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X-WR-CALDESC:This is an imaginary test chapterWhen they are to be received\
 , they come before the whole community in the oratory and promise stabilit
 y\, fidelity to the monastic life\, and obedience. This is done in the pre
 sence of God and the saints to impress on the novices that if they ever ac
 t otherwise\, they will surely be condemned by the one they mock.\n\nThey 
 state their promise in a document drawn up in the name of the saints whose
  relics are there and of the prioress or abbot\, who is present. Novices w
 rite out this document themselves\, or if they are illiterate\, then they 
 ask someone else to write it for them\, but put their mark to it and with 
 their own hand lay it on the altar. After they have put it there\, the nov
 ice begins the verse: 'Receive me\, O God\, as you have promised\, and I s
 hall live\; do not disappoint me in my hope (Ps 119:116).' The whole commu
 nity repeats the verse three times\, and adds the Doxology. Then the novic
 es prostrate themselves at the feet of each member to ask prayers\, and fr
 om that very day they are to be counted as one of the community.\n\nBenedi
 ctine life is rooted in three dimensions: commitment to a community\, fide
 lity to a monastic way of life and obedience. It is a life that sees sanct
 ification as a by-product of human society\, the development of a new way 
 of thinking and living\, and a total openness to the constantly emerging c
 hallenges of the God-life within us. To pursue a Benedictine spirituality\
 , we must carry our part of the human race and allow it to mold and polish
  and temper us. We are to be people who see the globe through eyes softene
 d by the gospel. We are to see change and challenge in life as God's voice
  in our ears. Benedictine spirituality goes into the heart in order to emb
 race the world. It forms us differently than the world forms us but it doe
 s not attempt to shape us independently of the real world around us. The w
 hole point of the profession ceremony itself is quite the opposite. We are
 \, in fact\, to make this commitment consciously and knowledgeably and pub
 licly\, in the presence of the community\, the communion of saints that ar
 e represented by the relics of the church\, and the leader of the communit
 y. This is a declaration that binds us to others and raises us beyond the 
 changing feelings of the day to the obligations of a lifetime.\n\nIf they 
 have any possessions\, they should either give them to the poor beforehand
 \, or make a formal donation of them to the monastery\, without keeping ba
 ck a single thing for themselves\, well aware that from that day they will
  not have even their own body at their disposal. Then and there in the ora
 tory\, they are to be stripped of everything of their own that they are we
 aring and clothed in what belongs to the monastery. The clothing taken fro
 m them is to be put away and kept safely in the wardrobe\, so that\, shoul
 d they ever agree to the devil's suggestion and leave the monastery--which
  God forbid--they can be stripped of the clothing of the monastery before 
 they are cast out. But that document of theirs which the prioress or abbot
  took from the altar should not be given back to them but kept in the mona
 stery.\n\nThis passage of the Rule points out in a particularly graphic wa
 y that Benedictine spirituality demands a total change of the way we relat
 e to life. In the first place\, monastics are to depend entirely on the co
 mmunity for their support. They don't bring with them the family wealth an
 d they don't have any claim to personal property\, not even their clothes.
  They give everything that they have gained up to the time of their entry 
 into the community either to the poor or to the monastery itself. From the
 n on\, it is the support of the community and the providence of God upon w
 hich they are to depend\, not on their savings\, not on their business acu
 men\, not on their relatives and connections. From then on they go through
  life as a people whose trust is in God and who are responsible for one an
 other. The purpose\, of course\, is to free a person forcibly from the age
 nda of the world. 'Those who have cattle have care\,' an African proverb t
 eaches. We 'can't serve God and mammon\,' the scriptures say. The point of
  Benedictine spirituality is that we have to decide\, once and for all\, w
 hat we are about and then live in a way that makes that possible and makes
  that real.
