Volume 31, Nr. 3, October 2001 Richardton, ND 58652
Three new contemporary spirituality items are available from Benetvision: In Search of Soul, a 2002 wall calendar; Growing into Life: a 32-page reflection booklet on meaning and time; and I Believe in God, a unique five-panel full-color prayer card with thoughts on the Apostles' Creed. All feature the writings of Sister Joan Chittister and the photography of the Benedictine sisters of Erie. A special package assortment is available for Christmas gifts. On the web, see <www.eriebenedictines.org> and click on Benetvision.
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Brother Paul Quenon, a monk from the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky, brought to the attention of a literary press the lack of a literary journal or magazine for monastics. He noted the many fine opportunities monks and nuns have to publish academic work, but sees a need for a more artistically creative forum. That publisher, Fons Vitae, has been publishing works of the world's religions for three years, with the owner Gray Henry publishing in England with the Islamic Texts Society since 1979. For the most part, their books and videos are scholarly and traditional, but they are branching out more into works which are spiritually effective, and hope that the anthology envisioned by Brother Paul, Monkscript, will serve as not only a creative outlet but also as spiritual inspiration for its readers and writers. The journal is now seeking contributions of work.
Monkscript: A Folio of Literature, Art and Spirituality is seeking poems, fiction, essays, art, retreat journals, meditations and interviews. Monkscript invites writings that spring from the ambiance of monasticism, eastern or western, writings by those who live either inside or outside of monasteries, writings by anyone whose art breathes the atmosphere and spirit of monasticism of whatever kind.
Send mailings to:
Bernadette Dieker, Editor, Monkscript,
49 Mockingbird Valley Drive
Louisville, KY 40207,
Tel/Fax: 502-897-3641/893-7373
Email: <monkscript@ aol.com>.
Editors are: poetry editor - Frederick Smock, essay editor - Jonathan Montaldo, monastic editor - Brother Paul Quenon, associate editors - Gray Henry, Bob Hill, Nana Lampton, Diane Aprile. Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Mission Statement: Monkscript is a format for creative writing of a high literary standard. It specializes in writings by authors inspired by monasteries, monastic life, and any contemplative style of living. Monkscript includes art and spirituality, as reflective of monastic life as well as contemplative living, as major fields of interest.
(The following is a report on the ITMS meeting which was written by Wayne Burns, a Baptist minister in Phenix Valley, AL. He first shared it with friends through the Internet and now offers it to our readers.)
This July I was able to attend the International Thomas Merton Society meeting (ITMS) at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. The ITMS meets every two years and this was the seventh meeting. Bellarmine University was a beautiful setting for this meeting. The place meant much to Thomas Merton and now the Thomas Merton Center is located there.
It would be impossible to give a review of the meeting session by session. There were many conferences to attend. The negative of this was that when the concurrent sessions were held you could only attend one of the four or five offered. It was hard to chose. Some of the topics were: Merton: Death and Rebirth, Merton and the East: Learning from the Unexpected: What the Merton/M Relationship Can Teach Us, Merton and Poetry, Merton and Civil Rights, and many more.
There were so many outstanding leaders and speakers, including Paul Quenon, Arthur Biddle, Patrick O'Connell, Walt Chura, Lawrence Cunningham, the abbot of Gethsemani, and many others. It seemed that one of the most popular speakers was Will Campbell, a Baptist minister and friend of Thomas Merton. He spoke of the many personal visits and encounters he had with Thomas Merton. His topic was "Thomas Merton: Southern Churchman."
Will Campbell is 79 years old. He was very humorous about many of his visits with Merton. He told some great stories of visits with Merton at the hermitage. I think Merton would have been more than pleased to be spoken of so highly by a Baptist minister who was his friend. Campbell kept us laughing and crying at the end. He said that he told Merton that he gave a whole new meaning to the vow of silence, as there was little silence when they got together, and of solitude since Merton had so much company. It seems that it is always so interesting to hear someone who knew Merton personally. Since Merton died in 1968, there are not many left that had personal visits with Merton.
