Fr. Agie and Fr. Gerard arrived from Indonesia today. Actually, Fr. Gerard was in Rome from the month of March till the end of June for a Monastic Formators Program of the Benedictine & Cistercian Order, then winds his way to Indonesia to attend another Formators Program for the ASPAC-REGION (Asia Pacific Region) of our own Order for a week long.
The aims of the Program that Fr. Gerard attended in Rome were threefolds:
"« Academic: to provide a deepened knowledge and appreciation of the monastic tradition and its values and its values. Emphasis on looking at the great texts of the monastic tradition as a tool in formation.
"« Pedagogical: to give an emphasis to how we communicate this tradition in our communities and encourage a love and enthusiasm for the monastic life.
"« Pastoral: to deal with such questions as human development, discernment and spiritual growth.
The Program takes the following structures to achieve these aims:
Lectures covering a wide range of topics related to the monastic tradition and formation today.
Personal work and individual contributions will be an important element in the Program so that the tradition will be read in the light of participant's own monastic experience.
Group reflection and discussion to encourage the sharing of experience, insight and expertise.
Excursions and visits to monastic, historical and artistic sites will enrich the Program
Community living with those from different countries and cultural backgrounds, with a regular framework of prayer.
The resource persons were from both the Benedictine and Cistercian communities whose wide range of experience and wisdom springing forth from living out the monastic life undoubtedly made the Program a worthwhile experience for Fr. Gerard and his companions. This is a program in which participants meet as monastic men and women from all over the world and have the experience of being instructed by some important monastic teachers of our time from Rome and the wider monastic family. This course is designed to meet the needs of those called upon to work in the field of monastic formation. Fr. Gerard was not the only Filipino in that program. He said that there were other three. They seemed to enjoyed together. Those were the days when lots of things were going on in Rome: the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict VI. Fr. Gerard was so overwhelmed by those events and by those thousands and thousands of people like a sea of humanity that he could say that he is really part of the shaping of the history of the Church. From June 21-28, Frs. Gerard and Agie, in their capacities as Novice and Junior masters, respectively, attended the ASPAC-Oriens English speaking sub-regional meeting of formators at our Trappistine Sisters Abbey of Gedono in Indonesia. The other participants came from Australia, Hongkong, India, New Zealand, Taiwan, China, and of course Indonesia. This was the first meeting of sub-regions for the formators, as there are always difficulties in the area of translation. The Japanese sub region had held its meeting earlier in the year.
The purpose of these meetings is to share experiences in the area of initial and even continuing formation, handling problematic and difficult cases, and above all doing everything in a charitable and loving way. As resource person they had Dom Bernardo Bonowitz, prior of the Monastery of Novo Mundo in Brazil. Dom Bernardo's long experience as novice master in Spencer, MA was a treasure-trove from which he drew, and all the participants found the sessions very fruitful and insightful.
The conferences and small group discussions were very animated and marked with openness. The influence and effect of family and culture were not forgotten, and interestingly every house was trying its best to meld Cistercian monasticism and the local culture. They had a break on the Feast of St. John the Baptist, on which day the monks and nuns visited and celebrated Mass with their brothers in the Abbey of Rawaseneng. Then they visited Java's revered Marian Shrine of Sendang Sono where the first 77 Indonesians were baptized into the Catholic faith in 1904.
Feast of St. Benedict, Solemn Profession of Sr. Candelaria.
There's an anecdote about St. Benedict which is not so well known in the monastic world: One day while journeying on horseback, St, Benedict met a farmer walking along. "You've got an easy job", said the farmer. Why don't I become a man of prayer? Then, I, too, would be traveling on horseback. "You think prayer is easy", replied St. Benedict. If you can say one Our Father without any distraction, you can have this horse." It's a bargain", said the surprised farmer. So, closing his eyes and folding his hands, he began to say the Our Father aloud: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come Suddenly he stopped and looked up, Shall I get the saddle and bridle, too? (Bruno Hagspiel)
Today, the whole monastic world that follows the Rule of St. Benedict has this singular joy to celebrate this feast. On a special feast like today, I believe it would be helpful to know that the very first sentence of the Constitutions of our Order read: The O.C.S.O. has its origin in the monastic tradition of evangelical life that found expression in the Rule for monasteries of St. Benedict of Nursia; and in Constitution 2 it says, "The monks dedicate their lives to the worship of God in a hidden life within the monastery under the Rule of St. Benedict."
