Faith & Life Inspirational Message

Sometimes I wonder if I would make it as a monk!   Actually I don’t really wonder, because I am fairly sure I would blow it.   There is so much about being a monk that I find attractive.   But I fear that I idealize what being a monk means.   And that is funny, since I have been to any number of monasteries and convents and actually know quite a few monks and nuns.                If I am honest, what really attracts me is not being a monk, but it is the way of life that monks and nuns undertake.   That attraction is deepened by the fact that a group of them undertake that life together in community.   And they do that life together with such intentionality.   I am sure that intentionality is a big piece of the attraction for me and it is probably why I know I would blow it!   That is because intentionality has to be married to discipline to be effective.     ...

I have had the occasion to be back at Gethsemani, the monastery where my favorite monk, Thomas Merton, lived until his untimely death in 1968.   I like going to monasteries, which may be a bit strange for a guy who grew up a Quaker.   As a kid, if you had asked me what a monastery was, I am sure there would only have been a blank stare.   I am confident I did not meet a monk until I was in graduate school.   Of course, in school most of us read about monks.   Many of them were involved in making history, especially during the medieval period.   Meeting a monk or two helped me begin to develop an appreciation for not only them as people, but for their way of life.   It really is foreign to the way I grew up and from the way of life of the people who taught me about religion.   In my early formative days it was still pre-Vatican II, so the Catholic Church was off limits.   Then I began to develop a fascination with the monastic tradi...

Last night I turned to the last prayers of the day, which are focused around a couple readings from the Psalms and a Biblical passage.   The night prayer in the monastery is called Compline.   When I visit a monastery, I think it may be my favorite part of the day.   It “finishes” off the day of worship and work and the monks head to their rooms and a night’s sleep.   When I visit one of my favorite monasteries, Gethsemani in Kentucky, Compline comes at 7:30pm.   It is not a long service.   This is understandable when you realize the monks will be up again and in the sanctuary at 3:15am!   What’s interesting is that for much of the year, the monks begin in the darkness and conclude in the darkness.   I like Compline during those months when the sun has already gone down and the monks and the visitors gather in the soft lights for the last service.   As the service is ending, the lights are turned out and only one or two lights make the exi...

Recently I spoke to a group of people who are interested in Thomas Merton, the late 20 th century Trappist monk.   I have referenced Merton a number of times, so it is obvious that I like to read his writings.   As noted before, Merton lived in a monastery, Gethsemani, in the rolling hills of Kentucky.   When I teach an upper level seminar, it is usually on Merton’s spirituality.   Although Merton died tragically in 1968, interest in him and his spirituality continues in remarkable ways.   It is always easy to speak to a group that is inherently interested in the topic you address.   They give you the benefit of the doubt.   Typically, they assume you were much better than you probably were!   But that’s ok; I would rather be told good things than bad things!   Most people would, I assume.   So when the evening was finished, the Catholic nun who had invited me and had served as the host for the event handed me a little bag. ...

Recently on my pilgrimage to the monastery, the students and I participated in one full twenty-four hour round of the Divine Office, as it is called.   The first aspect of that is Vigils, which happens at 3:15 am.   Vigils is a good name, coming from the Latin meaning, “to keep watch” or “vigilance.”   At the other end of the cycle is Compline, which obviously has the sense of “completing.” I loved Compline.   Because of the time of the winter season when we were there, it was already dark outside when we entered the sanctuary for Compline.   The darkness led to a more mysterious sense for us as we walked through the darkness in silence into the sanctuary.   Because we had been up so early, it was easy to understand why the day did seem like it was nearly complete.   It was easy to know that if we followed this schedule on a daily basis, as the monks do, we would have to head to bed fairly soon after Compline.   No 11:00pm news and Jay Leno ...