[A Homily of Fr. Matthew Kelty, OCSO, for the 26th Sunday of the Year (C), 1992: (Lk 16: 19-31)]
Chasms
Of great interest to us is the chasm that separates Abraham and the rich man, "so that those who might wish to cross from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross from your side to us." Do we have here a first suggestion of what we call purgatory, a place of atonement and reparation? For the rich man cannot be in hell, even if we deal only with a story, for those in hell do not practice virtue. This man speaks with compassion on behalf of his five brothers.
The first reading from Amos [Amos 6:1, ed.] speaks eloquently of the idle rich who spend their time and their money on themselves. They are marked for a dim future. Such people are not lacking in our day, in fact they grow more numerous. And more gross each passing year.
It is St. Paul, in the Second Reading [1 Timothy 6:11, ed.] who suggests we seek "integrity, piety, faith, love, steadfastness and a gentle spirit." Noble goals in an age of disillusionment.
We have just participated, as you are aware, in a three-year, multimillion-dollar study funded by the Lilly Foundation, made at their suggestion by reason of their awareness of the significance of the religious life in the spiritual life of the whole nation.( * ) You have seen the findings? They are of interest, involve some 10,000 persons in religion, and reflect the opinion of the whole religious life in our land. What the project deals with is the future: how is the religious life going to fare? There are many areas of concern. I pick up only on three.
1) The future lies in the ability to decide between the high cost of Gospel living in a religious community and exclusively privatized understanding of vocation to religious life.We deal here with a chasm: what the demands of the life are and what my demands are.
2) Several factors inhibit the exercise of effective leadership in religious orders. The nature of authority is widely contested, consensual decision-making processes have little form, membership is generally unwilling to relinquish authority to those given responsibility, and the concept of personal "call" often eclipses any willingness to work on behalf of the congregational ends.In other words, where there is a chasm between leadership and those who follow, we have a sterile situation: the rich man powerless and Abraham unable to do anything for him.
3) Authority in religious life, as in the Church itself, is perhaps that most pressing question for religious to resolve. Variable understandings of consensus, subsidiarity, discernment and leadership have diffused understandings of authority. This, coupled with dynamics of individualism, limited understanding of obedience, and the separation of one's spiritual life from the life of the Christian community, has made the exercise of authority extremely difficult.Chasm indeed.
And the conclusion:
Without significant change, religious life in the U.S. will continue to decline.This informed assessment -- it is lengthy and deep -- has a particular pertinence to us, and that for a simple reason. There is today a real ground swell of serious interest in prayer, in mysticism, in the contemplative life. This is no mere trend or passing fad, but a true shift of focus, of fundamental position. Only this week, Fr. David Tracy, theologian from the University of Chicago, spoke on it in a seminar he gave at Lexington Theological Seminary. Society moves into an era in which prophecy and mysticism have priority. It is not absurd to say that the contemplative life is to be the major emphasis of the future. We as monks had nothing to do with this. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in the human heart. It means that we are called to be what we are called to be, and in such a way that it is evident.
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