Tuesday Feb 2, 2010
Blessings to you! We have just celebrated the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. This is the patronal feastday of the Benedictine Nuns of Jamberoo. That monastery is the motherhouse for our Sisters of Our Lady of the Desert. February 2nd is also the celebration of the foundation of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Desert in 1990. I ask your prayers for our sisters as they continue on their journey of trust with our Lord.
Although it continues to be cold at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, this cold part of winter always makes us long for Easter, for new life and for sun. Longing is one of the great themes of both the Old and the New Testaments. Unless we understand what it is to long for the good things of this life, such as light, sun, warmth, food, etc., we cannot understand what it might mean to long for the Lord. So as we get tired of winter and long for spring and summer, let us remember our Lord as well.
Our Subprior Christian will spend some time out of the monastery again this year, working to raise money to support our community. How well I remember the first time that I had to raise money. How I disliked that. On the other hand, if our monastery is to survive, then for the moment we must beg. That is the simple reality. Once our businesses get stronger, we hope not to have to do that. The style of Subprior Christian is very good because it is very monastic. He often offers a Morning of Monastic Reflection in parishes that he visits around the country, so that people can understand what monks are today in our Catholic Church.
Many people have thought in the past that either the local diocese or the Vatican itself supports us. But that is not how it works with religious life. We have to support ourselves and we also help the Vatican and our own Congregation and Province every year with a small amount.
Sometimes if a religious community does work, like running a school for a diocese or just working in any school, the religious receive salaries. But generally those salaries go directly to the religious community. We religious have a vow of poverty, which means that personally we cannot own anything.
Admittedly we religious do not always look very poor! This was one of the great values of a standard habit in the past. For us at Christ in the Desert, the monk does not need to think about what he is going to wear. It is clear that he will wear his habit. In our community, every monk must seek permission from the Cellarer, whom I mentioned in a previous letter. We do not just decide to go and shop on the spur of the moment. Of course, if there are emergencies, then the Cellarer helps us. We monks do not speak about money as our money but neither do we call it my money. It is the money of the monastery and we all have a great obligation to use that money frugally for th glory of God and not just for our wants and likes.
For many of the years of the existence of the monastery, we monks were able to make our own living and even save some money for the proverbial rainy day. Then our family got too big and we are still struggling to find the means to support ourselves and help all of the monasteries which are still related to us. Someday those houses will no longer depend on us in the same way and we should then be able to gain our own living and help other monasteries, perhaps even those not related to us directly.
Our monastic way of life is not the same as many other monasteries. That is not to say that we are better than other monasteries, just that we are different. In the early 1960s lots of new monastery and monastic communities were founded, both in the United States and in various European countries. The 1960s were a wonderful time of creativity and new beginnings in various aspects of the life of the Church. Because I was in my 20\\\\\\'s and remember so vividly lots of changes in the Church and in religious communities, sometimes I think that everybody remembers those days. Instead most of our younger brothers grew up after the great Second Vatican Council and it is not even a memory for them. Not many of them even remember serving at a Latin Mass.
Most of the monasteries and monastic communities founded in the 1960s did not survive and flourish, either in America or in Europe. Our own monastery was founded in 1964 with the express purpose of returning to the roots of monastic life. Our founder, Dom Aelred Wall of Portsmouth Priory (now Abbey) was a great idealist. He longed to return to the roots of monastic life. Under his guidance the monks tried various projects to gain their income but the monastery really depended on the donations given to Dom Aelred. Prior Gregory Borgstedt, our second Prior, was only in office for about one year, and the economy did not change much under his direction. His gift was really the Divine Office. He loved the liturgy.
After Prior Gregory was diagnosed with cancer, it was Prior James Conner, a Trappist from Gethsemani, who really brought about the economic stabilization of the community. By his time we monks were able to keep the guest house open, even in winter, and it quickly became our main source of income. It was during the time of Prior James also that the Gift Shop really began to work and to produce an income. Since we were few monks at that time, those two sources of income were really enough to support us without much problem. So we owe a great debt of thanks to Prior James, not only for the economy but also for a clear monastic direction.
When I was named Prior in 1976, the only task was to keep the community on this good path. I was perhaps just as idealistic as my predecessors! I wanted to return to the full observance of the Rule and that is what we did and have kept fairly well ever since. One of the gifts of community as we look back is to see the incredible gifts of the monks who have been part of our community, even those who left for one reason or another. It is as if God sent people with various gifts and talents and through those gifts and talents, the monastery survived and developed.
One of the challenges of the superior is to stay still and quiet so that he can see the direction of the community, both where it is, where it should be and perhaps where it has missed the path. The superior is not the only one who is supposed to be still and silent. When the Rule of Saint Benedict talks about summoning the Chapter or the Council, he presumes that those monks will have spent some time in silence and stillness thinking about what they will be discussing and voting on.
This is one of the places where the gift of prayer must be present for all of us. When we come to the deepest stillness of our soul, we might meet the Lord. In that stillness could be an inspiration about whatever it is that might need deciding in the community. We could say that the monk should always be still and silent because he never knows when he may be asked to participate in a meeting that will be important for the community.
May the Lord give us all this gift of silence and stillness. May the Lord send blessings on us. As always I will celebrate a Holy Mass this week for the intentions of all who read this letter. I ask your prayers so much for our communities this week and for me as well.
