Abbot John Klassen OSB PHOTO: Sr. Edith OSB Part Two: “I am doing something NEW….”
Recall, however, that the prophets not only announce to the people an end that the community cannot admit; they also proclaim a hope that the people can hardly believe. There are two dangers or temptations that arise in times of transition. The first is nostalgia, which is essentially a state of denial. The strategy of nostalgia denies that the loss has happened or is happening: with increasing desperation it attempts to cling to a way of life and of faith that are no more.
The second danger or temptation is that of despair, a stance that says that faith is no longer possible in this new situation, that all is lost (alles ist verloren), that no future possibilities are to be found here. Despair inevitably leads to resignation, cynicism, apathy, and spiritual death. Both the strategy of nostalgia and the stance of despair are present in our monastery and in the Church today.
Abbot John Klassen OSB Saint John’s Abbey, Collegeville MN
From : Conference, December 10, 2005 “See, I Am Doing Something New!”
Prophetic Ministry for a Church (and a Monastery) in Transition
I have had the privilege of worshipping with the monks of Saint John’s Abbey, and at times, I hearing Abbot John preach. The conference referenced above, moved me. While much of it is directed at the struggles of monastics today and though it was presented almost two years ago, it seemed a timely reflection for the current position of the LCWR, the Vatican, and the Roman Catholic Church in general.
The confrontation is an indication of the times of deep change in which we live. Of the overwhelming challenges. Of the need for new ways of responding and being people of faith in the world. The two dangers that Abbot John spoke of are very much present in today’s Church. While I am not guilty of the first, I recognize in myself a tendency toward the second.I read articles and listen to radio interviews, and some homilies, and despair of a Church that can change and respond in a meaningful way to its own people, let alone the world beyond its doors. Abbot John speaks of a “hospice theology,” one in which we know God can work miracles, but likely not the ones we expect.
I see the loss but not always the hope. I don’t always believe in miracles.
The abbot ends the Conference with these words: “Our prophetic vocation is to help the Church (and ourselves) to accept a loss they (we) cannot admit and to embrace a hope they (we) cannot dare to believe. Prophets do this by attending to the present groans of the people and positing an alternative future vision. This, I believe, is the essence of being a spiritual leader in the Church during this time of transition.”
I am thankful for spiritual leaders, like Abbot Klassen, who give me a new way to look and the current state of the RCC and by reminding me of the prophets of old and their call, give me the heart to hope.
http://www.saintjohnsabbey.org/abbot/051210.html
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