MONASTICISM & THE CHARISMATIC RENEWAL IN THE NEW EVANGELISATION
BRINGING PEOPLE TO THE LIGHT OF GOD'S PRESENCE.
1 I saw Eternity the other night,
2 Like a great ring of pure and endless light,
3 All calm, as it was bright;
4 And round beneath it, Time in hours, days, years,
5 Driv'n by the spheres
6 Like a vast shadow mov'd; in which the world
7 And all her train were hurl'd.
from "The World" by Henry Vaughan
At the heart of our religion lies a Mystery, not a problem requiring a solution, nor a theory demanding proof or argument in its defence, nor an element of this world awaiting discovery by Science, nor does it cry out to be heard, but it is a Presence "deep down things". It is neither at our beck and call, nor can it be imposed on others either by argument or force. It manifests itself in nature through beauty, goodness and the sacred; and, in the realm of Grace, through the Church in the beauty of holiness. If all our efforts at evangelisation do not lead people into the presence of this Mystery, they are a waste of time. If our theology does not lead us to share in this Mystery, it is a mere ideology and on the wrong track. If our liturgy does not make us aware that we are participating in this Mystery, it fails as liturgy. If all our sounds do not lead to Silence, not silence of an empty kind, but a Silence which manifests a Truth too full for words, then they are a waste of wind.
Some time before his death, Saint Thomas Aquinas ceased to write his masterpiece, the Summa Theologica, and died without attempting to complete it. He said that, in comparison with what he had seen, all he had written was but straw. For those to whom theology begins and ends with words, he clearly foresook his theology in favour of mysticism; but for those for whom theology is the intellectual dimension of their quest for God, then, that he was led to an understanding beyond words of the Christian Mystery is the highest form of endorsement that his theology could possibly have had.
However, this Presence is not only experienced by great mystics. There are countless occasions when we ordinary folk become aware, even ever so weakly, that we are in this Presence. I still remember that once, in the early seventies, we sang in tongues for what for me was the first time. It was an incredible experience. The sound rose and fell like the waves of the sea, as though directed by an invisible conducter, and then, after an appropriate time, melted into silence. After a pause, and just at the right moment, the song rose again out of the silence as a murmur, gradually grew in volume, and then, exactly when it should, came to an abrupt halt. The silence during the song was a silence of intense communion; while the second silence was in gratitude for something that was now over. It is possible to taste the presence in prayer in all kinds of circumstances
In the West, this Presence has long been associated with the Blessed Sacrament. I have met several people who had entered a Catholic church out of curiosity and have been bowled over, caught by surprise by a sense of Presence which they associated with the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle. This led some of them into the Catholic Church. My own father was a convert from Anglicanism; and he always believed that he could distinguish a Catholic church from any other Christian church by this sense of Presence. I am glad to see how the Blessed Sacrament is being used by many charismatic groups, and by such movements as "Catholic Underground", as a centre piece in an outreach or evangelisation campaign. "Catholic Underground" is a night apostolate in places like New York and London; and it is associated with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal who are an off-shoot of the Capuchin Order connected with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. It invites young people off the street, makes no attempt to pressure them, has music, talks, testimonies and, of course, the Blessed Sacrament. The Gospel in proclaimed and the Blessed Sacrament exposed; and the rest is up to God. People of all shapes and sizes, whatever their past, whatever their present, Catholics, non-Catholics and searchers, can wander in from the street and take part, can all kneel together and adore or just think, while, in another part of the church, some discuss or chat. In Lima there is a growing custom to have a Blessed Sacrament chapel, with the Sacrament exposed but protected, looking onto the street through a glass wall. There are also parishes where there is perpetual adoration, with two parishioners attending for hourly sessions, seven days a week, throughout the year. At the heart of Christianity, there is Presence and Love, and the faith to discern them. Everything either springs from that or leads to it.
In the Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 10, the flesh of Christ is called the "veil" of the Holy of Holies. We enter into the Father's Presence through the veil, by receiving holy communion; but, when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, we are kneeling before the veil. In the Blessed Sacrament, heaven and earth are joined together, and, being in Christ's presence, we are also in the presence of a multitude of angels and a huge number of saints, and we join in the "Holy, holy, holy" that goes on for all eternity. Also, in the eucharistic host, there is that Act of Love by which the whole universe is held together, an Act which, because of the Incarnation, is both divine and human; and, if some scientists are right, that there exists a "multi-verse", then this divine-human love embraces the multi-verse as well. Hence, kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament, we can adore with the angels and saints, and we are well placed to pray for the whole human race and even for everything that exists..
Among Eastern Christians, both Orthodox and Catholic, the main gateway into the Presence, apart from the Eucharist and the other Mysteries of the Faith, are the icons; and they are now becoming more common in the Catholic West. I will leave to children to argue what is better, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the West, or icons in the East. The truth is that the Holy Spirit has made it abundantly clear in the West that adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is a wholesome and privileged way to come closer to Christ; and the same Spirit has made it quite clear that icons are a wholesome and privileged way to share in God's Presence. Let us be happy for each other and not bicker. I have a hand-painted icon of Our Lady of the Sign which I have had for over forty years; and I am happy to believe that Our Lady is present in my room through this icon.
