and  the  angels  and  saints. 

3.  COMING  OF  THE  SPIRIT  Fruit:  Charity 

My  Mother,  let  it  be  that  the  Divine  Holy  Spirit  makes  of  my  poor  heart 
his  chosen  dwelling  place. 

4.  THE  ASSUMPTION  Fruit:  The  grace  of  a  happy  death 

My  Mother,  grant  me  a  good  and  holy  death  through  love  of  your  holy 
Rosary.   My  Mother,  I  love  you. 

5.  THE  CORONATION  Fruit:  Confidence  in  Mary 

My  loving  and  affectionate  Mother,  come  with  all  the  court  of  angels 

and  saints,  virgins  and  holy  widows  to  meet  this  poor  child  on  the  day  of 

my  death.   I  hope  to  be  happy  through  the  holy  Rosary. 


(Translated  by  Sr.  Mary  of  the  Trinity  (Lufkin)  from  "The  Newsletter  of 
Sr.  Anna  of  the  Angels",  Sante  Fe ,  Argentina,  July  9,  1984,  Year  III,  No.  27, 


a********** 


Grant,  Qrb 
jfatt  2  rmy  be 
a  tempts  of  j?rucfm 

*  (um  tfyrmpr 

<tni  of  your  jtcasl 
forever 


Feast  of  S+,  Alba.r+'Hfva.  GriLaf 


-73- 


A  SUITABLE  PLACE 

Homily  preached  at  the  Mass  of  Blessing  of  new  Monastery 
and  the  Establishment  of  the  Monastic  Enclosure  at 
Saint  Dominic's  Monastery,  Washington,  DC 
Rev.  Augustine  DiNoia,  O.P. 
May  4,  1985 

There  is  only  one  letter  of  our  Holy  Father  St.  Dominic  extant.   It  was. 
written  at  just  about  this  time  of  year  in  1220.   It  opens  with  these  words: 

Friar  Dominic,  Master  of  the  Preachers,  to  the  dear  prioress  and 
the  whole  convent  of  nuns  of  Madrid.   Health  and  daily  progress. 
We  rejoice  greatly  and  give  thanks  to  God  because  of  your  holy 
lives  and  because  he  has  liberated  you  from  the  corruption  of  the 
world.   Up  to  the  present  you  have  not  had  a  suitable  place  for 
the  carrying  out  of  your  religious  life.   But  now...  by  God's 
grace  you  possess  buildings  sufficiently  well  adapted  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  regular  life. 

We  may  suppose  that  our  Holy  Father  would  want  to  address  these  or  similar 
words  to  this  little  flock  of  his  daughters,  our  much-loved  sisters  in  this 
monastery  on  16th  Street  in  Washington. 

Notice  the  phrase  in  his  letter:   "a  suitable  place."   This  phrase 
describes  his  constant  goal  in  his  work  of  establishing  the  first  communities 
of  Dominican  nuns.   Indeed,  throughout  the  literature  recording  the  histories 

of  these  and  subsequent  communities  and  clearly  in  the  history  of  the 

founding  of  this  monastery,  a_  suitable  place  is  the  goal  passionately,  per- 
sistently, boldly  sought.  This  suitability  is  judged  by  many  factors,  some 
mundane,  others  intangible.   We  shall  have  occasion  later  in  this  sermon  to 

ask:   "Suitable  for  what?"  not  irreverently,  of  course,  but  in  order  to 

come  to  a  deeper  understanding  of  the  Dominican  contemplative  life  which  we 
solemnly  inaugurate  today.   For  the  moment,  let  us  learn  something  of  the 
determination  with  which  St.  Dominic  and  now  his  daughters  have  sought  the 
suitable  place. 

We  see  St.  Dominic  intimately  involved  in  seeking  suitable  places  for 
the  three  monastic  foundations  with  which  he  was  direc\ ly  involved  in  his 
lifetime:   Prouille,  Madrid  and  Rome.   In  Madrid,  it  was  fairly  easy:   In  May 
1220  he  simply  moved  the  friars  from  their  priory  and  moved  into  it  the  group 
of  women  converted  by  him  and  the  preachers  and  living  apart  from  each  other 
since  1218.   It  was  to  this  newly  established  community,  now  in  a  suitable 
place,  that  the  letter  quoted  earlier  was  addressed. 

Finding  a  suitable  place  for  his  other  monastic  foundations  was  not  so 
easy.   St.  Dominic  was  intermittently  engaged  from  1207  until  the  end  of  his 
life  in  1221  in  the  endeavor  to  establish  his  first  community  of  nuns  at 
Prouille  on  a  solid  basis:   bartering  for  land,  securing  endowments,  over- 
seeing lawsuits,  obtaining  the  necessary  protection,  and  so  on.   So  direct 
was  his  involvement  that  Vicaire  could  write  that  St.  Dominic  "sold,  bought, 
exchanged  parcels  of  land,  not  without  a  certain  ability  for  business...  in 
order  to  establish  an  unbroken  domain..."  for  the  monastic  enclosure  at 
Prouille.   Always  the  goal  is:   a  suitable  place. 


■74- 


And  finally,  St.  Sixtus  in  Rome  to  which  he  devoted  much  of  his  energies 
in  the  final  months  of  his  life  in  the  spring  of  1221.   Settling  the  sixty 
or  so  nuns  who  would  finally  have  their  suitable  place  at  San  Sisto  by  mid- 
April  1221  posed  quite  a  challenge  to  Dominic's  organizational  and  diplomatic 
skills.   Here  it  was  not  only  securing  adequate  property,  endowment  and  pro- 
tection that  engaged  his  attention.   A  more  subtle  challenge  awaited  him 
in  the  form  of  the  celebrated  miraculous  icon  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  in  the 
church  of  the  nuns  of  Santa  Maria  in  Tempulo,  one  of  the  groups  that  was  to 
take  vows  in  the  Dominican  Order  and  be  established  at  San  Sisto.   This 
miraculous  icon  had  always  manifested  a  pronounced  unwillingness  to  be  moved 
from  Santa  Maria  in  Tempulo.   When  it  was  once  carried  off  by  Pope  Sergius  III 
even  to  so  august  a  setting  as  the  Lateran,  it  reportedly  returned  to  Santa 
Maria  "flying  through  the  window  like  a  bird."   Well,  the  nuns  of  Santa  Maria 
in  Tempulo  agreed  to  make  profession  to  St.  Dominic  and  relocate  at  San  Sisto 
only  on  the  condition  that  they  be  released  from  their  vows  to  him  if  their 

famous  icon  which  would  naturally  accompany  them  to  their  new  home  

returned  to  Santa  Maria  as  it  had  been  known  to  do  in  the  past.   St.  Dominic 

agreed  to  this  condition.   During  the  night  of  April  18,  1221  the  day  on 

which  all  the  nuns  were  finally  gathered  at  San  Sisto  St.  Dominic,  the 

cardinals  Nicholas  of  Tusculum  and  Stefano  of  Fossanova,  along  with  chosen 
brethren  and  lay  people,  all  barefooted,  carried  the  icon  on  their  shoulders 
in  solemn  procession  to  San  Sisto  where  the  nuns,  also  barefooted,  awaited 
them  in  the  church.   There  it  was  solemnly  installed  in  the  restored  basilica. 
This  event  was  witnessed  by  a  seventeen  year  old  nun,  Sister  Cecilia,  who 
when  she  reported  these  and  other  incidents  had  reached  her  eighties  and  was 

able  to  assert  happily  and  with  great  relief  that  the  icon  was  still 

in  place  with  the  nuns  of  San  Sisto. 

There  were  no  lengths,  as  we  can  see,  to  which  St.  Dominic  would  not 
go  in  his  quest  for  "a  suitable  place"  for  his  nuns. 

Anyone  acquainted  with  the  story  of  the  long  pilgrimage  which  has 
brought  these  Dominican  Nuns  to  two  acres  on  Sixteenth  Street  will  be 

struck  by  the  boldness,  determination  and  struggle  all  focused  on  this 

single  goal,  a  suitable  place  for  the  monastic  enclosure  and  the  contem- 
plative life  it  affords.   Mother  Mary  of  the  Angels,  O.P.  and  her  companion, 
Sister  Mary  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  O.P.,  left  the  monastery  in  Union  City, 
New  Jersey,  in  1907  to  found  a  Dominican  monastic  community  in  Baker  City, 
Oregon.   After  two  years  of  struggle  and  even  though  other  nuns  from  Union 
City  joined  them,  Mother  Mary  of  the  Angels  reported  to  the  Bishop  that  the 
support  needed  to  sustain  a  monastic  community  was  simply  lacking  in  Baker 
City.   She  prayed  for  guidance,  as  she  reports,  and  opened  the  Catholic 
Directory  to  the  Diocese  of  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin.   After  she  had  written  to 
the  Bishop  there,  he  invited  her  to  come  and  visit.   As  a  result  of  this 
visit,  Mother  Mary  of  the  Angels  was  convinced  that  La  Crosse  would  provide 
a  suitable  place  for  a  Dominican  monastic  community.   She  went  back  to 
Baker  City,  sold  tlje  house  there,  and  on  July  2,  1909,  gathered  her  nuns 
for  the  arduous  trip  by  rail  to  La  Crosse.   Since  they  were  desperately 
poor  and  would  be  unable  to  purchase  food  and  drink  on  the  train,  one  of  the 
nuns  baked  six  dozen  biscuits  which  together  with  water  and  coffee  would 
provide  their  sustenance  for  the  week  long  rail  trip. 

We  can  sense  something  of  the  struggle  these  nuns  faced  in  the  ensuing 


-75- 


years  from  the  words  addressed  to  the  community  in  a  letter  in  1959  from 
the  Bishop  of  La  Crosse,  John  P.  Treacy:   "Like  every  good  work,  there  must 
be  a  humble  beginning,  and  the  more  precious  the  work  and  the  higher  the 
purpose  of  its  founding,  the  greater  must  be  the  sacrifice  in  accomplishing 
that  work...  Christ's  Church  itself  came  to  us  through  much  suffering.   All 
our  religious  orders  began  with  the  greatest  sacrifices  of  poor  and  humble 
men  and  women...  No  more  brilliant  example  of  this  is  there  than  the  somewhat 
more  than  humble  beginning  of  the  (Dominican  Nuns)  in  La  Crosse  fifty  years 
ago."   Throughout  this  struggle  and  sacrifice,  we  can  observe  the  same 
determined  pursuit  of  a  suitable  place  to  sustain  their  Dominican 
contemplative  life. 

The  first  band  established  itself  in  a  house  on  Avon  Street.   When  this 
location  proved  unsuitable,  Mother  Mary  of  the  Angels  hac  the  house  divided 
in  two  and  moved  to  a  location  on  George  Street.   But  in  the  1950 's  the 
George  Street  monastery  was  twice  flooded  by  the  waters  cr"  the  Mississippi 
and  finally  proved  unsafe  for  habitation.   Under  the  direction  of  Mother 
Mary  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  who  had  come  from  West  Springfield  with  a 
group  of  nuns  to  augment  the  La  Crosse  community,  the  nuns  moved  again  to 
South  Avenue. 

Now  in  1985  they  have  come  to  this  two-acre  tract  of  land  in  the  great 
city  of  Washington,  to  a  suitable  location  bounded  by  Sixteenth,  ar lc  Emerson, 
and  Farragut,  and  Piney  Branch,  to  this  ample  and  wonderfully  desi  ned 
monastery  building  and  chapel.   The  distance  between  Union  City  ar.d  Washington 
— just  about  200  miles —  has  taken  them  seventy-eight  years  and  many  thousands 

of  miles  to  traverse  all  in  the  bold  and  untiring  pursuit  of  a  suitable 

place.   It  is  not  surprising  that  their  story  reminds  us  of  St.  l>ominic 
himself  at  Prouille,  and  Madrid,  and  San  Sisto  in  Rome.   A  suitable  place. 

Perhaps  you  have  asked  yourselves:   what  makes  a  location  suitable? 
This  is  a  difficult  question  which  cannot  really  be  answered  in  the  abstract. 
There  is  a  better  question,  however,  one  that  will  lead  us  to  understand  the 
determination  that  marked  the  pursuit  of  a  suitable  place  for  the  enclosure  — 
by  St.  Dominic  and  by  this  community  today  joyfully  established  in  Washington. 
The  location  must  be  suitable  for  what?   for  what  purpose?   to  serve  what 
particular  ends?   Even  an  incomplete  answer  to  this  question  will  help  us  to 
come  to  a  deeper  penetration  of  this  ceremony  of  dedication  and,  more  impor- 
tantly, of  the  Dominican  contemplative,  monastic  life  itself. 

There  are,  of  course,  several  fairly  obvious  answers  to  the  question: 
suitable  for  what?   The  place  must  be  suited  to  the  celebration  of  the  sacred 

liturgy  the  Hours  and  the  Eucharist  which  are  at  the  very  heart  of 

this  way  of  life,  and  thus  suited  to  the  construction  of  an  ample  and  well- 
fitted  chapel  such  as  the  one  provided  here  by  the  care  and  skill  of 

the  architects  and  the  construction  manager  and  their  fellow-workers.   The 

buildings,  the  grounds,  the  setting  as  an  ensemble,  they  must  afford  the 

tranquility  needed  for  a  life  of  silence,  prayer,  work,  study  and  community 
in  Christ. 

But  the  suitability  of  the  place  needs  to  be  viewed  from  a  deeper  and 
more  integral  point  of  view:   it  must  be  suitable  for  the  monastic  enclosure. 


-76- 


Apart  from  the  Eucharist  itself,  the  most  solemn  part  of  today's 
ceremony  will  come  at  the  end  of  Mass  when  Archbishop  James  Hickey  formally 
erects  here  the  papal  enclosure,  that  space  physically  marked  out  by  the 
choir  screen,  the  locked  doors  to  the  cloister,  the  panels  in  the  visiting 
parlors,  and  the  wooden  fence  encompassing  these  lovely  two  acres.   But,  as 
you  can  imagine,  the  monastic  enclosure  is  something  much  more  intangible 
and  indeed  spiritual  than  simply  a  marking  out  of  fences  and  locked  doors. 
It  is  at  this  point  that  we  come  to  the  deepest  mystery  of  the  Dominican 
contemplative  life  and  of  the  determined  pursuit  of  the  suitable  place 
we  have  already  observed  in  some  detail. 

For  in  the  person  of  this  successor  of  the  apostles,  God  himself  acts 
to  claim  these  two  acres  as,  if  you  will,  a  beach-head.   For  in  this  place 
is  established  in  a  particularly  intense  and  heightened  form  a  glimpse  of 
the  future  of  the  world  and  of  humankind  with  it. 

The  enclosure  far  from  being  primarily  an  exclusion  or  rejection 

of  the  world  outside  compresses  the  whole  of  the  human  reality  with  all 

its  infinite  longing  for  union  with  God  and  affirms  it  absolutely  without 
reservation.   We  wrest  these  two  acres  of  the  city  of  Washington  and  "enclose" 
them  to  bring  into  existence  the  beginning  of  the  destiny  of  the  world.   For 

the  enclosure  affords  not  by  human  discovery  or  provision,  but  by  the 

action  of  God's  grace  itself  a  place  suited  to  the  seeking  of  union  with 

God  as  that  end  which  surpasses  all  others  and  in  which  all  others  are 
ultimately  comprised.   This  is  the  high  destiny  to  which  every  human  being 
is  called  and  to  which  the  whole  cosmos  itself  is  stretching.   In  this 
suitable  place,  the  end  of  the  world  begins  to  be. 

I  close  with  St.  Dominic's  words:   "Friar  Dominic,  Master  of  the 
Preachers,  to  the  dear  prioress  and  the  whole  convent  of  nuns  of  Washington. 
Health  and  daily  progress.   We  rejoice  greatly  and  give  thanks  to  God  because 
of  your  holy  lives  and  because  he  has  freed  you  from  the  corruption  of  the 
world.   Up  to  the  present,  you  have  not  had  a  suitable  place  for  the  carrying 
out  of  your  religious  life.   But  now...  by  God's  grace  you  possess  buildings 
sufficiently  well  adapted  for  the  maintenance  of  the  regular  life." 


*********** 


-77- 


FR.  VICAIRE  ON  THE  CONTEMPLATIVE  LIFE 


From  September  16  to  19,  1984,  the  "Federation  St.  Thomas"  which  unites  the 
three  monasteries  of  Belgium-South  held  a  workshop  directed  by  the  well-known 
historian,  F.H.M.  Vicaire,  O.P..  on  the  topic:   The  contemplative  life  according 
to  the  spirit  of  St.  Dominic.   Participants  included  members  of  six  monasteries 
from  Belgium.  Flanders  and  Northern  France,  as  well  as  the  religious  assistant 
of  the  federation  and  the  promoter  for  the  nuns  and  sisters  of  Flanders.  Father 
Vicaire  spoke  successivel\  on  the  following  five  topics: 

1.  Contemplation  in  the  life  and  holiness  of  St.  Dominic 

All  the  historical  sources  which  are  available  confirm  the  testimony  of 
B.  Cecilia:   "He  was  a  great  man  of  prayer."   The  Nine  Ways  of  Prayer  of  St. 
Dominic  give  a  picture  of  his  intense  prayer. 

From  the  text  of  Jordan  of  Saxony  on  the  beginning  of  the  Order,  which  contains 
valuable  symbolic  theology,  we  know  that  St.  Dominic  was  inspired  by  a  great 
love  for  God  and  his  fellowmen,  an  intense  contemplative  charity. 

Dominic  entered  the  chapter  of  the  cathedral  of  Osma,  a  chapter  being  in  the 
Middle  Ages  the  contemplative  way  of  living  par  excellence.   The  canons  assured 
the  presence  of  prayer  in  the  diocese.   They  followed  the  Rule  of  St.  Augustine, 
and  in  their  formation  the  Conferences  of  Cassian  had  an  important  part;  this 
writing  is  a  veritable  tract  on  the  contemplative  life. 

From  1206  Dominic  was  totally  captured  by  preaching,  but  that  did  noi  in  the 
least  diminish  his  contemplative  life.   He  always  carried  with  him  tne  books 
necessary  for  study  and  praye ■ .   His  breviary  has  been  preserved.   On  the  way 
from  one  place  to  another  he  i  ould  have  the  brothers  walk  before  him,  asking 
them  to  be  silent  and  pray,  snying:   "And  now  let  us  consider  our  Savior."   We 
know  how  he  passed  the  nights  praying  almost  without  interruption.   It  reguired 
simple  heroism  to  lead  at  the  same  time  such  a  life  of  prayer  and  of  preaching. 

Dominic's  prayer  was  penetrated  by  psalms  and  hymns.   It  sprung  forth  from  and 
reposed  on  a  theological  (faith,  hope,  charity)  inspiration,  but  it  also  found 
a  physical  expression.   It  was  a  cry,  a  call  of  belief  in  the  evangelical  Truth, 
which  is  Christ  the  Redeemer.   The  contemplation  of  the  crucified  Lord  moved 
him  to  tears  again  and  again.   He  knew  the  mystical  union,  its  sorrows  and  deep 
happiness. 

These  rich  and  varied  forms  of  prayer,  of  contemplative  prayer,  precede  his  apo- 
stolic animation.   This  is  the  topic  of  the  third  lecture. 

2.  What  is  contemplation9 

The  term  is  not  biblical,  but  stems  from  Greek  philosophy.   Clement  of  Alex- 
andria brought  it  into  Christian  theology.   Different  elements  of  Plotinus' 
detailed  definition  of  the  term  must  be  corrected  to  fit  its  Christian  meaning. 

According  to  Plotinus,  contemplation  (1)  is  reserved  to  an  elite,  rich  enough 
in  time  and  money  to  be  able  to  free  themselves  from  earthly  solicitude; 
(2)   can  be  obtained  by  personal  exertion;  (3)  breaks  social  bonds  by  escaping 
from  worldly  care;  (4)  reaches  its  goal  by  contact  with  the  first  Principle  of 
all  things.   Christian  contemplation,  on  the  other  hand,  (1)  is  meant  for  every- 
one; (2)  is  a  pure  gift  of  God;  (3)  is  a  source  of  greater  charity,  because  true 
contemplation  guides  back  to  one's  fellow  men;  (4)  strives  toward  union  with  God, 
through  a  being-grasped  by  love. 


-78- 


Grace  always  has  a  contemplative  form,  the  kernal  of  a  vivid  belief  in  Christ, 
which  is  directed  to  participation  in  his  life.   And  the  life  of  Christ  is  love, 
poured  out  in  him  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Every  love  strives  for  union,  for  the  biblical  "knowing"  that  means  a  union  en- 
closing the  whole  person,  a  being-gripped  that  leads  to  the  highest  contemplation: 
the  entrance  into  the  Trinitarian  movement  of  God's  own  life. 

And  this  grace  calls  for  an  attitude  of  life,  corresponding  to  the  claims  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.   Contemplation  is  a  basic  trait  of  the  Gospel. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  contemplation:   esthetic,  poetic,  philosophic,  scientific, 

religious...  but  every  kind  encloses  more  or  less  clearly  four  elements: 

(1)  an  act  of  the  intelligence  (spirit);  (2)  a  moment  of  stop,  of  rest; 

(3)  a  taking-up,  very  deep  and  active;  (4)  an  intervention  of  the  will  to  taste, 

to  enjoy. 

According  to  St.  Thomas  (2a  2ae,  180.  3  I)  contemplation  is  "intuitus  simplex 
veritatis".  the  simple  intuition  of  Truth.   It  is  the  end  of  a  whole  series  of 
exercises:   "Meditatio.  ruminatio,  cogitatio"  of  intelligence  and  will  in  search 
of  the  object  of  their  longing. 

There  is  no  Christian  contemplation  without  Christ,  without  thanksgiving  (Eu- 
charistia).   Belief  gives  movement  and  content  to  this  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

3.   The  connection  between  contemplation  and  the  apostolic  life  of  preaching 

in  St.  Dominic 

In  St.  Dominic  the  life  of  preaching,  the  proclamation  of  Truth,  springs 
forth  from  his  contemplation,  because  this  makes  him  similar  to  Christ,  who 
calls  him  to  work  with  all  his  forces  for  the  salvation  of  men.   The  intensity 
of  his  contemplation  of  Christ  forms  him  into  a  co-Savior. 

As  a  student  in  Palencia  he  sold  his  Bible,  enriched  with  personal  annotations, 
to  found  a  "charity",  that  is,  a  regular  distribution  of  food  to  the  poor.   We 
must  understand  and  grasp  very  well  that  by  doing  this,  he  sold  his  whole  theo- 
logical library,  a  whole  capital  of  exegesis  and  spirituality.   This  was  a 
"corporal"  work  of  mercy;  it  would  be  followed  later  on  by  many  "spiritual" 
works  of  mercy. 

From  time  to  time,  the  missionary  impulse  would  become  stronger  in  Dominic, 
but  without  release.   The  mysterious  "Cumans"  would  beckon  to  him  for  help. 

At  the  example  of  Abraham,  Dominic  left  his  country,  knowing  the  deepest  ex- 
propriation (asceticism):   he  had  no  convent  of  his  own,  no  cell,  no  bed. 
These  things  struck  his  brethren  most  during  his  last  illness  and  at  his  death. 

When  evangelizing,  St.  Dominic  used  two  weapons:   (1)  the  prayer  of  intercession, 
mediation;  and  (2)  his  fiery,  ardent  heart.   The  first  found  its  expression  in 
the  Liturgy  as  well  as  in  his  personal  prayer.   He  prayed  for  temporal,  material 
help,  e.g.,  at  the  accident  in  San  Sisto,  when  the  architect  met  his  death,  but 
recovered  life  by  the  intercession  of  Dominic.   He  also  prayed  for  spiritual 
help,  in  general  or  specifically  for  one  person  or  for  himself,  in  thanksgiving 
or  compunction.   (2)   An  ardent  heart  and  an  incomparable  energy  characterize 
his  days,  because  they  are  fed  by  nights  of  prayer.   All  his  decisions  grow  out 
of  contemplation;  the  Holy  Spirit  inspires  him  at  every  important  step,  e.g., 
when  he  transfers  Brother  Reginald  from  Bologna  to  Paris.   A  divine  instinct 
guides  him,  e.g.,  when  he  spreads  the  brethren  all  over  Europe  (August  15,  1217): 
"I  know  what  I  am  doing." 


-79- 


The  whole  condition  of  Dominic  can  be  gathered  in  this  one  synthesis,  which 
he  took  from  Etienne  de  Muret,  a  great  contemplative,  and  which  he  had  inserted 
in  the  Constitutions:   "...  that  the  brethren  only  speak  with  God  or  of  God." 
From  this  synthesis  rises  the  unity  between  prayer  and  preaching. 

