The Abbey of the Genesee

60th ANNIVERSARY OF FOUNDATION

ABBEY OF OUR LADY OF THE GENESEE

1951 - 2011

WHY I LIKE THE MONASTIC LIFE HERE

Br. Theodore Daly, OCSO, Founder
August, 2011

The document of Vatican II on the religious life states that the religious life provides for the development of our fundamental supernatural gifts which we received at our Baptism. In this we became wholly supernatural in our life of faith. It is by espousing the religious life and the taking of religious vows that we have committed ourselves to living out a life more deeply united with Christ.

Our life is like the hidden life of Jesus, at home with Mary, as He lived all the hardships of a Galilean carpenter. The Rule of St. Benedict is a program of life that touches the whole person, not only as an individual but also as a member of a community where the abbot is the father. By observing all that the Rule prescribes and what the abbot teaches we gradually put on the unique spirit of our abbey.

It is especially at the Eucharistic liturgy, and the seasons which comprise it, that we grow most in our life of being one with Christ. "Pray and Work" is the motto of the monks who, under these two headings, includes all that leads one to develop one's prayer life, especially one's reading and the quiet atmosphere of the monastery. And it is by our work which includes not only manual productive work but also the development of our native skills and gifts, that the Spirit transforms us into children of God.

It is interesting to read the obituaries of the monks of the various Benedictine congregations, especially from the perspective of how much they have developed their personalities in their respective communities during their lifetime. In Christ's hidden life no record is kept of anything remarkable, except the time in the Temple at the age of twelve. And so in our own monastic life each of us quietly contributes to the building up of our supernatural communities. By co-operating with each other as we strive for our life's goal, we can hopefully hear at the end of our life: "Well done. . .enter now into the joy of the Lord!"