Mystical Prayer -- St. Bonaventure July 5

Mystical Prayer in the Holy Spirit St. Bonaventure Doctor of the Church This reading on mystical (contemplative) prayer, taken from St. Bonaventure's Journey of the Mind to God (Cap. 7,1 2.4.6: Opera Omnia, 5, 312-313), is used in the Roman Office of Readings for the Feast (liturgical memorial) of St. Bonaventure on July 15.
	From the Journey of the Mind to God by St. Bonaventure

Mystical wisdom is revealed by the Holy Spirit

Christ is both the way and the door. Christ is the staircase and the vehicle, like the throne of mercy over the Ark of the Covenant, and the mystery hidden from the ages. A man should turn his full attention to this throne of mercy, and should gaze at him hanging on the cross, full of faith, hope and charity, devoted, full of wonder and joy, marked by gratitude, and open to praise and jubilation. Then such a man will make with Christ a pasch, that is, a passing-over. Through the branches of the cross he will pass over the Red Sea, leaving Egypt and entering the desert. There he will taste the hidden manna, and rest with Christ in the sepulchre, as if he were dead to things outside. He will experience, as much as is possible for one who is still living, what was promised to the thief who hung beside Christ:Today you will be with me in paradise.

  For this passover to be perfect, we must suspend all the operations of the mind and we must transform the peak of our affections, directing them to God alone. This is a sacred mystical experience. It cannot be comprehended by anyone unless he surrenders himself to it; nor can he surrender himself to it unless he longs for it; nor can he long for it unless the Holy Spirit, whom Christ sent into the world, should come and inflame his innermost soul. Hence the Apostle says that this mystical wisdom is revealed by the Holy Spirit.

  If you ask how such things can occur, seek the answer in God’s grace, not in doctrine; in the longing of the will, not in the understanding; in the sighs of prayer, not in research; seek the bridegroom not the teacher; God and not man; darkness not daylight; and look not to the light but rather to the raging fire that carries the soul to God with intense fervour and glowing love. The fire is God, and the furnace is in Jerusalem, fired by Christ in the ardour of his loving passion. Only he understood this who said: My soul chose hanging and my bones death. Anyone who cherishes this kind of death can see God, for it is certainly true that: No man can look upon me and live.

Gladioli

  Let us die, then, and enter into the darkness, silencing our anxieties, our passions and all the fantasies of our imagination. Let us pass over with the crucified Christ from this world to the Father, so that, when the Father has shown himself to us, we can say with Philip: It is enough. We may hear with Paul: My grace is sufficient for you;and we can rejoice with David, saying: My flesh and my heart fail me, but God is the strength of my heart and my heritage for ever. Blessed be the Lord for ever, and let all the people say: Amen. Amen!

Abbot of Cistercian Latroun Abbey, Israel

The election of
Dom Rene Hascoët OCSO
on June 30th as the 5th Abbot of the Trappist Abbey of Latrun, located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

Habemus Abbatem!

01.07.2011    

The Abbot of the Mother Abbey of Sept-Fons, Dom Patrick Olive came to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem to announce with great joy the election of Dom Rene Hascoët on June 30th as the 5th Abbot of the Trappist Abbey of Latrun, located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

Left. Dom René Hascoët, Abbot
Latroun Abbey, Israel

Born in Brittany in 1949, he studied horticulture and worked for several years before entering the Abbey of Timadeuc at the age of 25. He made solemn profession on November 11, 1979. In September 1992, Dom Paul Saouma, the former abbot of Latrun asked him to take care of the cellar of the monastery, which was famous throughout the region. He spent some time as master of novices at the St. Savior monastery in Monastery in Ghazir, Lebanon. He went back to Latrun as Prior in 2003. Following the resignation of Dom Paul Saouma, he was appointed superior of the community on June 15, 2008 until his recent election as Abbot. He will receive blessings from His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Latin Patriach of Jerusalem in November.

Abbot Rene

Latroun New Abbot Dom Rene Hascoët

htp://www.ocso.org 

Necrology

Mellifont

Thursday, 14 July 2011 16:34

July 7, 2011 : Brother Malachy Mallon. Born in 1921 in Lisson, Co. Tyron (Ireland). He entered Mellifont in 1949 and made his solemn profession in 1955. Brother was 90 years old and had been in monastic vows for 59 years when the Lord called him

Election at Latroun

Thursday, 30 June 2011 09:23

On June 30, 2011, the Community of  Latroun (Israel) elected as Abbot for an undetermined term Dom René Hascoët, who has been the Superior ad nutum since June 15, 2008.  

