Archive

Talk by Fr. Madigan
25 October, 2007

On 25 October 2007 the Community heard a talk by Fr Daniel Madigan SJ (pictured above,) founder of the Institute for Inter-Religious Dialogue at the Gregorian University in Rome. Fr. Madigan has been working there for the last five years and, now, shortly is due to take up a post in the same field at Georgetown University.

Fr Madigan was indignant at the suggestion, which, according to him was rumoured to have come from the Pope himself, that dialogue with Islam is impossible. In contradiction to this, he described his own experience of dialogue with Moslem students in Rome. Whereas they saw Mohammed as the fullest and final prophet of God in history, following in the line of Moses and Jesus, Madigan pointed out to them that for us Jesus is the counterpart, not of Mohammed, but of the Quran – God’s ultimate Word to man, not dictated and written in a book, but spoken in the divine and human Person, Jesus. The equivqlent of Mohammed as the human channel through which God’s word is given is, not Jesus, but Mary, who gave birth to the Word. The language In which it is spoken is not Aramaic or Greek, as for the Quran it is Arabic and for the Torah it is Hebrew, but the human flesh which in Christ God’s Word became.

Stated in these terms, Fr Madigan told us, the Incarnation which is such a scandal to Moslems, was at least better understood, though not, of course, accepted by his interlocutors and thus a basis for dialogue was established.

Monastic Experience Weekend
19-21 October 2007

Six men converged on St Anselm’s -- from close by (Catholic University of America), from the north (Philadelphia), south (Richmond), west (northern Virginia) -- and from the distant east (Barcelona) for the most recent monastic experience weekend.

It was good to welcome a group so varied in background and age. With the postulant, three full-time student monks and three on loan from other houses of the English Benedictine Congregation now living in the monastery, the choir stalls are fairly full these days, but several community members were away last weekend – one witnessing a marriage, another being honored by the institution of which he is an alumnus, so there was plenty of room for everyone.

The visitors shared in the liturgy of the hours and Mass, in silent meditation and lectio divina and meals in the refectory. Six members of the Community spoke to them on aspects of our life and history. The Headmaster gave them a guided tour of the Abbey School. On Saturday evening, when most of the Community were taking part in a fund-raising gala in the School, four monks stayed behind to give (selective) accounts of their life stories. This tends to be the most appreciated session and was so again this time.

One or two of the visitors are moving in the direction of religious life or the priesthood elsewhere. We hope that the Benedictine experience has been helpful to them. Others have some time of University study ahead of them or are gradually discerning the direction their life journey may now take. Again we hope that the weekend has been useful to them and that all our visitors will feel welcome to return sooner or later to St Anselm’s.