Phrase Benedict Option absent from article about actual Benedictines renewing culture
This is a really good article about the incredible restoration going on in Norcia, the birthplace of St. Benedict. Very timely also, and it also contains a plethora of phrases relevant to Christianity and Catholicism in particular. Among these are New Evangelization, restoration of monastic culture, scholastic education, Gregorian chant, ressourcment, traditional monastic horarium and dynamic renewal. Real positive ideas which all have meanings.
Note that there are no mentions of the so-called Benedict Option in this article anymore than there are mentions of unicorns, global warming, Santa's elves or queer theory. Also conspicuously absent is the cute abbreviation BenOp which is preferred by most of the BOppers out there.
RTWT; here are a few interesting paragraphs:
In addition, the monks have engaged in many cultural endeavors. Looking back to the mandate of Vatican II, this may be the best way to understand the call for “adaption.” As I have written elsewhere, Cardinal Pell described their brewery, Birra Nursia, as a genuine expression of the New Evangelization. The monks see the brewery as an apostolate for engaging non-believers and though their brewery has only been around for a few years (since 2012) it has had a large impact, even being served at the last papal conclave!
...
The monastery’s new CD, Benedicta: Marian Chants from Norcia, was produced in partnership with de Montfort Music, a highly successful label, producing 3 of the top five classical albums for 2014. The CD presents many traditional Marian hymns and antiphons, some of which will be readily recognizable, but what stands out to me is that the CD also includes an original composition. This, once again, reflects the creative and dynamic renewal of the Norcia monks. The text and music of the original piece, Nos Qui Christi Iugum (“We Who Have Received Christ’s Yoke”), were composed by Fr. Basil Nixen, the monastery’s choirmaster.
I would encourage everyone to purchase the CD, not only for its beauty and inducement to contemplation, but also to support the great work of renewal undertaken by the Monastery of St. Benedict of Norcia. We all have a great work ahead of us to rebuild the foundations of our civilization. In this work, we will all be carried by the prayers and labors of contemplatives. Their renewal, the renewal of the monastic foundation, may just leaven the whole project of rebuilding. And where better to start, but in the very home of the great builder of the foundations of Western civilization, St Benedict?
That sounds like a good CD to buy if you want to support these good monks. I'm sure the beer kicks, too, but I'm stocked for a few more weeks, thanks.
Real monks doing real stuff making good music, good beer and praying their asses off. I have no doubt that these men are having a real effect on the world by their prayers and actions, their ora et labora. My guess is they don't have a lot of time to discuss imaginary places, persons or things like the Benedict Option. That exercise wouldn't really fit under either category, although maybe a Latin scholar could devise a quick phrase which translates roughly to "talking about praying tomorrow most likely, thinking about working later on and definitely planning to write a book someday."
I believe it was Kierkegaard who pointed out that a shop with a sign in the window declaring "Shoes Repaired Here" offered no guarantee one could get one's boot heels replaced; it might simply be a sign shop offering painted signs saying "Shoes Repaired Here".
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, just as "orange juice" may be rather watery yellow and contain precious little actual juice, so, too, pop cultural blog jabber about Benedict Options may contain preciously little that is Christian, Benedictine, or optional beyond that minimal effort needed to paint the sign or stick an equivalent slurry of words to the page.
maybe a Latin scholar could devise a quick phrase which translates roughly to "talking about praying tomorrow most likely, thinking about working later on and definitely planning to write a book someday."
ReplyDeleteHere's a frist attempt:
de mane fortasse orando loquens, de posthac laborando contemplans, de libro quondam scribendo certo meditans
It doesn't have that aphoristic punchiness of the best Latin. Maybe I'll email Fr. Hunwicke! ;-) I'll try to twist it into an elegiac couplet tonight. Naaah.
But now Dreher the Benedictine mountebank monk is railing about Jeb Bush as an allegedly cafeteria Catholic. I guess he ought to know about religious hypocrisy. Aren't the Orthodox the original cafeteria Catholics?
Mmm. Let's explore the tenets of Orthodoxy: don't like the papal claims? Ignore them. Primacy of honor only! Want contraceptives? Your married parish priest will grant you a dispensation. Civilly divorced? No problem. Let's set the date for a new church wedding. Oikonomia, it's called. Great cafeteria. But we don't serve infidel filioques. No sirree.
So our eminently logical apostate and professional snowflake par excellence, syllogized:
Boinking altar boys is a sin. Homo priests and bishops boinked altar boys. Ergo, the papal claims are null and void.
Dreher's hubris cries out to heaven for vengeance.
Beautiful, RDC.
DeleteAren't the Orthodox the original cafeteria Catholics?
Niiiice.
Dreher's hubris cries out to heaven for vengeance.
...and all he gets is this lousy blog.
Speaking of our lousy blog, wanna write for us, man?
DeleteExcellent, Roland! John Beeler was recently making a similar point; Something on the order of: "I fast a lot more than you do, nyah-nyah. Now pass me the contraceptives while I plan my second divorce." ;)
DeleteThanks, Pauli. And Diane too.
ReplyDeleteAnd BTW, this ain't no lousy blog. You guys do a great job of taking the wind out of Roddy's sails. Which ain't nothing considering how full of verbal flatulence Roddy is!
Let me think about the writing thing (and I am humbled by the kind invitation) -- I do know how much work a blog takes. It's not easy coming up with a new topic every day or so.
Of course, Roddy does about 10 posts a day which are mostly the stream-of-consciousness musings of a bombastic blatherskite on the "read the whole thing" excerpt he has put up as click-bait.
I rarely read his overlong and turgid posts - but I still often learn something new from some of the commenters over there.
I do know how much work a blog takes. It's not easy coming up with a new topic every day or so.
DeleteYes, but we don't have any quotas or deadlines at all which sort of makes sense considering nobody gets paid anything.
Roddy does about 10 posts a day which are mostly the stream-of-consciousness musings of a bombastic blatherskite on the "read the whole thing" excerpt he has put up as click-bait.
Two thought about this: (1) This reality makes it extremely easy to commentate on his, as you say, flatulence, (2) This observation could serve as the subject of an entire blog post.
The invitation is open.