PROMISES, PROMISES

I trust that you will understand that for the past two weeks or so I've been preoccupied with the concept of "vows," since tomorrow, Oct. 17, our novice, Br. Bruno will profess his vows ("simple" vows for a period of three years). As Novice Master I have been helping him to prepare for this important event. 

In the Middle Age the Church's theologians attempted to articulate the meaning of religious commitment. Scholastic Theology in the 1200's designated the "constitutive elements" of a vowed Christian religious life as poverty, chastity and obedience. This gave rise to the Church's norms for religious life that were eventually codified in canon law in the familiar vows of poverty, chastity and obedience..

But before the theologians began analyzing and itemizing the vows involved in consecrated religious life, the monastic concept of vows that I'll describe below had already existed for several centuries. 

Here is the vow formula that Br. Bruno will read aloud and sign at the altar tomorrow: 

+ In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

I, Brother Bruno (James) Mello promise with vows valid for three years before God and his
saints, in the presence of our Father in Christ, Abbot Melvin J. Valvano and the monks of this monastery, stability in this community, conversion through a monastic way of life, and obedience according to the Rule of our Holy Father Benedict and the law proper to our Congregation.

In witness whereof I have prepared this document and signed it here at Newark Abbey in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, on the seventeenth day of October, the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Let me offer a brief look at the contents of this promise.

THE THREEFOLD BENEDICTINE VOW

 The content of the Benedictine's promise is the triple commitment to Stability, Conversion of Life, and Obedience. These three Benedictine vows are intimately related to one another.  The three join together into a single stream of freely undertaken obligation. It is almost impossible to keep one without keeping the other two. On the other hand, if one of them is lost, the others lose their meaning.

STABILITY

Outward, literal meaning of the vow of Stability: The monk promises that from now on his life will be physically and spiritually rooted in this particular monastery with these particular brothers, this particular work and these particular problems.

Inward, spiritual meaning of the vow of Stability:

By this vow of stability the monk is saying "God is not elsewhere." The monk stays put and embraces life as he finds it, knowing that this, and not any other, is his way to God. Stability is an attitude of heart and mind by which he roots himself in God by making God the center of his life.

CONVERSION OF LIFE

Outward, literal meaning of the vow of Conversion of Life (in Latin "Conversatio Morum"): The monk promises an ongoing change of attitude and behavior. He promises from now on to reject the world's goals by means of certain practices: power is rejected by practicing obedience and humility, pleasure is rejected by practicing celibacy and frugality, money is rejected by practicing common ownership.

Inward, spiritual meaning of "Conversatio Morum":

The monk promises that from now on God and not self will be at the center of his life. Since the only way to achieve this is with God's help, prayer becomes essential for leading the monastic life. While the vow of stability calls the monk to remain, conversion of life calls him to change and grow, to be transformed by the Spirit.

OBEDIENCE

Outward, literal meaning of the vow of Obedience: The monk promises that from now on he will submit to the judgments of his superior. This is not a mindless conformity but a conscious and free decision; it is motivated not by compulsion or fear but by love.

Inward, spiritual meaning of the vow of Obedience: The real meaning of obedience is to put others before oneself. It is thus an indispensable ingredient in all human relations, and not just in monasteries. Saint Benedict says that obedience is practiced in imitation of Christ who was "obedient even to death on the cross."

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So, one again I humbly ask you for your prayers from young Br. Bruno, that the Lord will give him the strength to persevere in his desire to live as a faithful, joyful and loving member of the community of Newark Abbey.