It's really quite beautiful and inspiring. Note especially how the narrator's account of his meditation after Compline illustrates the motto from the beginning: contemplata aliis tradere. 'To pass on to others what we have contemplated,' or, 'To give to others the fruits of contemplation.' It's the mixed life of mendicancy, both contemplative and active.
Notice also one of the distinctive marks of the Dominican rite: the simultaneous oblation of bread and previously prepared chalice with one prayer. The narrator speaks of uniting himself to the sacrifice at the offertory; this is the heart of conscious participation in the Mass, and something which we need to recover in our own time.
Why should one desire religious life? It is a desire for both prayer and for sacred Truth, with Christ impelling us to share these with the world.
"Why should one desire religious life? It is a desire for both prayer and for sacred Truth, with Christ impelling us to share these with the world."
ReplyDeleteAt what point is one forced to say, "There's too much in my past and too many years behind me. That door has closed."? Do many make mid-life vocational changes to monasticism?
I don't think it's very uncommon, actually, though many communities set an age limit, especially those with long and expensive formation programs.
ReplyDeleteI saw this a couple of years ago. A neat piece of trivia: the narrator is none other than Dana Elcar, otherwise known as the guy who played Peter on MacGyver.
ReplyDeleteNeat!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh...the God old days - we ain't going back Fr. Charles - get over it!
ReplyDelete