The zeal of a novice is far preferable to the cynicism of the know-it-all. In fact, we would all do well to remember that "in the path that leads to life", the way of prayer and the pursuit of holiness, we are all novices, and only ever beginners.
"When did you decide to become a monk?"
If the answer is anything other than "this morning", your decision has lapsed and you are no longer a monk, even if you happen to be called "Brother Prior" by every other monk in the monastery or, indeed, "Lord Abbot" by all the world.
Now, this sort of thing can sound like a pious conceit—"O Lord, I am nothing!" declared from the pulpit (or a blog) for all the plebs to admire my "humility". And if it is, God help me!
But if I don't mean it, if I am not honestly aware of just how true it is that I am and will remain as long as I live but a novice, that this life is nothing but the beginning of an eternal adventure, I will not even have begun the real work of life.
The "zeal of a novice" is something that I need, whether I am eighteen or eighty. It's what will keep me young, alive and fresh even as they lay my bones to rest beneath an unmarked cross in my final bed beside the oratory where I'll keep chanting the Psalms as the path they continue to open up along the adventure into eternity.
Comentários