4 .   The  contemplative  life  in  the  Primitive  Constitutions  of  the  Order 

St.  Dominic  was  a  great  legislator.   His  constitutional  conception  was 
steady  and  solid,  but  he  wished  the  Constitutions  to  be  flexible  and  to  be 
enriched  by  the  current  of  the  times.   This  idea  has  a  touch  of  genius. 

Between  1216  and  1221,  he  himself  wrote  two  "rules",  by  which  are  meant  the 
Constitutions,  the  rule  being  that  of  St.  Augustine.   In  1221  he  wrote  the 
rule  of  San  Sisto  for  the  nuns  in  Rome.   In  1228  this  rule  was  given  to  the 
Penitents  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen  in  Germany  by  the  Holy  See.   We  still  possess 
these  texts  and  we  know  indirectly  what  must  have  been  the  rule  of  Prouilhe, 
as  sisters  from  Prouilhe  were  called  to  Rome  in  order  to  form  the  community  of 
San  Sisto  in  the  spirit  of  Dominic. 

In  1221  a  unity  in  observances  for  the  nuns  and  the  friars  of  Toulouse  was 
reached.   The  difference  between  the  primitive  "rule"  (constitutions)  of  the 
friars  and  the  "rule"  of  San  Sisto  for  the  nuns  lies  on  two  levels:   (1)  the 
enclosure,  which  already  existed  for  the  brethren,  but  which  Dominic  wanted 
very  severe  for  the  nuns,  especially  because  he  had  in  view  the  placement  of 
a  convent  of  friars  next  to  a  monastery  of  nuns.   The  juridical  norms  (papal 
enclosure)  are  of  a  later  date.   (2)  Manual  labor,  in  line  with  the  usual 
monastic  tradition.   Dominic  replaced  this  for  the  brethren  by  the  spiritual 
task  of  the  Preachers,  that  is.  preaching  and  all  that  concerns  it. 

What  forms  the  basis  for  an  apostolic  community?   ("apostolic"  in  the  meaning 
of  the  13th  century,  that  is,  imitation  of  the  Apostles) 

(1)  unanimity ,  which  according  to  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine,  is  expressed  in 
regular  observance; 

(2)  prayer,  which  makes  the  community  contemplative. 

Prayer  and  unanimity  together  fashion  the  impact  that  the  communit\  has  on  its 
surroundings. 

Summary  of  the  observances  according  to  the  "rule"  of  1216  for  the  brethren: 

(1)  enclosure:   "The  brethren  shall  not  go  out  for  study."   A  Master  of  the 
University  comes  into  the  convent.   This  lies  at  the  origin  of.  e.g.. 

a  university-chair  in  the  house  of  St.  Jacgues  in  Paris. 

(2)  silence:   should  be  kept  severely.   There  were  special  punishments  for 
shortcomings.   "Silentium  Pater  Praedicatorum" 

(3)  retirement  from  the  world. 

(4)  collective  moral  formation:   especially  by  the  chapter  of  faults. 

(5)  formation  to  prayer  in  the  novitiate.   The  Liturgy  contains  three  major 
hours,  which  everyone  should  attend,  whatever  occupation  one  has  in  re- 
gard to  study  and  preaching.   Two  particular  devotions  are  the  Office  of 
the  Virgin,  ,which  was  recited  when  getting  up,  and  the  Office  of  the  Dead, 

(6)  study  as  the  basis.   Dominic  intended  to  have  a  doctor  of  theology  in 
every  house  to  give  lectures. 


-80- 


5.   The  proper  character  of  the  Dominican  contemplative  life  for  our  nuns 

A  text  of  1215  says:   "The  friars  preach  the  truth  of  the  evangelical  Word." 

Our  contemplative  life  flourishes  in  the  care  to  work  out  the  welfare,  the  sal- 
vation of  men;  its  service  is  the  source  of  inspiration  for  the  prayer  of  inter- 
cession and  caJls  forth  the  missionary  vocation.   This  vocation  works  on  different 
levels,  increasing  the  number  of  Christians  or  their  merits.  b\  feeding  their 
belief,  by  helping  the  fervent  to  progress,  by  developing  the  mystical  ex- 
perience.  The  mystics  of  the  Rhineland  owe  their  flourishing  to  the  preaching 
of  the  brethren  in  the  monasteries.   Other  countries  knew  a  similar  rise  of 
mysticisrr,. 

The  contemplative  life  of  the  nuns  has  a  five-fold  character: 

(1)  Their  contemplative  life  is  directed  to  the  salvation  of  souls. 

(2)  Reciprocally,  the  theological  study  of  the  brethren  has  an  influence 
and  a  repercussion  on  the  contemplation  of  the  sisters:   there  is 
mutual  impregnation  by  brotherly  talks,  by  writings,  etc. 

(3)  The  life  of  the  nuns  occupies  a  special  place  in  the  organization  of 

a  strong  institute.   (Leo  Moulin,  an  agnostic  jurist  and  professor  of 
the  University  of  Brussels,  calls  the  Dominican  legislation  "a  grand 
cathedral. ") 

(4)  Every  branch  of  the  Order  plays  its  own  role  in  the  whole  of  the  Order. 
The  nuns  are  not  a  reverberation  of  the  brethren. 

(5)  By  radiation  of  holiness,  by  hospitable  reception,  by  Liturgy  and  by 
mutual  cooperation  with  the  other  branches  of  the  family,  the  nuns  fulfill 
the  specific  task  of  the  Order:   preaching. 

This  report  of  Fr.  Vicaire's  conferences  was  prepared  for  us  b\  Sr.  Myriam  of 
the  Zelem,  Belgium,  monastery. 


*********** 


-81- 


JOSEPH     „ .       w       £       , 

Sister  Mary  or  the  Assumption,  0 

West  Springfield 

The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  honor  St.  Joseph:  Patron  of 
the  Universal  Church,  patron  of  the  contemplative  life,  patron 
of  the  first  American  Dominican  province.   Today  there  is 
specialized  study  of  Joseph  called  Josephology,  which  is  a 
theological  study  of  his  dignity,  mission  and  prerogatives.   A 
center  for  research  and  documentation  on  Josephology  is  Saint 
Joseph's  Oratory,  Mount  Royal,  Montreal.    International  symposia 
on  Josephology  are  held  occasionally.    In  September  of  this 
year  an  international  symposium  was  held  in  Poland. 

The  encyclical,  Qua  tn^uara  P  1  u  ries  by  Leo  X  1 1 1 4  i  s  considered 
today  the  charter  of  Josephology.   Joseph,  the  humble 
carpenter,  is  glorified  in  heaven  to  the  extent  to  which  he 
was  hidden  on  earth.    he  to  whom  the  Incarnate  Word  gave 
obedience  has  now  an  incomparable  power  of  intercession.    "Just 
as  Mary,  Mother  of  the  Savior,  is  spiritual  mother  of  all 
Christians... so  also  Joseph  looks  on  all  Christians  as  having 
been  confided  to  him.   He  is  the  defender  of  the  Church  which 
is  truly  the  house  of  God  and  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth." 

Basic  to  the  position  of  Joseph  is  the  fact  of  his  virginal 
and  true  marriage  to  the  virgin  Mother  of  God.   "Jesus  is  the 
fruit  of  this  marriage,  not  because  He  was  generated  by  it, 
but  because  He  was  received  and  reared  within  it   according 
to  God's  reason  for  bringing  it  into  existence." 

Joseph  was  "probably  a  native  of  Bethlehem,  or  a  least  he 
owned  property  there.    It  was  primarily  because  of  property 
taxes  that  he  was  obliged  to  be  registered  in  the  Roman  census 
at  Bethlehem,  for  the  Romans  would  not  have  been  interested 
in  his  Davidic  descent  as  such." 

4 
Jesus  is  called  "the  carpenter's  son".     The  Greek  word  for 

carpenter,  tekton,     like  the  Latin  faber,     signifies  a  crafts- 
man or  artisan.    The  spouse  of  Mary  was  "both  a  dreamer  and 
a  worker.   His  role  in  the  mystery  of  God's  plan  was  made 
clear  to  him  in  dreams;  yet  he  had  all  the  essential 
practicality  of  a  carpenter." 


s  there.   John 
e  carpenter 


We  hear  little  of  Joseph  in  the  Gospels  but  he  i 

calls  Jesus  the  "son  of  Joseph".      As  Joseph  th 

taught  the  Divine  Child  to  smooth  planks  of  wood,  he  also 

showed  himself  the  model  of  a  conscientious  workman  and 

dutiful  son  of  Israel.   Pere  Lagrange  describes  Joseph  as 

a  "man  of  silence  and  a  contemplator  of  mysteries." 


-82- 


Joseph  the  carpenter  supported  his  family  with  his  trade. 
Artisans  of  his  time  did  not  have  their  shops  in  their  own 
homes.   So  Joseph's  home  would  have  been  his  refuge  and  delight 
in  the  evenings  and  on  holidays  when  he  would  have  precious  hours 
of  family  intimacy  with  the  Divine  Child  and  Mary,  the  most 
womanly  of  all  women.   There  were  no  others  in  Nazareth  who 
shared  the  King's  secret  except  Mary  and  Joseph.   Their  evenings 
together,  consecrated  by  unselfish  and  mutual  love  of  the  Child, 
opened  the  eyes  of  husband  and  wife  to  the  heights  of  nobility 
in  each  other.   These  were  hoursfor  deepening,  widening  the 
mutual  love  that  made  them  one.   "To  Joseph,  Mary's  flaming 
sanctity  would  light  up  her  every  act,  her  smiles,  her  least 
gesture,  her  face  in  repose,  to  make  of  them  a  fire  warming  a 
man  to  his  very  depths  and  spurring  him  on  to  much  more  than  his 
very  best;  while  the  quiet  strength,  the  patient  routine,  the 
unobtrusive  labors  of  Joseph  would  make  more  plain  to  Mary  the 
fineness  of  the  man  and  the  reckless  generosity  of  his  love,  more 
plain  evenftthan  in  the  days  of  her  espousals,  of  Bethlehem  and 
of  Egypt  .  " 

Joseph's  vocation  is  unique.   The  Dominican,  Isidore  de  Isolanis, 
who  wrote  the  first  theological  treatise  on  St.  Joseph,  places 
the  vocation  of  Joseph  above  that  of  the  apostles.   He  remarks 
that  "the  vocation  of  the  apostles  is  to  preach  theGospel,  to 
enlighten  souls,  to  reconcile  them  with  God.   The  vocation  of 
Joseph  is  related  more  closely  to  Christ  Himself  since  he  is 
the  spouse  of  the  Mother  of  God,  the  foster  father  and  protector 
of  the  Sav  i  or  .  " 

When  writing  about  the  interior  life  of  Mary,  Father  Garrigou- 
Lagrange  found  it  impossible  not  to  speak  also  of  Joseph.   He 
speaks  of  the  "predestination  of  Joseph,  his  eminent  perfection, 
the  character  of  his  special  mission,  his  virtues  and  his  role 
in  the  sane t i f i c a t i on  of  souls." 

Joseph's  virtues  are  those  of  the  hidden  life:  virginity, 
humility,  poverty.   He  was  patient  and  prudent.   His  faith 
was  enlightened  by  the  Gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  confidence 
in  God  and  perfect  charity.   Joseph  appears  as  the  most  humble 
of  the  saints.   Bossuet  says  he  "hid  himself  as  much  as  possible 
from  mortal  eyes,  enjoying  with  God  alone  the  mystery  revealed 
to  him  and  the  infinite  riches  of  which  he  was  the  custodian." 


In  replying  to  the  objection  that  the  Mother  of  God  was  not  a 
virgin  when  conceiving  Christ,  St.  Thomas  quotes  Augustine  as 
saying  that  "Joseph  is  called  the  father  of  Christ  just  as  he 
is  called  the  husband  of  Mary... by  the  mere  bond  of  marriage, 
being  thereby  united  to  Him  much  more  closely  than  if  he  were 
adopted  from  anbther  family.  Consequently,  that  Christ  was 
not  begotten  of  Joseph  by  fleshly  union  is  no  reason  why  Joseph 
should  not  be  called  His  father.  He  would  be  the  father  even 
of  an  adopted  son  not  born  of  his  wife."  12 


-83- 


In  the  lives  of  the  saints  we  find  devotion  to  Joseph.   Teresa 
of  Avila  took  Joseph  for  her  advocate  and  lord.  A  spiritual 
daughter,  Blessed  Mary  of  St.  Teresa,  a  seventeenth  century 
Carmelite  in  the  secular  Third  Order,  enjoyed  mystical  union 
with  Jesus,  Mary  and  Joseph.   She  writes: 

"My  dearest  Mother  seems  not  to  be  satisfied  with  simply 
drawing  me  to  the  perpetual  love  of  herself  and  to  a  very 
pure,  tender  and  faithful  love  of  Jesus.    It  is  not  enough 
for  her  to  adopt  me  as  her  child.    She  seems  to  desire 
that  1  also  love  her  dear  spouse,  St.  Joseph.    She  effectively 
plants  this  love  in  my  heart,  so  that  my  love  and  the  inclina- 
tion of  my  soul  have  these  three  Persons  as  object,  although 
by  a  simple  regard  and  in  unity  of  spirit.   They  are  all 
three  constantly  united  in  my  heart  and  in  my  love. 

"I  contemplate  Jesus,  Mary  and  Joseph  and  enjoy  their 
presence  in  the  depth  of  my  soul,  seeing  them  as  united 
for  all  eternity  to  the  Divine  Being  with  whom  they  3re 
totally  permeated." 

Father  Mary  John  Joseph  Lataste,  O.P.   (1832-1869)  ardently 
desired  that  Joseph  would  be  proclaimed  Patron  of  the  Universal 
Church.    He  wrote  to  Pius  IX   to  offer  his  life  for  this  inten- 
tion.  The  Holy  Father  commented  that  "more  than  five  hundred 
persons  have  requested  the  proclamation,  but  only  Pere  Lataste 
has  offered  his  life  in  exchange."   The  proclamation  was  made  in 
1870,  a  year  after  Pere  Lataste' s  death  on  March  10,  1869. 


St.  Ther 
"At  Our 
to  watch 
him  wh  i  c 
r e  c  i  t ed 
of  v  ir  g  i 


ese  of  Lisieux  had  a  special  love  for  Joseph.   She  writes 
Lady  of  Victories  I  also  prayed  to  St.  Joseph,  asking  him 

over  me;  ever  since  my  childhood  I  had  a  devotion  for 
h  easily  merged  with  my  love  for  the  Blessed  Virgin.    I 
each  day  in  his  honor:    "0  Joseph,  father  and  protector 


We  read  in  the  autobiography  of  St. Anthony  Mary  Claret,  an  arch- 
bishop and  Council  Father  at  Vatican  I,  these  words  which  he  wrote 
under  obedience:    "On  May  7,  1865  at  3:30  in  the  afternoon... 
Jesus  told  me  to  be  very  devout  to  St.  Joseph  and  to  approach  him 
with  confidence." 

Blessed  Andre  Bessette,  C.S.C.   (Frere  Andre  of  Mount  Royal,  Montreal 
recently  beatified  by  Pope  John  Paul  II,  reminds  us  in  our  own  times 
to  imitate  Joseph,  to  honor  him  and  converse  with  him.   His  own 
great  devotion  to  St.  Joseph  guided  him  and  gave  him  complete 
confidence  in  God. 


A  prayerful  return  to  Nazareth  would  perhaps  give  a  new 
dimension  to  our  cloistered  contemplative  lives  as  we  look 
at  the  humble  carpenter,  the  one  who  contemplated  mysteries. 


-84- 

Hail  Joseph,  image  of  God  the  Father, 

Hail  Joseph,  father  of  God  the  Son, 

Hail  Joseph,  treasury  of  the   Holy  Spirit, 

Hail  Joseph,  delight  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity 

(Pere  Olier  ) 


*********** 


NOTES 


9 
10 
1  1 
12 

13 

14 

15 
16 


Leo  XIII,  Quamguam  P  1  u  r  i  e  s »  quoted  in  Garrigou-Lagrange, 
The  Mother  of  the  Savior  ,  Dublin,  1948,  p.  337. 

New  Catholic  Encyclopedia ,  vol.  VII,  p.  1109. 

Ibid . , p .  1 107 . 

Matt .13:55 

Raymond  Daley,  O.P. ,  Providence  Assembly,  June  2,  1981. 

Jn. 1:45 

M.J.  Lagrange,  O.P.,  Th_e_  Gos£e  1  c>_f  Jesus  Christ  ,  Westminster,  Md., 
1938,  p. 55.  ~ 

Walter  Farrell  ,0.P.  ,  Only  Son ,  New  York,  1953,  p. 59. 

Garrigou-Lagrange,  op.  c  it  ,  ,  p.  327. 

ibid .  ,  p  .  322  . 

ibid  .  ,  p  .  335  . 

Summa  Theologica  ,  III  ,  question  28,  art.  1,  "Of  the  Virginity 
of  the  Mother  of  God". 

Union  with  Our  Lady ,  from  the  writings  of  Blessed  Mary  of 
St.  Teresa,  translated  by  Thomas  E.  McGinnis,  O.Carm.,  New 
York,  1954,  pp.  22-23. 

Sister  Mary  J  d  a  n  Dorcy  ,O.P  .  ,  ,S  £  .  Domini  c  '  £  Fami  ly  ,  Tan  Books 
edition,  Rockford,  Illinois,  1983,  p.  528. 

Story  o  f  a_  Soul  ,  Washington,  D.C.,  1975,  p.  124. 

Au t  ob  i  ogr aphy  o  f  S  t .  Anthony  Mary  Claret  , edited  by  Jose  Maria 
vTnas  ,  C.M.F.,  Chicago,  1976,  p.  286. 


Mother  Mary  William,  O.P, 
Lufkin 


-85- 


THE  ETERNAL  NOW  OF  THE  LITURGY 

The  Liturgy  takes  us  into  the 
ETERNAL  NOW  of  God,  joining  us 
with  the  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS, 
and  overflowing  into  the  CON- 
TEMPLATIVE SPIRIT  of  continual 
prayer. 

The  Liturgy  takes  us  into  the  ETERNAL  NOW  of  God: 

How  exciting  it  is  to  realize  that  in  our  Liturgical  celebrations  TIME  STANDS 
STILL,  and  we  are  caught  up  into  the  Eternal  Worship  of  Christ  before  the 
throne  of  His  Father!   In  our  Liturgy  we  are  brought  into  God's  TRANSCENDENCE 
as  we  worship  Him  Whom  St.  Ignatius  of  Antioch  described  in  his  letter  to 
Polvcarp  as  "outside  time,  the  Eternal  One,  the  Unseen,  Who  became  visible 
for  us."   In  our  Liturgy  we  are  plugged  into  this  ETERNAL  DIMENSION  of  God. 

This  is  expressed  beautifully  by  Pope  Pius  XII  in  Mediator   Pc-c-" 

By  assuming  our  human  nature  the  Divine  Word  introduced  in- 
to this  exile  a  hymn  which  is  sung  in  Heaven  for  all  eter- 
nity.  He  united  to  Himself  the  whole  human  race,  and  with 
it  sings  this  hymn  of  praise  to  God. 

In  our  Liturgical  worship  we  are  brought  into  that  hymn  as  we  join  with  the 
voice  of  the  Whole  Church. 

Vatican  II  states  that  religious  are  called  in  a  special  way  to  bear  witness 
to  the  heavenly  realities.   This  we  do  in  our  Liturgy.   Each  morning  in  the  In- 
vitatory  of  the  Divine  Office  we  encourage  one  another  to  worship:   "Come,  let 
us  sing  joyfully  to  the  Lord!"   If  our  whole  life  as  religious  is  a  bearing  wit- 
ness to  the  heavenly  dimension  of  the  Christian  life  we  do  this  in  a  special 
way  at  the  Liturgy,  when  we  are  lifted  up  into  the  ETERNAL  NOW  of  our  God  to 
sing  His  praises. 

Our  very  movements   are   the  movements  of  Heaven!   St.  Gregory  the  Great  had 
a  vision  of  Heaven  in  which  he  saw  the  heavenly  citizens  divided  into  two 
choirs,  singing  God's  praises  alternately,  and  both  choirs  bowing  together  in 
praise  of  the  Triune  God.  He  then  adopted  these  "heavenly  rubrics"  for  the 
Benedictine  monastic  Liturgy;  and  these  were  later  taken  over  by  St.  Dominic 
and  other  monastic  founders. 

As  we  praise  God  alternately  in  this  way,  "abyss  calls  unto  abyss"  -  the  abyss 
of  God's  eternal  thoughts  expressed  by  one  choir,  are  answered  by  the  other 
choir  in  its  expressing  of  the  deep  words  of  God.   We  worship  together  in  this 
way  under  the  inspiration  of  the  great  Conductor  of  our  praise  -  the  Holy  Spir- 
it.  We  express  sentiments  of  praise,  love,  yearning,  grief,  hope  in  the  name 
of  all  men,  past  -  present  -  future,  all  present  in  the  ETERNAL  NOW  of  God. 

Our  Liturgy  thus  becomes  a  true  process  of  ETERNALIZATION,  because  in  our  wor- 
ship Christ  assumes  us  into  His  Eternal  Present. 

*  Editoi'6  Note:   Tktt,  papeA  uxu  ohJjglnaJULy  a  ChapteA  talk  concluding  viith  a  pocXic 
steading  accompanied  by  guJJjJJi.     The  steading  u,   based  on  the  stc  flection*  contained 
In  the.  book  THE  MVSTERV   OF  TRAMS  FORMING  LOVE  by  Adxlan  van  Kaam. 
ScvqaoI     o{     hvt     6-it>teAA     encounaged      MotkeA  Masiy  WtlLiam  to  submit  -it  &oi 
publication  In   DOMINICAN  MONASTIC  SEARCH.     We  aAe  'nappy  to  ttcprtoduce  it   /ie/ie. 


-86- 


Our  Liturgy  and  the  Communion  of  Saints: 

The  Liturgy  addresses  the  person  as  a  SOCIAL  BEING,  and  not  just  as  an  individ- 
ual separate  from  other  individuals.   The  Liturgy  establishes  a  deep  union  be- 
tween the  faithful  who  are  still  pilgrims  and  the  just,  both  those  in  Heaven 
and  those  in  Purgatory,  and  also  between  mankind  and  the  angelic  world. 

In  the  Liturgy,  weaker  things  are  associated 
with  the  higher,  terrestrial  things  are  joined 
to  the  celestial,  and  that  which  is  visible 
with  that  which  is  invisible,  and  a  SINGLE 
UNITY  IS  FORMED.   (St.  Gregory  the  Great) 

Our  Liturgy  is  seen  as  the  place  of  encounter,  par  excellence,  of  the  Church 
Militant,  the  Church  Suffering  and  the  Church  Triumphant: 

-the  worship  of  the  angels  and  saints  in  Heaven 
-the  worship  of  the  people  of  God  on  earth 
-the  worship  of  the  souls  in  Purgatory 
FORM  ONE  UNIFIED  WORSHIP. 

The  Liturgy  views  the  whole  cosmos  as  an  integral  universe  united  in  worship: 
inanimate  creation,  we  "on  the  way",  those   in  glory,   the  angelic  world  - 
all  united  in  giving  praise  and  worship  to  the  Creator  in  the  ETERNAL  NOW. 

In  our  monastic  Chapel  these  great  realities  of  the  Liturgy  are  ever  before  us 

in  Jesus  Hostia  raised  aloft  in  the  monstrance,  as  a  living  Presence  of  the 

Sacred  in  our  midst.   In  our  times  of  adoration  we  are  taken  into  the  ETERNAL 
NOW  of  the  Eucharistic  Lord  and  God. 


