The Ideal of the Monastic Life found in the Apostolic Age

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IHAVEbeenaskedbytheAbbotofMaredsous to prepare this translation of Dom Germain Morin's work for the press, and to write a few words of introduction. I cannot refuse one to whom I owe so much, but it is obviously quite unnecessary, if not impertinent, for me to say anything in commendation of either the author or his book. Dom Morin has a European reputation as a savant, and the University of Oxford has honoured not so much him as itself in giving him a Doctor's degree honoris causa. His discoveries in the field of patristic study, his illuminating treatment, to take only one example, of the problem of the authorship of the Quicunque vult, his enormous labours in preparing a complete and final edition of theworks of St. Coesarius of Arles, his brilliant studies on the most difficult questions of liturgical research, have indeed made his name famous in the annals of erudition. The French edition of this work was published anony- mously, but the present writer has been fortu- nate enough to succeed in persuading the learned author to allow his name to appear in this translation. TothosewhodonotknowDomMorin,save as a savant, these simple pages may come as a revelation. For here we find no parade of erudition, no affectation of research. We have the humble and devout monk speaking simply and earnestly, to his brethren in the cloister, of the eternal truths and of those special obligations which the monastic life imposes. The whole work breathes the simple piety of the ages of faith, and is impregnated with that peace of heart and liberty of spirit which are characteristic of the true son of St. Benedict. Yes, this is no mere collection of pious exhortations; it is a work full of solid doctrine founded on the Benedictine Rule, and on thewritings of the Saints and Fathers, by one who has drunk deeply of their spirit. If we read these pages attentively, we shall be more and more impressed by the fact that, simple as they seem, they are very far from being commonplace, but are indeed the fruit of no ordinary mind. Only one; in fact, who, like Dom Morin, was deeply versed in the annals of monastic antiquity could possibly have written them. The present writer had the happiness of being a member of the Community to whom these meditations were first addressed. It was his very first retreat as a Catholic, and he has never forgotten it. Some of the meditations, especially, perhaps, that on the Analogy between Baptism and the Monastic Ceremony of Profession, left an impression on his mind which has never been effaced. It is therefore to him a special pleasure to introduce this work to the English-speaking world. Itwillbefoundmostuseful,notmerelyto Benedictines, for whom it was first intended, not merely to religious, for whom it has so many precious lessons, but to all Christians who are inferested in those eternal verities which were at once the strength and consola- tion of our fathers -in the faith, and in those great and sacred principles which formed in the Benedictine cloister such giants of sanctity as Gregory, Anselm, and Dunstan, to whom Christendom in general and England in particular owe so enormous a debt. DOM BEDE CAMM, Monk of Downside Abbey. Feast of St. .Dunstan, April 19, 1914. PREFACE ABout twenty years ago a certain Benedictine Abbot suddenly ordered one of his monks, still young and inexperienced, to deliver before an important ccimmunity the conferences usual in the course of the annual Retreat. As this Retreat coincided with the week of Pentecost, the monk thought that he could not do better than demonstrate, from the manner of life of the primitive Christians immediately after the descent of the Spirit, the origin and model of the life that should be led by monks. So he took for his text the verses from the Acts of the Apostles ii. 37-46, not commenting upon the whole passage in order, but confining himself to the principal features which referred to his subject. The notes which he made for these con- ferences were for a long time forgotten, unless occasionally one of Ms brethren used them for giving spiritual exerciees in his turn. Certainly, if the author had followed his own feeling, they would never have been used at all. But lately he has been obliged to consent that the substance of them should be published in a little review, called the Mes- senger of Saint Benedict, and this first publica- tion, although fragmentary and mixed up here and there with sketches on different subjects, has aroused in a certain number of people a strong desire fo see the whole collected and brought out in its original form. After having resisted as long as.he possibly could, the author at last gave way, thinking that it was Ms duty to put aside Ms personal disinclination for the sake of the spiritual advantage of his neighbour, which, he was told, rightly or wrongly, was concerned in this publication. Naturally, certain details have been elimin- ated which belonged to the particular con- ditions of the audience for whom these pages were prepared. But, on the other hand, the references of most of the texts and quotations have been added in notes. Of most of them only; for there are some which come from purely oral instruction—from Dom Gueranger, for example; from Maurus Wolter, and other great monks of our time. The author has no longer within his reach the works from which he borrowed two or three other quotations with- out always noting accurately the place whence they were taken. The reader must be so good as to trust him on this point, and believe that everything that he attributes to an author is really by that author. Having made the search for and worship of the truth the prin- cipal business of his life, he would never allow himself to deceive in this matter, even with a view to edification. Neither must it be forgotten that these pages were written long ago, and many points would have required completion. Perhaps, on the other hand, certain pages would not appear, if they had been written more recently. After all, there will not be much cause to complain of that. Origen says, in his eighteenth Homily on Exodus, that the preacher of the Gospel should have that enthusiasm and youthfulness of soul attributed to Judah in the "Blessings of the Patriarchs"— Oeuli ejus rubri a vino. No coldness, no feebleness, no colourlessness'in his language; but a kind of holy inebriation, something that rejoices the friends of God and heals the wounds of the soul. Happy are they who have received this gift of spiritual youth, and