Benedictines of Divine Will

Dearest Friends,

Peace of Christ! 

These have been wonderful years.  We began very little, and have grown, but we hope that we have remained little.

Little, to us, is perhaps the “little key” that unlocks the mystery of our Charism.

We are all little.   Sometimes we like to pretend that we are not.  Perhaps we are afraid of our littleness.  So we construct big images of ourselves.  Our society today is filled with such images. We want to present ourselves as strong and powerful,  when the truth is that we are weak and incapable.  St. Paul knew that well, teaching us that when we are weak we are strong (2 Cor. 12:10), and Jesus certainly knew it telling us that “of our own selves we can do nothing.” (Jn. 15:5)

Christianity, in fact, is for “little people.” 

Another way of saying it might be that Christianity is for little children. 

Yesterday I took a walk with a young man that is visiting us to discern his vocation.  He was saying that he is not sure who he is, and he is trying to figure that out.  I responded quickly, “well, you are the little boy that you once were.  Do you remember yourself when you were 4 or 5?  That is you.”

We like masks and professionally edited images.  God likes transparency, truth, and nakedness.  

Love, in fact, only passes between us when we let down the guards, open up our hearts, and become vulnerable.  

Little children are very vulnerable.

Unfortunately, they soon learn that being vulnerable is dangerous, because when we love there is the great risk that the other person might not love back, and this hurts.

So we do what so many today are doing.  We retreat and build walls, sometimes gigantic barriers that protect us from what we perceive to be a hostile universe.  

In fact, sadly, it often is!  

But Christianity teaches that we can live in this world and not construct that gigantic barrier of protection.  

We can be like Jesus who did exactly the opposite.  

From Bethlehem to the Cross, He is completely vulnerable, totally open.  He is Love Itself, and love has no barriers, no defenses.  He descended to the lowest and most vulnerable places because that is what He is.  He is Vulnerability, He is Love, He is Littleness.

So what does this have to do with religious life?

Everything.  

What does this have to do with living in the Divine Will, whatever that is? Everything. 

Living in the Divine Will and Religious life are about only one thing: Love. 

To be in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27)  is to be in the image and likeness of Jesus, and it is to be LITTLE.

The world is ever bigger and therefore ever sadder.  The Benedictines of Divine Will hope and pray to be ever littler, and therefore ever more joyful.  

One of the little things that I do is that I write songs. I’d like to share one with you that I wrote many years ago.  It said a lot about the Charism of the Benedictines of Divine Will long before the community was even imagined (by us at least, I’m quite sure God had thought of it already!) It is called “Nazareth Morning,” and this is a live recording from Jan. 5, 2015, in the Basilica of San Marino only a few months after the community began. We had only three brothers at the time. Incidentally, Br. Gabriele was in attendance and it was the first time we met in person. He is now in perpetual vows and finishing up studies for the priesthood at the Antonianum in Rome! Bishop Andrea, Br. Giovanni, and our first sisters were also present. You can see the white habits in the front left.  I do notice that my beard is a little whiter these days. How did that happen?   

Much peace, love, and joy,

Fr. Elijah John Joseph of Our Lady of Guadalupe