From:

http://www.jerusalem-religions.net/spip.php?article3388     New Abbot for the Trappist Abbey of Latrun in Jerusalem

The Abbot of the Mother Abbey of Sept-Fons, Dom Patrick Olive came to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem to announce with great joy the election of Dom Rene Hascoët on June 30th as the 5th Abbot of the Trappist Abbey of Latrun, located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

Born in Britain in 1949, he studied horticulture and worked for several years before entering the Abbey of Timadeuc at the age of 25. He made solemn profession on November 11, 1979. In September 1992, Dom Paul Saouma, the former abbot of Latrun asked him to take care of the cellar of the monastery, which was famous throughout the region. He spent some time as master of novices at the St. Savior monastery in Monastery in Ghazir, Lebanon. He went back to Latrun as Prior in 2003. Following the resignation of Dom Paul Saouma, he was appointed superior of the community on June 15, 2008 until his recent election as Abbot. He will receive blessings from His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Latin Patriach of Jerusalem in October.

Source : Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, July 1, 2011.

see: 

Dom René Hascoët, nouvel abbé deLatroun | La-Croix.com

Notre Dame de France  Leicester Place  Mural

French Scouts at Nunraw, onto he Holy Island of Lindisfarne and terminus at Notre Dame de France  Leicester Place  London

Limdisfarne

Scouts and Fr Hugh

Revelation and Its Reception Mt 11 25-27

Comment re Fr. Edward

 Photo by Fr. Edward  

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: William . . .
To: Donald Nunraw . . . .
Sent: Sun, 10 July, 2011 14:51:26
Subject: Fr. Edward

Dear Father Donald,

I am completely in awe of  Fr. Edward OP ! The breadth of his knowledge and power of expression leave me gasping! During his stay at Nunraw it must have been like entertaining the brother of Benedict XVI perhaps? It is not only 'intellectual' but pastoral too, as he describes in the paper "Foundational Theological Views on the Priesthood" (a fascinating piece of writing indeed):

"Those who undertake the spiritual direction of others cannot merely adopt for themselves an abstract teaching about what is a living reality in the highest sense. It demands experience and discernment, a higher prudence; it is not just in itself a good thing which can be taught without a sensitivity to the spiritual gifts of the learner – and this whether in the class-room or privately."..and:

"We must expand our minds to accept [the writings of the masters of the spiritual life] with their full value. Once we open ourselves into this ethos we find that the harmony of the unity of faith will so expand itself in us to accept a wider and higher horizon...which brings its spiritual gifts and encouragements which are so much more powerful and beautiful than an inferior moralising".

His homily for the 14th Sunday tells of his own 'harmony of the unity of faith' being expressed through his priesthood:

The Son has, like the Father, a reflective power such as also guides the Son in his illumination of men. So the Father is also present in the revelation of divine Truth to men...He asks for humility in the face of a truth which is more precious than the truth that is natural to men; this truth has all the fresh vitality of its divine source; it is Wisdom itself in its original divinely Personal nature as it emerges from the Lord who stands behind heaven and earth.

and expresses his own "sensitivity to the spiritual gifts" of those he is addressing, applying such words of encouragement:

The labour is easeful, which makes what is the highest knowledge in itself to be totally unburdensome. Their vocation to pursue the divine Wisdom is confirmed, and they are communicated with a far higher knowledge than they would have expected. That is a mark of divine favour, introducing them to within the most universal and delicate love in which things now appear within the Tri-une God in their essential timelessness and endlessness.

And in his homily for 15th Sunday how graciously he warns us of the dangers of the 'inferior moralising' he writes of, referring to the false search for 'exotic meaning' by the attendant Pharisees as they missed the 'unexpected lessons' in which 'the meaning is multiple and profound'.

The "index" of his homilies - may it yet become the source of several further books -www.simnet.is/e.booth/english/index.htm! 
Thank you for a fascinating introduction to a remarkable priest.

... in Our Lord, 

William.

14th Sunday Gospel Mt 11:25-27 repeat Wed 13th, 15th Week in Ordinary Time

Revelation and Its Reception Matt 11:25-27 
Sacra Pagina

Dear, William,
Thank you.
Your appreciation of Fr. Edward OP's Homily.

Interesting is today's  repeat the Gospel as on the Sunday of 14th Sunday.
The Commentaries of Benedict XVI and Sacra Pagina give me the enriching appreciation of repeating readings.
(See previous Post Fri July 2011 Comment Matt:22-30 and Sacra Pagina)

Not finding flowers for the Church, the attached pictures give me a different insight from the Feverfew Herb/Weed flourishing from the crevice between the concrete yard and the garage wall. Jesus spreads his parables or inner wisdom to 'infants'.

