(Rom 4:20-25; Lk 1: 69-75; Lk 12: 13-21)
“Praise to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit … from now, until the end of the ages. The God who is who was and is to come … both now and forever.”
That’s what the Trappist monks sing before every Psalm they chant at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky.
And they chant seven times a day, beginning with the Daily Office at 3:15 a.m.
For more than 10 years, I have been fortunate to join good friends on a trip to Bardstown where this little slice of heaven, this monastery of some five dozen monks, sits nestled in the hills of central Kentucky, about a half hour south of Louisville.
Thomas Merton is the man who led me here. Many years ago – shortly after I did a retreat weekend known as Christ Renews His Parish – I participated in a “spiritual classics” book club reading of Seven Story Mountain. During this time, I read Merton’s classic novel of spiritual awakening for the first time. It was indeed life changing.
Merton’s never-ending quest to answer God’s call – seeking a spiritual connection to God – mirrors what I have been seeking all my life. And no doubt it mirrors what you are seeking too.
Of course, Gethsemani was more than just Merton. It was about stepping out of the world we normally occupy, into another state of being. We stay in the monastery wing. Each room has a bed, a desk and a closet for clothes. Nothing else. No air conditioning and the bathroom is down the hall.
No need for a lot of extra earthly possessions (see today’s Gospel).
We pray with the monks. We chant. We go to Mass, Confession. We spend time in the library. We eat monk food (lots of veggies and oats). And we do a lot of walking in the woods. Lots of woods. Lots of walking. Beautiful. Peaceful.
A weekend of renewal … each and every time.
But then I come back to reality.
I can’t become a monk. That’s not my calling. But I can borrow some of their practices.
The Liturgy of the Hours – known as the Prayer of the Church – this is what the monks chant when they gather in their white robes and stand opposite each other in the church – just imagine their deep chants bouncing back and forth – left and right – not just senseless song, but the words of the Psalms. The poetry of the Psalm writers. The very words that Christ himself memorized as a little boy … singing them along with his family as they walked from home to the Temple.
The Psalms contain within them our entire faith, our entire history. They were meant to be sung so that the song of God would continually echo in our hearts as we made our way through each day, each week, each month, each year.
It’s the primary way these monks have answered God’s call. Like Abraham in today’s first reading, they have the faith to trust that God has found meaning in their simple life of prayer, work and study.
We are likewise challenged to come to terms with our own life. God has brought each and every one of us to this very moment. Now what do we do?
Here are some tips I try to follow:
> Start or maintain a daily prayer life, a holy hour, Rosary, Eucharist Adoration – or a mix of all. You need that balance – like the monks say: work, pray, study.
> Expect to fail … often. There will be days. Maybe weeks, when keeping up with your prayer life will be impossible. The key here is to never lose the desire, always yearn to pray, even when you know you can’t. It will come back.
> Do a retreat. Try a CRHP weekend or Cursillo? Visit a monastery. How about a 40-day silent retreat in the desert? Yeah, they have those, too. Do something once a year to recharge your batteries. And the condo in Florida does not count.
> And finally, never stop learning about the faith. Take a class. Watch reruns of Archbishop Fulton Sheen. Read a book. Read another book. And then … read another.
Remember the words of the Canticle of Zechariah, which is recited each day during the Morning Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. The words originally spoken to John the Baptist by his Father; now spoken to us – today – by our father in Heaven …
Blessed be the Lord, The God of Israel; He has come to His people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, Born of the house of His servant David.
Through His holy prophets He promised of old That He would save us from our enemies,
From the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers
And to remember His holy Covenant. This was the oath He swore to our father Abraham:
To set us free from the hands of our enemies, Free to worship Him without fear,
Holy and righteous in His sight All the days of our life.
You, My child shall be called The prophet of the Most High, For you will go before the Lord to prepare His way, To give his people knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our Lord The dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness And the shadow of death, And to guide our feet into the way of peace. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning. is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
