That Old Time Obedience

At the Congress of Abbots now meeting in Rome, well-known monastic author Fr. Michael Casey, OCSO gave a presentation on the “autonomy” of monasteries. In the later Middle Ages there was a tendency, for reformist reasons, to diminish the autonomy of individual monastic houses and to centralize them in a confederation under a superior. Centralization brought with it, of course, the danger of authoritarianism. This was resisted by local superiors.

One Cistercian abbot general, making a canonical visit, was put up in the prelate’s quarters. A window opened into the cloister, where he observed two monks speaking loudly and longer than permitted. He ordered the abbot to deal with the problem. He did. He replaced the window with a solid wall, so future visitators would have no such view.

At a visistation of Cistercian women, the abbot general observed that lay people were taking a shortcut through the garden which was part of the cloister. He ordered the abbess to keep the gate locked. She agreed, but the visitator found the same state of affairs at the next visitation. This time, it is reported, he brought a chain and lock and ordered the abbess to secure the gate. She did… and then had a second gate cut into the wall.

Ah, for the good old days.

awr

Anthony Ruff, OSB

Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB, is a monk of St. John's Abbey. He teaches liturgy, liturgical music, and Gregorian chant at St. John's University School of Theology-Seminary. He is widely published and frequently presents across the country on liturgy and music. He is the author of Sacred Music and Liturgical Reform: Treasures and Transformations, and of Responsorial Psalms for Weekday Mass: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter. He does priestly ministry at the neighboring community of Benedictine sisters in St. Joseph.

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7 responses to “That Old Time Obedience”

  1. Lynn Thomas

    Indeed!

    Reply
  2. Alan Hommerding

    Tales of this sort abound in ecclesial lore when it comes to authority/power structures. It’s a serious flip side of this humor entry that many of these stories derive their wryness from the accounts of how those structures necessitate passive-aggressive behaviors. I know when you throw human beings together in a jamboree of any sort, even one under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, things like this will happen. But it seems that these vertical-only, one-direction-only, no-concrete-horizontal-accountability structures engender a lot of unhealthy behaviors. I write this under the “takes one to know one” banner.
    (Apologies for being the proverbial “Gloomy Gus” on this post.)

    Reply
  3. Brigid Rauch

    I suspect that many “extra” sons and daughters used to be parked in monasteries and convents whether they had a vocation or not. I’m sure God smiled on those superiors who recognized this and governed with charity rather than ruled by the book.

    Reply
    1. Lynn Thomas

      @Brigid Rauch – comment #3:
      No need to ‘suspect’ – it was common practice to do just that. Among the upper classes, the first son inherited, second to the military, third to the monastery. . and any daughter who didn’t catch a husband timely was packed off to a nunnery forthwith. The question of having a vocation was irrelevant.

      Not universally true, but enough so.

      Reply
  4. Bill deHaas

    Beautifully stated, Alan. Love your passive-aggressive reference (do work in the MHSA field) and yes, some structures seem to encourage that behavior in order to just survive and laugh. Seems that this could apply to hundreds of priests in their pastoral ministry.

    Wonder if these tales, rather, show just how wise and loving some folks can be in the face of rigidity, neurosis, and top down management. Wonder if the *internal forum* and other pastoral steps aren’t methods to create sanity in a *gray* world.

    Reply
  5. Jack Rakosky

    This summer I have been reading a lot about the history of nuns.

    These books are full of “That old time obedience” whether to bishops, abbots, kings, family members or suitors! It is amazing how these women made their way through life.

    One of the best reads is Sisters: Catholic Nuns and the Making of America by John J. Fialka who wrote the Wall Street Journal article on the 2 billion shortfall in funding for women religious.

    In his first chapter Fialka describes Cornelia Augusta Peacock, later founder of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus.

    She eloped from her silk stocking Philadelphia family with a roguish charmer, an Episcopalian minister name Pierce Connelly.

    He took her to Europe where he decided to become Catholic. So he convinced Cornelia to become a Catholic, which she did.

    But he did not want to become just an ordinary Catholic, he then confided to his stunned wife that he had in mind to become a Cardinal! He convinced her to have their marriage annulled; they had three children.

    Finally he convinced her to enter a convent which in the 1800 in Europe was seen as a convenient refuge for gifted or overly ambitious women.

    As a dutiful wife, she did all that he asked. Then it was Pierce Connally’s turn to be stunned. In the convent, Cornelia founded her own religious order and later moved to America.

    Pierce was so outraged he became an Episcopalian again. Then he sued her in an English court, demanding to resume his rights as her husband, but to no avail.

    She was protected by American law and American bishops. She became a pillar of the Church. He was throw out of court.

    Reply
  6. Ellen Joyce

    I was educated by the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, and it’s only in the past few years that I’ve realize how profoundly formative Cornelia’s story was in my life; so many religious women through the ages have had spines of steel… Thanks for repeating it!

    Reply

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