Dear Friends,
Some years ago, I visited a Benedictine Monastery in England. The Abbot welcomed me warmly and then we went to the refectory for lunch. “I must apologize that our hospitality will not be to its usual standard, father,” he said, “since it is Holy Week, we are only having three courses and there is only one wine today.” I smiled and wondered what I might have received had it been St. Benedict’s Day! Sometime later, I visited another Benedictine Monastery, this time in Belgium. It was a very grand monastery attached to an old university, and there were beautiful portraits of the former abbots and the current abbot. Before the concert our choir was going to perform in the Monastic Church, we were served dinner. I was disappointed that not one of the monks was present; I knew that the community was now small, but still, it would have been nice to have been welcomed. A man in a white tee-shirt and apron was serving food at my table, so I asked him, “Do you think we might be able to meet the abbot?” He smiled at me and said, “I am the abbot!” and went back to the kitchen!
Hospitality is important to Benedictines. You may, therefore, be surprised to hear the beginning of rule number 49 from the Rule of St. Benedict: “A Monk’s life should at all times resemble a continual Lent, but few have such virtue.”
A life that resembles a continual Lent? When I first read that, it sounded to me that the monastic life must be a very dreary one, filled with penance and self-denial. But, as I grew older, I realized that Benedict was talking about a kind of Lent that I was yet to discover – a Lent that was, indeed, so joyful that one would want to cultivate it and try to live by it it all year round. The kind of Lent that is so clearly spelled out for us in the scriptures today.
For years, as a priest in the Church of England, I said or sang one of the prefaces to the Eucharistic Prayer for the first weeks of Lent without allowing the words to take root in my own life:
Each year you give us this joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed. You give us a spirit of loving reverence for you and of willing service to our neighbor. As we recall the saving acts that give new life in Christ, you bring the image of your Son to perfection within our hearts.
How often had I misunderstood the true meaning of Lent! How often had I seen the disciplines of Lent as being an end in themselves rather than as a means to an end. To live a life that is continually Lenten in character does not mean living a miserable life at all! To live a life characterized by Lent means to be more attuned to the generous hospitality of God.
Now I understand why St. Benedict prays that we should strive to live a life characterized by the season of Lent because it is a joyful season; a season whose whole purpose is to prepare to celebrate! A season of love for God and expressed through love offered freely to our neighbors. And all because of the salvation that has been given to us by Jesus, who image in each one of us will be brought to perfection because of our Lenten discipline, and not in spite of it!
On Sunday, we continue our Lenten Sermon Series at Evensong at which the preacher will reflect on the architecture and the liturgy of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and relate it to the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This Sunday, Fr. Schultz will talk about the Temple as a ‘place of sacrifice.’
Affectionately,
Your Priest and Pastor,
Carl
Director of Music Search Update
The Search Committee has been working diligently to find the right successor to Dr. Filsell, ensuring that the Saint Thomas tradition of musical excellence under his leadership continues to thrive. Our call for applications received an extraordinary response, with many highly accomplished musicians applying from the U.S. and around the world.
After careful deliberation, we have invited a select group of outstanding candidates to New York for the next stage of the process. We are confident that this next chapter in our music ministry will bring both continuity and renewed vision, and we look forward to sharing more as the search progresses. Please keep this process in your prayers as we seek the right person to lead us forward.