One of the great joys of the meeting is the great fellowship around the tables. You get to meet so many wonderful people from so many different places. About 20% of those attending were from outside the United States. It was a joy to share time with people from Holland, Canada, and elsewhere. In addition, there were a number of young adults and students there as Daggy Scholars.
To keep this from going on too long let me tell you about the trip to The Abbey of Gethsemani on Saturday. It took eight buses to get all of us (about 400) to the abbey. It was the first trip to the abbey for many. Gethsemani was the home of Merton for twenty-seven years and he is buried on the grounds of the abbey. His hermitage is not far from the abbey so most of the attendees walked to see it. We were able to be in the abbey church for greetings from the abbot and a talk by Cunningham, a response from former abbot Flavian Burns (Merton's last abbot), and to be a part of Sext with the monks. Also, a number of the monks shared with us during the visit. It was a joy to visit with them (especially with Fr. Carlos and Brother Patrick Hart and others). The abbey is a wonderful place to experience love, silence, solitude, acceptance, and the Spirit of God. What a great day.
Thomas Merton is a spiritual giant because of his many works on spirituality. He is also a giant because he was ever on a journey to know and understand God, himself, and others. It was because of Merton's walk with Christ that he left us so much to think about and to share with one another. It is amazing how many lives he has touched and will touch. It was a joy to share about spirituality and Thomas Merton with so many people in just a few days.
This summary does not do justice to the meeting, but it gives some idea of what happened for me and those in attendance. It was life changing for some, and life challenging for all. It was a 4th and Walnut experience. Thanks be to God for those special days.
(This second perspective is that of Kristen Wisniewski,of Bernardsville, NJ, an oblate candidate of Newark Abbey, who attended the meeting as a Daggy Youth Scholar.)
I was very fortunate to have been awarded a Daggy Youth Scholarship to the ITMS meeting, which paid my cost for the conference, except travel. I really didn't know what to expect from this four-day event, but was very excited to get there. I only "knew" one other person who was going to be attending the conference, Wayne, a Baptist minister from Alabama with whom I had corresponded over the Internet. I figured I would find him, but didn't know how. When the cab pulled up on campus to drop me off at the registration area, there was one person standing outside of the building of a conference which had 400+ participants. I got out of the cab and looked at his name tag. It was Wayne! Right away I got the feeling this was going to be a great experience!
It was wonderful to see so many other people who are as interested in Merton as I am. I attended talks on Merton and technology, Merton and inter-religious dialogue, Merton and Rabbi Heschel, Merton and the East, Merton and civil rights, as well as many others. It was three and a half days of pure knowledge overflow.
On Saturday there was a little break from the academics, a trip to Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey, where Merton spent the 27 years of his monastic life. We arrived at Gethsemani just in time to join the monks in prayer. It was a wonderful treat to be in this place and be able to share this with Merton's Trappist brothers. After a short talk, and a few words by Fr. Flavian Burns, we were let loose on the monastery. We were pointed toward the monastic cemetery and the long dusty road that led up to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Merton's hermitage). A couple of us started up the road and after about a mile, I was staring straight up the hill at that very familiar sight. I had seen it a million times before in pictures, but now I was actually here. It was simple and plain, but it was simply breathtaking. I had to stop and just stare for a few moments. Finally I went up and entered the door that is marked by a simple "Shalom." I walked around the entire hermitage in a matter of three or four minutes. It was, again, exactly as I had seen it in pictures from 30 years ago. As I looked around the small simple living space, all I could think about was the amount of "stuff" that I have at my apartment, and why did I need it all?
I left the hermitage and walked back down the road toward the monastery. The sky was the most beautiful of all blues, and the abbey looked absolutely alive. I stopped and took a panoramic picture of it. On the way out, I stopped at the monastic cemetery and found the row where Merton is buried. I looked at his white iron cross grave marker, exactly the same as every other monk in the cemetery. I knelt to take a picture and ended up staying on my knees. I focused on the words "Fr. Louis Merton, Died Dec. 10, 1968."
