Conversatio Morum

OBLATE RETREAT

DOUAI ABBEY

DECEMBER 2008

TALK III

CONVERSATIO MORUM

Introduction

Having spent a little time considering the theme of “Calling” in general terms, I propose to take a look at the three monastic vows – Obedience, Stability and Conversatio Morum – in a little more depth. All of them are intimately bound up with the theme of conversion – perhaps most especially the third of these, Conversatio Morum.

Foundations in the Desert

I would like to begin by saying a little about the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Their lives and sayings can strike us a rather quaint today, but they are hugely significant for our understanding of prayer. Their importance was recognised by St. Benedict[1], who placed them alongside Scripture for the instruction of his monks.[2] Why did these men and women go off into the deserts of Egypt?

Jesus told the Apostles that he was “going to prepare a place for them”[3] and that his followers “do not belong to the world”.[4] This theme was taken up by the early Church.[5] The Church recongised that its members belonged to a “Kingdom that is not of this world”.[6] By the beginning of the 4th Century, the persecution of the Church was beginning to die down. Constantine was baptised in 313. The Church was beginning to ‘be at home’ in the world. This did not sit well with some, who sought a renewed fidelity to the message of the Gospel and saw retreat into the desert as a way to remain close to Christ.[7]

So, their prime concern was closeness to Christ and a desire for a thorough-going, no compromise life for the Church. They sought to live a way of life that was as open to the Holy Spirit as it was possible to be in a world in which the Christian lives as an exile, away from home. The tradition was, initially, eremitical. In time, the Desert Fathers attracted disciples and the cenobitic tradition was born and expressed in the work of St. Pachomius and, importantly for Benedict, in the Shorter and Longer Rules of St. Basil, whose life spanned the middle of the 4th Century[8].

Indeed, the life of Benedict himself mirrors the lives of the Desert Fathers, insofar as he recognised that he no longer had a place in the dissolute life of Rome at the end of the 5th Century. He, like the Desert Fathers before him, took himself off to a desert place in Subiaco where he lived an eremitical existence – seeking purity of heart and union with Christ. Like his forebears, too, he attracted disciples and, in time, wrote his “little rule for beginners” to assist his disciples on their journey to their true home.[9]

Conversatio morum

It is important, I would suggest, to try and understand conversatio morum in this context of the desire to find a right way of life in a world in which the Christian is never really at home. Conversatio morum is the foundation for our way of life. It therefore strikes at the very heart of our existence as we make our pilgrim journey to our true home with Christ.

Benedict writes, in the 58th Chapter of the Rule:

When he is to be received, be comes before the whole community in the oratory and promises stability, fidelity to the monastic life and obedience.

In this translation, therefore, conversatio morum suorum is translated as fidelity to the monastic life.[10]

The term conversatio has caused problems for scholars. Now is not time to enter into this in detail[11], but I have had recourse to the dictionary and found there a meaning which may be helpful. The word conversatio was used by Pliny to mean frequent use or a frequent sojourn in a place. This, I think is helpful. When combined with morum (mos, moris – from which we get our English word mores), it speaks to us of a way of life – what one does, if you like. Returning to the text of the Rule and put very simply, it could be construed as the way one loves one’s life.

We must remember that there was no formalised understanding of Religious Vows in the way we have them now. Such development only came about in the Middle Ages. No, Benedict’s first disciples would simply have sought to life a full monastic life as their way of life.[12]

Or is it Conversio?

While I would not wish to cloud the issue too much, it seems only right to make reference to another term that came into common use in later times: conversio morum. Again, it would not be appropriate to go into too much detail. Suffice it to say that the word conversatio was altered to conversio in later times. This gave a new understanding – that of conversion of life. The Latin conversio means turning around. We are, perhaps, familiar with the Greek word metanoia (μετάνοιά).

This, later, term speaks to us of a process, an action. On one level, the disciple, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, recognises a need for a change in his way of life. He therefore seeks admission to the Monastery so that he may turn his back on his old ways and seek the way that leads to life.

On another level, of course, conversio is not a one-off process. Conversion is a journey in which we are engaged every day of our lives, even at every moment. Sin, the distractions of the world (however legitimate they may be) draw us away from Christ and we must be for ever turning around to face him. This speaks of action on our part, but action that is always under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

I would suggest that conversio morum is one element in conversatio morum which speaks far more of a whole way of life in which continual conversion is one element, albeit a vital one.

