Posted on by Kurt Bodling

hermit monks

“There exists a long tradition of Benedictine hermits back to the time of Benedict himself. It is admittedly a good solution but it affects only a few individuals. These have the advantage of a solitary life and of freedom to develop according to their own needs and personal vocation. They have a minimum of concern about temporalities, and they are able to continue their monastic life as members of the community where they made profession. Normally, however, monks have neither the desire nor the grace to live this particular kind of life, and the real problems remain to be solved in the context of common living.”

Merton, Thomas. “The Monastic Renewal: Problems and Prospects.” (1966) in Selected Essays. Edited with an introduction by Patrick F. O’Connell. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2013, p. 390

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

silence comes in time

“If we walk toward God, there comes a moment when speech is useless and uninteresting because [of all things] contemplation alone has any importance. And so, more than any other reality, monastic life enables souls to contemplate God. The silence of the monasteries provides the best earthly setting for the person who wants to ascend toward the One who awaits him.” Thought 124.

Sarah, Robert Cardinal with Nicolas Diat. The Power of Silence Against the Dictatorship of Noise. Translated by Michael J. Miller. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2017, p. 72

Comment: On the other hand, Merton wrote about how noisy monasteries are and, therefore, unsuited to contemplation.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

Camaldolese place in Benedictine tradition

“This movement joined the spirit of the early desert monastic tradition to the Benedictine way of life. ‘Based on greater solitude, silence and fasting, the Romualdian system of life imitated the ancient Egyptian anchoritism in the penitential ascetical sphere; for the rest, if faithfully referred to the observance of the Benedictine Rule. It was organized eremitism.’ ‘This reform movement within the Benedictine world was not antagonistic to Benedictinism, but it wanted to extend the influence of the Rule of Saint Benedict to those drawn to solitude’.”

Belisle, Peter-Damian. “Overview of Camaldolese History and Spirituality” in Belisle, Peter-Damian, editor. The Privilege of Love: Camaldolese Benedictine Spirituality. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2002, p. 9.

Comment: if ‘herding cats’ sounds hard, try organizing hermits! But that’s what the Camaldolese order does. Men with the vocation of solitude gather together, train for some years in spiritual disciplines and what it means to be a monk, and then can move into solitary living while still under the protective and organizing wing of the monastic order. Of course, the Carthusian order moves men into their hermitages more quickly, as I understand it.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

the Camaldolese “three-fold good”

“The classical text of the threefold good, or threefold advantage (tripla commoda), is found where Bruno gives an account of Otto III’s project of choosing some of the more fervent disciples of Romuald as missionaries to Poland. There they were to build a monasterium in Christian territory near an area where pagans dwelt, secluded and surrounded by woods: ‘This would offer a threefold advantage: the cœnobium, which is what novices want; golden solitude, for those who are mature and who thirst for the living God; and the preaching of the gospel to the pagans, for those who long to be freed from this life in order to be with Christ’.”

Wong, Joseph. “The Threefold Good: Romualdian Charism and Monastic Tradition.” in Belisle, Peter-Damian, editor. The Privilege of Love: Camaldolese Benedictine Spirituality. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2002, p. 82.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

silence in the cloister of your heart

“The temptations have multiplied; discernment and renunciation have become more necessary than ever. We [Carthusians] have chosen to dedicate our life to the search for God in silence and solitude. Both things must be defended by clear choices, otherwise soon not much of either will be left. Our vocation is very uncommon, but does not every person need a bit of silence and solitude if he wants to be able to stay in contact with his heart? We have a cloister and a Rule that protect us. Someone who lives in the world must find his own cloister and his own rule; this is not something obvious!”

Dom Dysmas de Lassus, the Father General of the Carthusian Order at Grande Chartreuse, quoted in: Sarah, Robert Cardinal with Nicolas Diat. The Power of Silence Against the Dictatorship of Noise. Translated by Michael J. Miller. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2017, p. 229.