The  Liturgy  overflowing  into  Contemplative  Prayer: 

Our  Liturgy  is  meant  to  overflow  into  a  contemplative  spirit  of  worship  all 
through  the  day  and  night  in  continual  prayer: 

The  intended  effect  of  the  Liturgy  is  THE  CON- 
TEMPLATION OF  GOD,  perfectly  in  Heaven,  and 
even  now  in  faith,  hope  and  love.   The  Liturgy 
makes  us  "temples  of  contemplation"  of  the  God 
Who  dwells  within  us.   (Paul  Hinnebusch,  O.P.,  . 
ReJiigiouA   Lifac  a  Living   LttuAgy) 

Through  the  act  of  worship,  the  Sacred  Liturgy 
directs  the  life  of  the  faithful  toward  the 
contemplation  of  divine  things.   (Vatican  II  - 
Document  on  the  SacAcd  Litan.gij) 

i 
The  Liturgy  makes  it  easier  for  us  to  tran- 
scend the  facts  and  circumstances  of  an 
earthly  condition,  enlarging  the  field  of  our 
vision,  and  leading  us  through  the  things  that 
are  seen,  into  the  eternal  and  invisible  God. 
(H.  Clerissac,  O.P.,  Tkc  SpVvUl  o^  St.   dominie) 


-87- 


Thus,  from  our  Liturgical  prayer  we  are  led  into  the  contemplative  Presence  of 
God  through  the  day,  and  our  prayerf ulness  during  the  day  will  lead  us  back  in- 
to a  more  fervent  celebration  of  the  Liturgy: 

The  whole  life  of  the  Monastery  is  seen  as  a 
prolongation  of  the  Liturgical  function:   the 
silence,  the  habit,  the  customs  are  all  a  sym- 
bolic and  lyric  expression  of  the  interior  at- 
titude of  Liturgical  worship.   (V.  Walgrave, 
O.P.,  Dominican  Sct^-Appia-Usal) 

If  you  throw  yourself  wholeheartedly  into  Li- 
turgical prayer,  it  cannot  fail  to  take  pos- 
session of  you,  body  and  soul.   It  will  color 
your  thoughts  with  the  varied  hues  of  super- 
natural life,  imbue  your  will  and  your  heart 
with  strength  and  love,  and  even  stir  your 
sensible  faculties  and  your  whole  being  so 
that  you  cry  out:   "My  heart  and  my  flesh  re- 
joice in  the  Living  God."   (H.  Clerissac,  O.P., 
The  Sptfblt   03  St.   Dominic) 

To  enter  into  the  deepest  spirit  of  the  Liturgy,  the  ETERNAL  DIMENSION,  we 
must  bring  a  careful  preparation  and  a  concern  for  the  exterior  dignity  and 
beauty  of  our  worship.   But  most  of  all,  we  must  bring  our  fervor,  our  rec- 
ollection, our  effort  to  "meditate  in  our  hearts  what  our  lips  are  recit- 
ing." [Rale   Of}  St.   Aug  116 tine.) 

This  is  how  St.  Dominic  celebrated  the  Liturgy:   with  full  voice,  with  rev- 
erence, with  burning  love,  with  his  whole  soul  taken  up  into  the  ETERNAL 
DIMENSION  of  worship. 

Dominic  seemed  to  pierce  beyond  the  veil,  to 
see  standing  the  Lamb  that  was  sacrificed. 

(w.  Hinnebusch,  O.P.,  Renewal,  in  the  Spin.lt 

o{)  St.   Domtntc) 

Vatican  II  states  that  the  Liturgy  is  a  PRIESTLY  function.  St.  Dominic  was  the 
great  priest, and  his  spiritual  life  found  its  deepest  inspiration  in  the  Liturgy 
which  formed  him  day  by  day  into  one  who  lived  "as  if  seeing  the  INVISIBLE." 

As  followers  of  St.  Dominic,  called  to  mirror  in  our  lives  his  prayer  and  fer- 
vor,    we  are  offered  a  magnificent  challenge  in  our  Constitutions      (//80, 
81,96)  to  live  in  God's  NOW  moment: 

i 
-by  the  joyful  celebration  of  the  Liturgy 

which  joins  us,  as  the  Pilgrim  Church,  to  the 

CHURCH  IN  GLORY.. . 

-and  by  the  transfiguring  process  of  the  Lit- 
urgy which  leads  to  the  continual  remembrance  of 
God  and  to  SEEKING  HIS  FACE. 


■88- 


The  way  to  live  in  this  ETERNAL  DIMENSION  was  beautifully  exemplified  by  one 
of  our  beloved  Lufkin  foundresses,  Mother  Mary  Dominic  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
who  radiated  the  truth  she  often  shared: 

Faith,  quickened  by  the  Liturgy,  is  like  a 
higher  spiritual  sense  which  allows  us  to  hear 
in  the  depths  of  our  soul  THE  ETERNAL  HARMONIES 
OF  HEAVEN. 


WORSHIP  AND  THE  ETERNAL  PRESENCE  OF  GOD:  A  POETIC  READING 


0  Lord,  Your  Presence  in  the  Liturgy  and  in  our  hearts 
begins  to  disclose  to  us 
the  Eternal  Way. 

For  it  begins  to  image  in  time 
the  Divine  Life  lived  in  eternity. 

No  longer  do  we  drift  along  anxiously 

and  somewhat  confused. 

No  longer  is  our  life  restricted  to  the  pursuit 

of  some  casual  ambitions 

or  the  eager  fulfillment  of  a  few  vital  needs. 

Thanks  to  Your  Presence 

daily  pursuits  receive  an  eternal  significance. 

Failures  and  successes, 
sufferings  and  joys 

are  taken  up  in  the  eternal  meaning 
You  bestow  upon  our  days. 

The  winters  of  life 

are  the  dreary  periods  of  f orgetf ulness 

of  the  eternal  spark  within. 

But,  then,  in  the  Liturgy, 

You  lift  us  beyond  the  protective  safety  zone 

into  the  eternal  spring. 

No  longer  ingrained  in  our  petty  endeavors, 

we  experience  in  worship 

how  the  formative  thread  of  eternity 

weaves  in  and  through  the  pattern  of  earthly  existence, 

We  sense  the  unfolding  movement 

of  the  Eternal  Life  within  us. 

When  we  fail  to  allow  the  spark  of  eternity 

to  shine  forth  in  our  daily  doings, 

we  may  be  commended  for  the  efficiency  of  performance, 

for  a  job  well-attended  to, 

but  our  voyage  is  no  longer  an  inspiration  to 

our  fellow  travelers. 


-89- 


Only  when  your  Eternal  Life  carries  us, 
do  we  sail  tranquilly  along 
the  mysterious  voyage  of  life. 

If  we  are  in  touch  with  the  flow  of  Your  Eternal  Life, 
we  are  able  to  flow  gracefully  with  the  tide 
of  formative  events  and  situations. 

Your  mysterious  Presence  in  our  Liturgy 

is  the  Lighthouse 

that  guides  our  frail  ships 

as  they  toss  in  the  churning  waters  of  history. 

You  want  our  frail  barks 

to  glide  in  harmony 

with  the  Eternal  Life 

that  is  our  precious  compass. 

Only  through  You  can  we  know 
the  mysteries  of  Divine  Life. 

You  tell  us  that  we  are  called 
to  share  in  that  eternal  Mystery. 

In  our  worship 

let  us  share  more  and  more 

the  mystery  of  Your  Presence  in  the 

ETERNAL  NOW. 

And  let  this  overflow 

in  the  silent  celebration  of  this  Presence 

in  the  depths  of  our  being, 

and  radiated  to  one  another  day  by  day. 


*********** 


-90- 


THIS  HIDDEN  LIFE  1 


Inscape  of  the  Dominican  contemplative  life,  taken  from  the  writings  of 
Mother  Teresa  Maria  O.P.  of  the  Monastery  of  the  Mother  of  God,  Olmedo,  Spain 
Translation  by  Sr.  Mary  of  the  Holy  Cross  O.P.  ,  Buffalo 

There  is  hardly  a  time  when  we  feel  our  weakness  and  nothingness  more  acutely  than 
when  we  are  surrounded  by  the  infinite  mystery  of  God's  love,  made  tangible  to  us,  and 
deeply  experienced.   What  are  a  novice's  thoughts  when  receiving  the  habit?  Surely 
she  feels  the  mysterious  and  irresistible  attraction  of  virginity.  Certain  Dominican 
concepts  emerge  into  the  foreground t  light  and  flame  ...  virginity  and  love  ...  a 
clear  and  refreshing  spring  bubbling  forth  in  the  desert  of  life  . . .  virginity  . . . 
mature  youthfulness  ...  youthful  maturity.  To  explore  the  immense  field  of  virginity 
is  a  task  for  eternity.  Earth  yields  too  little  time  to  sound  its  depths,  we  must  wait 
for  heaven.  Yet  we  know  that  virginity  contains  within  itself  the  power  to  make  life 
radiant,  to  make  the  many  lives  touching  our  own  life  share  in  its  lightsomeness. 

A  novice  senses  the  fragrance  of  virginity,  permeating  the  long  history  of  the  Church. 
She  contemplates,  delightedly,  the  panorama  of  lives  which  have  taken  their  flight,  have 
transcended  earth's  joys  and  have  come  to  rest  on  the  heights  of  "the  mountain  of  myrrh," 
won  at  the  price  of  valiant  warfare.  The  pilgrims  who  gained  these  peaks  were  not  afraid 
of  the  hard,  stony  ground  they  trod  with  bleeding  feet. 

Borrowing  a  simile  from  the  world  of  music,  the  novice  feels  herself  to  be  a  new,  liquid 
note  added  to  the  marvelous  harmonies  of  a  symphony  celebrating  virginity  through  the 
centuries.  For  each  person,  virginity  is  something  irrepea table,  elemental,  rich  and 
full  of  light.  There  are  secrets  as  yet  unexplored,  to  be  revealed  to  the  courageous 
soul  determined  to  plunge  into  its  crystalline  waters. 

Mary,  Virgin  most  pure,  presides  over  the  clothing  ceremony.  She  gazes  lovingly  at  the 
novice,  and  seems  to  sayi  "See  how  the  mystery  of  surrender  is  the  mystery  of  lowliness. 
Because  I  was  lowly,  I  pleased  the  Lord.  I  come  to  you  on  your  feastday  to  show  you  how 
to  live  your  true  greatness.   If  you  imitate  me,  you  will  learn  the  secret  of  life." 

Although  the  reception  of  the  habit  does  not  bind  as  do  vows,  still,  love  lays  claim  to 
everything;  there  are  no  limits  to  our  surrender.   It  takes  but  a  moment  to  don  the  habit, 
but  this  moment  has  eternal  repercussions,  matching  eternal  love.  Only  in  heaven  will  we 
see  the  true  splendor  of  this  moment,  when  our  gaze  was  first  fixed  on  eternity. 

A  monastery  might  be  compared  to  a  blazing  hearth  where  all  the  sins  of  humankind  are 
consumed.   We  want  our  sins,  all  sins,  to  be  consumed  together  here.  This  is  the  meaning 
of  our  white  habit  —  synthesis  of  all  colors  —  and  our  black  cappa,  symbol  of  penitence 
and  sorrow.  Within  its  folds  we  gather  our  brothers  and  sisters  from  the  whole  world. 
To  receive  the  Dominican  habit  is  to  encounter  all  the  world's  problems.  There  is  no 
place  for  half-heartedness,  unconcern.  The  habit  means  the  prolongation  of  Jesus*  life 
on  earth:   to  be  Jesus  for  everyone.  It  means  "trying  to  make  the  Lord  forget"  the  sins 
of  men,  to  regard  our  poor  humanity  with  the  same  look  of  love  and  compassion  he  cast  on 
the  prodigal  son,  the  lost  sheep,  the  adulteress,  the  sinner  of  Magdala.  God  hides  him- 
self within  the  folds  of  this  habit,  and  from  there  embraces  the  whole  world.  My  Domini- 
can habit  is  not  for  me  alone.   It  is  for  all  mankind.  It  must  communicate  to  all  the 
depth  of  my  adoration,  the  richness  of  my  surrender  to  God. 

Clothing  day  is  a  feast  of  renewal  for  the  whole  community.  Actually,  it  is  a  daily 
event.  Daily  we  don  the  habit.  If  at  times  the  atmosphere  seems  gray,  the  whiteness  of 


-91- 

our  habit  shines  through;  it  gives  a  tone  of  luminous  clarity  to  "the  dark  and  cloudy 

day.    Clothing  day  is  only  the  beginning.  To  begin  is  a  great  thing  in  life,  but  it 

is  not  everything.  We  set  our  sights  on  the  goal,  we  would  walk  with  unflagging  steps, 

with  no  dijnlnishment  of  our  desires  and  ideals.  Something  begun  in  time  and  carried  into 
eternity:   this  is  the  message  of  our  Dominican  habit. 

Those  who  witness  a  clothing  ceremony  are  filled  with  awe.  A  monastery  reveals  the  foot- 
prints of  God  among  men,  and  when  it  opens  a  small  window  to  the  outside  world,  that 
world  may  gaze  through  the  aperture  upon  the  truth,  beauty,  light,  the  sincere  and  guile- 
less happiness  within.   It  is  fascinated  by  the  joy  it  glimpses  "through  the  lattice"-' — 
a  joy  it  seeks  without  ever  finding,  since  this  joy  is  not  in  things,  where  most  seek 
it. 

Those  who  do  not  know  think  of  a  cloister  as  dark,  sombre,  colorless.  But  our  monasteries 
are  joyful  places,  where  love's  song  unfolds  without  pause.  All  is  joy,  all  is  beauty, 
like  our  habit.   Our  lives  are  lived  in  hiddenness  and  silence,  wherein  the  eyes  of  the 
divine  Artist  may  enjoy  what  he  himself  has  created,  —  he  who  knows  fully  the  intimate 
marvels  of  virginity,  pure  surrender  and  strong  love,  all  hid  within  a  poor,  simple 
white  tunic:   our  Dominican  habit.  4 


NOTES: 

1.  This  "sample  from  Spain"  could  be  seen  as  a  commentary  on  the  Basic  Constitution  of 
the  Nuns,  SV. 

2.  Cf.  Ezechiel  4:  12 

3.  Song  of  Songs,  2:  9 

4.  The  above  reflections  were  written  before  the  reception  of  the  habit  became  a  private 
ceremony.   Nevertheless,  the  spirit  animating  them  remains  the  same',  the  habit  is  the 
symbol  of  inner  conversion  and  a  constant  reminder  of  this  goal. 


*********** 


-92-       ^ 

THE   FEAR  OF  THE  LORD   IS   OUR  CROSS 

ANCIENT  HOMILY   FOR  MONASTIC   PROFESSION:    AN   INTERPRETATION ' ' 

(John  Cassian  -    Institutes,    Book   12:32-43)       Sister  M.    Catherine,   ( 

Elmira 

After  waiting  for  so  many  days  in  humble  pleading  at  the  entrance  to  the  Mona- 
stery you  are  to  be  admitted  today.   We  want  you  to  know  why  we  have  delayed  entrance 
and  made  it  so  difficult  for  you,  because  it  will  be  a  great  help  to  you  for 
your  future  monastic  journey  to  understand  its  method  so  that  you  can  embrace  the 
service  of  Christ  in  the  right  way.   Just  as  great  glory  is  promised  to  those  who 
faithfully  serve  God  and  cling  to  him  by  means  of  monastic  observance,  so  shall  they 
be  punished  who  are  cold  and  careless  and  fail  to  show  forth  the  fruits  of  holiness 
which  they  have  professed,  and  which  outsiders  expect  to  see  in  them.   For  it  is 
written  in  Scripture:  "Fulfill  what  you  have  vowed.   You  had  better  not  make  a  vow 
than  make  it  and  not  fulfill  it  "  (Eccl.  5:3-4).   For  this  reason  we  made  your  en- 
trance into  the  Monastery  difficult,  not  because  we  do  not  wholehearedly  desire  your 
salvation  and  would  not  willingly  seek  out  those  longing  for  conversion  to  Christ, 
even  those  far  off,  but  because  we  feared  to  act  imprudently  and  hastily  without 
being  sure  that  you  understood  the  responsibility  of  your  profession  and  so  might 
later  become  careless  or  abandon  it. 

Therefore,  you  must  first  learn  the  real  reason  for  renunciation  of  the  world 
so  that  you  can  learn  how  you  should  conduct  yourself  as  a  result.   Renunciation  is 
nothing  but  the  concrete  way  to  live  the  doctrine  of  the  Cross.   Today  you  die  to 
this  world  and  to  its  ways  of  acting,  its  values  and  attractions.   As  St.  Paul  puts 
it:  'You  are  crucified  to  this  world  and  this  world  to  you  '  (cf.  Gal.  6:14).   Pon- 
der deeply  on  the  Cross  and  its  demands,  for  it  is  like  a  sacrament  to  you  guiding 
your  life  from  now  on,  since  you  no  longer  live  but  he  lives  in  you  who  was  cruci- 
fied for  you  (cf.  Gal.  2:20)jW  We  must  all,  therefore,  spend  every  moment  of  our 
lives  carrying  out  the  dying  of  Jesus,  nailed  to  the  cross  with  him  in  spirit 
(2  Cor.  4:10;  Gal.  2:19).   We  come  to  know  the  fear  of  the  Lord  (Is.  11:2-3)  through 
a  penitential  life  and  the  mortification  of  all  sinful  attractions.   These  are  put  to 
death  by  means  of  the  power  of  his  redemptive  death  and  in  imitation  of  him.   In 
this  way  we  heed  his  word  addressed  to  each  of  us:  "He  who  does  not  take  up  his  cross 
and  follow  me  is  not  worthy  of  me"  (Matt.  10:38). 

You  might  feel  inclined  to  ask:  how  can  a  person  carry  his  cross  at  all  times 
or  really  accept  crucifixion  in  himself?   It  is  in  this  way:  the  fear  of  the  Lord 
is  our  cross.31'  Now,  when  someone  is  literally  nailed  to  a  cross  he  loses  all  freedom 
of  movement.   In  the  same  way,  we  must  affix  all  of  our  inclinations  and  desires  to 
the  law  of  the  Lord.   A  person  dying  on  a  cross  hardly  gives  a  thought  to  the 
pleasures  of  earth  or  to  its  problems  and  cares,  or  the  possessions  he  had  amassed; 
nor  does  he  worry  over  past  injuries  or  indulge  in  competition  or  useless  ambition. 
He  looks  only  to  the  liberation  and  joy  which  lie  beyond  the  gates  of  death.   So* 
you  too  should  die  in  spirit  and  thought  and  desire  not  only  to  your  sins  and  vices 
but  to  all  attachment  to  the  affairs  of  life  in  the  world,  and  keep  the  gaze  of  your 
mind  fixed  on  heaven  where  you  hope  to  go  after  a  brief  life/*"' 

And  so  you  must  be  very  vigilant  so  as  not  to  slacken  your  pace  or  turn  back  and 
take  up  again  all  that  you  have  renounced,— whether  it  be  family  life,  pleasure, 
material  possessions  or  ambitions , -and  rebel  against  the  demands  of  Christ  which 
lead  to  perfection.   Turning  back  after  putting  your  hand  to  the  plow  makes  you 
unfit  for  his  kingdom  (Luke  9:62).   You  must  be  careful,  too,  when  after  effort  and 
study  you  have  begun  to  savor  the  words  of  the  psalms  and  the  knowledge  of  the  spir- 
itual way  fi  that  you  do  not  subtly  become  proud  over  your  knowledge  and  lose  the 
solid  foundation  of  humility.   Rather,  once  you  have  begun  well,  continue  to  the  end 
in  that  nakedness  of  material  and  spiritual  poverty  of  which  you  have  made  profession 
in  the  sight  of  God  and  his  angels. 


-93- 

Recalling  the  patience  and  humility  with  which  you  awaited  admittance  to  the 
Monastery,  go  forward  steadily  in  these  virtues,  for  he  who  perseveres  to  the  end 
will  be  saved  (Matt.  24:13).   The  one  who  first  tempted  Adam  and  Eve^-is  always 
waiting  to  trip  you  up;  so  I  repeat,  persevere  in  the  humility  and  poverty  of  Christ 
in  which  you  have  made  profession  in  his  presence.   As  Scripture  says:  "My  son, when 
you  come  to  serve  the  Lord,  prepare  yourself  for  trials"  (Sir.  2:1),  not  for  repose 
or  delightful  pleasures, f or  "through  much  tribulation  we  must  enter  the  kingdom  of 
God"  (Acts  14:22)  and  "strait  is  the  gate  and  narrow  the  way  which  leads  to  life  and 
few  there  are  who  find  it"  (Matt.  7:14).   "Many  are  called  but  few  are  chosen" 
(Matt.  20:16)  to  be  'the  little  flock  to  receive  the  inheritance'  (cf.  Luke  12:32). 

This  state  of  perfection  can  be  reached  in  the  following  way.'  The  beginning 
and  the  safeguard  of  salvation  is  fear  of  the  Lord  because  it  is  through  this  gift 
that  we  are  enabled  to  make  a  start  at  our  conversion  and  begin  to  eliminate  our 
vices  and  establish  a  life  of  virtue.   This  beginning  changes  our  attitude  so  that 
worldly  interests  no  longer  hold  the  same  attraction,  and  so  lose  their  influence-* 
and  family  ties  do  not  dominate  us.   This  attitude  of  detachment  from  all  that  is 
not  God  gradually  produces  humility.   True  humility  can  be  discerned  by  the  following 
signs:  if  one's  natural  desires  and  inclinations  are  lost  in  God's  will;  if  one  is 
utterly  simple  and  genuine  in  letting  one's  words  and  actions  reveal  what  one  truly  is 
without  concealing  anything  out  of  vanity  or  human  respect;  if  one  is  perfectly 
open  and  trusting  towards  others,  and  affable  and  docile  to  superiors,  never  losing 
patience  or  a  gentle  spirit;  if  one  is  concerned  not  to  injure  others  but  at  the 
same  time  is  able  to  overlook  injuries  done  to  oneself;  if  one  has  a  great  respect 
for  monastic  observance  and  is  inclined  to  imitate  the  exemplary  life  of  one's 
elders;  if  one  is  contented  with  ordinary  tasks  and  common  duties  and  makes  no 
demands  from  an  exalted  opinion  of  oneself;  if  one  openly  acknowledges  faults  and 
is  always  aware  of  areas  where  one  can  improve  one's  manner  of  life;  if  one  esteems 
others  and  is  inclined  to  notice  their  virtues  in  contrast  to  one's  own  shortcomings; 
if  one  is  attentive  to  what  one  says  and  does  not  talk  indiscreetly  _>r  act  osten- 
tatiously so  as  to  attract  notice.   The  humility  which  slowly  becomes  a  part  of 
one's  being  as  a  result  of  this  habitual  way  of  thinking  and  acting  will  lead  one 
to  that  higher  plane  which  is  love,  that  perfect  love  which  knows  no  fear  (I  John  4:18) 
Then  one  is  no  longer  concerned  with  punishment  but  delights  in  a  virtuous  life 
which  reflects  the  Author  of  all  virtue. 

If  you  look  about  you,  you  will  discover  among  your  community  some  who  exemplify 
this  virtuous  life,  who  have  been  tested,  refined  and  purified.   Such  models  of  mon- 
astic life  offer  the  best  means  of  instruction  and  formation  to  you.^-  But  beyond  this, 
true  wisdom  requires  that  you  remain  as  one  who  is  blind  and  deaf  and  dumb:  blind  to 
all  that  is  unedifying  in  the  behavior  of  others  so  as  not  to  be  influenced  by  it; 
deaf  to  any  insolent  or  disparaging  remarks  so  as  not  to  imitate  them,  and  as  if 
you  never  heard  them.   And  even  if  you  yourself  are  wronged  or  insulted,  remain 
silent  -and  do  not  retaliate,  but  rather,  sing  in  your  heart  the  words  of  the  psalm: 
"I  said  I  will  be  heedful  of  my  ways  for  fear  I  should  sin  with  my  tongue.   I  set  a 
guard  to  my  mouth  when  the  sinner  stood  before  me;  I  kept  dumb  and  silent  and  re- 
frained from  rash  speech"  (Ps.  39:2-3).   Above  everything  else,  remember  the  admon- 
ition of  the  Apostle  and  take  on  the  attitude  he  proposes:  "Let  no  one  delude  him- 
self.  If  any  one  of  you  thinks  he  is  wise  in  a  worldly  way,  he  had  better  become 
a  fool.   In  that  way  i^e  will  really  be  wise,  for  the  wisdom  of  this  world  is  ab- 
surdity with  God"  (I  Cor.  3:18).   Obey  with  simplicity  and  faith,  without  the  cal- 
culations of  the  worldly  wise.   Then  you  will  be  secure  in  time  of  temptation. 
You  should  not  expect  to  learn  patience  from  the  virtue  of  others,  thinking  that 
it  is  only  when  you  find  others  affable  and  you  feel  well  disposed  and  not  irritated 
by  them  in  any  way  that  you  will  be  able  to  practice  this  virtue.   It  is  not  within 
your  power  to  avoid  feelings  of  irritation.   Rather,  you  should  look  for  the  fruits 
of  patience  from  your  own  determined  effort  to  practice  humility  and  to  bear  with  the 
faults  of  others.   It  is  your  will  that  matters,  not  their  attitude  or  action. 


