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Volume 33, Number 4 |
Richardton, ND 58652 |
October 2005 |
Challenging Message To Benedictines
by Fr. Hugo Blotsky, O.S.B.
Fr. Hugo Blotsky
The following article appeared in the Wyoming Catholic Register, May 16, 2005. Fr. Hugo is Parochial Administrator of St. Paul’s Parish, Pine Bluffs, WY, with missions in Albin and Carpenter, WY.
The Cardinals stunned the world when they elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new Pope, April 19. The new Pope sent a challenging message to the Benedictine world when he explained his choice of name, Benedict XVI.
Pope Benedict XVI has described Europe as being non-
Abbess Maria Michael Newe of the Abbey of St. Walburga (Virginia Dale, Colorado), was delighted at the new Pope: “We see the election of Pope Benedict XVI as a wondrous sign of God’s love for the Church and the world. Pope Benedict seemingly in the same line as St. Benedict, appears to have a life of faith rooted in prayer and a gift for clarity as to what will lead us together to God. May he be one who points the way in which we are able to ‘prefer nothing to the love of Christ.’ ”
“We are happy with the choice of a name,” said Brother Tobias of the Benedict Mission House in Schuyler, NE. “He is an excellent theologian. Some of our brother priests have had him as a guest lecturer while in seminary. We hope and pray he will be a good shepherd.”
Several different charisms within the Benedictine Order have been helpful in renewing Benedictine communities, both male and female, over the past centuries. As the communities have renewed themselves under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, these communities spread the Gospel message to those with whom they came into contact. Being a Benedictine monk is a way of life in which one seeks God and His will in all situations. Benedictines and Franciscans use the same approach to evangelization that is best described in the words of St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.”
There can be no peace without justice, and there can be no justice without true freedom, which can be found only in Christ. Christ’s teaching is that every human person has been created in the image and likeness of God, that every person has value in the sight of God, that every person has been gifted by God, and that every human life must be respected from the moment of conception until natural death.
St. Benedict writes that monks are to see Christ in fellow monks, the abbot, guests,
the sick, the stranger, the infirm, and in oneself. Without this respect for each
other, true peace can never be found. Genuine hospitality is to be extended to all
members of the community first, and then to those who don’t belong to the community.
A gathering of Benedictine abbots in Rome in the mid-
Benedictines are called to give of their time, talent and treasure for service to
the Lord, to the monastic community and to the local church. Monastic life is an
ongoing conversion from being attached to the things of the world to seeking union
with God, from building a self for self to building life with the community, and
from focusing attention upon “me the sinner” to respect for every human life from
the moment of conception until natural death. In the Rule of Benedict, St. Benedict
writes that the monks are to “regard all the utensils of the monastery and its whole
property as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar.” A simple life-
The Rule calls monastics to a “school of the Lord’s service” that offers formation of body, mind and spirit. They are to find a balance between work and prayer. Whether engaging in private prayer, chanting the Divine Liturgy of the Hours in common, or spending time in contemplative prayer, St. Benedict refers to all prayer as the work of God. Any form of extremism is considered a vice and thus a danger to the soul. In this age of fanaticism, moderation in all things is a wise counsel to follow.
For centuries, monasteries for men have had monks who are either ordained priests
or deacons, and monks who are not ordained, who are called brothers. Up until Vatican
II, the ordained monks and the non-
During the past twenty years, several monasteries have offered their facilities for
ecumenical dialogue. One success story is that of the Upper Room Academy, which was
started by a member of the United Methodist Church. The Academy is open to members
of all Christian faiths, is deeply Benedictine-
Soon after his election, Pope Benedict XVI said that promoting unity in the church and having dialogue with the world were high priorities of his papal ministry. In early May, the Pope made it clear that those goals do not mean toning down the Church’s doctrinal teaching.
Pope John XXIII asked the Benedictines in the early 1960s to establish missions in Latin America. Several monasteries sent members to Latin American countries to set up religious houses and Catholic schools. Assumption Abbey in Richardton, ND, set up a monastery and two schools on the outskirts of Bogotá, Colombia. With the influx of millions of Latinos from the Latin American countries to the United States in recent years, perhaps the Benedictines are able to minister to the Latinos out of this Latin American experience.
Father Philip Vanderlin, O.S.B., the former prior of the Tibatí Monastery in Bogotá writes about his experience:
“As an American Benedictine monk involved in the Christian formation of the youth of Colombia for almost 38 years, I think that our principal monastic values of listening, humility and hospitality have proven helpful and hopeful in bringing about an encounter of the Gospel with the youth of our two schools. What inculturation is really about is people of different cultures helping each other grow and enriching their lives with a language and values compatible with the Gospel. I think a Christian ministry to any culture requires two important and indispensable ingredients: a sense of reconciliation and a sense of humor.”
Benedictines are the first to admit they aren’t perfect and that the road to holiness is a lifetime journey. the Rule of Benedict is for beginners on this road to holiness, and for monastics this life is best lived within a community setting. We entrust ourselves into the hands of a merciful and compassionate God who alone is the source of our hope for reconciliation and healing.