Living in a monastery on the outskirts of Lima, it became very clear to me that our apostolate is primarily and simply to seek God, and thus to present to those who visit us a place where God dwells, and where his presence is almost tangible. Of course, he is present everywhere; but his presence is not intensely felt everywhere. Numerous people, many of whom have never been to a monastery before, have remarked on it. In a world of ever-growing secularism, this is an important element of the New Evangelisation, directed at peoples' capacity for authentic religious experience.
Father Timothy Radcliffe, when he was Master General of the Dominicans, was invited, in the year 2,000, by the Congress of Benedictine Abbots in Rome to talk to them about the Benedictine vocation. He called his talk "Thrones of God", and this is part of what he said:
Why are people so drawn to monasteries? Today I would like to share with you some thoughts as to why this is so. You may think that my thoughts are completely crazy, and proof that a Dominican can understand nothing of the Benedictine life. If so, then please forgive me. I wish to claim that your monasteries disclose God not because of what you do or say, but perhaps because the monastic life has at its centre a space, a void, in which God may show himself. I wish to suggest that the rule of St. Benedict offers a sort of hollow centre to your lives, in which God may live and be glimpsed.
The glory of God always shows itself in an empty space. When the Israelites came out of the desert, God came with them seated in the space between the wings of the cherubim, above the seat of mercy. The throne of glory was this void. It was only a small space, a hand’s breadth. God does not need much space to show his glory. Down the Aventine, not two hundred metres away, is the Basilica of S. Sabina. And on its door is the first known representation of the cross. Here we see a throne of glory which is also a void, an absence, as a man dies crying out for the God who seems to have deserted him. The ultimate throne of glory is an empty tomb, where there is no body.
My hope is that the Benedictine monasteries will continue to be places in which the glory of God shines out, thrones for the mystery. And this is because of what you are not, and what you do not do. In recent years astronomers have been searching the skies for new planets. Until recently they could never see any planets directly. But they could detect them by a wobble in the orbit of the star. Perhaps with those who follow the rule of St Benedict it is similar, only you are the planets which disclose the invisible star which is the centre of the monastery. The measured orbit of your life points to the mystery which we cannot see directly. “Truly, you are a hidden God, O God of Israel.” (Is. 45. 13)
I would like to suggest, then, that the invisible centre of your life is revealed in how you live. The glory of God is shown in a void, an empty space in your lives. I will suggest three aspects of the monastic life which open this void and make a space for God: First of all, your lives are for no particular purpose. Secondly in that they lead nowhere, and finally because they are lives of humility. Each of these aspects of the monastic life opens us a space for God. And I wish to suggest that in each case it is the celebration of the liturgy that makes sense of this void. It is the singing of the Office several times a day that shows that this void is filled with the glory of God.
Father Timothy Radcliffe, when he was Master General of the Dominicans, was invited, in the year 2,000, by the Congress of Benedictine Abbots in Rome to talk to them about the Benedictine vocation. He called his talk "Thrones of God", and this is part of what he said:
Why are people so drawn to monasteries? Today I would like to share with you some thoughts as to why this is so. You may think that my thoughts are completely crazy, and proof that a Dominican can understand nothing of the Benedictine life. If so, then please forgive me. I wish to claim that your monasteries disclose God not because of what you do or say, but perhaps because the monastic life has at its centre a space, a void, in which God may show himself. I wish to suggest that the rule of St. Benedict offers a sort of hollow centre to your lives, in which God may live and be glimpsed.
The glory of God always shows itself in an empty space. When the Israelites came out of the desert, God came with them seated in the space between the wings of the cherubim, above the seat of mercy. The throne of glory was this void. It was only a small space, a hand’s breadth. God does not need much space to show his glory. Down the Aventine, not two hundred metres away, is the Basilica of S. Sabina. And on its door is the first known representation of the cross. Here we see a throne of glory which is also a void, an absence, as a man dies crying out for the God who seems to have deserted him. The ultimate throne of glory is an empty tomb, where there is no body.
My hope is that the Benedictine monasteries will continue to be places in which the glory of God shines out, thrones for the mystery. And this is because of what you are not, and what you do not do. In recent years astronomers have been searching the skies for new planets. Until recently they could never see any planets directly. But they could detect them by a wobble in the orbit of the star. Perhaps with those who follow the rule of St Benedict it is similar, only you are the planets which disclose the invisible star which is the centre of the monastery. The measured orbit of your life points to the mystery which we cannot see directly. “Truly, you are a hidden God, O God of Israel.” (Is. 45. 13)
I would like to suggest, then, that the invisible centre of your life is revealed in how you live. The glory of God is shown in a void, an empty space in your lives. I will suggest three aspects of the monastic life which open this void and make a space for God: First of all, your lives are for no particular purpose. Secondly in that they lead nowhere, and finally because they are lives of humility. Each of these aspects of the monastic life opens us a space for God. And I wish to suggest that in each case it is the celebration of the liturgy that makes sense of this void. It is the singing of the Office several times a day that shows that this void is filled with the glory of God.
