The long wait is almost over.
A lot has been going on since
the announcement was made that Abbot Cletus would be retiring. Soon, this
coming month, the brothers at Saint Bernard Abbey will elect a new Abbot.
This is no small matter in the life of the monastic
community.
Electing an Abbot is a serious matter. The outcome of the election
will have long term effects on the life of the community. Abbot Cletus knows
this. The brothers know this. Those with an inkling of an understanding of
monastic life know this.
The Rule of Saint Benedict, particularly Chapter 2 of the
Rule, is at the heart and center of the prayers of the brothers and of all the abbatial
election deliberations. The Rule sets the standards. It sets the standards that
the brothers, religious sisters, and Oblates live by. It sets the standards and
establishes the qualifications for the Abbot, as the Superior of the monastery,
upon whose shoulder’s responsibility for the monastery and all who reside
therein rests.
The Rule tells us what kind of man the Abbot ought to be.
His responsibility is much more than a physical one. Though the physical
responsibility is great and not to be discounted, the greater responsibility is
for the welfare of the souls entrusted into his care.
What Kind of Man
Ought the Abbot to Be?
The Abbot who is worthy to be over a monastery, ought always
to be mindful of what he is called, and make his works square with his name of
Superior. For he is believed to hold the place of Christ in the monastery, when
he is called by his name, according to the saying of the Apostle: “You have
received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry Abba (Father)” (Rom
8:15). [1]
I will never be the Abbot of a monastery. Nor will I ever
take part in the election of an Abbot. These are responsibilities particular to
living within the cloister. Oblates, living in the world outside the monastery,
have no physical part in this important process. We can however, as Oblate or
layperson, garner and take away a great deal of practical importance from this
chapter in the Rule; especially when we begin seeing monastic communities for
what they are … intense microcosms of the Greater Church.
One of the things that stands out in The Rule is the
necessity to accept and respect the hierarchy of spiritual authority that God
has established. And, where this hierarchy of spiritual authority is concerned,
those within the hierarchy had best realize who and what they are called to
considering the accounting that they must give before the Supreme Superior. The
hierarchical relationship is a delicate one; someone has to place their
confidence and trust in another while this significant other acts as a
responsible figurehead.
This relationship has worked very well in Benedictine
monasteries since the Sixth Century. What some may discover surprising is that
this is the same hierarchical spiritual authority principle that Christ
established in the Church when he ordained the Twelve Apostles and established
Peter as both head of the Apostles and of the Church. Our Catholic
understanding of this establishment is furthered and carried out through Apostolic
Succession where the elected Supreme Pontiff appoints and presides over the
Diocesan Bishops who in turn ordain Priests to serve as Parish Pastors.
Something else that may come as a surprise is that this
system of doing things has worked for 2000 years. There have been bad Popes
elected to both protect and lead the Church. There have been good Popes elected
to the task as well. Despite the bad Popes, and other internal difficulties
over the millennia, the Church is still a very real and active presence in the
world. The Church, despite its modern trials and conflicts, will continue to
live on until Christ returns. If I am understanding the historical teachings of
the Church as spelled out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this Church
will be well sifted, shaken, and purified by the trials and persecutions of the
Last Days, trials and persecutions that will cause many to renounce the faith
and walk away from the Church. [2]
[3]
The great modern dilemma in the Post-Vatican II Church, as I
see it, is that people in the pews have bought into the modern revolution that
sets itself against any kind of hierarchical authority and have chosen to live
lives of spiritual anarchy. There is honestly no other terminology to describe
this condition that appears to be worsening in the Catholic Church with the
extremes of Modernism pulling in one direction and Traditionalism pulling in
the other direction. Both extremes essentially reject and throw off being
accountable to the established authority of the Church.[4]
Both extremes are wrong.
One of the things that I remind myself of is the fact that
the election of the Pope, appointment of Bishops, and sending of Parish
Priests, is nowhere listed in my job description as a Catholic Christian in the
Catholic Church.
The Church has been through conflicts and storms before and
has managed to weather them. I cannot help but to wonder though if the stage is
being set for another Great Schism such as The East-West Schism of 1054 or The
Western Schism, also called The Papal Schism of 1378? Who knows? I certainly do
not.
The Rule of Saint Benedict appeals to a lot of Christian
people other than Roman Catholics. In fact, I embraced The Rule and became an
Oblate of Saint Benedict before entering into the Catholic Church. Then, back
before entering into the Catholic Church, I could not help but to see The Rule
of Saint Benedict as a great bridge connecting to an island of hope where all
Christians, regardless of their denominational differences, could sit together
in a spirit of one accord.
I still see The Rule as this bridge.
To be continued in Part 2.
[1]
Holy Rule 2:1-3
[2]
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraphs 675 - 677
[3]
Matthew 24:3-31
[4] In
an extremely simplified nutshell, extreme Traditionalists insist that Vatican II is invalid, that
everything following it is a hoax, and that there has not been a valid Pope
since before Vatican II. Extreme Modernists insist that Vatican II did not go
far enough in its reforms, want prohibitions against women clergy lifted, and calls
for homosexual relationships to be accepted as normal and not sinful.
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