-94- 


I  will  now  make  a  summary  of  all  I  have  said  so  that  you  may  be  able  to  keep 
it  before  your  mind  and  in  your  heart  always.   Briefly,  then,  this  is  how  you  can 
mount  the  heights  of  perfection  without  difficulty  or  strain.   The  beginning  of 
our  salvation  and  of  wisdom  (Ps.  111:10),  as  Scripture  tells  us,  is  the  fear  of 
the  Lord.   From  the  fear  of  the  Lord  comes  salutary  compunction  of  heart.   From 
this  springs  renunciation,  that  is,  absolute  material  and  spiritual  poverty.   From 
such  nakedness  before  God  humility  is  born,  and  with  this  we  die  to  all  selfish 
desires,  and  so  our  faults  are  rooted  out  and  virtues  spring  up  in  their  place. 
When  virtue  is  fully  developed  we  come  to  know  purity  of  heart.   Finally,  through 
purity  of  heart  we  receive  the  crowning  grace  of  perfect  apostolic  love.y 

*  *  *  *********** 


NOTES 

1)  This   so-called  "homily"  is  a  free  and  selective  rendering  of  the  text  of  Book  12 
Chapters  32  -  A3  of  the  Institutes  of  John  Cassian.   It  is  the  result  of  per- 
sonal reflection  at  the  time  of  my  profession  anniversary.   It  is  also  an  attempt  to 
present  the  material  in  these  chapters  as  a  single,  continuous  exhortation  adapted  to  our 
our  modern  mentality.   Cassian  himself  presents  his  text  as  his  own  recollection  of 

the  words  of  one  of  the  Egyptian  desert  Fathers,  Abbot  Pinufius,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  admission  of  a  new  brother  to  the  monastic  life.   The  life  is  laid  before  the 
candidate  in  stark  and  uncompromising  tones  as  a  conversion  to  Christ  by  means  of 
total  renunciation  described  in  terms  of  the  cross  and  made  possible  by  the  gift 
of  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 

2)  The  author,  near  the  beginning  of  his  discourse,  quotes  the  Letter  of  St. 
Paul  to  the  Galatians  (2:19-20)  thus  placing  this  human  work  of  renunciation 
under  the  power  of  Christ  who  lives  in  the  candidate  and  activates  the  work  by 
divine  grace.   The  discourse  has  a  Christo-centric  and  sacramental  background, 
implying  Baptism  and  probably  Eucharist  which  the  early  monks  received  daily 
even  though  the  Liturgy  of  the  Eucharist  was  celebrated  only  once  or  twice  a 
week.   The  candidate's  whole  consciousness,  all  he  does  and  is,  must  be  in  Christ 

and  for  Christ.  His  whole  life  is  to  be  a  conversion  to  Christ,  a  putting  on  of 
the  humility  and  poverty  of  Christy  He  must  embrace  the  service  of  Christ,  never 
rebel  against  the  demands  of  Christ,  bear  the  cross  of  Christ  within  himself. 

3)  The  fear  of  the  Lord,  as  it  is  described  throughout  Scripture,  is  basically 
a  sense  of  reverence  and  awe  in  the  presence  of  God,  an  attitude  of  worship 
(Deut.  10:12).   It  is  a  gift  which  God  gives  to  those  who  are  open  to  his  Word, 

who  listen  to  it  and  carry  it  out  in  their  lives  (Deut.  6:2;  8:6;  Pss.  111(112) :1; 
118(119) :63;  Sir.  2:15-21).   By  this  submission  of  one's  will  to  God  one  comes  to 
a  certain  knowledge  of  God  from  experience  and  to  a  consciousness  of  one's  rela- 
tionship with  him  which  gradually  develops  into  intimacy.   There  is  a  close  asso- 
ciation between  fear  of  the  Lord  and  the  gift  of  wisdom.   Fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  beginning  of  wisdom  (Ps.  111:10;  Sir.  1:12;  Prov.  1:7;  9:10),  the  root  and 
crown  of  wisdom  (Sir.  1:14-18),  instruction  in  wisdom  (Prov.  15:33).   It  produces 
a  joyful  heart  (Sir.  li'9-11;  Ps.  85(86):  11).   One  who  fears  the  Lord  turns  to  him 
wholeheartedly  (Sir. 21:7),  trusts  him  always  (Sir.  2:7-9:  Prov.  14:26;  23:17; 
Ps.  24(25): 12),  is  obedient  and  completely  submissive  to  him  in  his  revealed  Word 
and  in  his  human  representatives  (Sir.  3:8;  7:31;  Prov.  24:21),  and  will  have  a 
right  relationship  with  his  neighbor  (Lev.  19:14,32;  Sir.  27:4).   God's  loving 
kindness  and  providence  will  guide  him  through  life  (Pss. 32 (33) : 18;  102 (103) : 11, 17; 
Sir.  15:20;  34:14-19).   It  brings  about  repentance,  healing  and  the  favor 
of  God  (Mai.  3:7,16-17,20).   In  the  Gospel,  Jesus  often  exhorts  his  followers  to 
this  reverential  fear  of  God  (Matt.  10:28;  Luke  12:5;  Matt.  5:21-30;  18:23-35; 


-95- 


13:24-30;  etc.)*   The  primitive  Church  was  known  for  its  reverential  fear  of  God 
(Acts  10:2,22,35;  2  Cor.  7:1;  I  Pet.  2:17;  etc.).   Finally,  because  of  the 
Christian's  new  status  as  a  child  of  God  in  Christ  this  reverential  fear  is  ab- 
sorbed in  and  perfected  by  love  (Rom.  8:15;  I  John  4:18). 

(The  source  for  most  of  this  material  is:  John  E.  Steinmueller ,  S.T.D.  and 
Kathryn  Sullivan,  R.S.C.J.,  Ph.D.,  "Fear  of  God",  Catholic  Biblical  Encyclopedia, 
New  York,  Joseph  Wagner,  Inc.  Vol  I,  1956,  p.  361  f.,  Vol.  II,  1950,  p.  234  f.) 

St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  in  his  Summa  Theologica,  gives  his  own  analysis: 
"Filial  fear  holds  the  first  place,  as  it  were,  among  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
in  the  ascending  order,  and  the  last  place,  in  the  descending  order... Fear  cuts 
off  the  source  of  pride,  for  which  reason  it  is  bestowed  as  a  remedy  against  pridt 
Yet  it  does  not  follow  that  it  is  the  same  as  the  virtue  of  humility,  but  that  it 
is  its  origin"  (II^II  q.19,  a  9).  "This  fear  decreases  as  charity  increases... 
since  the  more  a  man  loves  God,  the  less  he  fears  punishment;  first,  because  he 
thinks  less  of  his  own  good ;... secondly ,  because  the  faster  he  clings,  the  more 
confident  he  is  of  the  reward... The  fear  of  God  not  only  begins  but  perfects 
wisdom,  whereby  we  love  God  above  all  things,  and  our  neighbor  as  ourselves" 
(II-II  q.  19, a  10). 

Thomas  brings  out  the  connection  between  poverty  of  spirit,  which  is  the  first 

beatitude,  and  the  gift  of  fear  of  the  Lord: 

"Poverty  of  spirit  properly  corresponds  to  fear.   Because,  since  it  belongs 
to  filial  fear  to  show  reverence  and  submission  to  God,  whatever  results 
from  this  submission  belongs  to  the  gift  of  fear.   Now  from  the  very  fact 
that  a  man  submits  to  God  it  follows  that  he  ceases  to  seek  greatness  either 
in  himself  or  in  another  but  seeks  it  only  in  God... If  a  man  fear  God  per- 
fectly, he  does  not,  by  pride,  seek  greatness  either  in  himself  or  in  ex- 
ternal goods,  viz. ,  honors  and  riches.   In  either  case  this  proceeds  from 
poverty  of  spirit,  insofar  as  the  latter  denotes. .. the  renunciation  of 
worldly  goods  which  is  done  in  spirit,  i.e.,  by  one's  own  will,  through  the 
instigation  of  the  Holy  Spirit. .. Since  a  beatitude  is  an  act  of  perfect 
virtue,  all  the  beatitudes  belong  to  the  perfection  of  spiritual  life.   And 
this  perfection  seems  to  require  that  whoever  would  strive  to  obtain  a  per- 
fect share  of  spiritual  goods,  needs  to  begin  by  despising  earthly  goods, 
wherefore  fear  holds  the  first  place  among  the  gifts.   Perfection,  however, 
does  not  consist  in  the  renunciation  itself  of  temporal  goods;  since  this 
is  the  way  to  perfection:  whereas  filial  fear,  to  which  the  beatitude  of 
poverty  corresponds,  is  consistent  with  the  perfection  of  wisdom. . .whoever 
fears  God  and  is  subject  to  him,  takes  no  delight  in  things  other  than  God" 
(II-II  q  19,  a  12). 

The  analysis  of  St.  Thomas  helps  to  clarify  the  meaning  of  the  gift  of  fear  of 
the  Lord  and  to  situate  it  within  the  process  of  spiritual  growth.   It  is  the 
grace  which  initiates  conversion  of  life  (conversatio  mo rum:  one  of  the  vows  in 
the  Benedictine  monastic  tradition).   It  is  the  gift  which  turns  one  around  in 
a  withdrawal  from  the  self  idolized  under  various  forms  and  moves  one  towards  God  in 
total  reverence,  obedience  and  worship  with  the  whole  of  one's  being,  in  an  all 
embracing  attitude  of  (humility,  until  the  perfection  of  love  is  reached.   This 
movement  involves  a  renunciation  of  all  that  is  not  God  in  progressive  degrees. 
It  is  expressed  within  fraternal  relationships.   Community  life  is  the  arena 
wherein  one  strips  away  vice  and  practices  virtue:  patience,  mercy,  ohedience, 
and  the  candidness  of  absolute  truth.   This  truth  is  a  complete  openness  before 
God  and  others,  without  hidden  agenda  or  defenses.   All  of  this  leads  to  that 
losing  of  the  false  ,  autonomous  self  for  Christ's  sake  which  is  a  true  self 
discovery  in  God. 


-96- 

4)   The  monk's  vision  and  desire  is  eschatological,  and  his  break  with  this  world 
is  radical.   He  must  never  turn  back  or  even  look  back,  have  no  concern  for  this  life 
or  worldly  affairs.   He  must  fix  his  gaze  on  heaven,  continually  move  forward  by 
renunciation  and  the  practice  of  virtue,  never  slacken  his  pace,  persevere  to 
the  end.   Ancient  monasticism  took  a  much  more  uncompromising  stance  towards  the 
world  than  we  do  today.   Since  Vatican  Council  II  we  have  been  in  the  process  of 
searching  out  the  relationship  of  the  Church  to  the  modern  world,  but  there  is 
still  an  aspect  of  the  world  which  must  be  totally  rejected  .   Discernment  is 
constantly  needed  in  order  to  keep  the  distinction  clear. 

5)  This  is  the  only  explicit  reference  to  prayer,  understood  here  as  a  savoring  of  tl 
Psalms  so  that  their  thought  and  aspiration  become  a  part  of  one's  own  mentality 

and  orientation  of  heart.   The  term  lectio  divina  was  coined  later.   Prayer 
is  to  be  understood  more  generally,  in  the  context  of  the  entire  "homily  ,  as 
that  continuous  and  all  embracing  movement  beginning  with  the  fear  of  the  Lord 
and  ascending  through  purity  of  heart  to  perfect  love. 

6)  Chapter  38  is  concerned  with  the  contrast  between  the  first  man  and  woman 
created  in  God's  image  who  tarnished  that  image  by  the  original  sin  and  its 
effect,  and  the  'new  man'  restored  to  God's  image  in  Christ  who  is  himself  the 
perfect  image.   This  is  a  frequent  theme  in  the  Fathers.   It  envisages  the 
entire  plan  of  God  in  a  comprehensive  way  as  it  is  presented  to  us  from  the 
first  pages  of  the  Bible  (Genesis  1-3)  down  through  St.  Paul's  explanation  of 
Christ  as  the  new  Adam. 

7)  The  description  of  the  spiritual  ascent  which  makes  up  Chapter  39  is 

adapted  by  St.  Benedict  in  Chapter  7  of  his  Rule.   Benedict  speaks  of  these  steps 

in  terms  of  Jacob's  ladder  (Gen.  28:12): 

"...by  which  we  descend  by  exaltation  and  ascend  by  humility.   Now 
the' ladder  erected  is  our  life  on  earth,  and  if  we  humble  our  hearts 
the  Lord  will  raise  it  to  heaven"  (RB  7:7-8). 
It  is  the  work  of  God  and  a  total  reversal  of  human  values.   It  begins,  as  in 
Cassian,  with  the  fear  of  the  Lord  and  reaches  the  summit  with  "that  perfect 
love  which  casts  out  fear"  (7:67).   The  inbetween  steps  are  basically  the  same  as 
in  Cassian  with  some  variations.   The  whole  is  intended  to  indicate  a  progression 
from  the  internal  disposition  to  the  exterior  manifestation.   Cassian  has  10 
signs;  Benedict  lists  12  steps.  (This  information  is  taken  from:  RB  1980,  Ed. 
Thomas  Fry,  Collegeville:  Liturgical  Press,  1981.  pp.  193-203) 

St.  Thomas  Aquinas  (ST  II-II  q.  161,  a.  6)  has  an  article  on  Benedict's 
scheme  of  humility.   In  his  exposition  he  never  refers  to  Cassian  but  only  to 

Benedict: 

"The  inward  disposition  of  humility  leads  to  certain  outward  signs  in 
words,  deeds  and  gestures,  which  manifest  that  which  is  hidden  within, 
as  happens  also  with  the  other  virtues. . .Wherefore  the  aforesaid  de- 
grees of  humility  include  something  regarding  the  root  of  humility, 
namely  the  twelfth  degree,  that  a  man  fear  God  and  bear  all  his  com- 
mandments in  mind." 
Thomas  continues  with'  his  enumeration  of  the  degrees  of  humility,  but  describ- 
es them  in  reverse  order.   He  concludes  in  his  reply  to  Objection  2: 

"Man  arrives  at  humility  in  two  ways.   First  and  chiefly  by  a  gift  of 
grace,  and  in  this  way  the  inner  man  precedes  the  outward  man.   The 
other  way  is  by  human  effort,  whereby  he  first  of  all  restrains  the 
outward  man,  and  afterwards  succeeds  in  plucking  out  the  inward  root. 
It  is  according  to  this  order  that  the  degrees  of  humility  are  here 
enumerated. " 


-97- 


8)  Except  for  Holy  Scripture,  the  principal  source  of  knowledge  for  the  early  monks 
was  the  experiential  wisdom  exemplified  and  handed  on  by  their  elders  and  prede- 
cessors, one  or  more  of  whom  was  chosen  by  the  neophyte  as  disciple  to  spiritual 
father.   Gradually,  the  sayings  of  these  holy  men  were  transmitted  orally  and  also 
written  down.   The  primitive  monastic  rules  had  this  quality  of  simple  wisdom  about 
them  and  were  expressed  in  pithy  sayings.   The  Rule  of  St.  Benedict,  though  it  came 
somewhat  later  in  time,  retained  this  quality. 

9)  The  'apostolic  love'  mentioned  in  the  last  sentence  does  not  refer  to  apos- 
tolate  or  missionary  outreach  in  the  modern  sense,  or  to  that  zeal  for  the  sal- 
vation of  others  which  is  so  characteristically  Dominican.   In  writings  which 
precede  the  middle  ages   the  terra  almost  always  designated  the  imitation  of  the 
apostles   as  the  first  and  exemplary  followers  of  Christ  who  taught  them  the 
way  to  perfection. 

Since,  as  Dominicans,  we  are  heirs  of  this  monastic  tradition,  we  can  find 
the  principal  themes  contained  in  this  homily  traced  throughout  our  present  Consti- 
tutions.  The  following  are  notable:  Christ  centered  focus  (Basic  Const.  II, III, IV, 
V;  23,  24  II,  31  I,  40  I,  70,  80  I,  81,  87  IV,  94,  101,  108,  118  I,  118  III,  125  III); 
poverty  (33  I,  160  II);  renunciation  (BC  III,V,  29  I,  33  I, II,  41,  108,  125  II, 
160  II);  the  cross  (67  I,  80  IV,  125  III);  seek,  fix  attention  (BC  II, IV,  13  I, 
80  IV,  93,)  humility  (5,  70,  74,  115,  121  II,  125  II);  obedience  (BC  VI,  23,  24  II, 
III,  121  I);  perfection,  perfect  love  (BC  11,24,  67  II,  118  III,  125  II);  silence 
(BC  VI,  80  IV);  purity  of  heart  (BC  III,  29  II);  way  of  life : conversatio  (BC  II, 
40  I,  118  I);  eschatological  thrust  (BC  III,  40  I,  41);  prayenpsalms  (BC  V,  80  II); 
elders  as  formators  (118  III,  121  II, III,  125  I). 

*********** 


Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe 

Time  cannot  dim  your  loveliness, 
Ever-fresh  flower  of  the  height. 
Hover  like  a  beacon  over  our  land, 
Make  our  Faith  firm  and  bright. 

In  your  dark  eyes  where 
The  splendors  of  heaven  still  nest, 
Pupil  us  there  with  Juan  Diego, 
forever  sheltered,  forever  blest. 

Chasten  in  your  compassionate  hands 
The  dripping  tears  of  penitence. 
Clasp  in  your  loving  hold 

Untroubled  innocence. 

Give  each  little  one  attention 

In  your  welcoming  grace. 

Enfold  in  your  motherly  gaze 

Our  country,  the  whole  human  race. 

Sister  iwary  Joseph,  O.P 
Los  Angeles,  CA. 


-98- 


ELIZABETH  OF  THE  TRINITY  AND  THE  INTERIOR  CASTLE 


Sister  Mary  Emily,  O.P. 
Lufkin 


When  Teresa  of  Avila  took  pen  in  hand  to  compose  her  greatest  work,  The 
Interior  Castle,  in  the  year  1577,  she  envisioned  it   as   a  structure  de- 
scribing the  ways  and  stages  to  union  with  God.   In  the  castle  there  are  seven 
different  categories  or  dwelling  places,  and  each  of  these  seven  dwelling 
places  has  many  different  rooms, in  order  to  accomodate  a  divergency  of  people  and 
personalities.   Thus,  for  example,  although  a  Charles  de  Foucauld  and  a  St. 
Francis  de  Sales  both  may  experience  the  first  dwelling  places  at  the  outset 
of  the  spiritual  life,  one  will  fit  into  some  rooms  that  the  other  will  not, 
since  in  most  respects  their  lives  were  in  sharp  contrast  to  each  other. 

The  purpose  of  this  stud}'  is  to  attempt  to  place  Blessed  Elizabeth  of 
the  Trinity  in  the  dwelling  places  that  fit  her  particular  personality  and  re- 
ligious orientation.   It  seems  appropriate  to  do  so  since  the  etymology  of  the 
name  Elizabeth  means  'house  of  God'.   It  is  upon  this  house  concept  that 
Teresa  bases  The  Interior  Castle. 

"I  shall  now  speak  about  that  which  will  provide  us  with  a  ba- 
sis to  begin.   It  is  that  we  consider  our  soul  to  be  like  a 
castle  made  entirely  out  of  a  diamond  or  a  very  clear  crystal, 
in  which  there  are  man)'  dwelling  places."   1.) 

The  appropriateness  of  this  placement  of  Elizabeth  in  the  interior  cas- 
tle is  further  augmented  by  the  realization  that  Elizabeth's  principal  thrust 
was  towards  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity  in  its  relationship  with  the  human 
creature  predestined  to  share  in  their  glory.   Teresa,  for  her  part,  will  let 
her  readers  see  the  ultimate  goal  a  soul  can  hope  to  attain  in  its  striving 
towards  union  with  the  three  Divine  Persons.   This  is  nothing  less  than  a  life 
immersed  in  the  Trinity  and  transformed  into  Jesus  Christ.   Elizabeth , through 
the  grace  of  God,  achieved  this  fullness  and  transformation. 

If  we  desire  another  authority  to  affirm  the  clear  direction  that  both  Teresa 
and  Elizabeth  take  in  their  quest  of  seeking  the  King  in  the  inner  dwelling  of 
their  soul,  we  can  turn  to  St.  John  of  the  Cross.   His  words  supply  sufficent 
endorsement  and  provide  an  excellent  conclusion   to  our  introduction. 

"Oh,  then, "soul,  most  beautiful  among  all  creatures,  so  anx- 
ious to  know  the  dwelling  place  of  your  Beloved  that  you 
may  go  in  quest  of  Him  and  be  united  with  Him,  now  we  are 
telling  you  that  you  yourself  are  His  dwelling  and  His  sa- 
cred chamber  and  hiding  place.   This  is  something  of  im- 
mense gladness  for  you  to  see  that  all  your  good  and  hope 
is  so  close  to  you  as  to  be  within  you,  or  better,  that 
you  cannot  be  without  llim.   Behold,  exclaims   the  Bride- 
groom:'the  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you.'  (Lk. 17:21)  And 
His  servant,  the  apostle  St.  Paul,  declares:  'You  are 
the  temple  of  God.'  (2  Cor.  6:16)"  2.) 


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ELIZABETH  AND  THE  FIRST  DWELLING  PLACES 

There  are  many  ways  of  being  in  a  place,  and  in  the  first  dwelling  pla- 
ces there  are  a  variety  of  persons.   Some  are  "paralyzed  persons"  and  "infirm", 
that  is, those  who  are  not  capable  of  entering  the  castle.   This  certainly  was 
not  true  of  the  young  Elizabeth..   Her  station,  or  dwelling  place  in  this 
first  stage,  was  that  of  vocal  prayer  and  the  acquisition  of  self-knowledge. 
These  were  the  initial  steps  she  took  towards  curbing  her  temperament. 

The  very  young  Elizabeth  was  a  demanding,  self-willed  little  tyrant.  Fa- 
ther Philipon  in  The  Spiritual  Doctrine  gives  us  an  excellent  picture  of  the 
three  year  old  Elizabeth  who  took  possession  of  one  of  the  rooms  in  the  Catez 
home,  locked  herself  in,  and  proceeded  to  scream,  kick  and  shout  until  her  de- 
mands and  wishes  were  gratified.   3.)   Everyone  admitted  that  this  child  had 
fire  in  her  blood.   This  fire  would  smolder  into  oversensit iveness  and  would 
at  times  burst  forth  into  flames  of  anger. 

A  decisive  change  occurred  at  the  age  of  seven  with  the  event  of  El izabeth' s 
first  confession.  Her  eyes  were  opened  to  the  truth  that  God  was  to  be  loved 
and  feared.   This  sacramental  insight  of  seeing  herself  in  the  light  of  grace 
set  her  on  a  clear  course  toward  the  indispensable  self-knowledge  and  humility 
needed  to  conquer  her  predominant  faults.   From  now  on  there  were  to  be  no 
offenses  willingly  committed  and  her  strong  will  was  re-oriented  toward  a  con- 
stant and  unremitting  check  on  her  quick  temper  and  unruly  nature. 

Elizabeth  discarded  most  of  her  diary  notes,  but  the  small  collection 
that  survives  carries  this  entry,  which  was  written  when  she  was  in  her  teens 
and  which  is  indicative  of  all  these  years  of  personality  struggle: 

"Today  I  had  the  joy  of  offering  Jesus  several  sacrifices 
with  respect  to  my  dominant  fault,  but  how  much  they  cost 
me.'   There  I  recognize  my  weakness.   When  I  am  unjustly 
reproved,  I  feel  as  though  the  blood  were  boiling  in  my 
veins.   My  whole  being  rises  in  revolt!   But  Our  Lord  is 
with  me.   I  heard  His  voice  deep  down  in  my  heart  and 
then  I  was  ready  to  bear  everything  for  love  of  Him."   4.) 

Indeed,  from  her  confessional  experiences  and  her  growing  awareness  of 
right  and  wrong,  Elizabeth  was  being  riveted  to  grace  and  to  a  determination 
to  conquer  all  her  faults,  through  an  assiduous  striving  towards  growth  in 
self-knowledge. 

Concerning  self-knowledge,  as  it  is  described  in  the  first  dwelling 
places,  St.  Teresa  says: 

"Knowing  ourselves  is  something  so  important  that  I  wouldn't 
want  any  relaxation  ever  in  this  regard."   5) 

The  lesson  to  be  learned  from  the  first  dwelling  places  is  conversion. 
Without  a  steadfast  change  of  heart,  without  a  continual  return  to  repentance, 
the  rest  of  the  spiritual  life  will  lack  serious  application  and  the  enter- 
prise will  fail.   The  child  Elizabeth  took  her  volcanic  nature  by  the  horns;  and 
with  her  inborn,  strong  will,  combined  with  the  help  of  her  mother's  skillful 
surveillance  and  the  impetus  of  God's  grace,  she  set  her  attention  and  ener- 


-100- 


gies  towards  humility  and  self-knowledge. 

St.  John  of  the  Cross  reminds  us  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  The  Ascent 
that,  "hot  water   loses  heat  if  left  uncovered,  and  aromatic  spices  when  un- 
wrapped eventually  lose  the  strength  and  pungency  of  their  scent."  6)   His 
point  here  coincides  with  Teresa's:   that  if  we  wish  to  progress  in  the  love 
of  God,  we  must  do  our  part.   We  must  search  out  the  ways  and  means  of  re- 
moving those  things  that  stand  as  obstacles  to  the  divine  love  that  is  offered 

freely  through  the  assistance  of  grace.  This  iswhat  Elizabeth  endeavored 
to  do. 

ELIZABETH  AND  THE  SECOND  DWELLING  PLACES 

In  her  first  chapter  of  the  second  dwelling  places,  St.  Teresa  says  God 
calls  those  persons  in  this  second  set  of  rooms  or  levels  to  a  consideration  of 
themselves  through  different  means,  according  to  what  is  best  for  the  individual 
For  some  it  is  through  books,  others  through  persons  or  through  things  that  are 
heard,  and  yet  others  are  called  to  a  deeper  integration  with  God  through  e- 
vents ,  such  as  illness  or  trials.   Then  Teresa  remarks  that  some  are  brought  to 
God,  "through  a  truth  that  He  teaches  during  the  brief  moments  we  spend  in 
prayer."  7) 

This  more  profound  awareness  of  God  seems  to  have  touched  Elizabeth  prima- 
rily through  sacramental  prayer.   The  few  accounts  that  are  recorded  of  her 
early  encounters  with  God,  of  an  interior  nature,  seem  to  be  associated  with 
the  sacraments  of  Penance  and  the  Eucharist. 

Her  first  confession,  and  the  grace  that  initiated  her  conversion,  was 
reviewed  in  the  first  dwelling  places  of  this  paper.   Elizabeth's  first  Commu- 
nion seems  to  find  a  niche  in  these  second  dwelling  places.   We  see  from  her 
own  words  that  this  day  was  one  of  true  enlightenment:   "I  am  no  longer  hungry; 
Our  Lord  has  fed  me."   8)   This  mature  appraisal  from  a  child  of  nine  years 
indicates  the  depths  of  God's  loving  touches  in  one  who  was  still  only  a  small 
bud,  not  yet  come  to  flower. 

The  flowering,  however,  would  begin  at  fourteen  when,  again  during  the  re- 
ception of  the  Eucharist,  Elizabeth  was  interiorly  drawn  to  make  a  vow  of  vir- 
ginity.  The  grace  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  the  Lord  made  its 
spiritual  impact  on  her  when  she  heard  an  interior  locution  in  the  form  of  one 
word  as  she  received  the  sacred  Host.   That  one  word  was  "Carmel"  and,- without 
a  doubt,  Elizabeth  knew  it  was  an  indication  and  an  invitation  from  her  Lord 
to  enter  the  Carmelite  monastery.  These  sacramental  graces  strength- 

ened Elizabeth  to  live  the  Christian  life  perfectly,  although  this  was  with  her, 
as  it  is  with  all  of  us,  a  gradual  process.   Then  too,  God,  through  his  divine 
Son,  was  preparing  Elizabeth  for  the  spiritual  battles  that  accompany  a  true 
and  sincere  striving  after  perfection  so  that  she  might  bear  the  likeness  of 
Jesus.  ' 

Concerning  these  spiritual  battles,  St.  Teresa  says: 

"The  attacks  made  by  devils  in  a  thousand  ways  afflict  the  soul 
more  in  these  rooms  than  in  the  previous  ones.  Here  the  intel- 
lect is  more  alive  and  the  faculties  more  skilled.   The  blows 


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"from  the  artillery  strike  in  such  a  way  that  the  soul  cannot 
fail  to  hear. "  9) 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Elizabeth  set  up  a  full  scale  defensive  against 
the  enemy's  attacks.   The  Reminiscences  records  the  following: 

"Envying  the  peace  of  so  innocent  and  faithful  a  soul , 
the  enemy  of  all  good  tried  to  disturb  it.   In  order 
to  test  his  beloved  child,  God  allowed  her  to  go  through 
a  phase  of  scruples  and  interior  suffering;  but  the  pa- 
tience of  her  confessor,  which  made  her  realize  something 
of  the  loving-kindness  of  God  Himself,  enabled  her  to 
give  him  her  confidence,  and  thus  she  soon  recovered  her 
peace  of  mind . "   10) 

The  battle  with  the  enemy  continued  on  and  on,  so  that  at  age  thirteen 
we  find  Elizabeth  penning  this  prayer  in  her  diary  to  her  patron  saint  as 
she  pours  out  her  desire  for  complete  conquest  of  her  faults: 

"Remember,  0  Saint  Elizabeth,  my  patron  and  heavenly 
protectress  that  I  am  your  little  charge.   Come  to  my 
help  in  this  desert  land,  and  support  me  in  my  weak- 
ness.  Give  me  your  virtues,  your  gentle  humility, 
and  your  sublime  charity.   Pray  for  me  that  God  may 
change  my  faults  into  virtues,  as  once  He  changed 
the  loaves  you  were  carrying  into  roses."    11) 

Elizabeth  understood  from  her  earliest  years  the  indispensable  role 
asceticism  plays  in  the  spiritual  life  and  in  the  attainment  of  the  per- 
fection of  the  love  of  God.   Her  efforts  seem  to  border  on  the  heroic  as  we 
see  in  the  final  entry  from  her  notes.   Whether  she  went  to  these  extremes 
or  whether  she  was  exaggerating  to  carry  her  point  across,  there  is  no  way 
of  knowing.   This  much  is  certain;  she  was  resolute: 

"During  the  day  one  can  always  manage  to  do  something  that 
is  disagreeable  to  oneself  without  being  noticed  by  oth- 
ers.  We  should  never  let  an  hour  go  by  without  making  a 
a  sacrifice,  even  though  it  be  only  a  hairpin  that  pulls 
one's  hair,  or  a  match  stalk  in  one's  shoe."   12) 

Elizabeth  passed  through  these  second  dwelling  places  with  flying 
colors,  echoing  in  her  manner  of  approach  the  counsel  of  St.  John  of  the 
Cross,  who  outlines  the  spirit  of  detachment  in  unequivocal  terms: 

"Endeavor  to  be  inclined  always: 
not  to  the  easiest,  but  to  the  most  difficult; 
not  to  the  most  delightful,  but  to  the  hardest; 
not  to  the  most  gratifying,  but  to  the  less  pleasant."   13) 


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ELIZABETH  AND  THE  THIRD  DWELLING  PLACES 

St.  Teresa  has  the  following  to  say  at  the  outset  of   these  third  dwell- 
ing places . 

"T  believe  that  through  the  goodness  of  God  there  are  many 
souls  in  the  world  who  long  not  to  offend  his  Majesty, 
even  guarding  themselves  against  venial  sins;  they  spend 
their  time  well,  practicing  works  of  charity  towards 
their  neighbors,  and  are  very  balanced  in  their  use  of 
speech  and  dress  and  in  the  governing  of  their  house- 
holds -  those  who  have  them.   14) 

This  is  certainly  an  accurate  picture  of  Elizabeth  as  she  grew  into  wo- 
manhood.  She  was  still  young,  sixteen  and  seventeen.   She  has  accustomed 
herself  to  the  rigors  of  penance,  but  always  in  a  hidden  and  unobtrusive 
manner.   Prayer  has  become  so  all-consuming  as  to  keep  her  attention  fixed 
long  after  her  companions  have  ceased  to  pray  and  have  returned  to  other 
affairs.   Her  charity  is  such  that  she  seems  to  embody  St.  Pauls,  "all 
things  to  all  men."   15)   Commenting  on  this  period  in  her  life,  Elizabeth 
writes : 

"Being  naturally  very  lively,  I  was  very  fond  of  enjoying 
myself,  but  even  at  that  age  I  was  on  my  guard  during 
worldly  amusements,  on  account  of  my  disposition.  How- 
ever, my  resolve  to  belong  wholly  to  God  kept  me  from  be- 
ing attracted  to  pleasure...    When  I  was  invited  to  lit- 
tle parties,  before  setting  out  I  used  to  shut  myself  in 
my  room  for  a  moment's  earnest  prayer.   I  knew  that  I 
was  so  ardent  that  I  ought  to  watch  myself  very  carefully."   (16) 

By  nature  and  by  grace  Elizabeth  possessed  an  extremely  strong  will, but 
by  this  time  it  was  not  something  forceful  or  obvious.   Grace  had  so  taken 
the  ascendency  that  all  her  efforts  and  struggles,  as  we  have  seen,  were 
interior.   Exteriorly  she  displayed  a  calm  and  graceful  demeanor.   This  is 
very  reminiscent  of  St.  Teresa's  words,  "Don't  think  He  (Our  Lord)  needs  our 
works;  He  needs  the  determination  of  our  wills."   17) 

In  these  third  dwelling  places  the  individual  is  still  working  hard  in 
the  ascetical  phase      of  the  spiritual  life.   The  epitome  of  this  asceti- 
cism is  humility,  although  assidous  prayer  and  ready  penance  and  mortifica- 
tion also  play  a  paramount  role.   St.  Teresa  writes  frequently  about  this 
queen  of  the  virtues  -  humility  -  in  the  third  dwelling  places.   "This  per- 
severance includes  the  condition  that  you  consider  yourselves  useless  ser- 
vants, as  St.  Paul,  or  Christ  says,  and  believe  that  you  have  not  put  Our 
Lord  under  any  obligation  to  grant  you  these  kinds  of  favors."  18) 

In  chapter  twq  of  the  third  dwelling  places,  St.  Teresa  again  falls 
back  on  humility  to  reinforce  her  point  : 

"With  humility  present,  this  stage  is  a  most  excellent  one. 
If  humility  is  lacking,  we  will  remain  here  our  whole 
life  -  and  with  a  thousand  afflictions  and  miseries.   For 


■103- 


"perfection  as  well  as  its  reward  does  not  consist  in  spiri- 
tual delights  but  in  greater  love  and  in  deeds  done  with 
greater  justice  and  truth."  20) 

The  touchstone  of  Elizabeth's  humility  is  found  in  her  sterling  obedi- 
ence, although  it  is  also  evidenced  in  countless  other  ways.   Madame  Catez, 
a  profoundly  good  and  religious  woman,  not  only  refused  Elizabeth  the  pos- 
sibility of  a  religious  vocation,  but  ordered  her  not  even  to  speak  of  it. 
This  prohibition  lasted  six  years  and  all  the  while  Elizabeth  adhered  humb- 
ly to  the  will  of  God  manifested  through  her  mother.   In  her  diary  Elizabeth 
does  not  regret  or  take  offense  at  her  mother's  decision.   All  she  says  with 
regard  to  her  mother  is  this  humble  admission: 

"I  have  thanked  God  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  for  having 
given  me  such  a  mother,  one  who  was  gentle  and  at  the  same 
time  severe,  and  who  could  conquer  mv  terrible  character." 

21) 

St.  Teresa  terminates  these  third  dwelling  places  by  exhorting  those  who 
wish  to  progress  to  adhere  to  a  strict  obedience: 

"Doing  our  own  will  is  usually  what  harms  us.   And  they 
shouldn't  seek  another  of  their  own  making,  as  they  say  - 
one  who  is  circumspect  about  everything;  but  seek  out 
someone  who  is  very  free  from  illusion  about  the  things 
of  this  world.   For  in  order  to  know  ourselves,  it  helps 
a  great  deal  to  speak  with  someone  who  already  knows 
the  world  for  what  it  is."   22) 

Elizabeth  carried  out  this  idea  with  very  good  balance.   She  sought  the 
advice  of  the  Canon  of  Carcassonne  and  others,  including  the  famous  Dominican  Pere 
Irenee  Vallee,  who  would  play  a  major  role  in  encouraging  her  spirituality  of 
the  indwelling  presence  which  eventually  completely  encompassed  all  her  other 
spiritual  endeavors 

St.  John  of  the  Cross  has  said,  "He  who  wants  to  stand  alone  without  the 
support  of  a  master  and  guide,  will  be  like  the  tree  that  stands  alone  in  a 
field  without  a  proprietor.   No  matter  how  much  the  tree  bears,  passers-by  will 
pick  the  fruit  before  it  ripens."   23)   Elizabeth  is  a  good  example  of  this 
judgment  of  both  John  and  Teresa.   She  was  humble  and  obedient;  she  subjected 
herself  to  the  judgment  of  qualified  authority,  both  parental  and  priestly, 
as  well  as  that  of  the  nuns  at  the  Carmel  in  Dijon,  even  prior  to  her  entrance 
in  that  monastery. 

ELIZABETH  AND  THE  FOURTH  DWELLING  PLACES 

When  Elizabeth  was  eighteen  a  marvelous  effect  occurred  in  her  soul.   The 
entries  in  her  diary  relate  the  more  profound  touches  of  God  upon  the  depths 
of  her  soul  in  prayer: 

"The  struggle  was  over  by  the  time  I  was  eighteen.  In  the 
midst  of  social  gatherings,  absorbed  as  I  was  by  the  pre- 
sence of  my  divine  Master  and  the  thought  of  the  morrow's 
Communion,  I  used  to  become  as  though  alien  and  insensible 
to  everything  around  me."   24) 


-104- 


This  was  clearly  Elizabeth's  introduction  into  infused  prayer.   She  was 
now  experiencing  those  mystical  graces  that  God  in  his  goodness  desires  for 
all  who  live  in  his  grace  and  aspire  to  love  him  with  all  their  hearts. 

This  second  notation  from  her  diary  illustrates  how  Elizabeth  was  corres- 
ponding to  the  drawings  of  God's  love  on  her  soul: 

"At  present  I  am  reading  St.  Theresa's  'Way  of  Perfection'. 
I  find  it  immensely  interesting. .. Prayer !   How  I  love  the 
way  she  speaks  of  contemplation,  the  degree  of  prayer  in 
which  God  does  everything  (and  we  do  nothing) ,  when  He  u- 
nites  our  soul  so  closely  to  Himself  that  it  is  no  longer 
we  who  live  but  God  who  lives  in  us...  There  I  recognize 
the  moments  of  sublime  ecstasy  to  which  the  Master  deigned 
to  raise  me  so  often  during  this  retreat  and  again  later. 
What  can  1  return  to  Him  for  so  many  benefits!   After 
these  ecstasies,  these  sublime  raptures  during  which  the 
soul  forgets  everything  and  sees  only  her  God,  how  hard 
and  difficult  ordinary  prayer  seems.   25) 

This  infused  prayer,  or  passive  recollection,  that  Elizabeth  experienc- 
ed at  this  point  is  explicated  by  St.  Teresa  in  the  fourth  dwelling  places  of 
The  Interior  Castle: 

"The  soul,  instead  of  striving  to  engage  in  discourses, 
strives  to  remain  attentive  and  aware  of  what  the  Lord 
is  working  in  it . "   26) 

Then, in  her  definition  of  this  mystical  prayer  now  begun  in  the  soul, 
St.  Teresa  expresses  it  in  this  way: 

"It  seems  to  me  that  I  have  read  where  it  was  compared  to  a 
hedgehog  curling  up,  or  a  turtle  drawing  into  its  shell."   27) 

The  operation  of  God  is  totally  interior. 

It  was  at  this  same  period  in  Elizabeth's  life  that  her  mother  relented, 
allowing  her  daughter  to  enter  the  monastery  with  the  stipulation  that  she 
wait  two  more  years.   During  this  interval  Elizabeth's  prayer  deepened.  Fa- 
ther Philipon  captures  these  recollected  movements  within  Elizabeth  in  the 
following  way: 

"God  was  raising  Elizabeth  to  the  higher  stages  of  prayer, 
and  this  was  obvious  when  she  prayed.   She  would  be  seen 
coming  slowly  up  the  central  aisle  in  the  parish  church; 
she  would  kneel  down  in  her  place  and  be  immediately  ab- 
sorbed in  deep  recollection.   For  a  long  time  she  would 
remain  motionless,  as  though  wholly  possessed  by  God.  Her 
most  intimate  friend  was  always  struck  by  the  sudden 
change  t.'iat  would  come  over  Elizabeth  the  moment  she  en- 
tered the  church  to  pray.   'She  was  no  longer  the  same 
person*.   "  28) 

During  these  two  years  spent  in  anticipation  of  her  entrance  to  Carmel, 
Elizabeth  matured  in  the  special  gift  of  infused  recollection  that  God  had 


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given  her.   Just  prior  to  her  entrance  into  the  monastery,  Mother  Marie  of 
Jesus,  a  former  prioress  of  the  Dijon  Carmel  and  foundress  of  the  monastery 
in  Paray-le-Monial ,  observed  the  following: 

"We  used  to  talk  about  prayer.   Hers  was  quite  simple  and 
always  the  same.   The  divine  Master  was  within  her,  fash- 
ioning  her  according  to  His  desire.   She  complained  that 
she  was  doing  nothing,  utterly  held  captive,  as  she  was, 
by  him  who  was  doing  everything."   29) 

By  the  time  Elizabeth  entered  her  postulancy  it  would  seem  she  was  be- 
ginning to  experience  the  prayer  of  quiet  that  St.  Teresa  speaks  of  in  the 
first  and  second  chapters  of  the  fourth  dwelling  places.   Here  Teresa  makes  a 
clear  distinction  between  consolations  experienced  in  meditative  prayer,  and 
spiritual  sweetness,  which  is  characteristic  of  mystical  or  infused  prayer. 

St.  Teresa  has  the  following  to  say  about  consolations  that  are  concomi- 
tant with  ascetical  prayer,  and  which  come  about  through  our  own  efforts: 

"The  water  coming  from  the  aqueducts  is  comparable ,  in  my 
opinion,  to  the  consolations  I  mentioned  that  are  drawn 
from  meditation.   For  we  obtain  them  through  thoughts, 
assisting  ourselves,  using  creatures  to  help  our  medita- 
tion, and  tiring  the  intellect.   30) 

Spiritual-  sweetnesses  in  prayer  are  consolations  of  a  different  kind  than 
the  ones  just  mentioned.   These  begin,  not  with  ourselves,  as  they  did  in  as- 
cetical prayer,  but  in  this  infused,  more  deeply  recollected  prayer  that  has 
its  source  in  God.   We  do  not  bring  about  the  spiritual  sweetness,  God  does; 
He  is  the  source  and  the  initiator. 

These  spiritual  sweetnesses  were  certainly  experienced  by  Elizabeth  from 
time  to  time.   As  we  shall  see,  Elizabeth  did  not  feast  constantly  on  them. 
No,  she  tasted  the  bitter  nights  of  faith  that  accompany  all  prayer  at  all 
stages  of  striving  towards  union  with  God.   However,  she  occasionally  experi- 
enced the  spiritual  sweetness  St.  Teresa  speaks  about  in  the  fourth  dwelling 
places : 

"With  this  other  fount,  the  water  comes  from  its  own  source, 
which  is  God.   And  since  His  Majesty  desires  to  do  so  - 
when  He  is  pleased  to  grant  some  supernatural  favor  -  He 
produces  this  delight  with  the  greatest  peace  and  quiet 
and  sweetness  in  the  very  interior  part  of  ourselves.   I 
don't  know  from  where  or  how,  nor  is  that  happiness  and 
delight  experienced  as  are  earthly  consolations  in  the 
heart.   I  mean  there  is  no  similarity  at  the  beginning, 
for  afterwards  the  delight  fills  everything;  this  water 
overflows  through  all  the  dwelling  places  and  faculties  un- 
til reaching  the  body.   That  is  why  I  said  that  it  begins 
in  God  and  ends  in  ourselves.   31) 

Before  and  during  her  postulancy,  amid  all  the  splendors  of  this  interior 
absorption,  Elizabeth  suddenly  stops  short  in  the  face  of  the  inevitable  spiri- 
tual nights.   The  night  of  the  senses  got  off  to  a  good  start  at  the  outset  of 


-106- 


her  year  of  novitiate  and  lasted  the  entire  year.   It  hit  like  a  raging  fire 
to  refine  and  purify  this  precious  treasure.   Furthermore,  the  night  of  the 
spirit  followed  quickly  in  the  path  of  this  first  trial  by  fire.   A  dark 
night  of  faith  accompanied  her  all  the  way  up  the  ladder  of  prayer,  rung  by 
rung. 

The  Dominican  theologian,  Fr.  Juan  G.  Arintero,  observes  that,  "by  this 
suffering  (of  the  nights),  the  capacity  and  the  will  to  suffer  are  increased." 
32)   St.  John  of  the  Cross  would  remind  us  that,  "the  purest  suffering  pro- 
duces the  purest  understanding."   33)   Arintero  and  John  of  the  Cross  both  in- 
sist upon  the  indispensabil i ty  of  suffering  through  the  nights  of  purification 
before  total  union  with  God.   Now  that  she  was  acquainted  with  suffering  and  had 
acquired  a  deeper  ability  to  understand,  Elizabeth  was  ready  to  enter  the  fifth 
dwelling  places . 

ELIZABETH  AND  THE  FIFTH  DWELLING  PLACES 

In  the  fifth  dwelling  places  St.  Teresa  does  her  readers  a  good  service 
by  comparing  the  life  of  a  silk  worm  to  that  of  the  praying  person.   In  her 
own  inimitable  words,  Teresa  describes  the  life  cycle  of  the  silk  worm  and  its 
evolution  to  the  butterfly  stage: 

"You  must  have  already  heard  about  His  marvels  manifested 
in  the  way  silk  originates,  for  only  He  could  have  in- 
vented something  like  that.   The  silkworms  come  from  seeds 
about  the  size  of  little  grains  of  pepper.   When  the  warm 
weather  comes  and  the  leaves  begin  to  appear  on  the  mul- 
berry tree,  the  seeds  start  to  live,  for  they  are  dead  un- 
til then.   The  worms  nourish  themselves  on  the  mulberry 
leaves  until,  having  grown  to  full  size,  they  settle  on 
some  twigs.   There  with  their  little  mouths  they  them- 
selves go  about  spinning  the  silk  and  making  some  very 
thick  little  cocoons  in  which  they  enclose  themselves. 
The  silkworm,  which  is  fat  and  ugly,  then  dies,  and  a  lit- 
tle white  butterfly,  which  is  very  pretty,  comes  forth 
from  the  cocoon."   34) 

The  most  important  emphasis  here  is  the  death  of  the  silkworm.   Teresa 
insists  that  our  'silkworm',  our  self  love  and  the  'old  man',  the  sin  still  in 
us,  must  die.   If  we  let  all  that  is  contrary  to  grace  fall  away,  then  we  will 
be  ready  to  evolve  into  that  completeness  God  desires  for  us,  which  is  total 
union  with  himself.   Thus,  Teresa  uses  the  silkworm  and  the  butterfly  as  sym- 
bols to  denote  the  complete  dying  to  self  and  the  total  transformation  process 
that  she  is  encouraging  in  her  writings. 

As  has  been  mentioned,  Elizabeth  was  very  familiar  with  the  purifications 
so  necessary  in  the  spiritual  life.   She  had  become  the  'silkworm'  and  had  en- 
tered into  the  'cocoon'  of  darkness  and  pain,  emerging  dead  to  the  pomps  of  this 
this  world  and  its  ingratiations  in  order  to  fly  aloft  with  the  freedom  of  a 
butterfly  to  taste  the  sweetness  of  the  Lord.   Yet,  even  though  Elizabeth  was 
tending  more  and  more  toward  the  condition  of  the  butterfly,  with  all  that 
Teresa  expresses  in  that  analogy,  her  faith  was  continually  being  tested  and 


107- 


would  find  its  apex  in  the  sixth  dwelling  places. 

