My Retreat to the Abbey of Gethsemane

This weekend a hope I have had for several years now was unexpectedly confirmed. I spent three days in a monastery in Trappist Kentucky. The Abbey of Gethsemane, home of Thomas Merton, opens its doors to retreatants of all walks of life and of all religious affiliations. For several years now I have studied, observed and practiced many of the Roman Catholic Church’s practices and disciplines. I have spoke of unity, peace and commonalities between Protestants and Catholics. I have done this from the Protestant side of the fence. I have stated this not from personal encounters with Catholics but rather from books I have read and honest wishful thinking, this weekend that all changed. I will no longer have to rely on books, articles and other second hand sources for my prayer of unity between Christians of the Catholic and Protestant persuasions. From the moment we arrived at Gethsemane, I felt loved and accepted. The monk who greeted Brad and I automatically referred to us as “the boys”. He told us the meeting times and meal times, but added whenever we are hungry just go and “raid the fridge”. All of the sudden I felt not like a retreatant coming to a rigid encounter with God but rather like a friend coming over to spend a little time and stay a few days with another friend. The monks joke with us and treat us as equals not as lower or on a lesser spiritual plain. They mention Protestants as well as other religions in positive and recommending terms. While on a prayer walk you will encounter a rock from Thomas Merton’s Zen garden. In the opening video for first timers to Gethsemane Father Matthew gives Gandhi’s seven social sins and talks about how right and wise Gandhi was. In this mornings homily we were reminded of Islam’s fervent dedication to God. In 1996 Father Kelly welcomed the Dali Lama to the Abbey of Gethsemane as the Abbey’s guest. Finally the monks here have a statue garden, as the centerpieces of the garden are two statues. One is Jesus praying the in the garden the other is the sleeping disciples. These statues are significant not because of their content but because of who they are in honor and memory of. The family of Jonathan Daniel, a young Episcopal Seminarian who was killed during the Civil Rights Movement by taking a bullet for a young African American, gave the statues in memory of their son. This is a special place, one of unity and inclusion. I know now that we can live side-by-side, worship together and strive for the same goods. I will not call this post denominationalism, what makes more sense to me is to call it Post Protestantism, because protest is not the action that defines my relationship with Catholic Church any longer, and I thank God for that.
Pax
Stephen