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Františkánský apokryf

No matter how times change, God remains the same, His Word is still spoken in silence – and in silence, the soul must also receive...

Parents of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face

P. Gorazd Cetkovský, O.Carm.

Further in the text of the rule it states: "First, we establish that you should have one of you as the prior. Each of the other brothers should promise him obedience and strive to keep it together with purity and renunciation of ownership genuinely." Thus, authority is mentioned within the community and the trio of so-called evangelical counsels: obedience, purity, and poverty. This is a basic definition of monastic life, mathematicians would say: “basic assignment” – what it will be about. The ancient Romans had a saying: "Divide and conquer." From some parents, I heard praise for a book with a telling title: Children need boundaries. For our life, it is very important in many respects to have set boundaries – so that our energy, thoughts, and desires do not spill uselessly and chaotically in all directions. It is always important when we have some basic focus, such a basic assignment. And this is stated here. The writer of the rule thus defines this community, to which he writes, as a monastic community. With everything that pertains to it.

And I would like to transfer this, brothers and sisters, into the life of each of us. Let us perceive what the Lord God has called us to, what place in life He has set us, let us accept it as a basic definition, in which we stand – along with the boundaries it contains. I consider this to be very important. I do not want to give completely concrete examples, because they are sensitive matters. It often happens that we accept something, but in reality, we want to create some kind of hybrid (of what we have chosen) along with something else. That is not good. If I undertake a certain path and that path has specific demands, I should accept it as such a basic definition, to which I do not oppose, I no longer select (I am not choosy). And I believe that when we take what we have decided seriously, along with all the demands it entails, we somehow boldly invoke God’s blessing.

In our order, this primarily concerns religious, but in a more general sense, it is important for all of us. To have foundations that are given and that we no longer question. Transferred to the environment outside the monastery: I founded a family and I want to live family life – with everything that entails. I entered into marriage and I want to live marriage – with everything it involves, with all the joys and pains that come with it, with all the demands it places on me. To evade that would be immaturity. And it is also a burden for the one who bears it with me.

In the further text, it subsequently shows that St. Albert is indeed writing his rule to brothers who have chosen the lifestyle of solitude. It is actually stated right at the beginning when he addresses the rule: "To (Brocard) and the other hermits, who dwell under his guidance by the spring on Mount Carmel." But it can also be seen further when he writes: "You may have places (where you settle as a community) in solitary places or where they are given to you." And another reference to solitude is in the article: according to the arrangement of the place where you will dwell as a community, "let each of you have a separate cell," i.e. a separate room, simply let everyone have their privacy. This is stated to the first brothers, let us transfer this to our lives. It is clear that the Carmelite tradition is a way that counts on solitude. And where – and now I say this very strongly – where one knows how to deal with solitude. This is a theme we have been discussing since the beginning of our tertiary meetings.

Once I also wrote an article about it in the Karmel magazine.¹ Today – with the passage of years and after many conversations with you tertiaries – I know well that especially for you laypeople it holds true: we do not seek solitude so much as we accept it. It is often quite present in our lives. And we clearly see in our surroundings how much effort people often expend to chase it away. To drive it off like a fly that keeps buzzing around you. Solitude is something they do not know how to cope with, something they perceive as a threat to themselves. But viewed from the perspective of Carmelite tradition: solitude does not threaten us. We perceive it as a space where we can be with God – without being disturbed by other influences. Solitude often exists in our lives; we do not need to seek it artificially. The goal is to accept it when it comes. Only if we were to find ourselves in such an environment where solitude does not exist at all, would we really try to create it somehow. Because it is somewhat essential to our life.

I would like to emphasize one more connection regarding this. When a person is alone, he inevitably realizes what he is actually after in life. In solitude, one cannot hide behind anyone. When one has the radio on, they listen to songs sung by others, or to thoughts that are instilled in their heads by others (or offered by others – lest I be rude). But when one is alone, they must take responsibility for themselves. And that is very important in faith. Faith is an area of our life where we also take responsibility for ourselves. Faith must contain the dimension of personal decision. Converts know well what I am talking about. But even one who grew up in a believing environment will agree with me that there comes a moment in their adolescence when they ask themselves among all those believers: "And what about you? Do you believe?" And they had to answer themselves. An answer they give individually. Before God, we must be able to stand in our individuality. Each one for themselves – and solitude is a tool for this. It reminds us of the personal aspect of our faith.

I emphasize again that it is important to live solitude with God. You know, in today’s world we find ourselves in a situation that confuses me a bit, which is why I will only "touch" on this theme. It seems to me that we find ourselves in an entirely different temporal environment than those before us. In what way, for example? Well, the celibacy of us religious and priests is a testimony that we, called by God's calling, can set aside that beautiful, natural value of marriage and family, a value to which everyone aspires, to open our entire lives only to God and to His service. However – and in that, I see the catch – the time when everyone around us wanted to marry and have families is gone. Nowadays, there are many people who live alone. And now we must show what reason I remain alone. And how justified, correct that reason is. And the same goes for our solitude. We do not live among people who all seek community or who all want to live in beautiful relationships, for whom our solitude would be a provocation, warning: you cannot just hide among others, you must be yourself! Today we also live in a world where many people are very happy alone. But they are alone in such a way that it saddens us because we see how it harms them, and consequently, those around them. And we wonder how to make sure they do not live alone like this... So solitude is not the same as solitude. Our solitude is a solitude that should be very full of God. It is not a solitude in which I can do whatever I want, in which no one sees me and I am not there for anyone – so that no one wants anything from me!

Furthermore, St. Albert's rule contains the instruction: "Without the permission of the prior, who will be at that time, no brother is allowed to change the place assigned to him, or exchange it with another." Again, at first glance, it seems like a prohibition just for the first brothers in their caves. Or that it concerns us religious, so that I do not choose the best room in the monastery. But it poses something more to all of us. I have termed it: anchoring in one’s place. In ancient times, they reportedly had a proverb: "Change is delightful." And thus we encounter the effort in our lives or in the lives of other people to allow themselves some change. It does not always have to be bad, no. But let us pay close attention that if we constantly seek some change, continually moving from one thing to another – young people today say: surfing – and do not settle anywhere, we will not experience a certain depth of life at all. Precisely because we have not planted our roots anywhere. This we should realize for our lives with that practical instruction that the bishop gives to those brothers then.

It is not easy to keep doing the same thing. The same stereotype, the same circle of people. Morning to work, afternoon from work... You meet a familiar person and you already know what they will say to you. And you respond to them with what you always say. Yes – on one hand, it is exhausting, but on the other hand, just that repetition is a way to go deeper. So, as I say this now, it may sound nonsensical or may easily provoke you. But on the other hand, I believe that you understand me and have also experienced that it is so. Precisely where things are repeated, where there is no escape into some cheap change, there may come a moment when God opens some door to a deeper place for us. And we see everything "known" in a different light. By the way, have you not experienced with old people how fondly they recall things they did with such a constantly repeating routine? With the passage of time, that person does not see it as burdensome, but rather fondly recalls how it repeated, how it came back again and again. In short: if we are not willing to endure the stereotype that comes with life, there are depths of experience we will never dive into. Because every time we reach the threshold of that deeper place, we have fled from it into some entertainment, into something "more interesting." We can therefore reflect on the article of the rule: No one is allowed to change the place assigned to them without the permission of the superior.

– witness of joyful faith and care for Carmel

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(Edited transcript of the lecture recorded at the national meeting of tertiaries in Kostelní Vydří on June 16, 2007.)