St.  Teresa  makes  it  quite  clear  that  authentic  prayer  at  this  point  is 
not  total  spiritual  sweetness  devoid  of  the  nights  and  trials  of  faith.  This 
is  borne  out  by  her  words  on  the  vicissitudes  that  intermingle  with  the  de- 
lights and  comforts  of  these  regions  of  prayer; 

"0  Lord,  what  new  trials  begin  for  this  soul!   Briefly,  in 
one  way  or  another  there  must  be  a  cross  while  we  live,  and 
with  respect  to  anyone  who  says  that  after  he  arrived  here 
he  always  enjoyed  rest  and  delight  I  would  say  that  he  nev- 
er arrived  but  that  perhaps  he  had  experienced  some  spiri- 
tual delight  -  if  he  had  entered  into  the  previous  dwelling 
places  and  his  experiences  had  been  helped  along  by  natural 
weakness  or  perhaps  even  by  the  devil  who  gives  him  peace 
so  as  afterward  to  wage  much  greater  war  against  him."   35) 

One  of  the  loveliest  images  used  by  St.  Teresa  in  The  Interior  Castle 
is  that  of  the  soul  depicted  as  wax  ,  with  God's  operation  on  the  soul  de- 
picted as    a  seal.   Teresa  explains  how  she  understands  this  union: 

"Since  that  soul  now  surrenders  itself  into  His  hands  and 
its  great  love  makes  it  so  surrendered  that  it  neither 
knows  nor  wants  anything  more  than  what  He  wants  with 
her  (for  God  will  never,  in  my  judgment,  grant  this  fa- 
vor save  to  a  soul  that  He  takes  for  His  own)  ,  He  desires 
that,  without  its  understanding  how,  it  may  go  forth 
from  this  union  impressed  with  His  seal.   For  indeed, 
the  soul  does  no  more  in  this  union  than  does  the  wax 
when  another  impresses  a  seal  on  it.   The  wax  doesn't 
impress  the  seal  in  order  to  be  disposed,  it  doesn't 
soften  itself  but  remains  still  and  gives  its  consent. 
0  goodness  of  God;  everything  must  be  at  a  cost  to  You! 
All  you  want  is  our  will  and  that  there  be  no  impediment  in 
the  way."   36 J 

This  union  acquired  through  docility  results  in  two  dispositions.  The 
first  is  a  deep  pain  felt  at  the  way  God  is  offended,  particularly  in  the 
person  of  Jesus.  Elizabeth  felt  this  pain  at  offenses  against  God  and  ex- 
pressed it  in  this  way  in  regard  to  the  Church:  "I  long  to  cover  her  (the 
Church)  with  the  blood  of  the  Just  One;,  of  Him  who  is  ever  living  to  make 
intercession  for  us  and  to  beg  his  mercy!"   37) 

The  second  disposition  is  that  of  doing  the  will  of  God.   This  attitude 
is  progressively  stressed  throughout  The  Interior  Castle,  but  here  in  the 
fifth  dwelling  places  it  reaches  a  solid  pitch:   a  deeper  commitment   is 
manifested  within  the  soul.   Elizabeth's  whole  behaviorial  pattern  before  and 
during  these  years  in  Carmel  was  modeled  upon  the  law  of  obedience.   In  this 
way  she  steered  a  clear  and  straight  course  towards  unbn  with  God. 

St.  Teresa,  with  consummate  wisdom,  penetrates  these  higher  regions  of 
the  spirit  by  emphasizing  the  steadfast  virtue  needed  on  the  part  of  the 
individual.  In  those  areas  of  deeper  union  of  prayer  and  intimacy  with  God,  the 


-108- 


saint  of  Avila  could  not  conceive  of  one's  being  without  the  strong  backbone  of 
a  life  of  virtue. 

"I  have  said  a  lot  on  this  subject  elsewhere,  because  I  see  that 
if  we  fail  in  love  of  neighbor  we  are  lost.   May  it  please 
the  Lord  that  this  will  never  be  so;  for  if  you  do  not  fail 
I  tell  you  that  you  shall  receive  from  His  Majesty  the  union 
that  was  mentioned.   When  you  see  yourselves  lacking  in  this 
love,  even  though  you  have  devotion  and  gratifying  experi- 
ences that  make  you  think  you  have  reached  this  stage,  and 
you  experience  some  little  suspension  in  the  prayer  of  quiet 
(for  to  some  it  then  appears  that  everything  has  been  accom- 
plished) ,  believe  me,  you  have  not  reached  union.   And  beg 
Our  Lord  to  give  you  this  perfect  love  of  neighbor.   Let  His 
majesty  have  a  free  hand,  for  He  will     give  you  more  than 
you  know  how  to  desire  because  you  are  striving  and  making 
every  effort  to  do  what  you  can  about  this  love.   And  force 
your  will  to  do  the  will  of  your  Sisters  in  everything,  even 
though  you  may  lose  your  rights;  forget  your  own  good  for 
their  sakes  no  matter  how  much  resistance  your  nature  puts 
up;  and   when  the  occasion  arises  strive  to  accept  work  your- 
self so  as  to  relieve  your  neighbor  of  it.   Don't  think  that 
it  won't  cost  you  anything  or  that  you  will  find  everything 
done  for  you.   Look  at  what  our  Spouse's  love  for  us  cost 
Him;   in  order  to  free  us  from  death  He  died  that  most  pain- 
ful death  on  the  cross."  38) 

The  Reminiscences  is  abundant  with  accounts  of  her  virtue.   Perhaps  the 
most  striking  and  credible  account  is  that  of  one  of  the  elderly  nuns  who  was 
not  at  all  ready  to  "canonize"  her  too  soon.   After  a  long,  studied  and  mature 
scrutiny  of  Elizabeth,  she  offered  this  statement: 

"I  watched  the  Sister  still  more  carefully  and  I  was  obliged 
to  own  that  I  had  never  discovered  an  imperfection  in  her. 
Some  people  have  thought  that  a  rather  strong  expression  to 
use  in  the  death  notice;  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  strictly 
true. 

"Her  perfection  was  not  that  of  the  "upright  and  down  straight  " 
irritating    sort,   but  rather  so  humble  and  hidden  as  not 
to  exclude  some  faults  of  weakness  or  inadvertance  (on  the 
part  of  her  Sisters).   All  the  same',  I  never  saw  her  give  way 
to  any  merely  natural  impulse.   She  always  seemed  to  me  not 
only  faithful  but  heroic,  especially  under  some  particuarly 
difficult  circumstances."  39) 

St.  Teresa  ends  the  fifth  dwelling  places  by  saying  that  persons  who  ar- 
rive at  this  point  in  the  spiritual  life  experience  an  early  "engagement".  It 
is  not  the  spiritual  betrothal  of  the  sixth  dwelling  places,  but  it  is  cer- 
tainly a  foretaste  of  it.  It  is  an  interior  assurance  on  the  part  of  the  in- 
dividual that  if  this  interior  fidelity  to  the  will  of  God  and  to  the  love  of 
neighbor  and  of  the  Church  continues  and  is  maintained  in  an  all-embracing  way, 
then  betrothal  to  the  Beloved  is  not  far  off. 

St.  John  of  the  Cross  sums  up  all  of  this  in  his  expressive  words: 


-109- 


"The  Bridegroom  speaks  of  the  state  in  this  verse  saying: 
The  bride  has  entered,  that  is,  she  has  entered,  leaving 
behind  everything  temporal  and  natural  and  all  spiritual 
affections,  modes,  and  manners,  and  has  set  aside  and 
forgotten  all  temptations,  disturbances,  pains,  solici- 
tudes and  cares  and  is  transformed  in  this  high  embrace."   40) 

ELIZABETH  IN  THE  SIXTH  AND  SEVENTH  DWELLING  PLACES 

It  would  be  difficult  to  define  with  certainty  Elizabeth's  position  in 
these  lofty  stages  of  conforming  and  transforming  union  that  St.  Teresa  ex- 
plicates in  the  sixth  and  seventh  dwelling  places.   Yet,  by  reason  of  the  puri- 
fying pains  of  the  nights,  dealt   with  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  sixth  dwell- 
ing places,  and  the  intestinal  illness  that  crippled  Elizabeth's  health  se- 
verely, we  can  tie  together  some  threads  that  intimate  the  union  she  had 
attained  with  the  Crucified,     that  ultimately  led  to  her  physical  and  spiri- 
tual death. 

At  the  outset  of  1906,  the  year  Elizabeth  turned  26  years  of  age,  she  re- 
marked to  the  nuns  at  their  recreation,  "St.  Joseph  is  the  patron  of  a  happy 
death;  he  will  be  coming  to  take  me  to  the  Father."  41)   Thus,  her  ten-month 
trek  up  the  hill  of  Calvary  began.   First,  it  was  just  fatigue  and  a  sharp  di- 
minishment  in  appetite  and  inability  to  eat.   Finally,  it  was  confinement  to 
the  monastery  infirmary  and  the  inevitable  restrictions  of  a  dying  invalid. 

The  Reminiscences  adeptly  note  the  variations  of  the  themeof  union  that 
symbolized  Elizabeth's  state: 

"Already  directed  towards  those  spiritual  heights  above  suf- 
fering, her  soul  seemed  continually  more  luminous,  and  de- 

g^ite  her  pain  she  seemed  to  be  already  dwelling  in  the  heaven 
of  glory.   'I  felt  Love  beside  me,  like  a  living  being,' 
she  said,  telling  me:   'I  wish  to  live  in  your  company; 
for  that  reason  I  wish  you  to  suffer  without  thinking  you 
are  suffering,  and  simply  surrender    yourself  to  My  ac- 
tion. '  "   42  J 

This  union  with  the  human,  dying  Christ  produces  in  Elizabeth  an  inef- 
fable flame  of  love: 


"...Sister  Elizabeth  of  the  Trinity  surrendered  herself 

so  fully  to  its  action  (the  action  of  the  Trinity  within 

her)  that  the  living  flame  of  love  which  she  bore  in  her 

heart  was  divinely  wounding  her.   One  morning  she  thus 

greeted  her  Prioress:   'Oh,  Mother,  a  little  more  and  you 

would  nof(  have  found  Laudem  Gloriae  any  more!'   "How  was 

that?"   'Yesterday  evening  my  soul  was  powerless,  as  it 

were,  when  all  at  once  I  felt  as  though  overwhelmed  with 

love.   No  words  can  describe  what  I  experienced,  and  at 

the  same  time  it  seemed  to  deal  me  a  mortal  wound.   I 

think  that  had  it  been  prolonged,  I  should  have  succumbed.'."  A3) 


-110- 


This  love,  so  expressive  of  Elizabeth's  state  at  this  most  intense  time  of  her 
life,  only  deepened  as  her  body  deteriorated.   She  seemed  prepared  for  total 
consummation  in  the  Beloved: 

"It  seems  as  though  my  body  were  hanging  in  a  void,  and 
my  soul  in  darkness,  but  it  is  Love  that  is  dealing 
thus  with  me.   I  know  it  and  am  glad  in  my  heart.... 
If  I  had  died  in  my  former  state  of  soul,  it  would 
have  been  too  easy;  it  is  in  pure  faith  that  I  am  de- 
parting and  I  prefer  that.   I  am  more  like  my  Master 
thus,  and  more  in  the  truth."    44) 

St.  Teresa  tells  us  in  the  Seventh  dwelling  places  that  all  three  Divine 
Persons  communicate  themselves  to  those  in  this  lofty  transformation.  "Laudem 
Gloriae",  as  Elizabeth  liked  to  define  herself,  had  now  found  her  complete 
identification  in  Christ  and  her  eternal  absorption  in  "the  Three".   She 
passed  to  Light,  Life  and  Love  on  November  9,  the  feast  of  the  Dedication  of 
a  Church.   It  was  a  perfect  day  for  the  crowning  of  her  life , dedicated  to 
Christ  and  his  bride, the  Church. 


Sisicr  Rlizabcth  ol  t tic  Trinity  O.C.I). 
(;ts  ;i  youiiL'  yiil  15  vc;ir s  old) 

NOTES 

1)  The  Interior  Castle,  Trans,  by  Kieran  Kavanaugh,  O.C.D.  and  Otilio 
Rodroguez,  O.C.D. ,  The  Classics  of  Western  Spirituality,  (Paulist 
Press:  New  York,  1979),  The  First  Dwelling  Places,  ch.  1,  No.l 

2)  The  Collected^  Works  of  John  of  the  Cross,  Trans,  by  Kiernan  Kavanaugh, 
O.C.D.  and  Otillio  Rodriguez,  O.C.D.   (ICS,  Institute  of  Carmelite 
Studies.  Washington,  D.C.  ,  1973)   Canticle,  Stanza  1,  7,  P. 418. 

3)  M.M.  Philipon,  O.P.,  The  Spiritual  Doctrine  of  Elizabeth  of  the 
Trinity,  (The  Newman  Press,  Westminister,  MD,  1961)  P.l. 

4)  (Mother  Germaine  of  Jesus,  O.C.D.),  Reminiscences  of  Sister 
Elizabeth  of  the  Trinity,  (The  Newman  Press,  Westminster, MD,  1952)P.12 


-111- 


5 

6; 

i\ 
s; 

9; 
10 

11 
12 

13' 

14' 
15; 

16; 

17' 
11 
19; 
20' 

21 

2: 
23; 

24; 
25; 

26; 

27; 
28; 

29; 

30 
31 
32' 


33; 

34; 
35; 

36; 

37; 
38; 
39; 

40" 

41 
42; 
4  3 
44; 
45' 


The  Interior  Castle,  ed.  cit.,  P.43dnl,  chap.  2,  no. 9. 
The  Collected  Works  of  John  of  the  Cross,  ed.  cit.,  The  Ascent, P. 94 

No 


chapt .  10,no.l. 

The  Interior  Castle,  ed 


cit.  ,  P. 49,  In  II,  Chap.  1,  No. 3 
The  Reminiscences,  ed .  cit.,  P. 4. 

The  Interior  Castle,  ed.  cit.,  P. 49,  In  II,  Chap.  1,  No . 3 
The  Reminiscences,  ed  cit.,  P. 5. 
The  Reminiscences,  ed .  cit.,  P. 6. 
Ibid. ,  P. 7. 
The  Collected  Works  of  St.  John  of  the  Cross 


ed.  cit.,  The  Ascent, 


cit. ,  P.  57,  In  III,  Chap.l,  No. 7 


In  III,  Chap.l ,  No. 7 


P.  102,  Chap.  15,  No. 6. 

The  Interior  Castle,  ed 

1  Cor.  9:22. 

The  Reminiscences,  ed .  cit., 

The  Interior  Castle,  ed  cit. 

Ibid,  P. 59,  In  III,  Chap.  1, 

Ibid,  P. 59,  In  III,  Chap.  1, 

Ibid,  P. 64,  In  III ,  Chap.  2, 

The  Reminiscences,  ed.  cit., 

The  Interior  CasFle,  ed.  cit.,  P. 65,  In  III, Chap 

The  Collected  Works  of  St.  John  of  the  Cross,  ed 


P  .  1  0  . 
,  P.  59 
No.  7. 
No. 8. 
No.  8. 
P. 11. 
P.  65 


!,  No 

cit . 


1 


P. 667, 


Sayings  of  Light  and  Love,  No. 5 

The  Reminiscences,  ed.  cit.,  P.  15 

M.M.  Philipon,  O.P.,  Elizabeth  of  the  Trinity,  Spiritual  Writings 

(P.  J.  Kenedy  5  Sons,  New  York,  19621  ,  PT28 

The  Interior  Castle,  ed  cit.,  P.  79,  In  IV,  Chap. 3,  No.  4 

Ibid,  No. 3 

The  Spiritual  Doctrine  of  Sister  Elizabeth  of  the  Trinity, 

ed.  cit.,  P. 9. 

The  Reminiscences,  ed.cit.,  P. 39. 

The  Interior  Castle,  ed .  cit.,  P.  74,  In  IV,  Chap. 2,  No.  3 

Ibid,  No. 4 

The  Very  Reverend  John  G.  Arintero,  O.P 

in  the  Development  and  Vitality  of  the  Church,  Vol.  two  (B. Herder 


The  Mystical  Evolution 


P.  91 ,  In  V,  Chapt 


Book  Co.,  St.  Louis,  MO,  1951),  P. 189. 
The  Collected  Works  of  St.  John  of  the  Cross,  ed.  cit 
Councils,  P. 678,  No. 48 
The  Interior  Castle,  ed.  cit 
Ibid,  P.  94,  No. 9 
Ibid,  P.  95,  No. 12 
The  Reminiscences,  ed.  cit., 
The  Interior  Castle,  ed.  cit 
ed 


Maxims  and 


No 


cit 


>.  111. 

,  P.  102,  No. 12 
P. 78. 


The  Reminiscences 

The  Collected  Works  of  St.  John  of  the  Cross,  ed.  cit.,  P. 497,  No. 5 

The  Reminiscences,  ed.  cit.,  P. 153 

Ibid,  P.  155. 

Ibid,  P.  155.  1 

Ibid,  P.  159 

The  Interior  Castle,  ed.  cit.,  P.  179,  VII,  Chap.  2,  No. 6. 


-112- 


READING  AND  PRAYER 


Th.  Camelot,  O.P.-  Translated  by  Sr.  M.  Regina,  O.P. 

West  Springfield 

Is  there  a  crisis  in  the  contemplative  life?   Among  authors  who  have  posed 
this  question  is  Jean  Danielou  in  the  article  The  Monastic  Life  and  its  Current 
Problems .   (1)   Certainly  contemplative  life  in  regard  to  cloistered  women  has 
known  very  serious  problems  in  our  day.   No  doubt  the  least  of  these  are  the 
economic  and  financial  ones:   in  a  society  in  which  we  do  not  eat  unless  we 
produce,  it  is  with  anguish  that  we  question  the  status  of  those  who  have  chosen 
to  be  poor  and  live  for  God  alone.   There  is  also  the  problem  of  psychological 
adaptation,  and  no  matter  what  anyone  thinks,  it  could  not  be  more  serious. 
Let's  make  it  clear.   The  young  women  of  today  come  from  the  agitation  and  inde- 
pendence of  a  world  in  which  they  have  already  taken  on  initiatives  and  resposi- 
bilities  which  have  conditioned  them  to  disdain  the  so-called  passive  virtues. 
They  see  themselves  suddenly  confronted  with  a  lifestyle  which  has  remained  almost 
unchanged  since  the  seventeenth  century.   The  main  emphasis  is  on  silence,  obedi- 
ence, dependence,  renouncement  of  one's  own  will  and  judgment.   Not  a  word  can  be 
spoken  or  a  gesture  made  without  permission.   If  these  young  women  do  not  suffo- 
cate or  explode  it  is  indeed  a  matter  for  wonder!   But  with  a  real  vocation  to 
the  contemplative  life  and  the  blessing  of  coming  to  a  monastery  of  true  contera- 
platives  animated  by  charity  and  the  spirit  of  the  Gospels,  while  they  will 
doubtless  experience  difficulties  and  sufferings,  personal  difficulties  involved 
in  realizing  the  equilibrium  of  the  life  on  a  day  to  day  basis,  we  do  not  think 
they  will  encounter  problems  with  the  structure  which  would  put  the  fundamental 
basis  of  the  traditional  monastic  life  into  question.   One  can  count  on  the  grace 
of  a  vocation. 

First  and  foremost  among  the  elements  of  personal  equilibrium  which  each 
individual  ought  to  realize  are  grace,  charity  and  the  spirit  of  the  Gospels 
lived  in  truth.   But  the  community  as  such  also  has  elements  to  assure  to  the 
aspirant,  one  of  the  most  necessary  of  these  being  intellectual  and  doctrinal 
formation.   A  contemplative  community  needs  spiritual  help.   How  much  they  are 
deprived  of  this! 

As  Danielou  states  in  his  article,  "contemplation,  among  other  things,  should 
be  rooted  in  meditation  on  Scripture  and  the  Fathers.   Lectio  Divina  is  necessary 
in  order  to  nourish  it.   This  entails  intellectual  work,  but  we  must  recognize 
that  this  very  element  is  often  ignored."   Let  us  go  back  over  these  reflections 
in  order  to  develop  them  in  greater  detail. 


The  contemplative  life  is  most  certainly  the  highest  of  vocations.   It  tends 
to  realize  on  this  earth  the  life  of  heaven  and  to  be  occupied  solely  in  knowing 
and  loving  God.   Already  this  life  seems  totally  divine  and,  in  a  way,  almost 
inhuman.   Yet  grave  dangers  are  lurking:   "The  corruption  of  what  is  best  is 
worst."   If  there  aJe  admirable  attainments  there  are  also  great  defects. 

It  is  a  life  wholly  vowed  to  the  love  of  God — but  is  there  not  the  risk  of 
resting  in  a  totally  affective  and  purely  sensible  devotion  where,  without  our 


This  article  originally  appeared  in  the  June  1948  issue  of  La  Vie  Spirituelle. 


-113- 


perceiving  it,  repressed  instincts  may  find  satisfaction?   It  is  a  life  with- 
out any  apostolic  activit\ — but  when  a  person  is  thus  deprived  of  the  benefits 
of  action  or  the  effective  exercise  of  charity,  is  there  not  danger  of  self- 
centeredness?   Will  this  contemplation  be  anything  but  introspection  or  a 
somewhat  unhealthy  and  egotistical  analysis  of  interior  states  ending  in 
inaction  and  sterilitv  or  intellectual  and  spiritual  numbness?   Who  can  sound 
the  abysses  of  boredom  or  morose  depression  that  sometimes  are  encountered? 
I  don't  mean  to  be  sarcastic  in  saying  all  this,  but  who  can  say  that  these 
dangers  are  not  real? 

How  can  we  avoid  catastrophes  and  assure  the  radiant  opening  up  of  true 
contemplation?   Assuredly  this  can  be  done  by  a  careful  discernment  of  voca- 
tions which  would  eliminate  self-centered  temperaments  and  those  too  purely 
affective.   In  addition,  we  should  offer  a  wisely  balanced  life,  alternating 
choral  office,  silent  prayer,  work  and  common  prayer,  solitude  and  common  life 
Together  with  this  belongs  a  solid  spiritual  formation  which  would  prudently 
avoid  all  affective  or  cerebral  exaltation  and  place  the  interior  life  entirely 
on  the  axle  of  true  humility  and  true  evangelical  charity.   Yet  even  this  is 
not  enough,  if  we  are  not  concerned  with  giving  contemplation  its  ob jec  t . 

Although  the  Spirit  breathes  where  He  wills,  and  God  can  and  does  give 
the  gift  of  contemplation  most  often  to  simple  souls  who  are  truly  humble 
and  loving,  .it  is  nonetheless  true  that  the  pathways  of  grace  normally  follow 
the  ways  of  human  psychology.   Contemplation  is  the  activity  of  knowledge; 
a  gaze  of  faith,  a  silent  gaze,  simple  and  delectable,  entirely  permeated 
with  love.   Yet  it  is  a  gaze  which  cannot  be  without  an  object.   Contemplation 
at  its  summit  will  often  be  more  simple  than  a  simple  regard,  as  a  Carmelite 
once  remarked.   It  is  the  delectable  perception  of  the  union  which  creates 
charity,  where  the  distinction  between  subject  and  object  is  obscured.   But 
to  this  "transob jec t ive"  contemplation,  as  the  metaphysician  would  say,  must 
we  not  give  an  objective  support  in  some  way,  without  which  the   contemplation 
risks  losing  itself  in  vagueness,  in  useless  and  gloomy  reverie,  or  on  the 
contrary  in  a  sterile  and  morose  introspection?   An  object  to  contemplate, 
to  gaze  on,  to  love:   it  is  precisely  this  that  many  contemplative  lives  are 
deprived  of,  without  being  clearly  conscious  of  the  fact.   It  is  this  depri- 
vation of  doctrinal  nourishment,  this  lack  of  an  object  on  which  to  fix  one's 
attention,  that  causes  so  many  vacant,  sleepy  prayers  -  mere  'exercises",  arid 
and  painful.   How  great  is  the  danger  of  illuminism  or  quietism,  how  subtle 
the  temptation  to  give  oneself  up  to  the  illusions  of  the  imagination  or 
sensibility,  or  to  "those  deforming  images  which  too  often  nourish  the  piety 
of  some  nuns . "   ( 2  ) 

This  object  which  they  need  does  not  have  to  be  fabricated  by  them,  nor 
sought  by  an  introspective  analysis  of  their  own  consciousness  or  even  by  a 
dialectic  ascension  beginning  from  creation.   It  is  the  mystery  of  God, 
known  and  loved  in  Christ.   It  is  given  by  faith .  It  can  never  be  repeated 
enough  that  contemplation  is  nothing  but  the  exercise  of  theological  faith 
animated  by  charity  and  enlightened  by  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit.   Hut 
"faith  comes  from  hearing  and  hearing  from  the  word  of  Christ."   (Rom.  10:17) 
If  we  wish  to  open  souls  to  contemplation,  we  must  give  them  the  word  of  God. 
It  is  this  that  they  hunger  for  above  all.   "Lord,  give  us  this  food  always." 


