St. Paul today sets the tone for our
Lenten journey: “Now is a very acceptable time”, a kairos or favorable
moment in God’s plan for us. And not only for us as individuals, but for us as
a monastic community. We are to witness to the grace and joy of being
reconciled to God. Above all to strive for that communion and peace without
which no one can see God. Our mission is to witness to the communion of the
Holy Trinity and to the salvation God wants for the whole world, torn as it is
by wars and divisions on every side. This is a great grace and mission, and we
must not receive it in vain.
To
repeat, this Lent is a kairos, a moment we cannot just pass over. The
recent events of our General Chapter with its changes and new initiatives, and the
significant changes in our community life and new arrivals are signs from the
Lord of the importance of our communion among ourselves. It is our vocation as
a Cistercian community. This grace of communion, which is an essential part of
our charism, received at our profession, is also placed before us daily to be received
and responded to again and again. It is a continual passage into the depths of
charity.
Dom
Mauro of the Cistercian Order described this kairos in this way: it is a
passage from the “I” to the “we” of community life. God does not eliminate our
individuality; he promotes it by the manifestation of our unity. We are more
ourselves the more we foster true communion among ourselves. This passage from
the “I” to the “we” occurs when we do what Jesus did: seek the good of others; show
honor to the other; put others before ourselves.
Our
Lord Jesus highlights three elements of our life that fosters our communion.
The first is almsgiving, both exchanges on the material level but also
spiritual alms by which we encourage and support one another. The second is
prayer, especially in community at the Divine Office, united with Jesus’ prayer
in praise of his Father’s goodness and obedience to his will. And the third is fasting,
especially from the things that are so prevalent in this world – preoccupation
with food and drink, resentments, the search for just about anything that will
break the boredom and ordinariness of life.
Brothers, we are facing a new kairos this Lent, prepared by God to meet the challenges that face us as a community, as an Order, as a Church. This Lent is a moment to deepen our spirit of communion and find new solutions for the way forward together – a synodal moment, a Eucharistic moment. Today is indeed a very acceptable time, a day of salvation prepared by God for us and for the whole world.
Dom Vincent's homily for today.