I was filled with an overwhelming sense of his presence. It was a religious epiphany for me. Any doubts I had about God, heaven, the soul, at that time were put to rest. I had never had that kind of experience in my life and it was truly amazing! For the rest of that day, and any time I return to that experience now, I get a profound sense of peace because I know that I have friends in "high" places!
Looking back on my four days, I have to say it was the most incredible, life changing experience I have ever had! This would have to take into account the people that I met, such as Br. Patrick Hart, Tommie O'Callaghan, Wayne, other Daggy Scholars, and the scores of other Mertonians, discussions I had, sleep I lost (totally worth it!), information I gained, and the incredible flood of emotion that I felt. I am sure it is an experience that I will not soon forget!
The little collections of sayings which the medievals called florilegia continue to play a useful role in the world. Whether one is looking for a good quote for a speech or homily, or seeking a bit of lectio material for personal reflection, such anthologies often fill the bill. In the School of Love: An Anthology of Early Cistercian Texts was recently compiled by Sister Edith Scholl, OCSO (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 2000, 174 pp., ISBN 0-87907-564-3).
The book consists of single paragraphs or short excerpts from the writings of the great medieval Cistercians who wrote so personally and passionately about the love of God. Their reflections are intimate, reflecting the search for God and especially the many facets of the love of God. Included are the thoughts of Aelred, Bernard, Gertrude, Beatrice of Nazareth, Guerric, John and Baldwin of Forde, Isaac of Stella, Gilbert of Hoyland, and William of St. Thierry. At the end of each chapter, the editor includes both the sources and the scriptural references, and there is also a short biography and a bibliography to guide the reader to further exploration of the writings of these spiritual masters.
Such a work as this one is an ideal example of the art of lectio. Every word in it is clearly the fruit of the loving interaction of these early Cistercians with the Word of God. Their words continue to invite others to love the Word as they did. Moreover, their own words can now provide a wealth of meditative material for the reflection of others who want to go more deeply into what chapter titles within the book call "the Mystery of God" and "the Blessedness of Love."
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Those who are familiar with the Rule of St. Benedict are well aware that he owes much to St. Basil. Indeed, in the last chapter of his rule, he instructs his followers to turn to Basil as one of those texts which will lead the fervent to greater observance. Augustine Holmes, OSB, has given aid to this quest by his new work, A Life Pleasing to God: The Spirituality of the Rules of St. Basil (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 2000, 282 pp., ISBN 0-87907-689-5).
As the author notes, there is an unfortunate lack of critical English editions or commentaries on the Longer Rules, the seminal monastic text by Basil. He modestly asserts that he has made a start and the assertion is quite true. Dom Augustine has taken major portions of the Rules and provided translations of them gathered according to themes. Thus, not all chapters are here nor are they in order, but it does allow the author to give commentary which provides both historical and spiritual background which is very helpful. In an easily understood manner, he brings to the non-academic reader a taste of the theology and philosophy which were at work in Basil's time. He elucidates details of early monastic practice and fleshes out what Basil has to say about topics from the ascetical life to food and laughter.
This book will be a good introduction for many to the monasticism of Basil. It should be of special interest to those working with initial formation or others engaging in comparative study of Benedict and his sources.
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The Forgotten Desert Mothers: the Sayings, Lives and Stories of Early Christian Women by Sister Laura Swan, OSB (New York: Paulist Press, 2001, 218 pp., $13.95, ISBN 0-8091-4016-0) is just what its name promises. In it, Sister Laura gathers stories from all kinds of early Christian sources about ascetical life. She draws on biographies, histories and apothegmata to introduce a broad array of fascinating figures. For the sayings, she offers commentaries regarding the wisdom's application to contemporary life. In other sections, she gives short sketches of some obscure figures from varied literary sources. She also tackles the concept of deaconesses and what can be known about them from primary sources. Time lines, bibliography and even a feast day calendar also enhance this fine resource.
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