Monasteries in time

“The Benedictine federation now comprises just over 8,000 monks and 17,000 nuns throughout the world. They are subdivided into over a thousand monasteries. It’s a movement in growth in the developing countries, but stagnant in the Western world: a standstill due more to demographic decline than to any diminution in the appeal of this form of contemplative life”. NOTKER WOLF , Abbot Primate of the Benedictines, is convinced: “The appeal of the monastic life is not declining, but it has to withstand not only a declining birth rate but also an ever-growing secularism. We are faced by a cyclical trend: after the boom of previous decades, we are now experiencing a phase of slowdown”. But after a history of over 1500 years is monasticism in crisis? And what contribution can it make to a secularised Europe? Is there still room for the monastic experience in the Old Continent? Does a model of monasticism adapted to contemporary Europe exist? “It’s difficult to speak of a model of monasticism for Europe today. What we have to do, in my view, is to return to the constituents of monastic life described by the Patriarch Benedict: prayer, work, obedience, silence and lectio divina . These are the distinctive features of the monk of the Middle Ages just as they are of the monk today. I would like to add the dimension of community life, which promotes a good relationship between brothers and sisters of the community. This, I believe, is the best witness that we can give to the world and to the Old Continent, an example that captures the young”. Is there one message more than any other that the Benedictine tradition can give to the Old Continent? “Yes, placing God at the centre of our life, or to put it in St. Benedict’s own words, placing nothing before the love of Christ. I can deceive the whole world, I can even deceive myself, but I cannot deceive God. That is the great lesson of Benedict of Norcia. If man is made in the image and likeness of God, he cannot and must not deceive his fellowmen. So the human person needs to be respected as God’s creation”. It would seem a message that is falling on deaf ears, seeing what some European countries are doing in terms of the defence of life and the family… “What is happening in Europe, in terms of legislation that undermines the natural values of man, euthanasia, abortion, the right granted to homosexual couples to adopt children, gay unions and civil partnerships, seems not to take account of the Gospel values. We are faced by the decomposition of society, undermined by ethical relativism. If I continue for years to smoke cigarettes, I shouldn’t be surprised to find myself, sooner or later, suffering from lung cancer”. Isn’t it the case that monasticism is losing its impact in secular Europe? “I wouldn’t say so. If I look at the situation today, I see that monasteries are increasingly becoming centres of prayer, dialogue and culture. So many people, especially the young, are seeking a community. There are monasteries in Europe where thousands of youth gather every weekend to pray and to be together. Monasteries are becoming beacons of hope, such as Taizé”. Are they also places of modernity? “Yes indeed, but a different, a deeper modernity. If modernity means no longer professing sincere values, then our monasteries are places of absolute tradition. But if modernity means giving a genuine response to the profound needs of contemporary society, then we are places of modernity”. And what can monasticism say about such themes as justice, peace, or the conservation of the creation? “The word ‘pax’ is often written over the entrances to Benedictine monasteries. Pax understood in the Benedictine way is a reminder that we are all weak. Peace exists only if there is forgiveness. Peace means forgiving each another because we are not perfect. First forgiveness, then justice. Benedict said that the abbot must dispose of everything in the right way. By so doing he acts in justice and ensures peace. Justice is the basis of peace”. Is there any place for the Benedictine Rule in contemporary Europe? “Europe, says Benedict XVI, has a need for men like Benedict of Norcia. The Rule on which we base our life in our monasteries continues to bear fruit. In Germany, for example, there are novices in all our monasteries; there’s an interest in this contemplative life. People seeking St. Benedict are tracing a road to the future”.