ABBOT ELIAS DIETZ, O.C.S.O.
Homily, Annunciation – March 25, 2017
Solemn Profession Mass of Br. Maximilian Pickerill
Dear Br. Maximilian,
Just a month ago we celebrated Br. William’s jubilee, marking 50 years of living out the vows you will make this morning. On that occasion he reminded us of the many biblical examples of vocations, of the way different people were called. Often the one called needs to go through some kind of purification, like Moses, alone and fasting, or like Isaiah, whose lips are cleansed by a burning coal. Or, along the same lines, the one called has to go through a process of learning, like young Samuel learning to pray or St. Paul, unlearning his earlier convictions and learning to recognize Jesus as Lord. And nearly all of these callings involve a mission: the one chosen and called is now ready to be sent out to help accomplish God’s plan.
The Annunciation as described in St. Luke’s gospel, as we just heard, is clearly a vocation scene. Mary is chosen and receives a call. But her case is very different from the ones just mentioned. Mary is already full of grace, and has no need to be purified or to learn her lesson before carrying out her vocation. And, in fact, she doesn’t receive a mission at all in the sense of going out to accomplish a specific task. Rather God requests that she welcome into her body and into her home a Son. Only with her consent can Jesus, the Son of God, take shape within her and come into the world.
The calling of a monk combines various aspects of these biblical examples. Usually there is a kind of urge or inner necessity that brings one to the monastery. Like St. Paul, though, it takes a certain amount of unlearning before one can begin to see what the calling involves. One of the vows you will make this morning, conversatio morum or the promise to remain faithful to the monastic way of life, is precisely a commitment to unlearn false notions and to learn authentic ones. The ideals the new monk seeks for himself have to give way to the real demands of this way of life in this place with these brothers. We don’t come to vows saying “Here I am, Lord, I know what it’s about and I commit to it.” Rather, with St. Paul at the moment of his conversion, we ask “What now; what shall I do, Lord?”
Although, like all religious, monastics participate in the mission of the Church, the monk isn’t sent out to perform a given task. He’s asked to stay home, to be stable. In this sense the monastic calling is more like Mary’s vocation: to make space, to make a home for Jesus. There would be no point in this big pile of bricks if it weren’t inhabited by monks, and still less if those monks weren’t inhabited by Christ. A stable place and a stable way of life are the ideal conditions for hearing God’s message and becoming a dwelling place for the Word. If you allow Christ to take shape within you in this hidden way, then you will become more and more like him even in your outward behavior.
This morning you will also make a vow of obedience. There is no better way to understand this vow than to consider the Annunciation that we commemorate today. Mary’s “yes” to God, Mary’s consent is obedience in its fullest and most beautiful form. To consent this way, to promise obedience, is to approve in advance what you don’t yet understand or expect. The key is Mary’s perception of her place: I am God’s handmaid; I can trust what God is asking of me; let it be done according to his will. To vow obedience is to take your true place. And you can take it gladly, trusting in God’s loving will for you.
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