To my way of thinking “new,” “neo,” or “nu” monasticism is about simplicity; it is about faithfulness, not trendiness; it won't feature on the cover of Business Week; it is small and obscure; it is participation in the missio Dei; it is about embodying the radical nature of the gospel and bearing witness, particularly within the abandoned and marginal places within our cities and wider communities, to Jesus’ historical and ongoing mission, evocatively articulated in gospel passages such as Luke 4 and Jesus’ sermon on the Mount.
New variations on monasticism are about incarnating the gospel amongst those who are not like us. They are about peace making and justice. They’re about the enacting of faithfulness, compassion, mercy, hopefulness, and above all love. They are about effecting the Kingdom of God in the power of the Spirit. They are not privatised ventures in self-indulgence or only inwardness. Rather, they maintain a healthy tension between what Michel de Certeau calls “lived practice, a provocative presence-in-the-world expressed in the age-old tension between discipleship (following), and conversion (change).” Faithful expressions of new monasticism need to be both “mystical” (i.e. contemplative) and “prophetic” (leading to and engaged in “transformative practice”).
that is a very nice synopsis. for those of us who have to do the 'quick explaination' we thank you.
Posted by: gavin | Wednesday, 01 June 2005 at 05:18 AM