New Camaldoli Hermitage SUMMER 2016 SEEDS OF THE WORD Prior Cyprian and oblate Lisa Benner on inclusivity and openness to wisdom in the thought of Justin Martyr and Bede Griffiths. pages 2-4 IN THIS ISSUE 2 “Justin Martyr and Seeds of the Word” 4 “The Fire of Bede Griffiths’ Legacy” 5 Lectio Divina 6 “A Journey to the Mountain of Love” 7 Solemnity of St. Romuald 8 Development 9 Vita Monastica 10 Oblate Column 11 Monastery of the Risen Christ 12 Activities and Visitors 62475 Highway 1, Big Sur, CA 93920 • 831 667 2456 • www.contemplation.com MESSAGE FROM THE PRIOR JUSTIN MARTYR AND SEEDS OF THE WORD Summer seems to be a perfect season to ex- Prior Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam plore “Seeds of the Word,” when all of spring- time’s hidden seeds have germinated and are There is a pithy and important little phrase that has come to mean a great made manifest in stem and leaf and fruit. deal to me in my work in interreligious dialogue: “seeds of the Word.” Fr. Thomas says about our old monastery in It comes from the second century saint Justin Martyr whose feast Florence, Santa Maria degli Angeli, that the we celebrate June 2. Justin was a philosopher; there were two sides monks lived like hermits there but “the doors to his conversion. On the one hand, as he said of himself as he opened inward.” There was always lively conversation with great thinkers of the time, was led to his death before the Emperor Rusticus, he had tried to philosophers and scholars, which made the learn every system before he came to believe that Christianity was place the center of Christian Humanism the true philosophy. On the other hand, even though he had come during the Renaissance. to regard Christianity as the true philosophy, he didn’t dismiss the other philosophies out of hand. He regarded Plato’s and others’ We Camaldolese have quite a legacy of open philosophies as not only pre-Christian but (as the late Jesuit scholar conversation with folks outside of the visible Jacques Dupuis put it) pro-Christian. So it is from Justin that we get fold of the Church. Our Ambrogio Traversari the Christian use of the phrase spermatikos logos in Greek (semina convened the Council of Ferrara to try to reunite the Eastern and Western churches in verbi in Latin)—“seed of the Word,” which was already a concept the 15th century. Our monastery San Gregorio among Stoic philosophers. in Rome, from which St. Gregory the Great sent St. Augustine of Canterbury to evangelize According to Greek thought, this Britain, is a center for Anglican-Roman en- word—logos was the genera- counters, a matter dear to the heart also tive principle of the universe, the of our Fr. Robert. germ from which all else devel- ops. It is this same Word— logos Our Don Innocenzo Gargono is one of the Church’s experts on Eastern Christianity and that John says in the prologue to hosted Rumanian monks at San Gregorio as well. his gospel was with God, and was God, and became flesh in Jesus. Then there is the astounding legacy of Fr. And Justin thought that all those Bede Griffiths, a pioneer and prophet of “who live in accordance with reason [logos] are Christians, even interreligious dialogue, who brought himself though they are godless.” and the monks of our ashram Shantivanam in South India into our congregation, and whose Here is a Christian proclaiming that the Word can be detected work several of us, especially Fr. Thomas and I, have continued extensively. (See the article outside the visible boundaries of Christianity, predating by about th in this issue on the Bede Griffiths Trust.) 1700 years a famous phrase of the 20 century theologian, Karl Rahner: “anonymous Christian.” Closer to home, there is the Four Winds Coun- cil, of which we have been a part for almost a There are both narrow and broad interpretations of this concept quarter of a century, gathering with the Esalen of “seed of the Word”. Some say that Justin was only referring to Institute, the Esselen Tribe, and the Tassajara Greek philosophers and not to so-called “pagan religions,” so that Zen Mountain Center four times a year. this seminal power would not apply to other religions. But it I often recall the image Abhishiktananda (the certainly seems as if Vatican II had a broader interpretation: Semina French monk who was one of the founders of verbi appears in both Lumen Gentium 17 and Ad Gentes 11. Those Shantivanam) uses of the magi in the Gospel of documents apply it broadly, teaching that “seeds of the Word” were Matthew: the visitors come to Jesus not just to implanted in all human beings, and it is those seeds which allow adore, but they also come bearing gifts—which­­ all people some ability to see spiritual realities. Jesus received! May our doors, especially the Therefore whatever is “true and holy” in other doors of our hearts, always remain open to traditions can be upheld. recognizing, encouraging and promoting the seeds of the Word wherever they sprout; may we receive as gift the wisdom of other paths. Fr. Bede Griffiths, in a well-known article about the Jesus Prayer entitled “How I Pray,” explains his understanding of Jesus as Word and expands Fr. Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam the concept even further. 2 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage This Word, this playful Sophia, embraces heaven and earth, and Fr. Bede wrote that the Word is revealed “in different ways and under different names and forms to all humanity.” This is the Word that Nostra Aetate (the Vatican II Declaration on Non-Christian Religions) says, quoting the Prologue of John, “enlightens everyone coming into the world.” And “though they may not recognize it,” Bede says, “it is present to every human being in the depths of their soul. Beyond word and thought, beyond all signs and symbols, this Word is being secretly spoken in every heart in every place and at every time. People may be utterly ignorant of it or may choose to ignore it” but still, as Bede continues... ...whenever and wherever anyone responds to truth or love or kindness, whenever and wherever anyone responds to the demand for justice, concern for others, care of those in need, they are responding to the voice of the Word. So also when anyone seeks truth or beauty in science, philosophy, poetry or art, they are responding to the invitation of the Word. What counts is not so much the name and the form as the response in the heart to the hidden mystery, which is present to each one of us in one way or another and awaits our response in faith and hope and love. So this is not just about being in dialogue with other religions: it means wherever Beauty, Truth or Goodness are mani- fested—be that in a string This verse by Rumi, the 13th c. quartet or a scientific Persian poet, Sufi mystic and experiment, in acts of Islamic scholar is carved in stone justice or self-giving love— over the door of a Christian wherever there is beauty, church in Shiraz, Iran: truth or goodness being manifested, there is the Word, the fullness of which we believe was made flesh in Jesus. This is Where Jesus lives, the great- why a visit to an art museum can feel like a pilgrimage, studying good hearted gather. poetry can be like lectio divina, why we can stand in awe at a view from a telescope or in admiration at the sublime economy of a mathematical We are a doo r t h a t ’ s n e v e r equation or a feat of engineering. locked. If you are suffering any kind Hence it should come as no surprise that Pope Francis talks about of pain, being in partnership with non-believers who are people of good will too. As Jesus says in Matthew and Luke, Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds (or Stay near this door. Open it. by her children—Mt 11:19; Lk 7:35). We are exhorted by the Church, especially in that “language event” that was Vatican II, to be in dialogue and collaboration with people of good will, not only the followers of From The Essential Rumi: other religions, but noble hearted scientists and artists too; and with translations by Coleman Barks those who work for justice and those who care for the planet. What and John Moyne (Harper San a great witness it is to our faith and life when and if we “recognize, Francisco 1995) p. 201 preserve and promote”—the three verbs that Nostra Aetate uses— good things, especially the “spiritual and moral socio-cultural values,” wherever we find them, in the name of Jesus, not only claiming them for Christ, but claiming them as Christ, as Christic, as a manifestation of the Word that has come into the world and enlightens everyone. contemplation.com ~ 3 THE FIRE OF BEDE GRIFFITHS’ LEGACY In 1968 he arrived at Shantivanam’s Saccidananda Ashram. This humble ashram, now a Camaldolese Lisa Benner, Oblate OSB Cam Benedictine house, was founded by the French Bene- dictine monk Fr. Henry Le Saux (Abishiktananda: “Bliss Father Bede Griffiths of Christ”) and the French priest Fr. Jules Monchanin (1907-1993), a British-born (Parma Arupi Anananda, “Supreme Joy of the Spirit”). Benedictine monk, was Upon Bede’s arrival he began to turn this ashram into an early pioneer of inter- a contemplative house of prayer.