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium; syn.Chrysanthemum parthenium (L.) Pers.,Pyrethrum parthenium Sm.) is a traditionalmedicinal herb which is found in many old gardens, and is also occasionally grown for ornament. The plant grows into a small bush up to around 46 cm (18 in) high, with citrus-scented leaves and is covered by flowers reminiscent of daisies.   

Feverfew (Herb) is called a WEED.
It becomes a rare flower to ornament the sanctuary.   

We are in the good company of the "infants". Thanks to Fr. Edward.
Good wishes.
Donald

Fr Edward Booth OP, Iceland

14 Sunday 2011 

               In this Gospel passage from Saint Matthew Our Lord first details some of the relationships between himself and the Father, together with the relationships which are given a kind of primacy between the Father and this world. The Father is "the Lord of Heaven and Earth," but he is behind the inspiration of revelation in the minds of men. Our Lord addresses him saying, "You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent". He knows intimately the minds of the supposed wise and prudent, who have spoilt their relationship between themselves and him, evidently because their knowledge which should have opened them to God, through some impurity in their intention of learning which was based on pride, was not completely open to God in the highest purity of which they were capable. Instead of that, God had revealed depths of wisdom, priceless in themselves, to those who are by comparison "infants".

               So according to Our Lord, not only did the Son, who was His Word, inspire men with true wisdom, and the Holy Spirit, who was the inspirer of men with his gifts and his fruits which included the heights of spiritual joy, but the Father was also active. They were active together, with a suggested slight differentiation. They were all three Divine Persons active in their inspiration of men - and, we could add here, primarily of Jews at this stage. And the knowledge which the Father communicated in his wisdom was communicated as a result of his reflection. He was aware of the spiritual state of men at their deepest and most intimate, being guided by his goodness: "for so it seemed good in your sight".

               From which human communication he passes to the direct communications to Himself from the Father. "All things are delivered to me from my Father". After which he falls into those equalities which are taken up especially in Saint John's Gospel: "All things are delivered to me from my Father;" He as Son is not known adequately to anyone "except the Father". They are both transcendent and are equally transcendent: the Father is not known by any man, but he is known to the Son, because of their equality, but not exactly for that because one meaning of equality is a description of space. But the privileged state of men and the privileged state of divine knowledge makes it possible for the Son to reveal to men the divine Truth which had been communicated to him. The Son has, like the Father, a reflective power such as also guides the Son in his illumination of men. So the Father is also present in the revelation of divine Truth to men. From these statements it becomes clear how the communications to men from the Father and the Son are made with total liberty, by which the truth is revealed with its essential freshness as it was at the moment of their Creation, and so it communicates perfect liberty.

               And the Son, with his personal Mission of revelation has a personal reflectiveness though which by a loving choice of his recipients and of what he wishes to pass on, he fills, easefully, the dry souls of humanity with a connatural food for mind and heart. He is aware of the nature of the hard journey of searching and discovery with the intensity of effort which it requires to extract from what seemed its slight and semi-hidden traces. But he himself will make that discovery of what they were seeking because it will exist in its purest state in his mind and heart. He asks for humility in the face of a truth which is more precious than the truth that is natural to men; this truth has all the fresh vitality of its divine source; it is Wisdom itself in its original divinely Personal nature as it emerges from the Lord who stands behind heaven and earth. It is destined to convey that rest which men need after a long search for spiritual light. Ease of soul is the first gain as men wait for a highly illuminating revelation which opens out the roots and sources of what they are prepared to search out for themselves, with great self-denial. The labour is easeful, which makes what is the highest knowledge in itself to be totally unburdensome. Their vocation to pursue the divine Wisdom is confirmed, and they are communicated with a far higher knowledge than they would have expected. That is a mark of divine favour, introducing them to within the most universal and delicate love in which things now appear within the Tri-une God in their essential timelessness and endlessness. Amen.   

http://www.simnet.is/e.booth/

Scouts Troop Welcomed

Scouts, from France, camped under the trees in the 'Nuns Walk' at Nunraw.
A prayer at the parting Mass,
"For God's Blessing for the Scouts, from the congregation of the French Church in London,  who have been camping with us for the past week.
We pray  for their homes and families." 

On parade Fr. Raymond made a presentation to mark the occasion.
Photos. Fr. Donald

Abbot Mark's words of farewell and blessing

Benedict Solemnity 11 July

Monday, 11 July 2011

In UK: St Benedict, abbot, patron of Europe (feast in Europe)

---

Feast of the Church : in UK: St Benedict, abbot, patron of Europe (feast in Europe) 

Saint(s) of the day : St. Benedict, Abbot (c. 480-547), Patron of Europe  

St Benedict bronze
by Sr Concordia, Minster Abbey

 Solemnity for the Benedictine family.   

