Bryan Sherwood

Manual Labor - It's Good for the Soul

Heather and I just finished working in our yard.  I mowed and spent some time weeding.  Heather spent all of her time weeding.  Although the yard is far from perfect, it does look quite a bit better.  While I was bent over, pulling weeds, a passage from the Rule of St. Benedict came to mind.

(1) Idleness is the enemy of the soul.  Therefore, the brothers should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for prayerful reading.  . . . (8) When they live by the labor of their hands, as our fathers and the apostles did, then they are really monks.  (9) Yet, all things are to be done with moderation on account of the fainthearted.

How true that is.  I work pretty hard at my job, Monday through Friday.  There have been days over the last year that were absolutely exhausting for me.  I was emotionally and mentally drained, for sure.  However, that work is nothing like manual labor.  There's something about manual labor that allows the mind to rest.  It quiets me.  I get rid of some of the frustration of the day as I weed or mow or prune.  Although St. Benedict didn't have to deal with the computer age and all the good and bad that brings, he did know this truth:  manual labor is good for the soul.  He states it pretty strongly:  "When they live by the labor of their hands, as our fathers and the apostles did, then they are really monks."  (emphasis mine)

Amen.

The World Is Their Cloister

Heather and I drove down to the Abbey of Gethsemani yesterday for my monthly LCG Meeting. It was fun having her along. I did all the usual stuff: attended our LCG group meeting, went to Mass and stayed for a potluck meal. Fr. Michael passed along a great little article to us called The World Is Their Cloister which was published in The Tablet. The article talks about the increasing numbers of lay people who are interested in connecting to monastic life. I'm not exactly surprised by that--people are looking for deep, time-tested ways of being formed and find a lot of good wisdom in the monastic tradition.

I hope monasteries like Gethsemani will continue to add new vocations. Yet, it's hard to ignore the exponential growth of lay groups like the LCG. I believe the Holy Spirit is spreading the charism of monastic life around. It'll be interesting to see how monastic life changes over the next several decades.

Pax.

On Prayer

I've been reading Joyce Chittister's book, The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages. In it, she shares a story from the Sayings of the Desert Monastics that I like. I thought it worth posting here.

Once upon a time the disciples asked Abba Agathoon, "Among all good works, which is the virtue that requires the greatest effort?" Abba Agaton answered, "I think there is no labor greater than that of prayer to God. For every time we want to pray, our enemies, the demons, want to prevent us, for they know that it is only by turning us from prayer that they can hinder our journey. Whatever good work a person undertakes, if they persevere in it, they will attain rest. But prayer is warfare to the last breath."

Final Thoughts

It's Sunday, the last day of my retreat at St. Meinrad's.  It's been a really good experience.  There are a few things that strike me about St. Meinrad's.  First, the number of young monks.  Unfortunately, that's something you just don't see much of at Gethsemani at this point in time.  Yet, there's a good percentage of the monk population here in their 20's, 30's and 40's.  It certainly gives the monastery a certain energy that it wouldn't have if all the monks were elderly.

I also experienced a part of the Rule of Saint Benedict that I'd never actually seen put into practice.  On two different occasions, as the choir monks were leaving after prayer, a monk knelt before the community as they filed past him.  I realized right away that he had probably committed some kind of offense.  Benedict talks about this and I found out from Br. Terrence that this is called "doing culpa" (culpa means "fault.")   Br. Terrence told me that one of the monks had intoned a hymn too low and evidently felt as though he should do culpa because of it.  So, that was interesting.  It also intrigues me that I've never seen that practiced that way at Gethsemani.  I wonder why?

One last comment before I run off to Lauds.  This monastery understands hospitality.  The monks are very open and willing to interact with visitors.  My favorite part is the monk who is assigned to assist guests during the divine office.  He passes out the bookletts for each of the hours of prayer.  If for some reason, you need to pick up another book to sing a Psalm or hymn, he walks around holding a card with the appropriate hymn number or page number written on it.  He answers any questions you may have (like why is that monk kneeling?).  What I like best about their hospitality is the feeling they want you to participate with them.  That kind of Benedictine hospitality is a lesson we can all probably learn.

That's it for now.  I do miss all you people back home and can't wait to see you.  Pax.

Questions on Monastic Life

I come to monasteries like Saint Meinrad's and I can't help but feel drawn here.  The Spirit seems to call out to me about monastic life.  I'm sure I'm quite the mystery to many people.  They ask questions like "Why do you go to the monastery so often?"  "What do you do there?"  Some seem interested in my responses while others just think I'm strange.

Why do I come to the monastery?  That is actually a very good question to wrestle with.  As I said before, this life, this ancient way of being Christian speaks to me deeply.  Yet, I'm not going to be a Benedictine or Cistercian "monk"--at least not in the common way that's understood today.  After all, I'm happily married with a secular job, a house and a mortgage to pay.  I don't think the Cistercians are going to let me put on a habit and start living with them.  So, where does that leave me and others who ask similar questions?

