Identity with Christ

Modeling Our Lives on RB 72

by: Armand Veilleux, ocso

Chapter 72 of the Rule ends with this beautiful sentence : « Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life ».Those are most probably the last words of the Rule written by Benedict, since, as you know, chapter 73, which is the last chapter in the present form of the Rule was written before, and concluded the Rule, after chapter 66,Later on Benedict added the chapters 67 to 72, (We will return to those chapters on Monday)

INFORMACIÓN SOBRE EL DIALOGO MONÁSTICO INTERRELIGIOSO

El Consejo del Abad General me ha pedido dar a los Capítulos Generales una breve información sobre el Diálogo Monastico Interreligioso.

Creo que todos estáis al corriente de que existe un organismo de las Ordenes benedictinas y cistercienses, que se llama el D.I.M., (en inglés M.I.D.), y que tiene por finalidad promover en el seno de nuestras comunidades monásticas una toma de conciencia de la importancia del diálogo entre el cristianismo y las otras grandes tradiciones religiosas de la humanidad. Posiblemente no está de más recordar en pocas palabras el origen de este organismo.

Comme toute forme de vie humaine et chrétienne la vie du moine est constituée de nombreux éléments.Si l’on voulait trouver un terme qui souligne bien l’unité entre ces divers éléments, le mot communion serait sans doute le meilleur choix.

Le moine s’efforce de vivre en communion avec Dieu, avec un groupe de frères qui forment avec lui une communauté, avec son Église locale et l’Église universelle, avec les hommes et les femmes de son entourage comme avec l’ensemble de la société, tout aussi bien qu’avec tout le cosmos.

Reshaping Monastic Life

Some years ago, I used to give lectures at Sant’Anselmo in Rome on monastic formation.At some point I tried to find out what early monks and the great monastic figures of the Middle Ages said or wrote about that subject and I discovered almost nothing written about monastic formation either in early monasticism or in the Middle Ages.Then I realized that the idea that we could form someone to live monastic life is a completely modern idea that would never have come to the mind of early monks.They did not think that one could be formed to monastic life.On the contrary they considered that one should be formed by monastic life.The goal of a monk, as of every human being, is to be gradually formed or trans-formed into the likeness of Christ.And monastic life is a means – or a set of means -- to arrive at that goal.