The Ascesis of Study

Study is a central ascesis of Dominican life. It is one that I have frankly let slip since leaving St. Albert's, our house of studies, over a decade ago. I have by no stretch of the imagination stopped reading good solid books on a wide variety topics; I have read what I hoped to be useful to me, to my ministry, to those around me, etc. or in areas where I find God "outside" of theology (like mathematics). However, this time in Jerusalem has pointed out to me that my approach has not been ascetic, at least in the Dominican sense. I have reduced my study to an utilitarian activity.

Ascesis and ascetic are not bad words. Modern culture may think so, but it's because it has a distorted view of asceticism. Being ascetic, or even an ascetic, is NOT about inflicting punishments on oneself (or having them imposed by another) in hoping of pleasing or satiating a masochistic God (or institution, superior, etc.) in order to be temporarily or permanently miserable and thereby somehow to gain merit. It comes from the Greek word askein, which means "to exercise"; when used as a nominal form, it is the word for monk or nun. St. Paul tells the Corinthians, "Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it..." (1Cor. 9:26-27a) Religious asceticism, then, trains the whole person for the encounter with God; "From my flesh I shall see God; my inmost being is consumed with longing." (Job 19:26)

The genius of St. Dominic in answering the needs of his time was to replace physical asceticism of traditional monasticism with intellectual asceticism, specifically study and preaching. Both forms are practiced by the individual in the context of community life and its fruits benefit the community. Their tangible "fruits" (e.g., raising wholesome food for the monastery or a particularly learned homily on the feeding miracles) are of secondary importance. Their primary aim is the sanctification (bringing to closer to God) of the individual and his/her community in and through a particular discipline.

For a Dominican friar, study is a discipline that is meant to keep him in shape for encountering the Living God and hopefully, to actually encounter the Father of Mercies in that exercise. If you have heard me preach or sought my counsel recently, you have heard me quote Bl. Teresa of Calcutta, "God does not ask us to be successful; God asks us to be faithful." I have replaced success (i.e., utility) for fidelity to my discipline to study.

It's probably no accident that I am also not in great physical shape at the moment either. Funny how that works! I need to bring this to prayer: since God has seen fit to show this to me, it also means God is wanting some action on my part...