Wisdom and hospitality” “

“Re-appropriating our origins in order to look to the future with greater creativeness”: that is the Benedictine aspiration. On the eve of the signing of the European Constitutional Treaty that will sanction a further turning point in the political history of the Old Continent, after that of enlargement on 1st May, an appeal to this end has been sent forth from the abbey of Montecassino, founded by St. Benedict, patron of Europe, not to forget “from where we started out”. “We don’t want to be nostalgic, but to re-appropriate the genuine sense of our history”, declared Monsignor Bernardo D’Onorio abbot of Montecassino, who promoted a conference on “Gospel and Benedictine Rule: mirror of European history and identity” on 23-24 October to mark the 40th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Benedict as principal patron of Europe. “The Benedictine monks – he continued – taught dialogue; they diffused the arts, history, research, and education; and promoted the development of society through new conceptions in the agricultural field. We need to revalue this tradition, not to build walls, but to build bridges and to unite and renew Europe”. The meeting was attended by abbots of some of the leading European abbeys who described the peculiarities of monasticism in their countries and in the abbeys they head. “In FrancE monasticism has played a major role in religious and social life. Traversing various historical phases, characterized ( inter alia) by such figures as St. Benedict, the order of Cluny, and the Congregation of St. Maur, the monks transformed the monasteries into centres of knowledge and religious diffusion that grew into real urban centres. In the monasteries the powerful found counsel and the poor found relief and hospitality. Benedictine monasteries produced great travellers and historians such as Mabillon and provided refuge to Catholics when French society was riven by conflict and schism… Today French monasticism, characterized by a greater contemplative vein than elsewhere, continues to work also outside France. Foundations have been opened in Lithuania and in Africa. The aim is always the same: to irrigate the heart of Europe and revive dialogue with the Churches of the East so that the Old Continent may once again breathe with two lungs”. (Msgr. Philippe Dupont, abbot of Solesmes, France). “Monasticism in spaIN has given 40 martyrs to the Church, testifying to the fact that the cloistered life does not keep monks far removed from the world. By their very nature Spanish abbeys have always played a role of social cohesion in society, often encountering attacks and persecutions, sometimes ending in martyrdom. During the Franco regime many monasteries provided a secret venue for banned party meetings, confirming their role as places of civil and social meeting and dialogue… Still today the abbeys maintain relations with secular and religious universities with the aim of providing opportunities for the experience of peace, silence and the meeting with God. The vocation of the monastery is to be the light and witness of the Gospel”. (Msgr. Josep Maria Soler, abbot of Montserrat, Spain). “The monastic experience in belgiUM is based on some firm principles drawn from the Benedictine Rule: solidarity, human respect, culture and hospitality. The abbeys built up Europe on the basis of these ‘milestones’. That’s why they are a model of democratic life. We may recollect that the free exchange of goods existed within the monastic circuit, and that pupils of various origin were accepted in Benedictine schools so that they learn to meet together and exchange ideas, and this still happens today to form a European mentality among the young… The abbey of Maredsous is also an example of economic management. A healthy relation with money is based on the division of goods… Europe has a need for spirituality, and monasteries may provide a starting point for the quest for God, the unifying aim of the yearnings of the soul. The Benedictine rule of Ora et labora (pray and work) can enrich the spiritual and material needs of European man with healthy realism and strike the right balance between body and soul”. (Msgr. Bernard Lorent, abbot of Maredsous, Belgium).