Christmas: An Everyday Feast
“The life of a monk ought to have about it at all times the character of a Lenten observance.”
So wrote Saint Benedict in chapter 49 of his Rule, and I confess up front that I’ve always had problems with this. For one thing, it conjures up a way of life that is monochromatic. It seems cheerless. It appears to be an endless cycle of drudgery, day in and day out. It also makes Lent the sole season of the church year, with gray chosen as the liturgical color. Given all that, what about the other seasons of the year? And specifically, what happened to Christmas?
I don’t want to get too detailed about this, but Saint Benedict lived on the eve of a critical transition in the liturgical practice of Western monasteries. Whatever Christians may have done elsewhere, the celebration of great feasts in the monastery was not yet what it was to become. Saint Gregory the Great provides good insight into this when he writes of an instance when a visitor called on Benedict in his hermitage. The visitor was astonished to discover that the holy man had no idea that it was the Easter season.
I can’t fault Benedict for the simplicity that marked his years as a hermit. You can’t do much when your processions are one person long, and a cave scarcely provides the setting for an elaborate liturgy. However, his move to Monte Cassino provided both the community and the liturgical space that started the ball rolling. In time the observance of an elaborate liturgy that included Christmas became the thread that set the tone for their lives.
So how do we monks of Saint John’s Abbey celebrate Christmas? For one thing, Saint Benedict would wonder where all those decorated trees came from, but at least he would appreciate their contrast with the darkness of the season. Beyond that, our Christmas Eve liturgy is solemn, and the Christmas Day feast in the refectory is distinctive, both for its menu and its ritual. It’s both a joyful and strenuous regimen, and more than a few of us close the feast with a nap.
Certainly Benedict did not legislate for this, but there’s another point to consider. Benedict may have characterized the life of a monk as a Lenten observance, but it is a way of life that makes vivid the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. At every turn monks should see the face of Christ — in the abbot, in the novice, in the sick or elderly, and especially in the guest. Perhaps for this reason Benedict did not see the need to restrict the celebration of the Incarnation to one particular day. In fact, in the monastery we should strive to celebrate that feast every day.
This being January 1st — yet one more day which Benedict did not observe — it’s a traditional time to make resolutions for the new year. No doubt most monks will set one or the other personal goals, but one goal for us all is to live the Incarnation every day. Even though our lives may have the character of a Lenten observance, one bit should pervade it all. The Lord still comes, just as he did at Bethlehem. The only difference is that he now comes every day.
NOTES
+On December 26th I visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where I saw a special exhibit of 17th-century cityscape paintings, primarily of Venice and Rome. Most of the canvasses were monumental in size, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many people rushed out afterwards to buy plane tickets to Italy.
+The next day the weather became far more severe, and the cold has become a cruel jailer. I did not venture out of doors for several days, but on New Year’s Eve I finally caved in and drove to St. Cloud to buy a new battery for my watch. It had died four days earlier, and it was a little odd wandering around without knowing the time. In a monastery monks can rely on the bells for time — in theory — but when it gets very cold we turn off our bells to avoid cracking them. That was the case for our bells this week, and so for a few days my life was timeless.
+On December 31st we monks celebrated the eve of 2018 with our traditional gathering, which includes various games, visiting with one another, and pizza made by our Brother Dennis. A few hardy souls stayed up to greet the new year; but as is my custom, I brought in the new year in solidarity with the people living two time zones to the east of Minnesota.
+To all who read my blog I thank you for your occasional messages and comments. I continue to enjoy writing this, and it’s an important part of my routine. But it’s always encouraging to know that faithful readers continue and new readers subscribe to it. Thank you, and I wish you all a happy New Year!
+The early 16th-century stained glass in today’s post originally came from the Cistercian abbey of Mariawald, near Cologne. Today it is housed in the Victoria & Albert in London.
