Founders Day
Belonging to something bigger than myself instills joy in me. So is knowing my values or sense of decency and beauty are appreciated by others. It is an affirmation that what I feel deep in my bones is, indeed, respected in others’ eyes. I experience it when my spouse receives an accolade; or grandchildren are recognized for something they have accomplished. I am delighted when Mepkin is celebrated.
I spent my youth as a member of a parish called “Gate of Heaven”. Yes, “Gate of Heaven”. When I lived there it was a thriving inner city, primarily Irish Catholic community in Boston complete with a school and the neighborhood goings-on that provided a rich parish life in the generation after the second world war – the years of my formation as a Catholic. The years fled by and the world changed but the “Gate of Heaven” influence still affects me. So, it happened that the readings on Founders Day, November 17, 2024 rang with a nostalgia that made the day all the more memorable. I know of Mepkin’s beauty. It is lovely to hear others compliment her.
Sometimes it happens that the lectionary is perfect for the occasion. A crafted confection to embellish a message. The Mepkin tradition of “Joy Never Ending” was seen again when Abbot General Bernardus Peeters spoke in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of her founding. He has visited many houses and has a perspective of a European monastic from the Netherlands. His obvious appreciation of Mepkin reminded me of that personal satisfaction when someone compliments something I am fond of. He spoke briefly of the challenges experienced by the donors, Church, Trappist Order and original group of men who came from Gethsemene Abbey in Kentucky to the Lowcountry of South Carolina in 1949. Here is how the readings underscored his message and triggered a warm appreciation in me:
The first reading was from Genesis 28 wherein Jacob said, “Surely, the Lord is in this place…How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven”. The beauty of Mepkin, the wonder of nature abounding, is, if not a gateway to heaven, at least a prelude to Eden. The Tower of Seven Spirits is a reminder of those who lived and worshipped here, each in their own way. The Celtic concept of a “thin space” where the boundary between the sacred and nature is stretched thin was mentioned by Dom Bernardus. Mepkin, as a gate to heaven, is a thin space.
The second reading was, also, providentially provided for Mepkin and Founders Day. 1Peter: 2 paraphrases the 118th psalm image of the cornerstone at first rejected only to become a major part of a substantial result. The difficulties of the monk founders were surmounted. The first structures on the new abbey were made of brick and mortar by their own hands and labor. The place some thought not suited for a monastery became the cornerstone for contemplative Christianity in the Lowcountry. She now nurtures people of many faiths and heritages. She is a true cornerstone – a gateway to heaven.
The final reading was the gospel of John 15: 9-17. Nine times in five verses Jesus uses the words love and be loved. He reminds us that we did not choose Him; but, rather, we were his choice. Visitors and guests come for their own deeply personal reasons. The members of the community are part of her ongoing creative process and have vowed to stability
and love of the place. Mepkin is loved and, in turn, kindly imparts a transformative blessing to those who are receptive.
The generosity of her current benefactors is a grace given so that what might have been rejected can flourish in a greater plan – to go and bear fruit.
– Richard H. Fitzgerald, M.D., F.A.C.P. November 24, 2024