Another understanding of conversatio!

While I would not wish to add to the confusion, conversatio has another meaning! Tacitus used the word to mean conversation. This may seem very obvious to us when we look at the word with our modern eyes.

This may not have been what was originally intended, but it does speak to us of our relationship with God in a way that is authentic. That relationship is, very often, in the form of a conversation and it could be said that the monk enters the monastery in order to concentrate on that conversation. Indeed, the first words of the Rule speak of the most necessary element of that conversation – listening,[13] especially if one holds the view that the “master” is Christ.

Again, I would suggest that this meaning of the term conversatio has something to tell us. The monk is called into conversation with God. This goal is supreme for him, since Christ is calling him to be “his friend”.[14]

To return to the idea of conversatio morum as a way of life, I would suggest that “conversation of life” is a useful approach. We are called to live as the friends of Jesus, in conversation with him at all times, in unceasing prayer. This must be the central element of the way of life of the monastic.

Is there anything here for the Oblate?

As we have seen before, the Oblate makes a true offering of him or herself to the monastery and, as such truly belongs to the community.

While the Oblate does not make vows in the same sense as the monk or nun, the principles of monastic life must be true for the Oblate. If this is not so, where lies the offering and in what sense does the Oblate belong?

Reference has already been made to the fact that St. Benedict would not have had the canonical understanding of vows that we have today. In the Rule, he calls people to live the monastic way of life, for life.[15] That is most certainly true of the Oblate. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Oblate makes the true offering of him or herself, undertaking to follow the “little Rule for beginners” for life.

The way in which this is lived out will, of course, be adapted to the particular circumstances in which the Oblate is called to live his or her life; to the responsibilities he or she may have; the vocation to which he or she is called – marriage, priesthood, the single state. What is important, however, is that the Oblate truly sees the Rule as providing a way of life that is, at its heart, a monastic way.

The Witness of the Monastic Way of Life

The Scriptures tell is that “there is nothing new under the sun”.[16] The people of the 4th and 5th Centuries lived in time much like our own and The call experienced by the Desert Fathers and Mothers, the call experienced by St. Benedict is as valid for the world of today as it was then.

The Church calls people to recognise that we are strangers on earth and all the baptized are called to live as the friends of Jesus, with our hearts and minds fixed on the world to come.[17] The monastic, be they monk, nun or oblate, is called to live out this calling in a particular way and, for the one called in that way life does not find fulfillment unless the response is made.

I would suggest, therefore, that when the Oblate truly lives in fidelity to the monastic way, not only is he or she furthering his or her personal salvation, but is also proclaiming that the “school of the Lord’s service” provides a valid answer to a world that is questioning and often lost.

This will demand of the Oblate a willingness to live in desert places, a very real experience of what it means not to be at home in this world. It will demand a commitment to deepening prayer, to simplicity of life, to care for the planet and to care for others. Above all, I would suggest, it will mean openness to real perseverance, for without it, fidelity to the monastic way will not be possible.

[1] “…besides the Conferences of the Fathers, their Institutes and their Lives… (RB 73.5) These works are those of Cassian, the Life of Anthony by Athanasius (cf. FRY, T. (ed.) RB 1980, Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 1981, p. 297)

[2] They are, therefore, especially fruitful sources of lectio divina.

[3] Jn. 14:2.

[4] Jn.15:19.

[5] Heb. 11:13.

[6] Jn. 18:36.

[7] cf. LOUTH, A., The Wilderness of God, London, DLT, 2003, pp.43 ff.

[8] “…, there is also the Rule of our holy father Basil. (RB 73.5)

[9] RB 73.8.

[10] “Suscipiendus autem in oratorio coram omnibus promittat de stabilitate sua et conversatione morum suorum et obedientia.” RB 58:17.

[11] Fuller discussions can be found in FRY, T. (op.cit.) pp.457 ff. and in REES, D. et al, Consider your Call – A Theology of Monastic Life Today, London, SPCK, 1978, pp. 144 ff.

[12] Although the translation given about introduces the words “fidelity” and “monastic”, this does give, one might suggest, a very clear indication of what was intended.

[13] Obsculta, O fili, praecepta magistri, RB. Prol.1.

[14] Jn. 15:15.

[15] “…in eis doctrinam usque ad mortem on monasterio persevantes…” “…faithfully observing his teaching in the monastery until death…” RB Prol. 50.

[16] Qo. 1:9.

[17] Col. 3:1-4.