63 – While he’s speaking, I notice a stain on his white tunic, and point it out to him. He has a look at it, and with a smile he says, “”Being white, this is quite normal. Even if it is a becoming colour, it gets dirty quite easily. To keep the tunic clean as long as possible is a problem, because we can’t change the tunic every day.”
“But why choose a white tunic? Would it not have been better to choose a brownish one, as the Capuchins have, for example?”
“The white colour has been passed down to us from our founder, Saint Norbert. He wanted to unite the ministry of the priesthood to poverty, and for this reason chose the woollen clothing of the poor, who dressed like this in the 12th century. On account of constant washing, the colour slowly turned white. To the canons of that period, always dressed in black, he justified his choice by explaining that the significance was symbolic. He and his brothers had chosen the colour borne by the angels at the Resurrection of Christ, because they too were called to announce the risen Christ.”
“You are therefore like the Dominicans?”
“The opposite rather, because Saint Dominic had copied much from the Premonstratensien Regular Canons.”
“I must say that I remain quite disorientated amidst all these religious orders. I can’t understand what difference exists between you, the friars, and the monks, except for the different colour of the tunic – when it is not dirty, of course.”
“The explanation is very simple, Francesco. Look at that field of flowers down there.”
I turn my gaze eastwards, to see a field spotted with red poppies and orange-coloured flowers. It resembles an impressionist painting of Monet.
“In His field, which is the Church, God has planted many types of flowers, all differing from one another, and it is exactly these contrasts that create its beauty.”
Brother Giovanni gives another look at the flowering field, and goes on to say, “I shall try to illustrate briefly the specific characteristics of the Regular Canons. In one of his speeches, Saint Augustine speaks thus: ‘The cleric therefore assumes two commitments – consecrated life, and clerical service. The consecration is connected to his inner life, while the clerical service, placed on his shoulders by the Lord, for the benefit of His people, is to be considered more a weight than an honour.’ In the formulation of our perpetual religious profession, we say as follows: ‘I, brother…. , in offering my person, dedicate myself to the church of Sant’Antimo…..’ (offerens, trado meipsum Ecclesiae Sancti Anthimi). These two quotations hold, and reveal the threefold fragrance that the white flower of our tunic emanates.
64 – “Each new religious order, just like every reform made in the Church, always draws its inspiration from the first Community of Christians at Jerusalem. The Acts of the Apostles narrate how the early Christians, touched by the power of the Holy Ghost, were one heart and one soul only. This is the aim of our ideal i.e. the first fragrance! In his Rule, Saint Augustine reminds us that we live together in order to live in harmony, so as to form one heart and one soul only, before God. Therefore, if we are living at Sant’Antimo, it is with the purpose to seek God all together, and not in an individualistic manner. Community life is a part of our DNA.
“Community life means living together, eating together, praying together, thinking together, and also for others. It is an antidote for individualistic tendencies - typical of this century. I don’t spend my life solely for myself, but for my brothers. When one of them leaves the community in order to preach the Gospel, my prayer accompanies him.
“So too, living together means living according to the Gospel – a school of charity, which exerts a constant practise of patience. Too easily one can criticise the difficulties brought forth by family life, or wedded couples, if one has made no experience of ‘family life’. It is clear that everything is not so easy! The old saying – vita communis, maxima penitentiae is true, but this type of penance is very appropriate, because it constrains us to overcome our personal instincts. It teaches us that love consists in giving and in…. forgiving. On a purely human basis, living together can also prove to be enriching, because the elderly convey their wisdom to the young, while these convey their enthusiasm. Living together with five or ten brothers allows more freedom - so much so - that when it is necessary to leave aside one’s work, for example, in order to study, another brother can always take one’s place.
“I have noticed that frequently the Church concentrates its epochs of reform on re-establishing the communal life for priests. At present, many attempts are being made in many Dioceses not without difficulty - and also failure - notwithstanding the fact that the Gospel had been preached in Europe by communities of priests and monks. It’s sufficient to recall to mind the Irish monks of the 6th century.”
“What is the reason for this?”
“Simply because a priestly community is a living and tangible example of that union which Christ asks us to live, in His Gospel. The people are immediately aware of this.”
65 – “Just forgive me if I say that I can’t see a great difference between the Regular Canons and the Cistercians, who I had got to know some time ago. They too live in a community.”
“It’s a well studied observation. But are there not two fragrances still missing?”
“Quite so, but which ones?”
“Here is the second fragrance: Our community of Regular Canons has become part of the Diocese of Siena. As priests or deacons, we have now become part of the ‘presbytery’ – the College of Priests - in every respect. In fact, the Clerical Sustenance Institute of Siena gives a monthly allowance to those who have a pastoral assignment. We consider the Bishop of Siena as a ‘father’, and we, in a certain way, as his ‘praying voice’. More exactly, we are priests who pray in his name, and for the pastoral necessities of the Diocese. We go to the meetings organised for the priests, and bring along our pastoral and community experiences. We assist the priests in the nearby parishes where they are unable to cope with all the demands of the faithful. The Cistercian monks do none of this!
66 – “And then, the last fragrance is the cura animarum i.e. the apostolate. We do not become priests for ourselves, but in order to bring Christ to others. Saint Norbert, our point of reference, retains that the priest is he who speaks to God about mankind, and to mankind, about God. On arriving in this valley in 1980, everything had to be organised, because we had no Evangelisation programme. We examined the local state of affairs, and with the aid of the Holy Ghost, set out in various directions. A typical aspect of the families of Regular Canons is that they adapt the apostolate to the explicit necessities of the place where they live. Just to cite two examples: The Regular Canons called ‘Victorines’, founded at the centre of medieval Paris, had given such a remarkable impetus to the university teaching, that it spread throughout the whole of Europe. So too, the Regular Canons of Saint Bernard. I suppose you must have heard about the ‘Saint Bernard dogs’, that carry a bottle of grappa around the neck. Well, these Regular Canons employed these dogs in order to help the pilgrims who crossed the Alps on the Saint Bernard pass. We don’t keep dogs, but only cats, and many Christians! While going down the staircase, you will get a closer view of the different places where we carry out our apostolate.”
67 – After this long and enlightening spiritual chat, we go down the steep staircase that we had climbed so arduously, and then walk along the upper ambulatory where the light creates a most particular and striking effect, as it penetrates across the seven slits in the wall.
Before descending the spiral staircase, we pass through the last room, without windows, which once connected the monks’ dormitory to the church and the cloister.