Libenter Excipe

To Freely Take Up

The year 2020 has brought to light certain monastic customs.

We have been asked to quarantine and distance ourselves from the outside world for the sake of our lives and the life of the world. St. Benedict calls this the cloister. We have been made to stay with the same faces and the same four walls every day. St. Benedict calls this stability. We don’t have the final word on our work and our bodies. St. Benedict calls this obedience. And all of this invites us to change. St. Benedict calls this conversatio morum, or conversion of life. What kind of change? From fear to love. In front of the news that daily reminds us that death is a reality we cannot avoid, St. Benedict would have us “Yearn for everlasting life with holy desire” (RB 4:46).

The difference between the mentality which the Bible calls “the world” and that embodied in St. Benedict (that is to say, the Christian mentality) is that these are positive proposals which can help us on our way to eternal life. Pope Francis told us at the extraordinary Urbi et Orbi at the beginning of the pandemic, “Faith begins when we realise we are in need of salvation. We are not self-sufficient; by ourselves we flounder: we need the Lord, like ancient navigators needed the stars.” But recognizing our need for the stars and following their direction does not happen automatically, which is why St. Benedict, in the opening sentence of the Rule, invites the prospective monk to freely take up (libenter excipe) his advice, the advice of a loving father (pii patris).

Therefore, during these days we invite you to freely take up the monastic proposals below. To help you do this we have included notes below on each of them to clarify what it invites us to live (the star, so to speak). Understanding the reason for each tool will help to freely discern whether it has a value for you, and what living it will look like in your circumstances. This, in turn, helps us in being faithful to it. For instance, it may not be realistic for your family to pray all the Liturgy of the Hours. Knowing the value of remembering God at the beginning and ending the day can help you choose the ones to pray (e.g. morning prayer and evening prayer or compline). Or perhaps you cannot do silence during the entire period set aside for it because of work obligations. Understanding St. Benedict’s teaching on silence can help you stay in the spirit of silence during your work and remain united in Christ with everyone you encounter.

Most importantly, let us pay attention to the last tool St. Benedict gives in his chapter on “The Tools for Good Works”: “And finally, never lose hope in God’s mercy” (RB 4:74). To live by a rule is not to expect perfection from ourselves, but to follow an Other, to say “yes” (fiat) to His perfect love and discover its embrace. When we become forgetful we offer this too to Christ and ask for His embrace again, the grace of forgiveness. We do the same for others. There may be boredom, tears, and harsh words (this is true both for the children and the adults). This is part of the journey. It is an opportunity to ask for and discover His grace and the depths of His mercy again.

And if we do use “the tools of the spiritual craft”, St. Benedict tells us, “...our wages will be the reward the Lord has promised: What the eye has not seen nor the ear heard, God has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor 2:9)” (RB 4:75-77).

Suggestions

• Read through this booklet before your retreat, together with anyone who may be participating with you, to understand why each proposal is made.

• Note what you will take up. E.g., praying the hours, a daily period of silence, etc.

• Note how you will take it up. E.g., which hours to pray, how to pray them together, when to do silence, etc.

• Post your personal Retreat Schedule:

At the end of this you should have your own personal or household’s schedule (horarium) for your retreat. Tape this somewhere everyone participating can see it.