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From  the  beginning  spiritual  reading,  that  is,  lectio  divina,  was  tra- 
ditional in  the  monastic  life.   We  read  of  St.  Anthony  the  Great,  in  his  Life 
by  St.  Athanasius,  that  he  was  assiduous  in  reading  from  his  youth.   (Ch.  1) 
He  found  in  Scripture  the  secret  of  foiling  the  ruses  of  the  devil.   (Ch.  25  ff.) 
His  disciples  gave  themselves  up  to  reading  no  less  than  to  fasting,  psalmody 
and  prayer.   The  monks  of  the  desert  of  Nitria  lived  in  the  meditation  of 
Divine  Scripture  and  in  the  exercise  of  divine  knowledge.   The  rule  of  St. 
Pachomius  prescribed  much  reading  and  uninterrupted  meditation  of  the  word 
of  God;  at  all  times,  whether  at  work,  in  the  cell,  or  coming  in  and  going 
out,  the  monks  read  or  meditated  on  Scripture.   (Rule  3,  6,  18,  37,  59,  60) 
The  Treatise  on  Virginity,  falsely  attributed  to  Athanasius,  recommends  that 
"the  virgin  should  have  the  word  of  God  ever  on  her  lips.   At  all  times  her 
work  should  be  to  meditate  on  Divine  Scripture.   She  should  read  the  Psalter 
and  learn  the  psalms.   The  rising  of  the  sun  should  find  a  book  in  her  hands." 
Let  us  also  recall  the  program  of  readings  given  by  St.  Jerome  to  the  child 
Paula.   (Ep.  107,  12) 

Wishing  to  restore  order  in  the  monastery  directed  by  his  sister,  St.  Augus- 
tine, among  other  things,  prescribed  that  "books  should  be  asked  for  each  day 
at  the  appointed  times."   (Ep.  211,  13)   In  other  words,  there  are  books  which 
should  be  used  every  day.   But  at  what  hours  should  they  be  given  out  and  how 
much  time  each  day  should  be  given  to  reading?   The  Regula  Secunda,  or 
Disciplina  monasterii,  whose  connection  to  the  "Rule"  is  not  clearly  under- 
stood, (3)  g*ives  these  precise  directives:   "They  will  work  from  morning  until 
Sext ,  and  from  Sext  until  None  they  will  devote  themselves  to  reading.   And 
at  None  (that  is,  three  o'clock)  the  books  should  be  returned."   Three  hours 
a  day  given  to  reading!   How  far  we  are  from  that  with  our  poor  little  half 
hour  each  day ! 

The  Rule  of  St.  Benedict  not  only  provides  that  the  brothers  have  time 
for  reading  and  meditating  on  the  psalter  and  lessons  of  the  Office  after 
nightly  vigils  (Ch.  8),  and  that  after  the  meal  there  is  to  be  reading  in 
common  from  the  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  the  Conferences  of  Cassian,  or  some 
other  edifying  book,  but  the  time  for  reading  is  also  determined  in  accord- 
ance with  the  particular  seasons.   Butler  calculates  that  this  affords  the 
means  of  having  four  hours  of  reading  each  day.   (4)   All  should  be  free  to 
read  on  Sunday  except  those  who  have  some  charge.   The  lax  and  negligent 
who  have  no  wish  to  read  or  are  not  able  to  do  so  should  be  sent  to  work 
even  on  this  day,  in  order  that  they  may  not  remain  unoccupied. 

To  keep  within  one  medieval  text  we  will  quote  the  Constitutions  of  the 
Dominican  Nuns  of  St.  Sixtus  in  Rome  which  possibly  date  back  to  St.  Dominic 
himself.   All  the  sisters  should  do  manual  work  "except  at  the  hours  when 
they  should  occupy  themselves  with  prayer,  with  reading ,  or  the  preparation 
of  the  Divine  Office  or  chant,  or  the  study  of  letters . . .  After  Vespers  all 
should  go  together  to  collation  where  a  reading  should  be  made  as  is  the 
custom  of  the  Order, of  Citeaux."   (5) 

The  contemplative  life  develops  initially  from  the  assiduous  reading  of 

the  word  of  God.   And  we  know  that  the  monastic  spirituality  of  the  Middle 

Ages  designated  various  degrees  to  the  Ladder  of  Monks:   reading,  meditation, 
prayer  and  contemplation.   (6) 


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The  prescriptions  of  the  rules  and  constitutions  of  religious  orders 
concerning  "spiritual  reading"  respond  to  a  vital  necessity  and  have  a  pro- 
foundly traditional  context.   Here  we  are  concerned  with  an  essential  element 
of  the  contemplative  life  which  ought  not  to  be  dispensed  with  under  any  pre- 
text, even  when  work  presses.   Superiors  are  bound  to  assure  their  religious 
of  this.   Would  you  dream  of  closing  the  refectory  door  in  order  to  give  more 
time  to  the  work  of  gaining  daily  bread?   The  nuns  do  not  live  on  bread  alone 
but  on  every  word  that  goes  forth  from  the  mouth  of  God.   One  day  a  Bishop 
who  knew  the  problems  of  religious  life  said:   "Do  you  wish  to  know  the  spirit- 
ual  value  of  a  community?   Ask  first  of  all  if  it  is  faithful  to  spiritual 
reading . " 

There  is  a  danger  of  getting  too  engrossed  in  material  concerns,  and  this 
can  be  said  even  to  active  communities  who  do  apostolic  work.   Is  it  always 
truly  apostolic?   Is  it  so  absorbing  that  it  ends  up  in  suffocating  the  in- 
terior life,  making  it  waste  away  from  lack  of  air  and  nourishment?   There 
is  also  a  possibility  here  and  there  of  that  false  humility  which  Danielou 
denounced,  which  is  wary  of  all  intellectual  aspiration.   Another  subtle  but 
real  danger,  which  we  have  already  mentioned,  is  illuminism  or  quietism:   a 
sort  of  intellectual  sloth  which,  under  the  pretext  of  prayer  and  of  passivity 
or  docility  to  the  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  refuses  the  labor  of  reading. 
If,  while  reading,  a  balanced  and  upright  soul  feels  attracted  to  closing  her 
book  in  order  to  listen  in  silence  to  the  Interior  Master  who  speaks  without 
the  sound  of  voice,  no  one  should  hinder  her.   But  if  at  the  beginning  of 
religious  life  a  person  habitually  substitutes  a  purely  passive  prayer  for 
attentive  and  studious  reading,  this  will  without  doubt  become  an  insidious 
temptation  to  spiritual  sloth.   Ultimately  the  equilibrium  of  the  religious 
life  will  be  harmed.   If  we  burn  up  the  path  and  go  too  quickly  in  this  sense, 
later  on  we  may  expect  long  periods  of  lethargy  and  spiritual  sterility.   How 
many  aridities  have  nothing  mystical  about  them! 


The  Bishop  mentioned  previously  could  have  added:   skim  through  the  li- 
brary catalogue  and  notice  the  books  most  frequently  taken.   This  is  what  the 
visitator  should  examine.   It  would  be  so  revealing  of  a  community.   The  nuns 
must  certainly  read,  but  what  should  they  read? 

In  the  first  place  they  should  read  Holy  Scripture.   The  Bible  should  be 
read  assiduously  and  meditation  made  "all  day  long"  on  that  Law  of  God  which 
is  so  lovable.   (Ps.  118,  97)   But  the  Bible  is  not  always  easy  reading.   (7) 
It  demands  an  initiation  as  well  as  sustained  labor.   The  nuns  should  be  given 
this  minimum  of  initiation  which  is  absolutely  indispensable,  and  during  the 
years  of  formation  a  methodical  study  of  the  Bible  should  be  provided  for  the 
novices.   Study  scrutinizes  the  human  words  which  incarnate  the  Eternal  Word, 
and  tries  to  discover  the  profound  divine  sense  hidden  beneath.   Only  after- 
wards may  one  pause  £o  savor  at  length  the  spiritual  understanding  of  the 
sacred  text  and  to  repose  in  love.   Assiduous,  studious  reading  must  be  done 
first  so  that  God's  word  may  become  familiar  and  connatural  to  the  contem- 
plative soul.   (8)   Let  us  cite  some  well  known  examples.   Sister  Elizabeth 
of  the  Trinity  compiled  a  very  personal  collection  from  the  texts  of  St.  Paul, 
and  St.  Theresa  of  the  Child  Jesus  would  have  liked  to  have  known  Greek  in 
order  to  be  able  to  read  the  Gospel  in  the  original  text.   Neither  were 


-116- 


animated  by  spiritual  pride  or  an  originality  of  bad  alloy.   The  commentar- 
ies of  Father  LaGrange  are  read  in  monasteries,  and  I  know  of  a  nursing 
sister  who  carries  his  commentary  on  St.  John  with  her  on  the  train  as  she 
goes  to  visit  the  poor.   Such  assiduity  cannot  but  bear  much  fruit. 

After  the  Bible,  the  writings  of  the  saints  should  be  read,  their  great 
spiritual  and  doctrinal  works.   We  are  not  setting  up  a  program  of  spiritual 
reading  here.   (9)   We  wish  simply  to  recall  that  a  life  of  authentic  prayer 
ought  to  be  nourished  from  authentic  sources. 

We  must  always  return  to  the  masters,  to  the  Fathers,  and  why  not?   The 
spiritual  writings  of  St.  Augustine,  his  Commentaries  on  the  Psalms,  the 
Tract  on  St.  John,  the  works  of  Cassian  or  St.  Gregory  have  nourished  gener- 
ations of  monks;  should  they  not  be  even  more  accessible  to  contemplative 
souls  today?   We  are  persuaded  that  if  this  studious  and  meditative  reading 
exacts  true  labor  sometimes,  it  will  give  the  monastic  soul  the  true  sense  of 
her  vocation.   It  is  well  understood  that  the  family  treasures  of  each  relig- 
ious house  should  be  exploited — the  ascetical  and  mystical  writings  of  the 
Benedictines  or  Cistercians,  the  doctors  of  Carmel,  St.  Catherine  of  Siena  or 
St.  Thomas  Aquinas.   These  should  be  returned  to  continually  without  excluding 
the  others.   Yet  we  will  always  find  an  advantage  in  returning  to  the  ancient 
authors  which  nourished  our  fathers.   For  example,  a  Dominican  will  always 
read  with  profit  the  Rule  of  St.  Benedict  or  the  works  of  Cassian,  which  formed 
the  young  St.  Thomas  Aquinas.   (10) 

And  if  there  should  be  milk  for  the  children,  let  it  be  pure  and  strong — 
The  Story  of  a  Soul,  for  example,  a  very  great  book.   But  the  children  them- 
selves ought  to  grow  and  progress  and  habituate  themselves  to  solid  nourish- 
ment under  penalty  of  remaining  sensual.   (Cf.  1  Cor., 3:2)   It  gives  me  a 
little  uneasiness  sometimes  to  see  communities  entirely  taken  up  with  these 
"messages",  these  "appeals"  where  an  inspiration  (without  doubt  authentically 
supernatural)  is  suffused  in  the  purely  affective  or  imaginary  development 
which  can  give  souls  a  very  empty  and  deceitful  nourishment.   (11)   We  prefer 
very  different  works,  such  as  The  Paschal  Mystery  (by  Bouyer),  or  Le  mystere 
de  Dieu.  Do  not  these  works  offer  more  for  the  renewal  and  refreshment  of 
their  liturgical  and  theological  life?   It  may  be  a  little  painful,  but  it 
will  be  part  of  the  very  necessary  active  purification  of  the  intellect,  as 
well  as  of  the  imagination  and  sensibility,  by  which  the  soul  prepares  her- 
self to  receive  the  gift  of  contemplation.   Thus,  such  reading  is  doubly 
useful  to  the  life  of  prayer,  both  for  the  nourishment  which  it  provides, 
and  for  the  purifications  and  simplifications  which  it  brings  about.   (12) 

Preaching  and  conferences  must  be  added  to  reading.   Here  the  responsi- 
bilities of  ecclesiastical  and  religious  superiors  are  engaged,  and  gravely 
so.   At  the  moment  of  his  arrest,  St.  Cyprian  took  care  to  put  the  consecrated 
virgins  under  sheltqr;  it  should  be  easy  to  transpose  the  example...  Superiors 
should  assure  contemplat ives  not  only  of  the  annual  retreat  but  also  of  a 
regular  cycle  of  preaching  and  conferences.   We  are  not  speaking  of  pious 
exhortations,  but  of  doctrinal  teaching.   This  is  indispensable  and  always 
beneficial.   Even  very  simple  souls  who  have  little  culture  and  are  incapable 
of  the  studious  reading  of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  show  that  they  are 


■117- 


very  open  to  a  commentary  following  and  adapted  to  Scripture,  indeed,  even  to 
the  Summa  of  St.  Thomas.   Their  contemplative  life  will  be  purer,  deeper  and 
more  solid.   This  field  is  largely  open  to  priestly  activity,  and  to  the 
religious  of  great  apostolic  orders.   They  will  not  be  called  on  as  ordinary 
confessors  except  in  particular  circumstances;  this  is  a  task  which  is  proper- 
ly pastoral  and  which  risks  paralyzing  the  liberty  of  their  apostolic  minis- 
try.  But  preaching  and  doctrinal  teaching  to  contemplat ives   is  for  them  a 
choice  work.   Too  often  the  children  ask  for  bread  and  find  no  one  to  break 
it  for  them. 

We  have  not  yet  said  anything  very  new  in  recalling  that  assiduous  reading 
of  the  Bible  and  the  works  of  the  saints  and  masters,  traditional  in  the 
monastic  life,  is  indispensable  to  the  contemplative  life;  and  that  this 
studious  reading  demands  a  true  intellectual  effort;  study  and  effort  which 
should  be  proportioned  to  the  measure  of  each,  according  to  the  proper  voca- 
tion of  each,  but  from  which  no  one  should  dispense  herself  entirely.   Even 
the  humblest  and  "smallest"  souls  should  be  assured  of  a  solid,  authentic 
nourishment.   In  the  world  they  all  learned  to  read,  to  discuss,  to  judge. 
We  may  well  say  of  them  as  of  Origen's  friend,  that  their  love  for  Jesus  is 
not  content  with  a  non-reasoned,  common  faith.   They  bring  legitimate  needs 
to  the  monastery  which  should  be  satisfied  for  the  greatest  benefit  of  the 
contemplative  life  itself.   (13) 

It  is  necessary  here  to  make  a  clarification  which  is  of  some  importance. 
I  speak  of  study  and  intellectual  effort.   Jean  Danielou,  in  his  brief  article 
which  has  served  as  our  point  of  departure  for  these  reflections,  spoke  of 
intellectual  work.   All  these  words  mean  the  same  thing.   They  might  make  us 
believe  that  a  female  contemplative  vocation,  and  that  is  what  we  have  in  view 
here,  is  an  intellectual  vocation,  even  a  scientific  one;  and  that  all  the 
monasteries  ought  to  favor  technical,  biblical,  patristic,  theological  studies. 
Nothing  could  be  more  false.   Some  years  ago,  an  otherwise  interesting  work 
directed  toward  a  great  contemplative  order,  seemingly  regretted  that  the  con- 
ditions of  the  nuns'  life,  the  enclosure,  the  grilles,  etc.,  prevent  them 
from  doing  erudite  research  in  archives  and  libraries.   Was  the  meaning  of 
their  vocation  truly  unders tood--of  a  life  totally  vowed  to  poverty,  solitude, 
silence  and  prayer?   If  it  is  true  that  certain  monasteries  have  taken  a 
clearly  studious  and  intellectual  orientation — and  they  should  be  praised 
because  they  maintain  a  great  and  fruitful  tradition,  and  at  the  same  time 
respond  to  the  legitimate  needs  of  souls  which  are  perhaps  more  and  more 
numerous — it  is  nonetheless  true  that  more  numerous  also  are  the  souls 
attracted  to  a  very  humble,  simple  life.   The  contemplative  life,  on  this 
point  as  well,  can  demand  profound  renunciations.   We  have  stated  firmly 
enough  that  reading  and  study  ought  to  go  before  manual  labor.   In  certain 
monasteries  the  economic  conditions  may  be  such  that  self  support  absorbs 
all  the  time  that  is  not  taken  for  the  Office  and  other  regular  exercises.   (14) 
Did  not  St.  Benedict  forsee  this  for  his  monks  at  harvest  time?   "They  should 
not  be  afflicted  because  it  is  by  this  that  they  are  truly  monks  living  by 
the  work  of  their  hands  as  did  our  Fathers  and  the  Apostles."   (Rule  Ch .  48) 


-118- 


Th  e  contemplative  life  can  demand  even  more  profound  renunciations.   A 
young  woman  is  a  student  or  professor.   She  becomes  a  Carmelite  or  Dominican; 
not  without  suffering  perhaps,  yet  in  joy  she  renounces  all  that  has  made  up 
her  life  so  far — just  as  she  renounces  skiing  or  swimming,  tennis  or  dancing, 
painting  or  music,  as  she  renounces  social  service  or  Catholic  action.   The 
intellect  has  renunciations  as  well  as  the  heart  and  body.   This  is  the  law 
of  the  Gospel,  and  it  holds  in  our  times.   "He  who  wishes  to  come  after  Me 
and  who  does  not  renounce  all  that  he  possesses  cannot  be  My  disciple." 
Without  doubt,  this  novice  will  again  be  able  to  relish  very  high  and  luminous 
spiritual  joys,  but  she  will  no  longer  have  those  long  and  exalting  hours  of 
work,  research,  discovery  and  assiduous  association  with  the  most  beautiful 
works  and  the  greatest  spirits.   All  that  will  be  regarded  as  rubbish  for  the 
sake  of  gaining  Christ.   All  is  past  and  left  behind  in  order  to  know  Christ 
and  the  power  of  His  resurrection  and  the  communion  with  His  sufferings.   In 
days  ahead  she  will  know  only  humble,  monotonous  tasks  such  as  sewing,  sweep- 
ing and  preparing  vegetables.   If  we  wish  to  "nakedly  follow  the  naked  Christ" 
we  should  know  how  to  go  even  this  far.   (15) 

There  now  remains  the  Word  of  God.   Yes,  certainly,  this  word  scrutinized 
and  savored  in  the  conditions  we  have  mentioned  will  very  often  procure  for 
her  joy  and  light.   But  Our  Lord  is  terribly  exacting  and  a  jealous  Master 
and  He  knows  how  to  refuse  even  these  joys  to  His  spouses.   I  think  now  of 
a  certain  teacher  who  was  an  extremely  cultivated  person.   She  was  famished 
for  Scripture  study  and  for  the  Fathers  of  the  Church.   She  entered  a  great 
Benedictine  Abbey  with  this  in  mind.   Following  her  profession,  cerebral 
anemia  tenaciously  stood  in  the  way  of  any  further  intellectual  work. 
She  lived  in  this  state  for  seventy  years.   The  most  interesting  lectures 
seemed  empty  to  her.   Study,  even  the  study  of  Scripture,  meant  nothing  to 
her  except  a  wearisome,  dry  exercise  like  all  the  rest.   Living  only  in  the 
most  despoiled  faith,  the  poor  soul  could  do  no  more  than  be  silent  and  listen 
to  the  Interior  Master  who  made  her  taste  at  length  a  verse,  a  word,  and  that 
was  sufficient.   How  could  you  speak  to  her  of  intellectual  work?   She  had 
left  all,  gone  beyond  all;  but  she  had  found  all.   Here  there  are  no  more  books 
or  masters  or  any  pathways.   Toda  Y  Nada.   It  goes  without  question,  we  must 
keep  from  prematurely  engaging  anyone  in  this  way.   The  danger  of  spiritual 
laxity  is  always  possible  and  it  is  for  the  director  to  be  on  the  watch.   But 
there  is  also  a  danger  of  illusion  and  of  intellectual  pretension  which  is 
not  imaginary  and  would  also  be  disastrous.   We  should  also  keep  from  think- 
ing that  this  studious  effort  would  supply  for  the  gift  of  contemplation  and 
dispense  the  soul  from  humble  docility  to  the  breath  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Humility  and  charity  are  primary  here.   The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  true  and  only 
Master  and  Guide  in  the  paths  of  prayer.   Who  can  oppose  the  Spirit  of  God? 
Who  would  dare,  be  it  by  study  or  whatever,  impose  on  His  sovereign  liberty? 
It  may  well  be  that  to  deliver  oneself  up  to  intellectual  labor,  in  spite  of 
everything,  except  in  the  case  of  obedience  and  one's  duty  of  state,  would  be 
to  risk  paralyzing  and  stifling  the  action  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  all  liberty 
and  spontaneity.   Besides,  the  entire  framework  of  the  regular  life,  liturgy, 
instruction,  conferences,  would  suffice  to  give  this  mystical  contemplation 
the  doctrinal  support  which  it  cannot  do  without. 

And  so,  between  a  fallacious  spiritual  laxity  and  a  vain  pretention  to 
acquire  the  secrets  "revealed  to  little  ones"  simply  by  intellectual  effort, 
the  contemplative  life,  always  fostered  by  God's  Word  and  fixed  by  it  on  its 
Divine  Object,  ought  to  discover  and  maintain  a  vibrant  and  fruitful  equilibrium. 


-119- 

Footnotes 

(1)  Dieu  vivant,  7  (1946),  pp.  59-60 

(2)  M.S.  Gillet,  O.P.,  Letter  to  the  Dominican  Contemplative  Nuns, 
March  7,  1930  (Anal.  S.  Ord .  Fr .  Praed..  1930,  p.  608).   This  important 
document,  which  has  inspired  us  greatly  here,  merits  to  be  known  even  outside 
the  milieu  to  which  it  was  directly  addressed.   We  will  cite  some  phrases 
here.   "Intellectuals,  no;  but  educated  religious,  yes...  Three  stages  have 
to  be  passed ...  that  of  study...  that  of  meditation ...  that  of  contemplation, 

in  which  the  heart  prevails  over  the  intellect...." 

(3)  Pierre  Mandonnet ,  O.P.,  St.  Dominic  and  His  Work,  Paris,  1937;  Eng . 
trans,  by  Sr.  Mary  Benedicta  Larkin,  O.P. 

(4)  C.  Butler,  Benedictine  Monachism 

(5)  For  lack  of  a  more  recent  edition,  see  the  text  in  Balme-Lelaidier , 
Cartulaire  ou  Histoire  Diplomatique  de  saint  Dor.inique,  Paris,  1897 

(6)  Cf.  Guigo  II,  the  Carthusian,  Scala  Claustralium 

(7)  It  would  seem  that  an  introductory  scripture  course  of  a  more  tech- 
nical nature  would  help  to  smooth  out  difficulties. 

(8)  In  La  lecture  sapientielle  de  la  Bible  by  C.  Charlier  there  are 
interesting  and  useful  notations  on  the  different  methods  of  reading  the 
bible — liturgical,  cursive,  meditative,  doctrinal,  sapiential.   We  insist 
on  doc  trinal  reading. 

(9)  The  rules  for  novitiates  generally  prescribe  some  time  for  study. 
When  this  time  is  not  absorbed  by  "urgent"  manual  work,  it  is  often  more  or 
less  exclusively  consecrated  to  the  study  of  the  constitutions,  the  rubrics 
and  material  preparation  for  the  Office,  etc.   Shall  we  dare  to  say  that  this 
is  not  the  study  that  souls  need,  and  it  does  not  suffice  for  the  biblical 
and  doctrinal  nourishment  of  their  prayer? 

(10)  Under  the  heading  of  curiosity  and  as  an  example  of  wise  eclecticism, 
we  cite  here  the  readings  which  Bl.  Humbert  recommended  to  the  Dominican 
novices  as  being  most  apt  to  'form,  enkindle  and  strengthen  them":   the  book 

of  Hugh  (of  St.  Victor?)  on  The  Discipline,  the  Cloister  of  the  Soul;  the 

Meditations  of  St.  Bernard;  the  Meditations  and  Prayers  of  -St.  Anselm; 

the  Confess  ions  of  St.  Augustine;  the  Conferences  of  Cassian;  the  Lives  and 

Sayings  of  the  Fathers;  the  Passions  and  Legends  of  the  saints;  the  Letter 

to  the  Brethren  of  Mt .  Dieu,  by  William  of  St.  Thierry;  the  Degrees  of  Pride 

and  the  Book  on  the  Love  of  God,  both  by  St.  Bernard;  the  Book  of  Balaam; 

the  Treatise  on  the  Virtues  and  Vices,  etc.  (De  officiis  ordinis,  ch .  V, 

De  officio  magistri  noviciorum,  XVIII. Ed.  Berthier,  Rome,  1889) 
] 

(11)  cf.  the  severe  remarks  of  D.  Basset,  La  Vie  Spirituelle,  Supplement,  2 
(1947),  p.  188 


-120- 


(12)  A  religious  who  was  paralyzed  and  bedridden  for  many  years  said 
that  her  prayer  had  been  simplified  to  one  single  phrase  from  Mystere  de  Dieu 
"With  the  same  intensity  that  God  willed  Himself,  God  willed  us  for  Himself." 
This  spoke  less  to  the  heart  than  "my  little  prey",  but  it  is  perhaps  more 
true  and  sane. 

(13)  We  should  speak  also  of  reading  at  table.   If  monastic  tradition 
has  it  that  the  night  reading  should  keep  its  character  of  "spiritual", 

we  do  not  believe  that  we  are  obliged  to  keep  to  pious  works  at  the  noonday 
meal,  such  as  the  traditional  hagiographies .   We  can  profit  by  some  reading 
not  only  to  relax  the  spirit  of  the  nuns,  but  to  open  up  their  horizon-- 
history,  biographies,  apostolic  or  missionary  activities,  contemporary 
problems  of  all  kinds. 

