Chapter 5
The monastic community gathered after dinner for a meeting of the community, which is called “Chapter” in a monastery. Receiving its name from the tradition of reading a chapter of the Rule of St. Benedict at the beginning of the gathering, the intent of such a community meeting was to deal with the day to day running of the monastery, along with any exceptional situations which might arise.
The gold and pink of the setting sun washed in through the large windows of the sparsely adorned room in which the gray and blue clad members of the community sat together. The erratic hum of what was left of the summer crickets, along with the sounds of the birds quieting down for the evening, created a peaceful atmosphere.
How many things had been discussed at Chapter, thought the Abbot. Sister Scholastica was sitting there and mentally going over some of the issues that they had dealt with in the past--a kidnapping, a dead body found on the property, police involvement (both State and local), concerns that the Bishop had about the reputation of the monastery and the Diocese, headlines in the newspaper about the events this small community stumbled into from time to time. Though middle-aged, Sister Scholastica adapted well to the monastic life she had chosen less than ten years ago. Perhaps it was her quiet spirit of adventure that drew her to the monastery.
Brother Benedict entered monastic life in his middle years also, but before Sister Scholastica. This “older vocation” phenomenon was occurring throughout the country in various Religious Orders and monasteries. Changes in the world, in the Church, as well as in monastic life through Vatican Council II, dramatically reduced the number going into religious communities and attracted a different type of applicant.
In general, the numbers were down to just a little trickle and the age at application for membership had gone up exponentially. Since this shift had already occurred several times in the history of the Church, many were not particularly concerned, especially if one’s eyes were focused on following God and not on numbers.
Brother Benedict could feel something in the air and was curious about it. Blunt and to the point, he could help the group stay on task and come to a decision if he chose to do so.
The youngest member of the community, Brother Matthew, had taken his simple or temporary vows just about a year before after several extremely harrowing experiences. While he sometimes was self-conscious about his younger years both chronologically and in monastic life, Matthew was a bright and caring person who would offer his opinion and used his brain as needed.
Sister Jane de Chantal was somewhere around fifty years of age but looked a little younger. She was one of the first to enter the new monastery, right after Brother Benedict, over ten years ago. Both she and Benedict had solemn or final vows at this point in time. Jane would probably encourage the spending of money and upkeep of the house during Chapter deliberations, rather than scrimping at something and ending up with a poor result.
Thus, community members had their own unique personalities and opinions. It made for very interesting discussions.
“Sister Jane, would you open our Chapter meeting by reading from the next chapter of the Rule of St. Benedict?”
“Certainly, Abbot Francis. A reading from the Rule of our holy father St. Benedict.”
“Chapter Fifty. Brothers and Sisters Working at a Distance or Traveling.”
“Brothers or Sisters who work so far away that they cannot return to the Oratory at the proper time—and the Abbot / Abbess determines that this is the case—are to perform the Work of God (Liturgy of the Hours) where they are, and kneel out of reverence for God.
“So too, those who have been sent on a journey are not to omit the prescribed Hours but to observe them as best they can, not neglecting their measure of service.”
A mild electrical current filled the room. Abbot Francis, well grounded, kept right on going and went over schedules and ministries within the community for the next week. The community rotated the jobs of cooking, cleaning, and shopping to some degree. Everyone understood what was his or hers to do and did it without much prodding from anyone else.
Next the Abbot talked about the ever-increasing cost of health insurance. The monastery was totally self-supporting although many people felt that the Diocese or some other agency supported them. This was certainly not the case. They paid for their own health insurance, which was a significant challenge. Abbot Francis mentioned that their coverage cost was to go up yet again. He explained the way he thought it worked.
“The insurance company sends us a letter saying that our premium is about to go up significantly, let’s say a hundred dollars more per person per month. That is significant. Much more of that and we won’t be able to operate at all in the black. We move between black and red from year to year anyway.