Your brother in the Lord,
Abbot Philip Lawrence, OSB
Monastery of Christ in the Desert
P.O. Box 270
Abiquiu, NM 87510
Although it continues to be cold at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, this cold part of winter always makes us long for Easter, for new life and for sun. Longing is one of the great themes of both the Old and the New Testaments. Unless we understand what it is to long for the good things of this life, such as light, sun, warmth, food, etc., we cannot understand what it might mean to long for the Lord. So as we get tired of winter and long for spring and summer, let us remember our Lord as well.
Our Subprior Christian will spend some time out of the monastery again this year, working to raise money to support our community. How well I remember the first time that I had to raise money. How I disliked that. On the other hand, if our monastery is to survive, then for the moment we must beg. That is the simple reality. Once our businesses get stronger, we hope not to have to do that. The style of Subprior Christian is very good because it is very monastic. He often offers a Morning of Monastic Reflection in parishes that he visits around the country, so that people can understand what monks are today in our Catholic Church.
Many people have thought in the past that either the local diocese or the Vatican itself supports us. But that is not how it works with religious life. We have to support ourselves and we also help the Vatican and our own Congregation and Province every year with a small amount.
Sometimes if a religious community does work, like running a school for a diocese or just working in any school, the religious receive salaries. But generally those salaries go directly to the religious community. We religious have a vow of poverty, which means that personally we cannot own anything.
Admittedly we religious do not always look very poor! This was one of the great values of a standard habit in the past. For us at Christ in the Desert, the monk does not need to think about what he is going to wear. It is clear that he will wear his habit. In our community, every monk must seek permission from the Cellarer, whom I mentioned in a previous letter. We do not just decide to go and shop on the spur of the moment. Of course, if there are emergencies, then the Cellarer helps us. We monks do not speak about money as our money but neither do we call it my money. It is the money of the monastery and we all have a great obligation to use that money frugally for th glory of God and not just for our wants and likes.
For many of the years of the existence of the monastery, we monks were able to make our own living and even save some money for the proverbial rainy day. Then our family got too big and we are still struggling to find the means to support ourselves and help all of the monasteries which are still related to us. Someday those houses will no longer depend on us in the same way and we should then be able to gain our own living and help other monasteries, perhaps even those not related to us directly.
Our monastic way of life is not the same as many other monasteries. That is not to say that we are better than other monasteries, just that we are different. In the early 1960s lots of new monastery and monastic communities were founded, both in the United States and in various European countries. The 1960s were a wonderful time of creativity and new beginnings in various aspects of the life of the Church. Because I was in my 20\\\\\\'s and remember so vividly lots of changes in the Church and in religious communities, sometimes I think that everybody remembers those days. Instead most of our younger brothers grew up after the great Second Vatican Council and it is not even a memory for them. Not many of them even remember serving at a Latin Mass.
Most of the monasteries and monastic communities founded in the 1960s did not survive and flourish, either in America or in Europe. Our own monastery was founded in 1964 with the express purpose of returning to the roots of monastic life. Our founder, Dom Aelred Wall of Portsmouth Priory (now Abbey) was a great idealist. He longed to return to the roots of monastic life. Under his guidance the monks tried various projects to gain their income but the monastery really depended on the donations given to Dom Aelred. Prior Gregory Borgstedt, our second Prior, was only in office for about one year, and the economy did not change much under his direction. His gift was really the Divine Office. He loved the liturgy.
After Prior Gregory was diagnosed with cancer, it was Prior James Conner, a Trappist from Gethsemani, who really brought about the economic stabilization of the community. By his time we monks were able to keep the guest house open, even in winter, and it quickly became our main source of income. It was during the time of Prior James also that the Gift Shop really began to work and to produce an income. Since we were few monks at that time, those two sources of income were really enough to support us without much problem. So we owe a great debt of thanks to Prior James, not only for the economy but also for a clear monastic direction.
When I was named Prior in 1976, the only task was to keep the community on this good path. I was perhaps just as idealistic as my predecessors! I wanted to return to the full observance of the Rule and that is what we did and have kept fairly well ever since. One of the gifts of community as we look back is to see the incredible gifts of the monks who have been part of our community, even those who left for one reason or another. It is as if God sent people with various gifts and talents and through those gifts and talents, the monastery survived and developed.
One of the challenges of the superior is to stay still and quiet so that he can see the direction of the community, both where it is, where it should be and perhaps where it has missed the path. The superior is not the only one who is supposed to be still and silent. When the Rule of Saint Benedict talks about summoning the Chapter or the Council, he presumes that those monks will have spent some time in silence and stillness thinking about what they will be discussing and voting on.
This is one of the places where the gift of prayer must be present for all of us. When we come to the deepest stillness of our soul, we might meet the Lord. In that stillness could be an inspiration about whatever it is that might need deciding in the community. We could say that the monk should always be still and silent because he never knows when he may be asked to participate in a meeting that will be important for the community.
May the Lord give us all this gift of silence and stillness. May the Lord send blessings on us. As always I will celebrate a Holy Mass this week for the intentions of all who read this letter. I ask your prayers so much for our communities this week and for me as well.
Your brother in the Lord,
Abbot Philip Lawrence, OSB
Monastery of Christ in the Desert
P.O. Box 270
Abiquiu, NM 87510
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