Tuesday, September 23rd : Day Thirteen
23/09/2014 21:08
Greetings to the community of Whitland which is reading this blog in their refectory. I will take care that nothing mentioned would upset the enjoyment of a good meal.
At the beginning of the chapter everyone was divided up into small groups called commissions and different tasks were assigned to them, tasks like the evaluation of house reports, transfer of paternity and decisions about accepting the resignation of superiors.
Now as we are approaching the end of the chapter, information from the commissions is coming back to the aula. From this information, votes are formulated which represent the decisions and thus the fruits of the General Chapter of 2014. Often the formulation of the votes is a complex process and they need to be nuanced for language, clarified for legality or corrected for ambiguity. One can imagine that this process is fairly time-consuming.
As a side note, the detail with which the votes are scrutinized makes writing this blog more difficult, in that many worries about accuracy and potential for misunderstanding of the formulation of votes creeps over to the writing of this blog. Currently there is no mechanism for correcting any misinformation put into the blog, and so I apologize in advance for any misunderstandings this writing may create.
Each commission heard house reports from at least ten communities. The commission then summarized their findings in a single page and now these summaries are being presented in the aula. The findings will be published in the minutes of the chapter, but several motifs seem to occur in the reports which we have heard so far, namely those of increasing age and decreasing vocations. As a sample, Commission 8 reports that “the superiors are aware of the state of precariousness of some communities, as are the Fathers Immediate of those same communities. They are realistic, but not defeatist. Communities are aware, but that does not mean that all are well.” Commission 2 concluded that “almost all the houses find themselves in circumstances that are rapidly changing. How far can we accommodate our life and observances without forfeiting our Cistercian specificity?”
We also heard from M. Augusta, the promatrix of the order and the progress of the causes of our Cistercian saints-to-be. In short:
· Bl Marie-Joseph Cassant: needs another miracle
· Bl Maria Gabriella also needs a verified miracle. At the same time her reputation for holiness is becoming more wide spread and the her intercession is being more widely sought.
· Fr Romano Bottegal is now Venerable and his cause is advancing rapidly.
· The difficulties surrounding the cause of the martyrs of Viaceli and Algemesi have been resolved, and it is possibly that they be beatified next year in Spain.
· The cause for St Gertrude of Helfta to be named a Doctor of the Church is complex, but it seems to be advancing. The main purpose of seeking this title is so that the mystical dimension of our life be more fully appreciated.
· The documentation for the monks of Tibhirine (40 volumes of 350 pages each) has been sent to the Congregation. Fr Tomas has become postulator of this difficult cause.
These brief notes are just a summary of the information provided, and the full text of the presentation will be available in the minutes of the General Chapter.
The ad hoc commission to summarized the discussions about the use of the internet made their presentation today. The summary was succinct and clear, saying that the signature activities of Cistercian life (silence, prayer, lectio, work, separation from the world) need to be protected and the internet should not interfere with these principles. Some people were looking for more direction, and so we may have even more discussion.
Tomorrow has been declared a much-needed day of rest, and so it is quite possible that the blog will take a rest as well.