“In the name of the Dormition Benedictine community on Mount Zion, I want to thank you cordially. We are very happy that you accepted our invitation to come and solemnly celebrate the Transitus of our Father, Saint Benedict.” These were the words with which the Father Abbot, Friar Benedikt Lindemann, osb welcomed the assistance of the Franciscans who were present. They alone filled almost half of the Benedictine nave, and some of them had taken their place in the choir in order to concelebrate together with the Father Custos, Friar Pierbattista Piazzaballa, whom Father Abbot had asked to preside.
Friar Benedikt then explained that this celebration was the first during the jubilee year of the 100th anniversary of the church’s dedication. The most official one will take place this coming April 10 on the exact date of the dedication, together with the German Holy Land Association, which in 1906 acquired the land on which the monastery now stands; but other celebrations will follow throughout the year 2010, each with a different emphasis.
For the time being, Father Abbot highlighted the specific flavor of this Eucharist with Benedictine and Franciscan religious celebrating the Transitus of the Father of European monasticism. If the relationship between these two communities was not always free of clouds, Father Abbot continued, they continue to have in common their care for the inhabitants who call upon them, their common concern always to be witnesses to Christ.
In his homily, the Custos underlined what the Franciscans owe to the example of Saint Benedict and how the two founders, Benedict and Francis, were founded on the Word of God. Several times, he thanked Father Abbot for his invitation, which enabled the Franciscans to celebrate in another holy place in the Holy Land, and which opened up the way to a closer relationship between the two communities in the diversity of their charisms.
At the end of Mass, the Benedictines and the Franciscans met for the dinner to which the Benedictine community had invited. After sharing the divine banquet, it was an opportunity to meet one another for other fraternal agapes.
Mab
Friar Benedikt then explained that this celebration was the first during the jubilee year of the 100th anniversary of the church’s dedication. The most official one will take place this coming April 10 on the exact date of the dedication, together with the German Holy Land Association, which in 1906 acquired the land on which the monastery now stands; but other celebrations will follow throughout the year 2010, each with a different emphasis.
For the time being, Father Abbot highlighted the specific flavor of this Eucharist with Benedictine and Franciscan religious celebrating the Transitus of the Father of European monasticism. If the relationship between these two communities was not always free of clouds, Father Abbot continued, they continue to have in common their care for the inhabitants who call upon them, their common concern always to be witnesses to Christ.
In his homily, the Custos underlined what the Franciscans owe to the example of Saint Benedict and how the two founders, Benedict and Francis, were founded on the Word of God. Several times, he thanked Father Abbot for his invitation, which enabled the Franciscans to celebrate in another holy place in the Holy Land, and which opened up the way to a closer relationship between the two communities in the diversity of their charisms.
At the end of Mass, the Benedictines and the Franciscans met for the dinner to which the Benedictine community had invited. After sharing the divine banquet, it was an opportunity to meet one another for other fraternal agapes.
Mab