We Want to Go Somewhere Together

Abbot John Klassen said that “Ultimately, we live the Benedictine community life together because we want to go somewhere together, to heaven, to be with Christ who has been with us for the whole journey.”

This statement very much reflects the life of St. Benedict, whose death we remember on March 21 (or on March 22 when, as in 2021, March 21 falls on a Sunday). St. Benedict established at least 12 monasteries in his lifetime, and after living in solitude for several years in young adulthood, he continually lived in community with other monks who were seeking God. He even died in the company of his brother monks, as reported in the Dialogues of St. Gregory: “…he had his disciples carry him into the chapel where he received the Body and Blood of our Lord to gain strength for his approaching end. Then, supporting his weakened body on the arms of his brethren, he stood with his hands raised to heaven and as he prayed breathed his last.”

For Christians, there is no such thing as crossing the finish line into eternal life alone. A beautiful image of this reality once unfolded during a Special Olympics race when, just as a runner was about to cross the finish line, the person behind him tripped and fell. The boy who was about to win turned around, helped his fellow runner to his feet, and arm in arm, they skipped across the finish line. We want to go somewhere together.

Christ is with us for the whole journey through each other, which is why participating in some form of community (be it a family, close-knit friends, a religious order, or workplace colleagues) is so important. St. Benedict closed Chapter 72 of the Rule he wrote for his monks with this line: “Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.” As Charles Péguy said, “We must save ourselves together. We must arrive all together in the heaven of our God. We must not come to look for our God without each other. What might God say, if we arrived without each other?”