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Posted: November 13
(Taize, France) The bus wound its way through the bare fields of southern France with the late afternoon autumn light softly fading as we made our way to the ecumenical monastery famous for its unique style of simple, meditative chants. I was in France for an eminently forgetable meeting of a church communication group best left unnamed, but this excursion through the country beyond Lyons was a saving grace, a little something extra, what the folks in New Orleans call "lagniappe." We had exited the freeway and glided by the famous medieval monastery of Cluny which represents an older tradition of monastic life. Taize certainly represents the present, and perhaps the future.
The monastery nestles in a small village that Brother Roger picked as a promising place to pursue his idea of a way of religious life that would bridge the differences that had so unfortunately separated Christians for too many centuries. The basic recipe is simple: the 60 or so monks present at the monastery spend several hours a day working to provide the monastery's operating expenses, and they practice hospitality and they pray. Of course, their hospitality goes way beyond the traditional notion. We arrived in a quiet time mid-week when French schools were busy, so only 50 or so young people were present. During the summer Taize welcomes up to 7,000 young pilgrims each week. They are welcome to pitch tents on a big field, share in the work of maintaining the dining hall and facilities, but most of all to talk and pray. The prayer mostly involves three long periods in the church with some Scripture readings, generous amounts of silence and the haunting chants that keep repeating a phrase over and over.
We got a video introduction to the monastery before joining the other guests in a large, summer-camp like dining room. (I was happily surprised that the monastery has its own video studio; they also record the music they have created.) The food was certainly simple: a big dollop of mashed potatoes in a bowl, two nuggets of meat, some broth, bread and an orange. After dinner many of us visited the grave of Brother Roger who was stabbed to death by a mentally deranged woman. His untimely death underscored the trust that he preached as the foundation of the pilgrim way. Despite his passing, the monastic life goes on smoothly. Their goals are simple and basic, and I think that is the source of their appeal. Focus on a few essentials and welcome young people to talk about what they think. Obviously the monks have tapped a huge hunger for finding God and for a sense of community. They are very tolerant of dress and allow young people to be themselves. The guests respond to the invitation and the challenge. It makes me think that we Jesuits ought to simplify the way we talk about the Spiritual Exercises and be much more energetic in welcoming young people to search for God.
After dinner, one member of our group, Father Luis Garcia Orso, a Jesuit from Mexico, was standing in line waiting to hand over his dirty dishes to the plate-washing crew. One of the workers, a young guest visiting the monastery, heard Luis speaking Spanish and asked him where he was from.
"Mexico," Luis responded. The young man said that he also was Mexican, and then asked what brought Luis to Taize. Luis explained that he was part of a meeting of communicators.
"I am also studying communication, at the Jesuit university in Guadalajara," the man said, leading Luis to explain that he was a Jesuit himself. The young man asked him what his name was and then gasped when Luis said his name, "I just wrote you an email a few weeks ago, do you remember?"
Luis easily remembered the request for suggestions about study that the young man had made, and the man thanked him because the email was very helpful. This unlikely meeting of fellow countrymen so far away, who met face to face after an exchange of email makes me hope that it is possible to bridge great distances and come to know each other better. The world is becoming much smaller and we don't have to be strangers. This seems like a fitting tribute to the dream that led Brother Roger out into the countryside in the first place.
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