There's another week, this is already the third week of lead. Time is just rising heads down. So there are several topics that we have to follow up on. One is the topic of our constitutional thing that we had last week. meeting on the idea of monasticism, and we have to continue that. Then there is one of the music. Father Basil is now eager to prepare for Holy Week, and also, too, in order to get a reaction, a part of the community, to the music, which is being put post, especially that, you know, the English, connected with the vernacular, they should have a meeting of the, we had a meeting of the novices, so that it is necessary to have anything right away on that, but the biennial professed.

[01:28]

There should be a meeting in the course of this week. That already takes three nights. Then we have two optional recreations. Then we have a lecture on Friday. Then we have a conference on Saturday. That is the program of the week. Then we have a recreation on Sunday. So it's terrific. The, I thought, well, the balance of today would not be the liturgy, the music, we couldn't have that today. What could be today? Oh, God, the separable festival. That's the easiest one. And then on Wednesday would be the other one.

[02:41]

Then on Wednesday the other one. No. Friday. Good. then there is a little council meeting after this, right after this chapter. Is there any music today on the battle? Maybe you don't mind if I just, it can't be very long, but that is only to your advantage. If I maybe just still, you know, put a few thoughts before you in connection with this, the idea of the enclosure, you know, the Fuga Mundi. We had started on a Saturday and of course didn't get very far in it.

[03:44]

But you must of course keep very, you know, keep in mind that And in speaking about it, that not by any means would I underestimate or in any way kind of play down or exclude the element of solitude in monastic life. That is an integral part of it. There is absolutely no doubt about it. I think the context, you know, in which we put it, however, that is the important thing. And I think it has, in many ways, also for our own understanding of the molastic enclosure, the withdrawal from the world, the renouncement, whatever you want to call it, you know, renouncing

[04:48]

The devil, that is an aspect of our whole covenant with God, which we made in baptism, which is acute for all the Christians, but which the monk follows in a specific way, in the way of the withdrawal. And I would say the physical withdrawal. think is, for the monastic idea, is important. So that comes under the idea of the monakos, this physical withdrawal, insofar as the monk in his relation to human society, to the let's say, to the forms of society as the world offers them.

[05:52]

For example, the political society, but also, of course, for example, the commercial society. We have it now in a capitalistic society in which we live. The world is to a great extent is regulated by the business society when it comes to the great apocalyptic fall of Babylon in the apocalypse. Now one of the suffering part certainly there are the merchants. And of course, business is in itself, as it is after the fall, it is like money, it is a kind of crystallization point of what we call the arrows of the self-will of the business is determined by interests.

[07:13]

And these interests, of course, are always interests for gain. And that's simply the very nature of the whole thing. So it's, for example, against that, you know, where the Monarch is solitary in that way because he leaves that kind of society. This whole thing, you know, smoking big cigarettes, you know, with the other... executive friends, you know, and that's not part of monastic discipline. But it is, of course, in the world. It's an important thing. Without that, you can't, you don't get anywhere. You have to associate with the right people. And the monk says the hick with the right people. You see, I mean, he just, in that way, Of course, that is an act of, in itself, is an act of, you say, individual act.

[08:15]

He is in that determination. He is alone. He is alone. And so, there are other aspects, you know, of society. There is the society of glamour. The society of glamour is, for example, is organized in fashion. is an important part of the social image, you know, that a man wants to project and again in which he wants to take his place then in that kind of society which is geared to glamour. We cannot deny that either. If you don't want and say again, you know, the heck with glamour, you are a solitaire. You are alone in that, you see. You separate yourself in a certain way. I don't say that the separation has to be in a monastic form of physical separation.

[09:22]

That's again a completely different story. But I mean that's certainly one element, you know, in this physical separation. Then, of course, the society, one can say, of the flesh. that is the family is the family especially in the old sense where the family really meant membership in the family was really a matter of death and life and to leave the family society as that still is for example Mohammedan society to many others you know to me for example in Africa is one of the most difficult things, you know, really in the present situation, for example, or the clergy or so on. This relation to the family, because the family is simply parents want their children to grow, and they want their children to develop, and they want their children to have a better life than they.