the power of communi- cating it! Happy, above all, are they, and much more rare, who have known how to preserve and cherish it, even to old age. Ash Wednesday, 1912 PREFACE CONTENTS CHAPTER I VOCATION • COMPUNCTION OF HEART PAGES Compunction first sign of monastic vocation, as of the call to the dristian life—In what it consists—Obstacles to be removed that it may be preserved in us—St. Gregory's "Four Arrows of the -Spouse"—Compunction, the touchstone of monastic spirituality—Prayer for the gift of tears- - 1-15 the highest - • 16-32 CHAPTER II OBEDIENCE Instinct of obedience, first effect of compunction in the soul —The necessary disposition for religious vocation as for admission into the Church—Obedience assures unity and stability to our life — Special character of obedi- ence, as understood by St. Benedict—The Abbot's place in the monastery—How he is to be regarded—Different degrees in obedience—Certain souls called by God to CHAPTER III PENANCE. The first condition for salvation—What is meant by doing penance—Absolute ignorance of many persons on the subject of penitence—The place of this virtue in St. Benedict's Rule—That it must first of all be interior— Obedience, the monk's true cross—Exterior mortifies- tions not excluded—Importance of offering no hindrance to the action of the Holy Spirit - 33-18 CHAPTER IV BAPTISM AND PROFESSION PAGES Christian Initiation and the monastic novitiate—The four constituent elements of the baptismal ritual reproduced in that of profession: (a) Renunciation, (10 Profession of faith made by the newly professed, (c) Mystical death, (d) Emblems of the new life—Efficacyof profession for the remission of penalties due for sin—Share of the simple renewal of vows in this efficacy—St. Anselm's teaching on the dignity and merit which profession confers on our smallest actions, even in spite of some transitory weakness - 40-66 CHAPTER V THE APOSTOLIC LIFE What was understood by the "Apostolic Life" until the twelfth century—Model proposed by Benedict to his monks, how these will constitute to the end the most vigorous portion of the Church—Threefold obliga- tions resulting from this vocation: Cldse union with the Apostolic See; interest in every manifestation of Catholic life; zeal to preserve the primitive spirit of Christianity in its integrity—Chief reason for the exist- ence of a Benedictine Abbey in our day • 67-83 CHAPTER VI THE BREAKING OF BREAD Union of men with God and with one another—The twofold' end of Christian practices from the beginning—The Eucharistic union, indispensable to the life of the Church—How, as the Sacrament of Unity, it must be the crown of all religious life—This unity seen in the composition of the Assembly—In the series of liturgical lessons—The part taken by the faithful in the chant— The form of the prayers—The offerings, the Altar itself—The canon, or prayer of oblation—Ritual of the kiss of peace, of the fraction, the Communion—Zeal with which monks should study earliest forms of worship—Best manner of assisting at Mass - 84-101 CONTENTS XV CHAPTER VII LITURGICAL PRAYER PAGES Twofold kind of prayer practised by the early Christians— Is the Divine Office the especial end of the Benedictine vocation2—Why is this matter so often misunderstood.? Why the Divine Praise has so large a share in the monk's life—Youthfulness of soul and fulness of Chris- tian feeling which it implies—Reason for the compara- tive rarity of monastic vocations in our days—Minimum of musical esthetics required for the preservation of the Benedictine spirit CHAPTER VIII MONASTIC SPIRITUALITY - 102-118 Liturgical prayer must be supplemented by private devo- tion— Recipes invented by certain types of modern spirituality—Such advantages as they offer, unsuited to the normal conditions of monastic life—That we must not stand aloof from the movements of contemporary asceticism, but neither must we lose sight of the proper character of Benedictine tradition—How this tradition is distinguished from the more elaborate processes in fashion in our day—Pious reading, meditation, prayer, contemplation properly so called—The " yaudium de ventate," the monk's highest ideal - 119-133 CHAPTER IX MONASTIC POVERTY In what the life of religious approaches most nearly to primitive Christianity — Community of goods, the essential condition of all religious associations—Its pre-eminently social character is that which distin- guishes monastic poverty from the poverty of the Mendicant Orders—St. Benedict's teaching on this sub- ject in agreement with all Christian tradition — No hindrance to the absolute renunciation on the part of individuals of all spirit of ownership—Socialistic Utopia realized in the monastery—Lessons which both rich and poor may draw from monastic poverty—The "re-creation of the poor" - - 136-151 xvi CONTENTS CHAPTER X DISCRETION AND BREADTH OF VIEW }tins Whatmonasticequalityis—Generaltendencyinourtimeto universal levelling—The exact opposite of the discretion spokenofbyStBenedict—Thisdiscretionistrulythe "motherofvirtues,"thequalitieswhichitrequires— The infinite diversity of the works of God in nature and grace—How to imitate the breadth of the Holy Spirit in our relations with souls—How the knowledge of the past enlarges the mind—All exclusiveness to be •avoided—Boundless and delicate compassion towards all —The Benedictine Rule, in this above all, an epitome of the Gospel - • - 162-166 CHAPTER XI JOY What joy is—Why it cannot be ordered—Required, never- theless, by our vocation—Has always been the heritage of great monks—How to develop joy within us—Joyous atmosphere of Christian centuries—Causes of the lessen- ing of joy in our time—Joy, a powerful element of sanc- tification — Importance attributed to it by the great monastic leaders of the nineteenth century—Family life, source of monastic joy—Certain souls who have the"face oflove"—The Joyof Heaven must bepre- pared for in this life - - 167-183 CHAPTER XII SIMPLICITY Joy and simplicity, natural companions—Simplicity dwells in the intention—May be summed up in this word: " To seek God"—Why the world understands nothing of simplicity—The spirit of faith the foundation of monastic simplicity—Obedience, the practical applica- tion of this simplicity—How to exercise simplicity towards our brothers: to fly suspicions, not to dwell upon little faults—To be natural and sincere in our marks of respect and affection—To avoid even the least appearance of adulation—Frankness and courtesy, the device of the monk—Simplicity in regard to ourselves —Simplicity, hereditary virtue of Benedictines, peculiar attribute of the Blessed 7 - 184-200