Our abbot General, Dom Bernardo Olivera, when addressing the Synod of Bishops on the Religious life some years ago, expressed very succinctly & beautifully who we are as monks of the Benedictine tradition when he said: "The monk is a Christian who consecrate his entire life to the search for the encounter with God." This is something that the monk has in common with all other Christians. He is not the only one who seeks God & he does not claim to do it better than others. However, the monk knows tat he is called to make this an absolute in his life. He does not seek anything else but God nor anything more than God & does not go from God to something else. I believe that for the monk this is the wisdom, understanding, & knowledge that urges us to move on knowing all the time that our calling, seeking, & encounter with God remains always a gift from Him. From the time we enter the threshold of the monastery, the Holy Rule lays claim to who we are, in our personhood, freeing us from ourselves & pouring us into the common life. And little by little we grasp that our life is not being built in sand, but in the very One we are seeking: God & His kingdom, for nothing is more delightful for us than the voice of the Lord who shows us the way of true life. The perfection we are to strive is charity (here we are all learners); the way is self-denial pursuing what is better for the other rather than ourselves; all should try to be the first to show respect to one another & show pure love for one another; the strength is the gift of forgiveness offered & received; the fruits of these are Peace, joy, kindness, etc. This is the wisdom of St. Benedict; this is his gift to us in his Holy Rule. And he himself said: "Prefer nothing to the love of Christ."
Sr. Candy is now the sixth Filipina solemn professed of our Trappistine sisters in Mt. Matutum. Just within 10 months they have 4 solemn professions which is a very remarkable in a contemplative cloistered community. In this sense, they are practicing family planting instead of family planning. It is interesting to note that 4 out of these 6 Filipina professed sisters are Ilongga speaking and 3 are from Iloilo and had visited our monastery here in Guimaras before they entered the monastic life in Our Lady of Mt. Matutum. The fertility of the soil of Mt. Matutum is also a beautiful image of the fertility of vocations Our Lady of Mt. Matutum. It enhances the feminine vitality of the Contemplative life in which these chosen souls sing forever their fiat with the Queen of heaven. Sr. Candelaria herself is from Jaro, Iloilo the religious center of the Panay island. It is so touching to see the tears of joy of her blood sisters during the kiss of peace when Sr. Candy gave them a hug. It was like a martyrdom for them, a witness of God's love working in their hearts. They shed not their blood but their tears, for tear is the blood of the soul. It was a precious offering. Of course, there was a festive meal prepared by the sisters themselves. It was the extension of the Eucharist.
At a distance from the monastery I could not help but be fascinated by the simple majesty of the 2,700 ft high Mt. Matutum which appeared in all its glory on a bright sunny day with the limpid blue sky, so I run to my room to get a camera to capture its beauty before a roaming cloud would attempt to cover its crown. This is dormant volcano. As the nuns were coming from Italy in the early 90's, it would be easy to speculate that the superstitious native people might blame the sisters if Mt. Matutum will erupt or manifest a sign of being active as if their presence would be bad luck to the local community. But so far, 10 years had past since they set foot on this lovely place, Mt. Matutum remains gentle & calm and modestly proud that the sister took her as the name of their monastery under the auspices of the Queen of Heaven. Thus their presence not only brings good tidings to the local community but also bear clear witness to that heavenly home which every human being longs as they enkindle in the heart of every person who come to their place the desire for this home.
God bless you all.
In Christ and Mary,
Fr. Alberic and the monks of OLP
