Community
Rituals for a Deceased Monk
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Concluding the Prologue
of his Rule for Monasteries, Saint
Benedict writes:
Do
not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads
to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as
we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of
God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight
of love. Never swerving from God's instructions, then, but
faithfully observing God's teaching in the monastery until death, we shall
through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve
also to share in God's kingdom. Amen.
Elsewhere in the Rule,
St. Benedict counsels the monk to keep death daily before his eyes.
These passages of the Rule do not
reflect a morbid fascination with death, but rather a vision filled with
hope that is ours through the Resurrection of Christ from the dead.
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Above
is a photograph of the cemetery at
St.
Gregory's Abbey. |
It is with such hope and
faith in Christ's victory over death that our monastic community bids farewell
to our brothers when they come to the end of their life's journey in the
monastery. When the death of a member of the community occurs, a bell is
tolled and the Abbot officially announces his death at the next gathering of the
community for prayer.
| After the body is
prepared for burial, the community gathers at the entrance of the
monastery to welcome the deceased monk home for the last time.
The Abbot receives the body in its
simple casket, the Word of God is proclaimed and the community prays for
the deceased.
The body of the monk then lies in
state in the front parlor of the monastery, beneath the victorious sign of
the cross and between images of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, until
the funeral mass. Visitors are welcome, and are encouraged to pray
and remember the deceased.
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When the community gathers
for prayer, it offers the "Office of the Dead" for the deceased
monk. The hymns, psalms, antiphons and readings for these periods of
prayer speak of God's promise of salvation for those who believe. The
culmination of our prayer is the celebration of the Mass of the Resurrection,
celebrated in the Abbey Church. The community gathers in the parlor to
close the casket and to take one final walk with their deceased brother down the
hallway of the monastery to the Church, a short journey that has been a regular
part of the monk's day for the many years that he lived in the community.
After the grave is blessed,
the body is lowered into the ground and the burial begins. This act of
charity is a final gesture offered by the community for their deceased
brother.
Naturally, the community
continues to remember the deceased through numerous stories and in its daily
prayer. The monk is remembered by name at prayer for thirty days.
Our community also has the custom of remembering the deceased in the dining room
by placing a crucifix and candles at his place at table for thirty days, and by
reading a short biography of the deceased each year on the anniversary of his
death.
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