Chapter Sermon on Saint Benedict in the community by Br. Barry

SAINT BENEDICT 2011 .

• The small town of Norcia lies in a plain high in the Appenine mountains of central Italy. The town is surrounded by high mountain peaks. Nearby there is Monti Vetica at 5600 feet and Monte Ventesela at a similar height. In the distance to the east, there are the massive black peaks of Monte Argentella at over 7000 feet and higher still, Monte Vettore at 8100 feet.
• Saint Benedict was born in Norcia around the year 480. Benedict was a highlander.
• We can interpret Benedict’s flight from Rome to the hills around Subiaco as a homesickness for the mountains. He could see them everyday not so far to the east calling him back.
• The solitude of the mountains seemed to him the proper place to seek God. The many hermits who populated the area bore witness to that. But not just them – the common experience of mankind shows mountains to be universal religious symbols. From the Andes to the Himalayas, from the Alps to the Grampians there are holy mountains, those places on earth that are nearest heaven. They touch the sky. It was the same for Israel of the Old Testament: ‘Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell and I will come to the altar of God’ (ps. 42 ).
• Benedict, in the environs of Subiaco would have re-learned to listen as he did as a boy on the mountains. Sounds on the hills are few and we are all the more aware of them for that: the occasional bird cry, footsteps on turf or rock, the buzz of insects, the sound of a mountain stream and there is always the wind.
• So deep was this experience of listening for Benedict that it was the inspiration behind the key word to his Rule: ausculta, listen. To ‘listen carefully to the Master’s instructions’, to ‘listen readily to holy reading’ is only an extension of his listening to the sounds of the mountain side.
• We have a remarkable testimony to Benedict’s love for mountains in the fifth chapter of St. Gregory the Great’s ‘Dialogues’. Rather than move three of his monasteries from the tops of mountains as the monks had requested, he goes to, literally, extraordinary lengths to keep them there. He performs the miracle of the spring of water, saying ‘the all-powerful God is quite able to produce water for you even on the top of the mountain’.
• In the light of all this, we might have expected to find the Rule of Saint Benedict full of the many mountain verses of the psalms but there is only one. It is in the Prologue: ‘Lord, who shall be admitted to your tent and dwell on your holy mountain’. The reason why he has used this particular one is obvious enough -  the subsequent verses fit in perfectly with the purpose of the Rule: to train his disciples how to live with others in the service of God: ‘ he who walks without fault, he who acts with justice and speaks the truth from his heart’ etc.
• Here we see that by the time Benedict came to compose his Rule, for him the place to seek God is no longer mountains as such; the community is the place where God dwells. God is to be sought in the service of others in a house whose centre is the oratory where ‘ nothing else is to be done or stored’ except prayer.
• The focal point of the oratory or church is the altar. The altar is the sign that it is no longer necessary to climb mountains to be near God because God has descended to earth. It is the visible sign of God’s communion with mankind. As someone has said ‘the altar is the sign of the love that exists between heaven and earth’. Even the Blessed Sacrament derives its holiness from the altar. It is the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
• In the unified nature of the way of life that Benedict legislates for, acts of service to the community have the value of a liturgical act. That is not to say that they substitute for the liturgy, only that the charity which should motivate such service has its source at the same place as the liturgy has its source: in the offering at the altar. From Christ our Lord, all good things come.
•  In the last move of his life, Saint Benedict is still on the mountains, the one usually associated with him, Monte Cassino. So to finish with a prayer from an official booklet of the Abbey of Monte Cassino ( the English is a bit ropey but we get the gist ):
• ‘Benedict, man of God,  From the praying and industrious peace of this Mount,  See us always pilgrims along the paths of life  And remember us that we must not prefer anything to our love for Christ.’   

"The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God"

Nunraw July Memorials

Br. Joseph Woods - Born 30 March 1915,
Entered 3 March 1943,
Professed 9 September 1948,
Died, Nunraw, 11th July 1986.

Dom Columban Mulcahy - born 1901, entered 1924,
priest 1929, abbot 1948,
died, Nunraw,  15 July 1971.      

Br. Oliver McIvor – born 11 July 1899,
died at Nunraw 22 July 1975 

Dom Malachy Brasil - born 2 February 1883, entered Roscrea 15 August 1905, professed 28 December 1910,
ordained 23 June 1911,  
Abbot Mount Saint Bernard 1933 –1959,
died, Nunraw, 28 July 1965.