All  this  will  give  them  a  sense  of  the  needs  of  the  Church  and  be 
for  them  a  means  of  coming  straight  to  their  Creator.   (Rule  of  St.  Benedict, 
Ch .  73)   And  also,  why  not  say  it,  to  give  material  for  recreational  conver- 
sations.  Charity  can  profit  by  it. 

(14)  A  wise  organization  of  time  and  the  authentic  practice  of  poverty 
could  very  often  alleviate  the  necessity  of  manual  work  to  the  greater 
benefit  of  prayer  and  the  contemplative  life. 

(15)  It  is  said  that  in  the  masculine  contemplative  orders  vowed  to 
study,  this  last,  by  the  assiduous  perseverance  it  demands,  "acriter  et 
perseverantes" ,  and  by  the  renunciations  it  exacts,  takes  on  an  ascetic 
character  which  makes  it  the  principal  observance —  and  by  its  influence, 
makes  it  the  best  preparation  for  prayer. 


& 


1 

IF 


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Book,  $zviews 


-123- 


THE  BEATITUDES:   SOUNDINGS  IN  CHRISTIAN  TRADITIONS  by  Simon  Tugwell,  O.P. 
Templegate,  1980,  text  135  pages 

"It  is  no  good  our  saying,  'All  I  wanted  was 
a  little  piece  of  toast."1 

Father  Tugwell  tells  us  that  this  book  grew  out  of  a  retreat ,  and  by  the  same  token 
many  a  retreat  could  grow  out  of  this  book.   It  is  deep,  simple,  original  and 
arresting.   In  his  treatment  of  the  beatitudes,  Father  avoids  all  cliches  and  draws 
his  conclusions  in  bold  strokes,  making  the  Scriptures  come  alive  and  speak  to  us 
in  challenging  tones.   But  it  is  not  a  "shock"  book;  there  is  a  contemplative  calm 
and  solidity  about  it  that  puts  one  at  rest.   A  sampling  or  two  will  give  the 
flavor: 

"We  cannot  bring  the  luggage  of  our  past  with  us 
into  the  new  moment  of  God's  making...  as  far  as 
we  are  concerned,  we  must  realize  that  we  are 
like  children,  at  the  beginning,  not  the  end,  of 
a  road . " 

"In  response  to  the  rather  meager  demands  that  we 
often  make,  our  Lord  declares,  'It  has  pleased 
your  Father  to  give  you  the  Kingdom'  (Luke  12:32). 
Our  expectations  must  expand,  to  become  at  least 
more  adequate  to  God's  purpose  for  us.   It  is  no 
good  our  saying,  'All  I  wanted  was  a  little  piece 
of  toast.'" 

The  lucid  presentation  of  Christian  traditions,  ranging  from  the  patristic  ages  to 
St.  Therese  of  Lisieux,  makes  this  book  especially  appropriate  for  personal  pondering 
in  quiet  times. 

Sr.  Mary  Thomas,  Buffalo 


*********** 


THE  SUMMIT  CH01RB00K.  By  the  Dominican  Nuns  of  Summit,  New  Jersey.  Published 
by  the  same.  Pages  x  +  534.  Cloth , $20 . 00,  quantity  discounts  available. 

This  elegant  folio  size  volume  containing  534  hymns  is  primarily  designed  tor 
monastic  contemplative  communities  but  will  surely  appeal  to  discerning  lovers 
of  liturgical  music  on'  a  wider  scale.  The  contents  are  arranged  in  two  major 
parts:  Part  I  contains  hymns  for  the  seasons  of  the  liturgical  year,  followed 
by  those  for  Sunday  and  Weekday  Hours,  The  Commons,  and  Recurrent  Texts,  that 
is,  several  settings  each  of  the  Te  Deum  and  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Part  II  is  de- 
voted to  Feasts  of  the  Saints  arranged  by  their  dates,  and  of  which  some  twenty 
are  proper  to  Dominicans.  These  are  followed  by  a  Supplementary  Section  with 
special  and  topical  hymns.  The  twenty-five  pages  of  indexes  at  the  back  of  the 
book  will  be  a  joy  to  the  accompanist  and  director  of  Liturgy. 


-124- 


For  the  quality  of  this  collection  one  can  do  no  better  than  quote  Tthe  un- 
forgettable Dr.  Erik  Routley,'  from  his  comments  in  the  Foreword.  He  calls  it 
"a  quite  unusual  combination  of  learning  and  grace.  ...you  cannot  fail  to  be 
impressed  by  the  delicacy  and  precision  of  judgment,  the  modesty  of  style, 
the  fastidious  scholarship,  and  the  remarkable  breadth  and  depth  of  learning 
which  distinguish  the  work  of  its  learned  and  godly  Editor.  I  find  in  these 
pages  a  poised  and  dignified  joy..," 

As  to  format,  the  accompaniments  are  printed  along  with  the  melody  line  in  the 
body  of  the  hymnal.  Only  one  line  of  the  text  is  placed  under  the  notes,  which 
leaves  the  remaining  stanzas  in  the  integrity  of  their  poetic  form,  a  real  joy 
for  those  who  might  like  to  muse  later  on  some  of  the  gems  contained  herein. 

It  is  safe  to  predict  that  this  hymnal  will  wear  well.  The  selections  are 
within  reach  of  the  average  choir,  yet  demanding  enough  both  textually  and 
musically  to  maintain  interest  and  effectiveness  at  their  height.  We  are  in- 
debted, and  will  be  for  many  generations  to  come,  to  the  Nuns  of  Summit  for 
their  marvellous  contribution  to  living  liturgical  worship. 

Sister  Mary  Magdalen,  O.P. 
Farmington  Hills,  Michigan 


*********** 


Henri  J.M.  Kouven:  The  Way  of  the  Heart .  Minnesota,  The  Seabury  Press,  19^1. 

This  book  found  its  beginning  in  a  seminar  at  Yale  Divinity  School. 
In  this  seminar,  men  and  women  from  different  religious  traditions  discussed 
the  "way  of  the  heart"  as  their  common  journey  to  God.  Father  Nouwen  develops 
"the  way"  in  a  series  of  moving  conferences  on  SOLITUDE,  SILENCE,   PRAYER  - 
the  traditional,  core  concepts  of  desert  spirituality  and  ministry. 

First,  the  author  explores  the  meaning  of  solitude  as  a  "furnace  of  trans- 
formation".  The  desert  is  the  place  of  struggle  against  the  compulsions  of 
the  false  self.   The  book  also  shows  how  this  desert,  which  need  not  be  a 
geographical  one,   can  a!!nc  be  the  place  of  encounter  with  God  who  offers 
Himself  as  the  substance  of  man's  new  self  (p.  26).   Solitude  gives  birth  to 
compassion,  and  Father  Nouwen  singles  out  Saint  Anthony  as  his  key  witness  to 
this  truth.   He  also  thinks  that  solitude  becomes  universal  when  it  is  united 
with  the  God  of  the  universe,  in  Christ  and  through  Christ. 

Silence  completes  and  perfects  solitude.   In  this  chapter,  the  author 
points  out  that  silence  makes  us  pilgrims;   it  guards  our  inner  fire;   it 
teaches  us  to  speak,  because  timely  silence  frees  the  Word  for  ministry. 
The  final  point,  according  to  him,  is  not  whether  we  say  much  or  little,  but 
whether  our  words  call  forth  the  compassionate  silence  of  God  Himself.  Father 
gives  emphasis  to  this:  speech  is  the  instrument  of  this  present  world  and 
silence  is  the  mystery  of  the  world  to  come. 

Finally,  Father  Nouwen  challenges  us  to  pray  always,  because  prayer  is  our 
vocation  rooted  in  baptism.  He  describes  prayer  as  "standing  before  God  with 
the  mind  in  the  heart".  For  Christians,  the  prayer  of  the  heart  is  the  prayer 


-125- 

of  truth.  The  author  presents  the  heart  as  "source  of  all  physical,  emotional, 
intellectual,  volitional  and  moral  energies  -  the  center  of  perception  and  the 
seat  of  our  choices.   Above  all,  it  is  the  ground  of  being  where  God  dwells, 
and  also  the  inner  desert  where  Satan  directs  his  fiercest  attacks  (p.  77). 

This  book  shows  us,  in  contemporary  terms,  how  to  approach  the  world  s 
apocalyptic  situation  with  hope,  courage  and  compassion.  Reading  this  book 
is  like  returning  to  a  familiar  and  hidden  spring  of  water,  and  discovering 
it  for  the  first  time. 

Sister  Maria  Rose,  O.P. 
Summit 


*********** 


Simon  Tugwell:  Ways  of  Imperfection.  Springfield,  Illinois,  Templegate,  1935 . 


Father  Tugwell  makes  a  very  unusual  exploration  of  Christian  spirituality 

through  the  idea  of  "imperfection"  the  simple,  gar den -variety  types  of 

imperfection  to  which  we  are  all  prone.  The  author  comes  close  to  Saint  Paul 
in  his  notion  of  spirituality:  Christians,  by  virtue  of  their  baptism,  are 
meant  to  be  spiritual  in  the  sense  that  they  live  by  the  Spirit  (Romans  3:14) . 

The  book  grew  out  of  a  series  of  articles  published  in  Doctrine  and  Life 
between  January  1982  and  July  1983*  Most  of  the  materials  have  been  revised 
to  suit  the  present  format.  The  cover  design  was  executed  by  Linda  M.  Jorgensen, 

Each  chapter  is  supported  by  a  well-annotated  bibliography .  One  whole 
chapter  is  devoted  to  Blessed  Humbert  of  Romans  and  the  "grace  of  preaching". 
The  kernel  of  the  Christian  message,  however,  is  in  Chapter  5  which  deals  with 
grace.  An  excellent  Index  is  also  provided  at  the  end  of  the  book. 

Father  Tugwell  i6  a  conscientious  scholar .  He  is  faithful  to  his  sources 
and  to  the  ascetical  discipline  of  research.  However,  the  essays  fall  far  short 
of  giving  a  history  of  Christian  spirituality.  Key  movements  and  key  figures 
from  the  fifteenth,  sixteenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  are  either  entirely 
omitted  or  mentioned  in  a  cursive  way.   The  author  himself  explains  in  the 
Preface  that  the  book  i6  not  a  magisterial  exposition  on  spirituality  as  an 
historical  movement;   it  is  not  concerned  just  with  prayer  and  asceticism. 
The  book,  basically,  deals  with  people's  perception  of  things  and  the  way6  in 
which  they  try  to  make  sense  of  the  practicalities  of  Christian  living.  Father 
selected  materials  at  random  from  the  Apostolic  and  Desert  Fathers  down  to 
de  Caussade  and  S%int  Therese  of  Lisieux,  who  never  left  the  "common  order  of 
things " 

The  author  has  done  a  good  jot  in  presenting  spirituality  not  as  some 
exalted  mountain-top  beyond  the  reach  of  the  average  Christian.   It  Is  the  way 
of  all  flesh  for  saints  and  sinners  alike  in  their  individual  quest  for  the 
God  of  love .  The  author  shows  how  grace  pushes  human  nature  to  its  uttermost 
limits,  by  way  of  imperfections. 

Sister  Maria  Rose,  O.P. 
Summit 


Op&i  fovimv 


-127- 


A  GLANCE  AT  THE  CHARISM  OF  HEADSHIP 

When  I  was  hearing  Che  tapes  from  the  prioresses'  meeting  on  "Authority 
and  Obedience",  I  happened  to  be  reading  Community  in  the  Lord  by  Father  Paul 
Hinnebusch,  O.P. 

The  various  ideas  presented  in  Father  Paul's  writings  seemed  to  me  to 
complement  those  touched  upon  in  the  lectures. 

The  chapter  called  "The  Charism  of  Headship"  was  especially  suited  to 
this  purpose.   I  have  chosen  some  excerpts. 

"The  unique  dignity  of  each  individual  person  in  the  community 

must  always  be  a  prime  consideration  of  every  leader.  (Emphasis  is  mine.) 

For  the  leader  carries  on  the  work  of  Jesus,  the  Good  Shepherd, 

who  calls  each  of  his  sheep  by  name.   The  distinctive  name  of 

each  signifies  the  distinctive  place  in  the  Lord's  body  which 

he  can  fill  only  by  being  the  person  the  Lord  wants  him  to  be. 

"Even  though  each  one's  vocation  is  a  call  to  a  role  in  the 
Lord's  body,  it  is  first  of  all  a  call  to  a  direct  personal 
relationship  with  the  Lord  himself  who  is  the  "bridegroom"  - 
not  only  of  the  whole  body,  but  also  of  each  individual  Christian. 
This  call  of  each  to  personal  intimacy  with  the  Lord  is  always 
primary ,  and  is  to  be  respected  above  all  else  by  anyone  exercis- 
ing leadership  in  the  body.   The  leader  has  to  be  like  John  the 
Baptist,  pointing  only  to  the  Lord,  saying:   "He  must  increase,  I 
must  decrease".   (Jn  3:30) 

"In  "giving  direction  then,  the  leader's  aim  must  always  be  to  show 
each  person  in  his  charge  how  to  discern  the  Spirit's  leadings  and 
to  follow  him  lovingly,  how  to  hear  the  bridegroom's  voice  (Jn  3:29), 
the  Good  Shepherd's  call  (Jn  10:3)  and  thus  become  the  person  the 
Lord  meant  him  to  be. 

"For  the  goal  of  all  Christian  leadership  and  spiritual  direction 
is  to  show  each  person  how  to  let  the  Holy  Spirit  be  his  director. 
The  leader  helps  each  to  discern  the  Spirit  in  his  own  life,  and 
to  make  personal  decisions  in  mature  responsibility.   The  goal  of 
all  direction  is  full  freedom  in  the  Spirit  for  the  one  directed, 
so  that  the  one  directed  more  and  more  assumes  full  responsibility 
for  his  personal  life  and  for  his  role  in  the  body  of  Christ." 

Since  Community  in  the  Lord  was  published  in  1975,  (Ave  Maria  Press) 
it  might  be  eight  or  nine  years  since  you  have  read  it.   Perhaps  it  would  be 
well  worth  reading  again  after  pondering  the  presentations  at  the  meeting  on 
"Authority  and  Obedience". 

For  anyone  who  has  not  read  this  book,  1  found  it  both  helpful  and  de- 
lightful.  I  especially  like  chapter  one,  "The  Listening  Father",  about  fam- 
ily life  and  the  first  responses  of  the  child  to  the  father.   How  beautiful 
it  is  to  know  that  Gcd  our  Father  is  bending  over  us  at  all  times,  drawing 
forth  responses  from  us,  waiting  for  our  whole  being  to  say:  "Abba". 

Sister  Mary  Rose,  O.P. 
West  Springfield,  Mass. 


*********** 


-128- 
HOLY  SCRIPTURE  IN  OUR  LIFE 


Sister  Mary  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  0, 
Menlo  Park 


To  use  a  current  phrase  which  has  become  popular  today  one  might  say: 
Scripture  is  'in';  it  is  the  'in'  thing.   To  non-Catholic  Christians  this  is 
'old  hat'.   Roman  Catholics,  however,  with  their  rich  heritage  of  Truth,  the 
Sacraments  and  the  living  Word  of  God  in  the  Eucharist,  allowed  the  Word  in 
Scripture  to  remain  in  the  shadows.   Today,  for  many  and  varied  reasons  - 
one  being  that  holy  Mother  Church  now  urges  the  faithful  to  pursue  the  study 
of  the  Scriptures  -  Scripture  has  come  into  its  own  in  Catholic  circles. 

The  Word  of  God  in  Scripture,  as  we  well  know,  can  never  replace  the 
living  Word  of  God  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Eucharist.   The  Word  of  God  in  the 
sacrament  is  God's  own  Son,  through  whom  we  can  all  cry  "Abba".   "The  Father 
uttered  one  Word,  that  Word  is  his  Son,  and  the  Word  was  made  flesh  and 
dwelt  among  us."   The  words  in  the  Bible  are  the  very  words  of  this  Son,  the 
Word  made  flesh,  the  Word  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father  before  time  began.   Through 
this  Word  all  things  were  made,  and  all  inspired  messages  came  down  to  us  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  prophets. 

God's  Word  in  Scripture  leads  us  into  the  heart  of  truth,  into  love  itself. 
One  might  hear  it  said  today:  "I  AM  in  Scripture."  The  concern  of  the  Lord, 
however,  would  seem  to  be  not  so  much  that  I  AM  in  Scripture,  but  whether 
Scripture  is  in  me.  It  would  do  one  little  good  to  know  the  texts  by  heart, 
the  chapters  and  verses  where  each  text  could  be  found,  if  the  texts  had  not 
taken  root  in  one's  heart.  Are  we  living  witnesses  of  the  Word?  Do  we  show 
forth  his  Countenance?   Do  we  take  means  to  be  peacemakers? 

Each  of  us  is  a  priest,  belonging  to  the  royal  priesthood  iri  Christ. 
Therefore,  just  as  an  ordained  priest  at  the  altar  says:  "This  is  my  Body, 
this  is  my  Blood"  (Luke  22:10-20),  we  too,  as  members  of  the  royal  priesthood , 
must  be  able  to  say  this  in  all  truth,  in  the  first  person,  in  our  daily  lives. 

"I  am  the  light  of  the  world... I  have  come  that  you  may  have  life"  (John  8:12 
10:10) 

In  our  contacts  with  others  are  we  light  bearers?   Are  we  among  those  who 
lay  down  their  lives,  or  are  we  servants  who  demand  payment  of  the  last  farthing 
(Matt.  18:23-35),  by  our  "correctness",  silence,  or  fastidious  keeping  of  the 
Rule,  thereby  spreading  not  light  but  darkness  in  a  bitter  zeal  which  has  no 
relation  to  Jesus? 

May  it  be  our  joy  to  have  our  efforts,  our  dogmas,  our  words  of  Scripture 
coalesce  so  that  we  may  be  the  light  of  Christ's  countenance  among  all  with 
whom  we  come  in  contact.   Let  us  not  ask  if  we  are  IN  Scripture,  but  let  us  ask 
if  Scripture  is  IN  us,  living  and  vibrant,  so  that  we  may  spell  out  in  daily 
living  the  unfathomable  reality  of  Divine  Love. 

*********** 


-izy- 

THE     EUCHARIST    OUTSIDE    THE    MASS  Sister    Mary    Joseph,     O.P. 

Los    Angeles 

The    Church     tells    us    that,    "The    celebration    of    the     Eucharist     in    the    sacrifice    of 
the     Mass     is    the    true  origin    and     purpose    shown    to    the     Eucharist    outside    the     Mass."    (1) 
As    to    the     Eucharistic    Sacrifice     itself,    many     of    the    documents    of    the    Church     have    something 
definite     to    say: 

The     Mass     is    referred     to    as  J'the    center    and  culmination        of    the    whole     life    of    the    Christian 
Community."    (2) 

"The  Eucharistic  Sacrifice  is  the  fount  and  apex  of  the  whole  Christian  life,  Christians  can 
offer  the  divine  Victim  to  God  and  offer  themselves  with  it."  13)  And  in  the  document 
on  the  Liturgy  on  celebrating  the  Eucharist  in  which,  "the  victory  and  triumph  of  Christ's 
death     are     made    present."    (4) 

In     the     Document    on    the     Missions    we    have    the     Eucharist     as-     "-the    source    of    perfecting 
the    Church."    (5) 

Through     the     Eucharistic     Sacrifice    of    the     Mass    which     is    always     being    perpetuated 
in    some     part    of    the    world,    Christ    as    Head     of    the     Mystical     Body     is    continually    offering 
praise    and     honor    to    the     Father     in    the    name    of    all     humanity    through     the     power    of    the 
Holy     Spirit.    The    document     on     the     Liturgs     speaks    of    the    different    forms    of    presence    of 
Christ,     "The    same    one    now    offering    through     the     ministry    of    priests,     who    formerK     offered 
Himself    on     the    cross."    (6)        This    statement     on     the     Mass    has    not     changed     since    the    Council 
of    Trent     in     1562    or    in     Mediator     Dei     in     1943.     Christ     is    present     by     His    power     in     the 
priest    at     Mass    by     His    power     in     the    Sacraments,     by     His    word     in     Holy     Scripture    and     in 
the    community    of    the    faithful     gathered     together     in     Christ's    name.     (    cf    MT.     18:20) 

If    perhaps,    in     late     years    too    much    stress    has    been     put    on     the     meal     or    banquet 
part     of    the     Mass,    not    giving    due    stress    to    the     true    element    of    sacrifice,     this    has    surely 
not     been     the    fault     of    the    Council     Documents    but     of    later    misinterpretations.    The    essence 
of    the     Mass    remains    the    same     now    as    v*nen     it     was    first     instituted     by     Christ     in     its    proper 
setting.     In     spite    of    this    true     understanding    of    the     Mass    by    the    great     majority     of    the    faith- 
ful    there     have     been    aberations    here    and    there    that     have     led    astray     many    of    the    weak    as 
to    the    doctrine    of    the     Real     Presence    of    Christ    in    the    Species    after    the    Mass.    Still     this 
has    not    affected,    but     rather     increase;     the    number    of    the    true    faithful     to    express    their 
sound    and     worthy    piety. 

Naturally     the    reservation      of    the     Eucharist     for    Viaticum,     which     the     Decree    tells 
us  ,    _lis    the     primary     reason     for     reservation,'    led     down    through    the    years    to    other    forms 
of    adoration    shown    the    Sacrament:     Benediction,     Holy     Hours,     Forty       Hours    D'evotion,    expo- 
sition    periods    and     finally     Perpetual     Adoration,    even     public    Corpus    Christi     Processions.     All 
these    are     based    on    the    solid     foundation    of    properly     understanding    the     Eucharistic     Sacrifice 
of    the     Mass. 

The    Eucharist    here    present    in    the    tabernacle,    or    in    the    monstrance    contains   the    entire 
spiritual    treasure    of   the    Church.    Here    Christ    is    sacramentally    present,    Body,  Blood    Soul    and    Divinity. 
Led    by    the    Holy    Spirit,    all    can    come   and    unite    with    Christ    offering    His    all    to    His    Father    in  own 
name.    Here    all,    individually    can    offer    themselves    with    Him,    all    their    joys    and    sorrows,    their    works 
and    even    all    creation.    In    the    Eucharist    we    are    united    in    a    very    special    way    to    the    Church    trium- 
phant,   and    to    the    Holy  Souls     in    Purgatory,    straining    as    they    are    for    their    entrance    to    the    company 
of   the    Blessed.    We    are    the    Mystical    Body    united    in    one    Head.    In    silence    and    gratitude    each    person 
can    meditate    on    some    aspect    of    the    self-giving   sacrifice    of   Christ    and    so    be    stimulated    to   a    greater 
spirit    of   loving   sacrifice. '  It    was    easier   for    the    early    Christians,    in    a    way,    to    hold    the    Miss    in    the 
truly    Biblical    context    of   sacrifice    and    meal,    because    Christ's    sacrifice   of    Holy    Thursday    and    Good 
Friday    were    so    very    poignantly    close    to    their    minds    and    hearts. 

The   Eucharist   seems   to   be   that    indispensable      daily   need,  even    more   so   for  contemplate es 
called    to   live   that   total    self-giving   necessary    for   community    life.    How   otherwise    can    they    grow    in 
the   ways  of  simplicity   and   light-heartedness,   of   trust   and   confidence*  of  abandonment;     and   so 
gradually   become   transformed    into   that    wholeness  of  person,   that  likeness  of    Christ      ("  I  live  now 
not  I,  but  Christ  lives  in  me."       T.he  Jerusalem   Bible  translates  it  thus:     "I  have  been  crucified  with   Christ  , 
and  i  live  now  not  with  my  own  life  but  with  the  life  of  Christ  who  lives  in  me".   Gal.  2:20    ). 

NOTES  '■  Sacred    Congregation    for    Divine    Worship    -    no.    900/t3 

Revision  of,  parts  entitled  "Holy  Communion  and  worship  of  the  Eucharist 
outside  the  Mass. "  1974  PP  3  &  4  -  Document  on  Sacred  Liturgy 
'Sacroeanctium    Concilium ' 

2.  Document    VIII       Christus    Dominus'      no.       30-2 

3.  'Lumen    Gentium'       Ch.    2.       no. 11 

4.  "Sacroeanctium    Concilium  f         Ch.    I       no. 6 

5.  'Ad    Gentes'   Ch.     VI       Missionary    cooperation    Ch.     V      no. 39 

6.  "Sacrosanctium  Concillium'    Ch.    I    no. 7 


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Sister  Mary  of  God  (North  Guilford)  President 
Sister  Mary  Joseph  (Farmington)  Vice-President     Sister  Mary  Thomas  (Buffalo)  Secretary 
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