Question for those Oblates on the forum.
How do you balance the detachment from the things of the world called for in the Holy Rule, with our obligation as Catholics to engage the culture such as Pope Benedict’s call for evangelization and participation in the political process? Many on CAF have joked that some monks seem almost oblivious to what is going on in the world, but obviously as members of the laity, we are called to live our lives in the world and to engage in the culture.
If I had one concern so far on the Benedictine approach it would be this.
I look forward to your responses.
Peace of Christ,
Jason
Good question. Actually good lots of questions, because your question packs many issues into one question.
I’ll start by saying that one of the things that startled me when I became involved with the monastery to which I eventually became oblate of, was the fact that the monks are extremely up-to-speed on what is going on in the world. Far from being oblivious to what goes on, they know very well what goes on through their contacts such as oblates (who sometimes act as their news feed…); in particular with ecclesiastical issues but also with issues in general, social mores, etc. They also watch newspapers and when important events are happening, will watch the news on TV or use the Internet.
Obviously when it comes to the political process, monks can’t go out on the hustings, but they do vote!
I think the issue of detachment is not one of either ignoring what goes on, nor an issue of being passive about the issues. Detachment means not letting those issues rule your life, lest they take on a life form of their own and become a form of idolatry, or something that feeds our ego. For us as laity, I think falling into the trap of letting issues rule us is especially dangerous, and one reason why study of the Rule can help us remember our humility and avoid falling into that trap.
There’s no reason why, for instance, an oblate could not work in some form of pro-life ministry. But such work should be approached with humility, recognition of our own limitations, not as a means to take the limelight, and especially, the issue shouldn’t consume us to the point that we neglect other important Christian duties especially to our families.
Working in the political process would have to take the same approach. It would surprise me to see an oblate become a candidate for instance because of the hubris involved. Moreover “active involvement in the political process” has many levels and meaning. I’m not particularly attracted to that milieu, but I think “active involvement” can simply mean informing ourselves of the issues, the candidates’ stands on those issues, and making a prayerful and enlightened choice in the voting booth (it’s a pertinent issue for me as we are in the middle of a provincial election campaign at the moment, and there’s a very important issue at play, the desire of the nationalist party to have a “secularism charter” that would prohibit the display of any religious symbols or clothing by state employees… this to me smacks of discrimination, but I digress).
As for evangelization, that perhaps is the easiest one to answer. In the Benedictine spirit
evangelization should not be confused with
proselytism. Benedictines evangelize very quietly, by making an effort to live a life of peace and joy that one wants to emulate, not by proselytizing. It’s part of the Benedictine charism.
It’s important to note that detachment doesn’t mean avoiding issues, but it relates to how we approach them and how we maintain balance without letting the issues gain the upper hand on our lives. I think the key phrase is
letting go. When something doesn’t go our way… say our preferred candidate loses the election…we need to be able to let go and move on. That, I think, is where
detachment plays an essential role. It equally applies to material things. For instance my work and geographic locale requires that I own an automobile. Prior to my religious conversion, cars consumed far too big a role in my life. I’d spend Saturday mornings washing and polishing it, I’d spend too much on it, I’d drive a fancy car that fed my ego. Now I drive a practical compact hatchback that gets good mileage (I have a long commute), and once in a while I drive it through the car wash. I don’t obsess over every little nick and scratch. I maintain it well, because the Rule teaches us to treat every material object as one of the sacred objects of the altar, but it doesn’t rule me, at least not as much as in the past. That’s part of the conversion process, and I do find one loses one’s urge to accumulate material things.
It drives my wife a bit nuts…