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UID:376ac62a-3ba9-4f9f-9e4d-2f6fbe529989
DTSTAMP:20260514T195539Z
DESCRIPTION:This is an imaginary test chapterWhen they are to be received\,
  they come before the whole community in the oratory and promise stability
 \, fidelity to the monastic life\, and obedience. This is done in the pres
 ence of God and the saints to impress on the novices that if they ever act
  otherwise\, they will surely be condemned by the one they mock.\n\nThey s
 tate their promise in a document drawn up in the name of the saints whose 
 relics are there and of the prioress or abbot\, who is present. Novices wr
 ite out this document themselves\, or if they are illiterate\, then they a
 sk someone else to write it for them\, but put their mark to it and with t
 heir own hand lay it on the altar. After they have put it there\, the novi
 ce begins the verse: 'Receive me\, O God\, as you have promised\, and I sh
 all live\; do not disappoint me in my hope (Ps 119:116).' The whole commun
 ity repeats the verse three times\, and adds the Doxology. Then the novice
 s prostrate themselves at the feet of each member to ask prayers\, and fro
 m that very day they are to be counted as one of the community.\n\nBenedic
 tine life is rooted in three dimensions: commitment to a community\, fidel
 ity to a monastic way of life and obedience. It is a life that sees sancti
 fication as a by-product of human society\, the development of a new way o
 f thinking and living\, and a total openness to the constantly emerging ch
 allenges of the God-life within us. To pursue a Benedictine spirituality\,
  we must carry our part of the human race and allow it to mold and polish 
 and temper us. We are to be people who see the globe through eyes softened
  by the gospel. We are to see change and challenge in life as God's voice 
 in our ears. Benedictine spirituality goes into the heart in order to embr
 ace the world. It forms us differently than the world forms us but it does
  not attempt to shape us independently of the real world around us. The wh
 ole point of the profession ceremony itself is quite the opposite. We are\
 , in fact\, to make this commitment consciously and knowledgeably and publ
 icly\, in the presence of the community\, the communion of saints that are
  represented by the relics of the church\, and the leader of the community
 . This is a declaration that binds us to others and raises us beyond the c
 hanging feelings of the day to the obligations of a lifetime.\n\nIf they h
 ave any possessions\, they should either give them to the poor beforehand\
 , or make a formal donation of them to the monastery\, without keeping bac
 k a single thing for themselves\, well aware that from that day they will 
 not have even their own body at their disposal. Then and there in the orat
 ory\, they are to be stripped of everything of their own that they are wea
 ring and clothed in what belongs to the monastery. The clothing taken from
  them is to be put away and kept safely in the wardrobe\, so that\, should
  they ever agree to the devil's suggestion and leave the monastery--which 
 God forbid--they can be stripped of the clothing of the monastery before t
 hey are cast out. But that document of theirs which the prioress or abbot 
 took from the altar should not be given back to them but kept in the monas
 tery.\n\nThis passage of the Rule points out in a particularly graphic way
  that Benedictine spirituality demands a total change of the way we relate
  to life. In the first place\, monastics are to depend entirely on the com
 munity for their support. They don't bring with them the family wealth and
  they don't have any claim to personal property\, not even their clothes. 
 They give everything that they have gained up to the time of their entry i
 nto the community either to the poor or to the monastery itself. From then
  on\, it is the support of the community and the providence of God upon wh
 ich they are to depend\, not on their savings\, not on their business acum
 en\, not on their relatives and connections. From then on they go through 
 life as a people whose trust is in God and who are responsible for one ano
 ther. The purpose\, of course\, is to free a person forcibly from the agen
 da of the world. 'Those who have cattle have care\,' an African proverb te
 aches. We 'can't serve God and mammon\,' the scriptures say. The point of 
 Benedictine spirituality is that we have to decide\, once and for all\, wh
 at we are about and then live in a way that makes that possible and makes 
 that real.
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251211T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251211T235900
LOCATION:
SUMMARY:Chapter 57\, Test Chapter
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR