“At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.” (Lk 10:1)
Today’s gospel focuses our attention on mission. We may ask ourselves: what is our mission? What does Jesus send us to do? Dom Bernardus, when speaking of the quality of monastic life in our communities, made specific reference to the Declaration on the Cistercian Life produced by the General Chapter of 1969. I think it is worth hearing this seminal document again:
“Following the first Fathers of our Order we find in the Holy Rule of St Benedict the practical interpretation of the Gospel for ourselves. A sense of the Divine Transcendence and of the Lordship of Christ not only pervades the whole of this Rule but also permeates our life, totally orientated towards an experience of the Living God.
God calls and we respond by truly seeking Him as we follow Christ in humility and obedience. With hearts cleansed by the Word of God, by vigils, by fasting and by an unceasing conversion of life, we aim to become ever more disposed to receive from the Holy Spirit the gift of pure and continual prayer.
This search for God is the soul of our monastic day, a day composed of the Opus Dei, Lectio divina and manual work. Our Cistercian life is basically simple and austere. It is truly poor and penitential 'in the joy of. the Holy Spirit.' Through the warmth of their welcome and hospitality our communities share the fruit of their contemplation and their work with others.
We carry out this search for God under a Rule and an Abbot in a community of love where all are responsible. It is through stability that we commit ourselves to this community. It lives in an atmosphere of silence and separation from the world, and fosters and expresses its openness to God in contemplation ... treasuring, as Mary did, 'all these things, pondering them in her heart.'
The Church has entrusted a mission to us which we wish to fulfil by the response of our whole life . . . 'To give clear witness to that heavenly home for which every man longs, and to keep alive in the heart of the human family the desire for this home ... as we bear witness to the majesty and love of God and to the brotherhood of all men in Christ.'”
(Cf Letter of Pope PAUL VI to the Abbot General, Dec 8/68; GS 3 8, AG 40)
March, 1969
Re-reading this description of our way of life makes clear that it lies behind the more developed expression in our 1990 Constitutions. There are several themes that we could draw out, but the one that first attracts my attention is the repeated emphasis on the encounter with God in prayer.
The Rule as the practical interpretation of the gospel for us, specifies our mission: to be totally orientated towards an experience of the Living God.
With hearts cleansed by the Word of God, by vigils, by fasting and by an unceasing conversion of life, we aim to become ever more disposed to receive from the Holy Spirit the gift of pure and continual prayer.
This search for God is the soul of our monastic day, a day composed of the Opus Dei, Lectio divina and manual work…. It fosters and expresses its openness to God in contemplation ... treasuring, as Mary did, 'all these things, pondering them in her heart.'
The Church has entrusted a mission to us which we wish to fulfil by the response of our whole life. Like the seventy-two sent forth in today’s gospel, we are called to bring Christ’s presence everywhere. To follow Christ, we must hear his voice. To bring Christ to others, into the world, we must seek and find him in ourselves. And yet it is perhaps more a matter of being found by him who seeks us. The Declaration emphasizes receptivity: orientated towards an experience of the Living God; disposed to receive the gift of prayer; openness to God in contemplation. It is not so much a matter of control as of availability. Availability to the intimate encounter with God.
I would like to reflect with you on intimacy with God in four modes. Beatrice of Nazareth wrote of Seven Modes of Love. John Cassian says that there are as many kinds of prayer as there are persons, multiplied by the number of situations in which we find ourselves. I do not presume that my experience is the same as yours. But I do believe our paths must overlap. My modest aim is to help us recognize and name the moments of our visitation, so as to better accept and live out our mission.
A first mode
Once in a while, we experience moments in which God touches us interiorly in a way that is intense, palpable, and climactic. As with intimacy in marriage, it has the dual effect of bonding and fruitfulness. St Bernard reminds us that these moments are brief and rare, but they are unforgettable, and they have the effect of binding us to the Lord. Our relationship with him will never be the same again, even though the particular experience may not be repeated. The experience of being so loved and giving our love in return is fruitful in that it opens up our capacity to love and our confidence in that capacity in every sphere of life.
A second mode
The next mode of intimacy I want to place before you is long-suffering, agonized and resilient. It is brought about through physical pain, suffering, whether our own or another’s, distance or loss, misunderstanding, injustice, confusion or temptation. This is demanding, calling forth self-abnegation; it is purifying and very strong. No-one wants this kind of intimacy, and it can be hard to recognize it as such at the time. And yet we may look back with longing at the intensity of prayer that died down with the return of good times. Something was changed in us when the Crucified drew near.
A third mode
Sometimes our encounter with God has a more playful character, unexpectedly delicate and delightful, even fun, making us laugh. Not long ago, an analogy came to me in the form of a memory of my parents. Picture the scene: my mother is washing dishes at the sink; I am reading a book at the kitchen table. In comes my father, stealthily creeping up behind my mother to surprise her by blowing on the back of her neck, sticking his tongue in her ear, or tickling her. Minding my own business in the corner, I hear name-calling, slapping, giggling, and the splashing of water. Like the relationship between the protagonists of the Song of Songs, there is something distinctly egalitarian about this mode of intimacy, strange as this may sound in reference to a human being and God.
A fourth mode
Another mode of intimacy is found in the simplicity and ordinariness of the daily. Very recently, an example came to me, this time from my grandparents. They were in the habit of sitting together in the living room, each in their own armchair, each working on their own crossword puzzle. My grandfather did the cryptic one, and my grandmother the quick one. Periodically, one would ask the other for help with a clue. At some point my gran would ask if he fancied a cup of tea. “Yes please, dear” would be the reply. This way of living together is more platonic, you might say, constant, undramatic and undemanding, but expressive of profound honor and devotion.
We cannot choose which mode we are in. We cannot control the relationship into which we have entered. But we can learn to appreciate each encounter for what it is. Seeing our mission as opening ourselves to intimacy, whether in silent prayer, the Divine Office, lectio, reading, or work, does not imply cold-blooded pursuit of duty, or self-indulgent malingering. It is a way to give joy to God. I have found this thought so helpful when prayer feels difficult. Instead of shaking our fist at his perceived absence, or slapping ourselves with blame for our negligence, why not consider mutual presence as something to be cultivated, gradually, without anxiety or compulsion. For me, the most necessary mode of intimacy to name and befriend is the living of the ordinary with contentment.
The Church has entrusted a mission to us which we wish to fulfil by the response of our whole life. Like the seventy-two sent forth in today’s gospel, we are called to bring Christ’s presence everywhere. To follow Christ, we must hear his voice. To bring Christ to others, into the world, we must seek and find him in ourselves. May we learn to recognize and name the moments of our visitation, so as to better accept and live out our mission.