It seems to me that the understanding of monastic life must broaden.  The current definitions of monastic life are too small and narrow.  The Holy Spirit is calling many like myself to this way of living.  You can certainly see it in the Cistercian tradition.  Lay Associate programs have popped up near Cistercian monasteries all over the US and all over the world.  For many years, they weren't aware of each other.  Like me, they too have this yearning for monastic life.

Like the monks at Gethsemani, I've adopted a Rule of Life for myself that helps me structure my daily life, in the spirit of Saint Benedict.  I too live in community with others:  my family, my wife, those in my work place and those in my parish.  I too value the hours of prayer and the Work of God.  Like any good monk, I'm doing my best to love others.  Each day I'm learning to love God and my neighbor.  I've entered into a way of life that is transforming and has been lived out by generations of Christians before me.

Why do I come to the monastery?  Because I've been called there and it's a calling that I can't ignore. 

Peace.

First Impressions

My first few hours at St. Meinrad's have been very different from what I'm accustomed to as a retreatant at Gethsemani.  First, let me say Benedictines eat better or at the very least, their guests do!  I just had pork chops, roasted potatoes with cheese, corn, and dessert.  The food is remarkably better and I for one, have no problem with that! 

Vespers was a bit different than I'm used to as well but was very beautiful.  The chanting here is extraordinary.  The church is arranged in a much more inclusive and open way.  I enjoyed it very much.  It doesn't look as though they pray compline together which makes me a little sad.  I guess I'll be doing that in my room this evening.

Technology seems to be everywhere here.  Each guest room has a wired internet connection and there are computer stations in the guest house and library that are available for use as well.  Currently, I'm sitting in the guest house lobby typing this post.  It's probably good that I didn't bring my laptop--that would probably be distracting to me.

Each guest room is also stocked with a few books to read including a Bible and a book on The Rule of Saint Benedict.  Kind of a nice touch, I think.

The size of this campus is much larger than I'm used to at Gethsemani.  It's beautiful though and I'll enjoy roaming around here for the next several days.  If the weather forecast holds true, I should see four or more inches of SNOW while I'm here.  Nothing could make me happier!

Okay, I guess that's all that I have for now.  I'm going to take my coffee back to my room for some quiet reading.

Pax.

To Keep Death Before One's Eyes

From chapter 4 of the Rule of St. Benedict, entitled The Instruments of Good Works.

(44) To fear the day of judgment.
(45) To be in dread of hell.
(46) To desire eternal life with all spiritual longing.
(47) To keep death before one's eyes daily.

This chapter ends with these words:

Behold, these are the instruments of the spiritual art, which, if they have been applied without ceasing day and night and approved on judgment day, will merit for us from the Lord that reward which He hath promised: "The eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him" (1 Cor 2:9). But the workshop in which we perform all these works with diligence is the enclosure of the monastery, and stability in the community.

"To keep death before one's eyes daily." I used to think that was an odd statement. After all, if someone kept death before their eyes each day, wouldn't that naturally cause a person to be depressed? Shouldn't we downplay death and not speak about it? One of the things I've noticed about Thomas Merton is how frequently he talked about the possibility of his own death.

I think to follow the Rule in this instance is helpful to the monastic in the monastery and the lay person living in the world. I must remember my life here is only for a short time. Even if I live 80 or more years, that is a short time. I'm amazed at how quickly the first 35 years have gone by. When I realize the brevity of life, I want to be a good steward of the time that I have here. In other words, I hope to live life well. Death is a reminder to keep focusing on things that are truly important not those things the world may want me to believe are important.

I read once of a monastery who kept an open grave in the cemetery as a reminder that one day we will all face our own death. Monks don't hide death or try to dress it up as something that it is not. I like what Charles Cummings says:

I do not know, except by Christian faith, what lies beyond this life. In death I lose everything without knowing for sure that there is anything to follow. Faith, however, assures me that there is a God who is like a loving father or mother. The ultimate reality is not death and extinction. But God. (Charles Cummings, Monastic Practice, p. 192.)

Do I really believe that something greater is taking place beyond the grave? That's a question I'm forced to wrestle with as I am reminded of my own mortality. So, as I walk around the graveyard at Gethsemani, I think about this statement in the Rule: "To keep death before one's eyes daily." Those brothers of mine who lay buried under those white crosses are experiencing what lies beyond this life. They certainly have a fuller understanding of God himself. In the mean time, I have friends to get to know, prayers to pray, and life to live. I do it all with thanksgiving for life itself and the faith to know that death only brings me into a greater knowledge of God himself.

Peace.