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Mount Saviour Monastery (Jan. 1999)
Mount Saviour Monastery
January 1999
Ecumenical Oblates:
Fr. Damasus was actively involved in ecumenism all his life.
Mount Saviour followed in his footsteps in various ways. Our archives
have a "Proposed text for an ecumenical fraternity of oblates". It
reflects the monastic spirituality and its possible influence on the ecumenical
movement.
"St. Benedict belongs to
an era of the undivided Church (C.480-547), and the remarkable flourishing
of his monastic rule ante-dates both Eastern and Western breaks in the
visible unity of the Church. The institution of oblates likewise
originated before the divisions. ...
"An ecumenical fraternity
of oblates therefore reclaims the pre-Reformation heritage of the Western
Church. It offers a way of practicing ecumenism by applying certain
monastic principles to the ecumenical task.
" First among these principles
is repentance - - the constant spirit of turning from self-will
to seek the love and the will of God, laying hold on the promise of his
mercy. a divided Church is a sinful Church, needing to renounce the sin
of division and the sins that that produced division. Therefore, the first
work of ecumenism is repentance... The monastic spirit is most deeply the
spirit of 'metanoia' - - of turning from self to God in penitence and from
self to others in charity. To take seriously the monastic spirit of 'metanoia'
is to take up the fundamental ecumenical work.
"A second monastic attribute
that feeds the practice of ecumenism is humility. The Rule of St.
Benedict sets forth twelve degrees of humility by way of emphasis on the
virtue. Humility leads to charity and charity to catholicity - - catholicity
as the fullness of a Christian's embrace of his brother (or sister) in
the broken body of Christ.
"The additional monastic
virtues of hospitality, simplicity and patience are
all fundamental to the practice of ecumenism. And lastly, obedience.
As the divisions in the Church are the byproducts of a disobedient and
deviate spirituality, so the reunion of the Church will be by the byproduct
of a new will to obey the Lord in all things, seeking the mind of Christ
and using the means of grace."
Publicity:
Paul Moses, a frequent guest, wrote an extensive article on
Monastic
Web Sites in the periodical St. Anthony Messenger (see Archive:
January Issue, 1998). We received e-mail for inquiries and
friends renewed contacts in the new medium. Our local paper, The
Star Gazette,
presented a short article in their Home and Garden section
to praise our wool products: "woolen treasures", mattress pads, comforters,
mittens, hats, etc. One phrase made our friends smile: "The
monastery has brought a security team of donkeys to guard the flock."
Annual
Retreat:
The Prior of Valyermo, Fr.
Luke Dysinger, preached our retreat. He refreshed some notions
of monastic spirituality and stimulate some enthusiasm for our spiritual
journey.
Repairs Update:
The roof of our chapel is taking "Medieval
proportions" if we consider the time to complete the work. In August,
one worker began dismantling the cedar shingles. The contractor gave
priority to school repairs in September. We were lucky to have excellent
weather in the fall. In January, the snow and the cold weather stopped
the operation and now they are running out of pine shingles to complete
the work. The upper windows were replaced and the frames need the
finishing touch.