WHAT DID VAT II DO TO OUR ABBEYS?

People like me who try to live the contemplative life - and probably all prayerful Catholics when/if they think about it - are saddened by the emptying-out of the monasteries which for hundreds of years have given glory to God, to the exclusion of all else.

That's what we're all called to do - but only so far as lifestyles as mothers, fathers, single people and secular priests allow. And so we look to the abbeys, the monasteries, to their nuns and monks as exemplars of the "strait way" Jesus taught us in the Gospels, for inspiration and incentive.

Of course we know that increased wealth and materialism in the 'developed' (actually in real terms, stunted but don't get me started) world is the obvious reason for the fall-off in numbers of men and women choosing this most elevated and graced vocation to the monastic life.

But what else lies behind it?

Vatican II  - or rather, the way it was implemented.

Lay people know all about the relegation of tabernacles to the sanctuary sidelines or glorified cupboards where no one goes to pray; the banishment of kneelers and fade-out of the Rosary, Exposition and Benediction, the introduction of Toms Dicks Harrys and Harriets to the sanctuary and their unconsecrated hands (once upon a time, mine included) handing out Holy Communion to people perhaps unwashed and careless, queued up as if in a café getting coffee and an oversized muffin.

So what happened in the monasteries? What was the effect, unintended but perhaps just as devastating, of Vatican II within those hallowed walls?

We're told the Council made provision for 'the renewal' of all forms of religious life and that 'monasticism also was called upon to meet the challenge'.

That's something of an understatement. The centuries-old tradition of Gregorian chant of the Liturgy of the Hours, the very foundation of the monastic life, was abolished and substituted by the every-day, conversational vernacular. That meant printing new books and music. What an upheaval, what expense, what time and effort just in practical terms, not to speak of aesthetics.

In most monasteries the silence which once prevailed, which made monks and nuns available to the murmurings of the Holy Spirit, is now chiefly limited to what's called 'the Great Silence'. That's from Compline to Lauds, in other words while the nuns and monks are asleep anyway. So there's no need for the sign-language which used to facilitate quiet.

Post-Vatican II monks in positions of responsibility are expected to be jet-setters, flying to international congresses of their Orders at all points of the compass. Enduring long-haul flights and hotter climes than they're used to is the norm for our mostly elderly abbots and abbesses.

What's it for, this jetting to far places? It's for 'theological education' which I'd have thought is best learned in silent contemplation in their own abbey churches. Or for 'broadening their experience of monastic life', which is so much more cheaply and perhaps more effectively done with videos and movies in their own abbey common room. Or for 'solidarity' which one would think is best expressed in prayer for common needs; or 'discussion' which one would think is opposed to the abbatial lifestyleare

Monks are now instructed by way of 'psychological expertise' on how to upgrade 'relationship skills' which are surely best taught in silent contemplation by Jesus Christ himself in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and through the writings of the saints - usually women, like Teresa of Avila or Therese of Lisieux, both cloistered nuns - who for their expertise, not in relationship skills but in the virtues which foster contemplative prayer, have been declared Doctors of the Church. 

In Australia and New Zealand some monks once slept in dormitories, learning through close proximity the care and respect for their brothers required to lose the sizable ego which makes it impossible to squeeze through that 'narrow door' to eternal life. Now they have separate rooms, which although they may be called cells, are I'm told are very comfy and warm.

And although abbeys were built in solitary, hard to get at places, the 20th century encroached as nearby towns and cities spread, and intruded as many lay people took advantage of abbey churches for Mass (no roster responsibilities!) and hospitality - sometimes quite flash - for retreats, while the church is in some monasteries severely superannuated. To me, building comfy new cells and guest houses instead of new churches smacks of putting the cart before the horse or the tail wagging the dog.

It seems to me also that people, especially young people, who are called to a vocation so radical, so opposed to the values of the world, are likely to be encouraged by making the monastery not more like the world they feel inclined to leave (and for good reason) but less.

All right, it's infernal cheek for me to make comments on a way of life I've never experienced and being 'married with children' - and grandchildren - am never likely to (although after the death of their husband, many women have entered the cloister).

But above and beyond all these post-Vat II factors which may or may not have contributed to the huge drop-off, world-wide, in the number of monastic religious, I'd rate the practice of giving Holy Communion holus-bolus to all comers as the most effective.

I don't know how widespread it is, but I've observed inter-Communion first-hand in at least two monasteries (not knowing of course, the religious affiliation of communicants in most). It's in direct contravention of the Magisterium of the Church to put the very Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ into the hands of people who, while they may state their belief in the Real Presence, utterly belie it by the fact that they are not, and show no inclination to become, members of the Catholic Church.

If anyone truly believes that what they receive in Holy Communion is Jesus Christ Himself, they would put aside all other considerations (such as losing status as lay preachers) and become Catholics, for the marvelous privilege of receiving Him not just once a month or even once a week or so, but every day.

"He who hears you, hears Me." I simply cannot understand the mentality which allows  transgression of canon law in monastic orders of the Church which take a vow of obedience.

And then there's the subject of New Wine, New Wineskins of Pope Francis, which is currently read and revered in monasteries. But that's another story.

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