St Luke's account of the Annunciation gives us a first class insight into what is necessary for a truly charismatic life. The angel Gabriel tells Mary that she is to be the mother of the Messiah. "How can this be? I know not man?" she exclaims. She is radically incapable of having a child without having sexual relations. She was even more radically incapable of becoming Mother of God by her own strength. Gabriel says that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the Most High will cover her with his shadow; and for this reason, her child will be called "Son of God". She answers, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord! May it be done to me according to his word!" Though, of course, she didn't say that exactly, because she didn't speak English. What she said was, "Amen" which means all that in her own language.
The last time you went to holy communion, God's messenger said, "The Body of Christ!" and you answered, "Amen", which means that you were about to adjust your life to the new reality, as a person in whom Christ dwells. You will no longer have your own agenda or follow your own desires. You will humbly obey God moment by moment so that your life will be in complete harmony with the life of the Holy Spirit in you, so that the Holy Spirit can work through you and thus make you capable of actions that you would never be able to do on your own. Whether you belong to a charismatic community in New York or London, or are a monk in Hereford or Lima, if you want Christ to live in you, the Holy Spirit to work in and through you, you have to answer the call to radical humble obedience. That is the work of a lifetime; but when we work in community, in a community that accepts this road to humility as its goal, we will make up for each other as we limp through life; and Christ will shine through our common life and draw all men to him through us.
The last time you went to holy communion, God's messenger said, "The Body of Christ!" and you answered, "Amen", which means that you were about to adjust your life to the new reality, as a person in whom Christ dwells. You will no longer have your own agenda or follow your own desires. You will humbly obey God moment by moment so that your life will be in complete harmony with the life of the Holy Spirit in you, so that the Holy Spirit can work through you and thus make you capable of actions that you would never be able to do on your own. Whether you belong to a charismatic community in New York or London, or are a monk in Hereford or Lima, if you want Christ to live in you, the Holy Spirit to work in and through you, you have to answer the call to radical humble obedience. That is the work of a lifetime; but when we work in community, in a community that accepts this road to humility as its goal, we will make up for each other as we limp through life; and Christ will shine through our common life and draw all men to him through us.
Listen to the following sermon. It isn't very long. In your imagination, just put the word "Catholic" where the preacher says "Orthodox", and you will understand how we Catholics (and Orthodox) understand liturgical worship in relation to the Holy Spirit.
How can Fr David believe all this when he supports such charismatic events as Catholic Underground? It is because Catholic Underground is outreach within a secular society, while liturgy is the prayer of Christ in the Church. Both are the kingdom at work; so both come out of the synergy (harmony of activities) of the Holy Spirit and of Christians, with the Holy Spirit enabling them to do things they could never do on their own. However, for this to happen, they need to follow, not so much their own tastes, but the will of the Spirit. In the case of the Catholic Underground, what is important is to make contact and bring people into the Presence of God in Christ. It is directed at those taking part. Catholic Liturgy, on the other hand, is mainly directed towards God, and the local celebrating community is sharing in Christ's prayer to the Father and is united to the Church of all ages and places. Hence, the texts and structure are geared to express the whole of Catholic Tradition. I know that there are charismatics who try to make the Mass as much like a prayer group as possible; but I have a feeling that that will gradually die out. I was "formador" of a charismatic seminary in Lima for a year in 2006, and several of the leading seminarians were questioning some of the priorities shown in "charismatic" masses without, in any way, being less charismatic in their own spiritual life.
How can Fr David believe all this when he supports such charismatic events as Catholic Underground? It is because Catholic Underground is outreach within a secular society, while liturgy is the prayer of Christ in the Church. Both are the kingdom at work; so both come out of the synergy (harmony of activities) of the Holy Spirit and of Christians, with the Holy Spirit enabling them to do things they could never do on their own. However, for this to happen, they need to follow, not so much their own tastes, but the will of the Spirit. In the case of the Catholic Underground, what is important is to make contact and bring people into the Presence of God in Christ. It is directed at those taking part. Catholic Liturgy, on the other hand, is mainly directed towards God, and the local celebrating community is sharing in Christ's prayer to the Father and is united to the Church of all ages and places. Hence, the texts and structure are geared to express the whole of Catholic Tradition. I know that there are charismatics who try to make the Mass as much like a prayer group as possible; but I have a feeling that that will gradually die out. I was "formador" of a charismatic seminary in Lima for a year in 2006, and several of the leading seminarians were questioning some of the priorities shown in "charismatic" masses without, in any way, being less charismatic in their own spiritual life.
Click to set custom HTML
googlece07d087f205872c.html