The Waters of Siloe
Page 44
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27 . . . sedeant omnes in uno loco et legat unus collationes vel vitas Patrum. . . . Rule, chap. 43.
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28 The short lesson from St. Peter in Compline in the Roman breviary is a vestige of this practice. The idea was to put some spiritual thoughts into the mind of the monk or priest after the business of the day, to prepare him for his night prayers.
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29 St. Bernard, In Cant., vii, No. 2.
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30 Ibid., lxxxiii, No. 4.
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31 Ibid.
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32 Vita Pachomii, v-vi, P. L. 73, 233. St. Athanasius, Vita S. Antonii, ix, P. L. 73, 132.
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33 Dixit eis Jesus: Ego sum via veritas et vita. Nemo venit ad Patrem nisi per me. John xiv:6.
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34 John vi:44.
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35 Ibid., xvii:3.
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36 I John ii:22.
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37 John xiv:5.
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38 In Cant., xx, No. x.
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39 (Verbum) non figuratum sed infusum; non apparentem sed afficientem; . . . Verbum nempe est non sonans sed penetrans; non loquax sed efficax; non obstrepens auribus sed affectibus blandiens. Facies est non formata sed formans; non perstringens oculos corporis, sed faciem cordis laetificans. In Cant., xxxi, No. 6.
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40 He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me. John xiv:21.
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1 Directoire Spirituel, de l’Ordre des Trappistes, p. 35.
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2 Règlements . . . de la Maison Dieu de la Val Sainte (Fribourg, 1794), Vol. ii, p. 6.
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3 De la Sainteté et des Devoirs de la Vie Monastique (Paris, 1847), p. 366.
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4 Ibid., p. 374.
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5 Relation de la Vie et de la Mort de Quelques Religieux de l’Abbaye de la Trappe. 6 vols. (Paris, 1775).
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6 Sainteté et Devoirs, p. 699.
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7 Ibid., p. 701.
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8 Relations, II, 309.
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9 Quoted in La Bretagne Cistercienne, by Comte de Warren (Saint Wandrille, 1946), p. 160.
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10 I have this on the authority of Dom Gabriel Sortais, who assures me that it is true, although he also admits that he has never been able to make anybody accept it without protest.
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11 He died on June 19, 1854.
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12 Manuscript in the archives of the Trappistine convent, N. D. de l’Immaculée Conception (Laval, France).
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13 Published by the abbey of Sainte-Marie du Desert (Bellegarde, Haute Garonne, 1938).
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14 “Only the will of Jesus is what happens, all the time.” Father Cassant liked the Latin word semper. It is scattered through all his writing. With the clangor the word acquired in the mouth of a southern Frenchman, it had a much more emphatic sound than the French toujours (always).
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15 I John iv: 16–19.
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16 The Mystical Theology of St. Bernard, p. 24. However, we must be warned against attempting to draw a strict parallel here between Cistercian mysticism and the teaching of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. There is one fundamental difference: for St. Bernard, fiducia is intimately linked with mystical experience and is, in fact, only known by such an experience, while the confidence of St. Thérèse is a virtue and can constitute a habitual state in the soul, a habitual condition of peaceful abandonment. That is not what St. Bernard meant by fiducia. See Gilson, ibid., p. 142 ff.
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17 Another important influence in the life of Mother Berchmans was the “Cistercian” mystic, St. Gertrude the Great, who has many affinities with St. Thérèse of Lisieux. She stands about midway between St. Bernard and the modern Carmelite, placing the same stress on trust in God.
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18 Le Saint Abandon (Paris: Lecoffre); English translation: Holy Abandonment (Dublin: Gill). Les Voies d’Oraison; English translation: Ways of Mental Prayer (Dublin: Gill).
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1 St. Bernard, De Praecepto et Dispensatione, chap. 1, No. 5.
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2 Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, In Epist. ad Romanos, xii.
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3 Cesset voluntas propria et infernus non erit. St. Bernard, Serm. iii in Temp. Resurrectionis, No. 3.
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4 The love of Christ has brought us together.
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5 John xvii:22.
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6 I John iv: 12–13.
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7 Matt, xviii: 10.
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8 La Vie Contemplative, son Rôle Apostolique (Montreuil, 1900), p. 93.
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9 De Diligendo Deo, chap, xii, No. 34.
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10 De Natura et Dignitate Amoris, chap, ix, No. 25.
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11 In Cant. Serm. 40, No. 4.
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12 De Natura et Dignitate Amoris, chap, ix, No. 24.
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13 Jude, i: 19.
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14 Serm. i, in Festo S. Michaelis, No. 7. Cf. De Gradibus Humilitatis, No. 7 and Serm. 46, in Cant., No. 6.
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15 Nihil operi Dei praeponatur. Rule, chap. 43.
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16 De Natura et Dignitate Amoris, chap, ix, No. 25.
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17 Circular Letter, Sept. 8, 1929. The scripture text is from Luke, v:39.
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