Br. Kenneth, your solemn profession has brought together a microcosm of the Church with the presence of your dear mother and father, your sister and her family, friends from your youth and even from your days in India, former band members, our sisters from Wrentham, and your own brothers of Spencer. Our heavenly Father must be pleased to see so many of his children gathered to celebrate this solemn moment of your monastic consecration. You have found your treasure, and with it you are opening a window into your heart. For Jesus’ saying applies to you, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Let us look at this treasure which you are embracing today, namely, the Cistercian life in all its fulness.
But I would be remiss on this feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, if I did not mention how much Our Lady is pleased to see you clothed in the cowl of Citeaux. For certainly, our Order is a treasure to Our Lady. Other vocations are, no doubt, of equal value or even more so; to name a few: the love and devotion of a husband and wife who accompany and nurture their children, even to the possibility of a total consecration to God; the dedication of a teacher to bring a student to the search for truth and self-knowledge; the zeal of a missionary who leaves mother and father to go where the Spirit leads her. All these are dear to the heart of Our Lady, each in its own way. But today, let us take a closer look at why our Order, and you, in particular, Br. Kenneth, are such a treasure to Our Lady’s heart.
First of all, because with your vows you are being conformed more closely to her Son, Jesus. He was taught by her, held in her arms, fed by her silence, touched by her prayer, and immersed in her love. The Father sent Jesus to be fully human, and Our Lady was the privileged helper for his humanity to come to that fulness. Our Lady continues this mission in our Order today, helping us to become fully human after the example of Jesus.
Second, because it was in the humble circumstances of the Holy Family of Nazareth that Jesus’ human nature matured in its perfect consecration to the Father. Jesus could see in the example of the perfect and chaste love of Our Lady and St. Joseph the true gift of self in human relationships, in friendships, and in charity which seeks not its own but that which benefits another. Likewise, it is in the daily encounters with your brothers and others that your consecration to the Father is being purified and sanctified. Our Lady will help you with this purification.
Third, Our Lady was perfectly obedient to the Father’s will, just as her Son would be. The good of obedience can be a great sacrifice. Consider Our Lady’s willingness to accept the Father’s will, which can be so demanding and so incomprehensible at times – think of her three-day search for the child Jesus, or the sword that pierced her heart when standing at the cross! Such abandonment to the Father’s will is what Our Lady is looking for in a Cistercian monk or nun.
We could go on and on trying to articulate all the blessings of our Cistercian charism. St. Bernard has a well-known letter in which he adds the following characteristics: “Our way of life means applying ourselves in silence, being trained in fasts, vigils, prayers, manual labor, and above all it means clinging to the most excellent way, which is Charity. It is no wonder Our Lady holds our Order as a treasure close to her heart, because in all this she sees her beloved Jesus.
Br. Kenneth, the School of Love is calling you, urging you to run with heart expanded on the way of God’s commandments. Follow the sweet ointments whose fragrance flows from the hearts of Jesus and Mary, and run – with all decorum, of course – with a heart overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love. This is your treasure and the place where your heart is. And for all your family and friends joining us today, let us encourage one another in the diversity of our vocations to imitate the Lord Jesus. But above all, for us Cistercians, let us be faithful to the grace we have received. Our Cistercian Order is a little jewel, hidden to be sure, and our charism, unusual to say the least, but one that Our Lady loves to wear close to her heart.
