Is there anyone here who longs for life ... (psalm 33)

I returned last night from a wonderful gathering of Benedictine women who were taking up the question of vocation ministry. I was asked to serve as a member of a round table discussion that would stimulate thought/reflection as well as engage in dialogue with this particular Benedictine community of women. The time spent in preparation with the other vocation directors, as well as the conversation with the community, touched in me a genuine love for Benedictine monastic life. There is a desire to find ways to not only invite but also engage and companion women into the multiple layers of discernment that would give greater clarity in responding to God’s call.

As I was reflecting, I kept returning to a DVD I saw this summer called The Drummer. Here is the piece that came back to me (there is much more to the story). A young man who by profession is a member of a rock band ends up in hiding in Taiwan. He misses his drumming. One day he and his uncle are climbing the mountain terrain when the young man hears a faint sound. He follows the sound to a group of Zen drummers. For some time this young man simply watches from a distance. Eventually, he approaches the group and introduces himself as a drummer and expresses his desire to drum with this group. He shows the community his skill and they smile politely. The sound and music of the drum is what they have in common. If the young man is to join this group of Zen drummers, he needs to adopt a new way of being, a discipline essential to the Zen way. The discipline is a means of discovery of one’s true self. This seemingly burdensome way frees the young man to bring his whole being into the drumming and in relationship to the other Zen drummers. Again I want to say there is much more to this story.

So, how might these two experiences dialogue around abiding truths? First, I see in the Benedictine way of life, as in the Zen way, a long heritage of meaning and intentionality. Discipline gifts the student of life with a greater freedom to learn the more of oneself and one's relationship to the other and all things. Discipline is the unifying experience of the community. The seeker is often one who for a time peers into the life from a safe distance. The seeker observes and listens to the dynamic exchange of the group. It is the longing that is deep within the human spirit that prods one to risk entrance into this way of being. The way into this life takes time and there are no shortcuts. The cost is a surrender of the clutter that fills our space, externally and internally, so that in the emptiness and silence one can be filled with one’s original blessing, one’s original call to holiness.

original photo of drumming available at: www.drumbala.com/adultcourses.htm