[10:26]

That's the reason why the church has, as soon as Christianity comes into the picture, and baptism comes into the picture, where one dies, you know, the death of Christ, then one way to assure the continuity of baptismal vows is to put Godfather, Godparents, you know, next, you know, to the parents that gave physical life to the child, simply because they represent, the Godparents represent a different point of view. So it's the sign, you know, of course. But here again, you know, of course, the monk leaves, you know, father and mother. And Christ has clearly explained it, you know, that he certainly doesn't expect that as a must or as a law from everybody.

[11:27]

But he says who cannot, you know, I mean, interiorly he doesn't have any of this disposition. or to even separate himself from his family, he cannot be my disciple. It's one of those indications that what is radically in Christianity and in which the Christian laity as the part is simply clearly and univocally expressed and proclaimed and witnessed to by the monk. The monk simply draws out certain lines which are in the Christian laity. It's the reason why the wonderful thing would be if the Christian laity would come to the point where they would kind of recognize themselves in the monk. But of course, there are other Christians, I don't want to get into that. But there is that leaving society.

[12:29]

We have that wonderful exemplar, you know, example of Arsenius. Arsenius was a member of a senatorial family in Byzantium. He knew all the splendors of the imperial court. He had a marvelous career before him. He was already up the ladder, you know, quite high. And decides leaving. and goes to the Egyptian desert, what really ran from this axiom naturally meant the end of the world, you know. And then people come to him from the court, you know, this axiom, or this vile, nicely dressed, you know, courtiers, and they tell him, now your father, the senator, died, you know, and he has in this last will, you know, you are the executive.

[13:35]

Arsenius said, trust, concern me because I died before you. That is, you know, that is, that's the, of course you see right away, dear Arsenius, if one is, you know, goes, let's say, in the line of death, One aspect of it is that one is absolutely alone. So again, I would say there's the Monacos. St. Anthony does the same thing. He first, you know, for a while, hovers around at the outskirts of his little habit there in Egypt. But that still is too much for him. So he makes another step, and he ends up in a tool. And that, of course, too, that is a monarch. Of course, he is all alone. There's no doubt about it.

[14:37]

But you see, why is that? That is, of course, that is the, one can say, the protest against the city of the devil. It isn't the protest against the city of God. And I think that is very, very important. that you realize that right away, that's the right way one wouldn't have any antiquity, one wouldn't have called amongst people who then in the desert associated, you know, with one another and formed communities if one had considered, you know, let us say, the aloneness or the physical solitude of the individual as the only element of monasticism. So we must realize that from right, from the beginning, from the very beginning, that the enclosure leaves room for association and for community, but of course on a different level, not on the court level.

[15:49]

Not on the society level, if you put that in the quotation marks. But that is another thing, of course. You see, the monk leaves, therefore, and he breaks with society. And I would say that is an act of an individual. The monk has really to be an individual to do it. So there is a great deal of individualism. in monasticism. And that is another aspect, of course, that in this matter of solitude, in this matter of fugamundi, we have to consider that this fugamundi means this getting out of the carbon web of secular society and is a concentration on the individual. Even St.

[16:51]

Anthony goes there and gets a little hut, you know, outside at the outskirts of his little place there in Egypt. Well, what purpose does he do then? St. Athanasius is very explicit in pointing it out so that he would be able to... Now... Take care of himself. To self-custody. This concentration on himself. But in the way, you know, now give heed to yourself. Concentrate therefore on what we would call on your salvation. Anthony's whole story is so clear, you know, that he is... struck, you know, by the word leave, you know, everything.

[17:52]

Leave it. But all the goods, you know, all the things. Not, you know, except for the sake of solitude, but as an act of renouncement. And therefore, it was for him today, when you hear his word, don't harden your heart. Therefore, monasticism is simply in the church represents and is a sign of this general law, conversion must be an individual act. Conversion cannot be, in that matter, cannot be a, how can we say, a contagion. It is an individual act. It begins with yourself. And that, of course, is the important thing. You see, an aspect that, again, the enclosure or the fugamundi gives to the world.

[18:57]

It's a clear witness to this decisive thing. If you want to be a Christian, you have to begin with yourself and in yourself. And therefore, this It's not a matter, you know, of saving one soul, you know, by less implication and involvement with other souls, but it is this saving your soul. So often one can say, just yesterday I had a little talk, you know, with our guest there, who were from Welsberg and Pennsylvania. And he said, yes, when he told his fellow student that he was coming here, he said the reaction of this friend of his was, oh, yes, these monks, they are selfish. They want to take care of themselves.

