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X-WR-CALDESC:<i>Visiting monastics from far away will perhaps present thems
 elves and wish to stay as guests in the monastery. Provided that they are 
 content with the life as they find it\, and do not make excessive demands 
 that upset the monastery\, but are simply content with what they find\, th
 ey should be received for as long a time as they wish. They may\, indeed w
 ith all humility and love make some reasonable criticisms or observations\
 , which the prioress or abbot should prudently consider\; it is possible t
 hat God guided them to the monastery for this very purpose.</i>\n\nDietric
 h Bonhoeffer wrote once: 'There is a meaning in every journey that is unkn
 own to the traveler.' The Benedictine rule presumes the fundamental truth 
 of that. In an era when monastics from small monasteries made regular pilg
 rimages to the shrines of Europe\, Benedictine life not only welcomed them
 \, fed them\, kept them and accepted them as one of its own\, Benedictine 
 life opened itself to learn from them. And we can learn from that kind of 
 radical acceptance\, too. Wisdom is welcome from any direction. Our task i
 s to open ourselves to it\, to see criticism as an occasion for growth\, t
 o see the value of continued evaluation and never to close ourselves off f
 rom challenge\, even when it comes from places we don't expect and people 
 we don't know.\n\n<i>If after a while they wish to remain and bind themsel
 ves to stability\, they should not be refused this wish\, especially as th
 ere was time enough\, while they were a guest\, to judge their character. 
 But if during their stay they have been found excessive in their demands o
 r full of faults\, they should certainly not be admitted as a member of th
 e community. Instead\, they should be politely told to depart\, lest their
  ways contaminate others.</i>\n\nBenedictine spirituality never requires p
 erfection. It does\, however\, demand effort and openness. Complaining and
  complacency are the two evils that community life most abhors and can lea
 st afford. Any community\, any group is poisoned by people who criticize c
 onstantly and exert themselves little. Benedict warns against them both he
 re. 'Don't keep them\,' he insists. Better to do with fewer and do the lif
 e well than to swell the numbers of a group with what will eventually corr
 ode it. It is a hard lesson in a culture that measures its success in numb
 ers.
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DTSTART:20251102T020000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
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RDATE:20261101T020000
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DTSTAMP:20260405T115511Z
DESCRIPTION:<i>Visiting monastics from far away will perhaps present themse
 lves and wish to stay as guests in the monastery. Provided that they are c
 ontent with the life as they find it\, and do not make excessive demands t
 hat upset the monastery\, but are simply content with what they find\, the
 y should be received for as long a time as they wish. They may\, indeed wi
 th all humility and love make some reasonable criticisms or observations\,
  which the prioress or abbot should prudently consider\; it is possible th
 at God guided them to the monastery for this very purpose.</i>\n\nDietrich
  Bonhoeffer wrote once: 'There is a meaning in every journey that is unkno
 wn to the traveler.' The Benedictine rule presumes the fundamental truth o
 f that. In an era when monastics from small monasteries made regular pilgr
 images to the shrines of Europe\, Benedictine life not only welcomed them\
 , fed them\, kept them and accepted them as one of its own\, Benedictine l
 ife opened itself to learn from them. And we can learn from that kind of r
 adical acceptance\, too. Wisdom is welcome from any direction. Our task is
  to open ourselves to it\, to see criticism as an occasion for growth\, to
  see the value of continued evaluation and never to close ourselves off fr
 om challenge\, even when it comes from places we don't expect and people w
 e don't know.\n\n<i>If after a while they wish to remain and bind themselv
 es to stability\, they should not be refused this wish\, especially as the
 re was time enough\, while they were a guest\, to judge their character. B
 ut if during their stay they have been found excessive in their demands or
  full of faults\, they should certainly not be admitted as a member of the
  community. Instead\, they should be politely told to depart\, lest their 
 ways contaminate others.</i>\n\nBenedictine spirituality never requires pe
 rfection. It does\, however\, demand effort and openness. Complaining and 
 complacency are the two evils that community life most abhors and can leas
 t afford. Any community\, any group is poisoned by people who criticize co
 nstantly and exert themselves little. Benedict warns against them both her
 e. 'Don't keep them\,' he insists. Better to do with fewer and do the life
  well than to swell the numbers of a group with what will eventually corro
 de it. It is a hard lesson in a culture that measures its success in numbe
 rs.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260415T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260415T235900
LOCATION:61
SUMMARY:The Reception of Visiting Monastics
END:VEVENT
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