History Class notes - November 17

We are to live in the world, but not of it. One group of people who took this very seriously and acted upon it was the Monastic group. There were different "tribes" of monks and we will look at each briefly.

Anchorites or Eremites stayed in one place and were entirely apart from the community. They were locked in hermits.

Cenobites or Koinobites lived in the midst of fellowship and lived a good life separated from the world yet within a community.

Sarabites believed that they needed to get a fresh start for their previous sins. They were separated for a season.

The Mendicants had no monasteries and were known for their wandering. They had decentralized order.

The monks believed that there were eight primary sins. This was another from of Total Depravity.

1) Voracitas: Greed - always wanting more and very self-centered. An example of this is in Tolkien's work The Lord of the Rings where Gollum wants the ring so he can have all the fishes in the world.

2) Turpitudo: Immorality - being good for bad reasons or impure.

3) Impietas: Impiety - being puffed up and not seeking God by seeking and studying Him.

4) Idiota: Ignorance - we are just plain stupid and we miss the obvious.

5) Ignave: Sloth - We have a disinclination to work and to be lazy.

6) Conflict: causes turmoil and dissension.

7) Supervivere: Survival - you say that the rules apply to others but not to yourself.

8) Licentia: Anarchy - you build communities successfully by going against your tendency of sin.

We must focus upon Christ and his work and not so much on ourselves. Complete Total Depravity will not allow you to look outside, but rather inward on yourself.

Now we will provide the answers to these sinful tendencies.

1) Paupertas: Poverty - provides freedom from greed

2) Prudentia: Chastity - you realize your purity

3) Sanctus: Prayer - you commit yourself to prayerfulness

4) Discendi: Study - overcome stupidity by studying God's Word

5) Sedulus: Industry - by creating businesses you created work

A good motto should be Ora et Labora meaning Prayer and Work. We must also bear witness to the world.

We must live by faith through grace, show for the living hope, and walk in love.

The monks had specific hours for their spiritual life.

Morn Watch

Nocturn or Vigils happens before dawn. You gather together and read through a Psalm.

Matins happens at dawn where you have a prayer service to bless the labors and the awakening of the day.

Lauds is after sunrise and was for the purpose of stealing (founding) a resolve to obey Him throughout the day.

Prime was at 7 AM and reminded the monks to live lives prayerfully and focused.

Terce was before the High Mass at 9 AM and was sometimes combined with Prime.

Noon Watch

Sext happened directly before lunch. There was a grace said to remind them that every blessing come from above.

Even Watch

Nones, Vespers, and Compline were all different times during the evening where they would gather together to pray over the day and the things that happened.

Night Watch

Benediction: this was the blessing after the monks went to bed.

There were many different orders of Monasticism. We will list a few and state what each order's specialty was.

Augustinians - teaching and schools

Carmelites - were a separated people

Cistercians - were very ascetic

Franciscans - travelled a lot blessing people, and eventually became more of teachers.

Knights Templar - they were a police order, guarding the holy places. They lead the first crusade and helped pilgrims.

Benedictines - teaching and serving. They helped set up the first hospitals.

Carthusians - often retreated into silence

Dominicans - teaching and serving

Maryknollers and Jesuits were both a missionary order. It is often said that the cause of "every problem" was the Jesuits. They believed that the ends justified the means.

What a Christian must do:

The fortress of first principles shows the purposefulness of the Gospel can be portrayed. A school of the covenant teaches that those who were naturally not connected can be connected. A reset of society's clock will lead to the reset of peoples' hearts. You must center the day around God. A recalibration of society's calendar will lead to a setting of Holy Days - not just state holidays. An incubator of community will teach people about what is necessary for communities to thrive. They must have it modeled and shaped for them.

A hub for trade and commerce is basically good communities attracting other communities.

Everyone bases their days and calendar life off of a belief. We must live out Christianity and must recognize God's Holy Days. This will encourage a community to run smoothly.

People must look outside of themselves and be hospitable and open to help ground a well-run community. You cannot force this or else it will fall apart. It must be a natural feeling given by the Holy Spirit.

These good communities run by Christians would attract other communities. Christians are honest and wouldn't cheat others out of something. This is attractive even to pagans.

Institutions will always become corrupt. Something will always be birthed out of it and that will have its golden age before eventually falling. It is a repeating cycle.

"In the same way that angels can fly because they take themselves so lightly; monasteries can help change the world precisely because they keep all the world's changes in their true and proper perspective." G.K. Chesterton

The least likely people you'd expect to reshape society -- not princes or kings, generals or presidents -- was a group of ordinary people who looked at the world and their own hearts and knew they needed to retool everything if there was to be faith, hope, and love manifested for generations to the world.