[20:01]

They let the rest of the world just go. That's, of course, absolutely not the meaning. It's what the monk expresses against something that every Christian has to follow. Christianity simply cannot get anywhere if we can't see if the church would be a society of people who are eager to take care of everyone except themselves. It's impossible. And in the line of priorities, The individual conversion simply has the priority. Why? Because Christianity is not communism. That you simply can produce a mass, organized mass, you know, through power, no matter, you know, what the individual position is, you know, there's simply that inner

[21:06]

freedom of the spirit is denied, you know, and the whole army is set into march, you know, towards a social goal. No matter, you know, what have got there. Their private life is so-called private life. That doesn't matter in a communist society. It's even one of the attractive feature that the entire thing is the state, is the community. Therefore, religion is a private affair. But of course, in Christianity, that's not so. If Christianity is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is simply by the very essence, it's a personal affair. The Holy Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

[22:07]

Wherever the Holy Spirit touches, you know, He doesn't, you know, shame people from the outside. It's not a law, as they say. But He is an inner motor. So it's an interior. It's an interior dimension, the Holy Spirit. And therefore, a personal thing. But therefore, it is the absolute priority of start with yourself. And what the monk does, you know, is clearly before the world say, you know, before I can save society, I have to do something for myself. Again, I say, to put it in this form of physical separation, that is of course not necessary. Well, I mean, that is the meaning that the monk only does, let's say, in emphatic way as an exclamation sign, so to speak, again, what every Christian has to do.

[23:12]

Therefore, if a Christian in his right senses sees a monk leaving, he says, now he's doing right, he really takes seriously what we all should do Start our reformation with ourselves. So there is another element, you know, of the solitary and the monochos, you know, the fugagondi. Another element is the eschatology, the eschatological element. See, it's not waiting, you see. Not turn around, you know, and sleep, you know. But today, when you hear this, boys, don't harden your heart. So it's today in the sense of kind of telescoping time, as it were. Eschatology is simply the one, you know, in the eschatological dimension, the one who moves in it, you know, knows that this is the moment where the bridegroom comes and where the door has to be open and where the lamp has to be burning.

[24:22]

One cannot say In this eschatological, in this urgency of the closeness and the presence of the kingdom of God, when our Lord says the kingdom of God is at hand, you know, one cannot say now, I mean, it took 2,000 years and it hasn't come yet, so we have to do first something about, you know, this and this and this, and then, you know, we think about that, and the last day another time, and that's impossible. at least again, you know, for every Christian, but in different degrees. But for the monk, it is simply this, you know, that he decides to live a life before God's judgment, in what we call in the presence of God. He says the kingdom of God is here now. And it is a matter, you see, between me and God, Father of all not is Christ himself as the judge.

[25:27]

And, of course, you can see that that is the whole root for St. Benedict, out of which this whole life of humility as life of the monk grows. Simply don't, I mean, flee oblivion. Flee forgetfulness. That is the fugamundi, the interior life. Three forgetments. Remember that at every moment the angels are there and at this very moment they report your deeds to God. That's eschatological. And that, of course, again, you know, in itself it is a fugamundi, a flight from the world in this sense, you know, that being in this kind of of usual human society is always manana.

[26:30]

Especially where, let's say, where the presence of God is concerned. Because one is taken up, one has to finish this work, one has to finish this project, and one project after another comes. And these projects They make the time, either business projects, political projects, or anything like that. And of course, therefore, communism in that way has, what I say, marked this time in saying, now, we haven't reached it yet, you know, but today doesn't count because today, yes, there is no freedom but, I mean, communism. In the end, you know, it will be so. Not in this generation, it will be in the next generation. So, therefore, there is that time involvement in any human society, necessary time involvement.

[27:36]

Of course, the withdrawal from this society means that one withdraws from that kind of timing, you see. The decisive element in our timing is simply that the kingdom of God is there. The pausia is here. That's what the monk, out of his freedom, he does that. But of course, one can again say that eschatology in itself is a way of thinking, which again is tremendously and highly social. Because judgment is in one way an absolute personal affair in which I am concerned myself in one way, but of course in the other way we know that the meaning of judgment in Holy Scripture is always putting the one who is being judged into the communion of saints.

[28:40]

That is really the meaning. So, now we continue. And we have to work.

[28:51]

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