“At any rate, they also put a little notation in the letter that there are other plans one might opt into which are less expensive. Then we call and ask for information on those less expensive plans, the material is eventually sent to us, and we move to that plan. We lose a little in terms of services and our deductible goes up, but the amount per person increase may be about half as much as they initially indicated. So we are left paying about fifty dollars more per person per month and the insurance company thinks that we are now supposed to experience a feeling of relief because it wasn’t double that cost.
“Well, that worked the first time, but a year or two later I saw it coming and indeed they did they very same thing. At any rate, God has provided for us thus far, and our Holy Father St. Francis de Sales tells that the God who has been with us up to this point will not suddenly abandon us.
“While I’m on the subject of insurance, just to help you get a little glimpse into my day, the biggest stressor in my life is dealing with insurance companies for my patients. More and more of them are in managed healthcare plans so I have to fill out papers periodically and beg for additional sessions to be pre-certified. This requires that I keep careful record of when their previous pre-certified sessions expire and do the paperwork prior to that expiration or I will not be paid for my work.
“Sisters and Brothers, because so many patients change their insurance in response to the machinations of these healthcare providers, I have to keep track of that as well. I won’t get paid if I don’t remember who gets billed and where they get billed. It is extremely confusing. I am so grateful to this community and my administrative assistant Dottie who comes here periodically and bails me out. Let’s continue to keep her in our thoughts and prayers.
“I’m sorry if I got off on a tangent there, but I think it is good give you a glimpse into my life once in a while as well as letting us see the ups and downs of each others lives in general. That way we can continue to be supportive and prayerful for each other. That which unites us is our quest for God and a better world, and that which we do as our ministry, our work, is really the fruit of our contemplative life. This is quite different, as you know, from traditional more ‘active’ Order such as the Sisters of St. Joseph or the Jesuits. They were founded for specific apostolic or direct service work. Monks and nuns, monastics, are simply around to seek God. If others understand our life very well, I doubt that we are really doing what we are called to do. We need to boggle the mind of others--not only of one another—pun intended.”
This evoked laughter from the group and changed the atmosphere somewhat.
Brother Matthew commented. “Abbot Francis, there’s an excitement in the room and I know you’ve been wondering about the possibility of a journey to the Far East. Is that on the agenda for this evening?”
“It certainly is Brother Matthew. I am always slow to spend significant time away from the monastery because we are semi-cloistered. I am also slow to spend community money. Even though I manage the major expenditures and bookkeeping--thank God for our Quicken software--we hold all our funds in common.
“Some details, Brothers and Sisters. The proposed journey would take about a month of time and I would be going at a very reduced rate because we are planning things ourselves and I have some Frequent Flyer miles. They don’t call me the ‘Frequent Flyer monk’ for nothing! We are using the guidance of a tour company but doing the organizational and reservation work ourselves. Also, I was given a grant when I studied in Asia in the past, and see this as a continuing education project that will ultimately help to support the monastery. I need a certain amount of continuing ed to renew my licenses in naturopathy and psychology, but we don’t need to go into the fine points of that here. What do you folks think?
Brother Benedict offered his point of view. “We all need time away from one another. We live in a rather small setting for such a diverse group. God has always blessed your journeys in the past and, and as you reminded us, God will continue to be with us.”
Sister Scholastica was the next to offer her thoughts. “It seems to me, Abbot Francis, that this is simply a way of enhancing the ministry you have been called to do and thus ultimately enhancing the monastery. I'm honored that people such as Brother Matthew and myself, who do not even have solemn vows yet, are being consulted on this matter. Please go with our blessing. At least that’s how I see it.”
The group gave a general assent and Francis said that he would make a definitive decision in a day or two after he spoke with his friends and colleagues once again, then humorously cautioned them not to have too many wild parties in his absence if he chose to go.
The cranberry scented candle burned in a large old-fashioned jar on the Abbot’s desk as he spoke with his colleagues on the conference call they were now holding. The candle was a gift from his married sister and brother-in-law and he mentally said a little prayer for them.
