The abbey of modern times” “

There’s a kind of “abbey of modern times” in the forests of Belgium, near Neuville, and an ecological and mystical priest is living deep in the woods: Father Bernard Sorel , 44 years old, has been chaplain of forestry guards and naturalists – a rarity in Europe – for the last eleven years and chairs a Commission for the safeguard of the creation set up by the Belgian bishops. His experience was inspired by the Russian tradition of the poustinia: the poustinik (which means hermit”, the word was imported into the West by Catherine de Hueck Doherty) retreats for a certain period into the heart of nature, far from settlements and villages, to pray in solitude. But the rest of his time is spent in the midst of people and by placing himself at the disposal of others. “He’s not a traditional hermit because he’s also available to the calls of the world – explains Father Sorel, who was one of the delegates attending the recent 5th Consultation on the environment promoted by the European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) in Wroclaw –. For example, in the harvesting period the poustinik leaves his hermitage to give a hand”. In the same way Father Sorel, although he lives in a little hut in the woods, dedicates a large part of his time to the activities performed in the “Bergerie de la forêt” (“sheepfold of the forest”), a multi-purpose centre created by the diocese of Namur in 1997, comprising social facilities for the welcome of guests, cultural facilities for exhibitions and meetings on nature, and a “forest chapel” for the spiritual dimension. The structure is also the seat of the Commission for the safeguard of the creation and of the chaplaincy. Children from schools all over Belgium are sent here to learn about and meditate on nature. From 7,000 to 10,000 people visit the “Bergerie” each year. Plans are now afoot to boost its accommodation (more information on the website www.bergeriedelaforet.be.tf). Contemplation of the invisible. “Through the visible contemplation of nature we achieve a perception of the human heart that contemporary man has lost. All this leads us to contemplating the invisible”. This is the profound sense of the “contemplative theology” practiced by Father Sorel. It has now spread to other persons and groups who follow his example. With a profound knowledge of other religions in the world but with solid Christian roots, Bernard Sorel began to adopt the lifestyle of the poustinia in 1982. He took his vows as poustinik in 1987 and founded the “Fraternité de la Claire Vallée”. He was ordained priest in 1992. His is “an invitation to contemplation through solitude, extended also to believing and non-believing men and women, who pledge to devote one day each month to solitude to respond to the stress of the modern world”. For – he explains – “man is made not just of reason but also of heart and relation. It is right that we should have a theology that discovers the mystery of the trinity through reason, but if we don’t couple it with a contemplative vision, theology risks being ephemeral: a monument ruined with time”. In the formation of priests, in his view, “spiritual exercises” should also be proposed “in woods, also by night, to enable them to encounter realities other than those learnt from books”. “Why not return to a contemplative theology?”, he asks. “The formation of our future priests – apart from being theological, philosophical or pastoral – ought to be ‘profoundly human’, starting out from the earth – also from manual work –, from the contemplation of nature, and by experiencing the harsh realities of poverty. Priests, each with his own charism of course, should also practice ‘human ecology’, in other words the cultivation of relations with others by learning to delegate, and communicate with clarity”. When he guides parties of schoolchildren, Father Sorel observes in them a “dramatic blindness to the real world”: “Today a group of teenagers that walks through a wood doesn’t even notice a mouse that passes in front of their eyes. Fortunately, so many people today are rediscovering love and respect for nature”. “By night – he says – one can feel a particular spirit, a different rhythm in nature”. And he quotes St. Bernard: “The trees and the rocks teach us things that we cannot learn from books”. Father Sorel sees today a “dangerous disease of the virtual”. That does not mean being against the new technologies. “But we need to have our feet on the ground, our heart turned to heaven and in our hands tools respectful of the environment”.