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SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Lucy
DESCRIPTION:THE HISTORICAL MEETING POINT OF MARTYRDOM \nAND MONASTICISM \nFrom the writing of St Christian de Chergé4 \n◊◊◊ \nFrom the beginnings of Christian monasticism\, there has been both \ncontinuity and discontinuity between the monastic choice and martyrdom. As we \nknow\, there is continuity in time: during the first centuries of persecutions there \nwere certainly vocations to the solitary life\, dedicated to prayer and intercession \nfor all. It is easy to imagine John the Evangelist withdrawing into solitude and \ninspiring followers. But the threat was there for them and for everyone\, and there \nwas need to sustain believers’ courage and faith in that direct form of sequela \nChristi—the offering of martyrdom—to which they left themselves exposed by the \nvery fact of being Christian. And there is discontinuity\, because Constantine’s \n“peace of the Church” was needed in order for monasticism to find its specific \nplace\, when laxity and ease were quickly undermining the vitality of gospel \nwitness. \nIt was indeed the gospel that incited Anthony to “lose his life” in a way \ndifferent from the shedding of blood through “pagan” hatred. Paganism was not \ndead; it transplanted itself in the Church\, where “secularization” made rapid \nheadway. Anthony\, therefore\, would be “pursued” by the Word. He heard it and \nembodied it by following it literally and on the spot. It happened as quickly as the \nfall of the ax on the neck of Cecilia or Lucy. But for Anthony it was only the first \nstep of the Pasch\, the passing over. It then took dozens of years for the letter to be \ntruly rewritten in terms of the spirit\, in order to find\, following Jesus’ example\, \nCahier de Tibhirine 1\, Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Aiguebelle\, p. 449. Trans. Fr. Elias Dietz\, OCSO.9 \nways of combining time and eternity\, the earth and the things above. Anthony and \nmany others instinctively returned to the place of the first Passover\, the desert\, for \nthis unique kind of martyrdom. \nEarlier persecutions had singled out towns—and even big cities—to offer \nthe spectacle of faith to the crowds in the arenas as if it were a game. The \npersecutions faded away\, but the Adversary remained and continued to have his \nfun. He\, then\, was the one to take on directly. Anthony’s combat was not against \npeople\, pagans or not\, but against the traditional Enemy of humankind\, whom he \nconfronted as a solitary\, confident that he could contribute to conquering him \nwhere he is most rampant. \nThis flight from the spirit of the world and this fierce but humble solitude \nwill become\, strangely enough\, “the seeds of Christianity\,” to use the phrase \nTertullian applied to the early martyrs. It is to this drop by drop spending of flesh \nand blood in the desert that we must constantly return\, in order to sustain the \nspecific fruitfulness of our lives here and now \n4 Christian de Chergé\, Dieu pour tout jour. Chapitres de Père Christian de Chergé à la communauté de Tibhirine [1986–1996]\, Les \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-lucy-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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