As promised, Mani did her homework. She had a more detailed list of places to go and experiences to have in Nepal, Tibet and Bangkok.
Creative as always, Mani continued, “You know about my obsession with energy medicine, folks, so this idea may not be very surprising to you. What I suggest is that each of us choose an energy or quality, a virtue if that is less abstract for you, to hold and pray with as we move from this point forward through the journey that we all just agreed to embark upon. For example, I am drawn to the idea of impeccability or purity. By that I mean that one’s heart or intent be truthful and rooted in the present moment. I’ll develop a little blurb about that more completely but that’s the thought or ideal that I wish to hold for each of us. Perhaps it will help us all to experience more as we continue to prepare and to journey if we all do that. Would each of you be able to come up with a similar concept?”
Krishna responded for the group, “I’m sure we could, Mani. I am interested in the safety and the intent of the group. I want to help keep us physically safe and focused on the healing and spiritual aspects of our journey. None of us is interested in tourism as such but we can be drawn there if we’re not careful. So, perhaps I could be a sort of ‘faithkeeper’ for the group.”
The group was in hearty agreement with that idea and quieted down a little as they waited for the next member to come up with his or her expression of energy to carry.
Flo was the next. “I believe that there can be no real spiritual or healing progress without forgiveness. May I carry the energy of forgiveness for us and with us as we prepare and as we journey?”
Again, rousing assent to this idea and a calming and quieting as the group contemplated the healing energies that would be the focus of their travels.
“David here,” said the New York born detective. “I am drawn to simplicity. I love to get to the heart of the matter in an uncomplicated fashion. How about if I focus on the idea of simplicity for our group?”
It fit perfectly! This was David. Even though his stomach was bulging a little bit more than might be healthy, and his blood pressure could spike once in a while, David was the man for this virtue. Again, a time of quiet ensued.
“I do much of my psychology work in the field of forensic psychology. As such,” Chantal continued, “I contribute to vindicating people and also having people put behind bars. I try very hard to seek out a justice which is built upon compassion. My feelings for the people of the Third World run deeper that one might expect. My feelings for the poor and needy are strong. Just between you and me and the electronic operator, I do what I can to contribute to good causes. I think I’m on every mailing list in the country. The Baptists write to me, the Lutherans write to me, the Catholics write to me, the secular charitable organizations write to me. I have more return address labels than I will ever use, gifts of these organizations. This is simply because I send some money from time to time and have also volunteered my services. I’ve helped out in some forensic tangles that these groups get caught in once in a while. That being said, I would like to carry the energy of compassion.”
Francis sat in wonder and awe as he experienced the reflection of each person coming through in the energy that he or she felt led to carry for the group.
He spoke up next. “I often feel far from enlightened, but I do seek enlightenment. I have had the good fortune of being on Mt. Tabor, where Jesus was revealed in a burst of blazing light or qi, the life force. At least this is how I interpret it. I know that Tibetan Buddhists, or any Buddhists, are on a journey to becoming a Buddha, that is, on a journey to enlightenment. This concept, this experience, is very powerful in the Buddhistic tradition. If it is not too arrogant a notion, may I carry the energy of enlightenment for us?”
The group burst into applause. Everyone had easily come to a decision about the quality that he or she wanted to emphasize for the group. Furthermore, even though most of these people knew themselves rather well, there was a deepening of their knowledge of one another through this electronic experience.
Chantal, ever the organizer, said, “How about this--maybe Mani could type up a tentative itinerary, along with a blurb about each of the healing energies we have elected to carry with us. Mani, can you e-mail that to each of us and then we can see where we go from there?”
Mani was even more organized than Chantal. “Chantal, my dear, I have the itinerary typed up. It is very tentative so don’t be concerned. However, I would suggest that each of you write up a little blurb about the energy you would like to carry and I will attach it to the tentative itinerary and e-mail all six blurbs back to each of you.”
There was a sense that this adventure was flowing more easily than it ought. Francis wondered what that was all about.