During a General Chapter, there is always a presentation by the postulator or postulatrix of our Order, this year, by Sr. Gabriella of Vitorchiano. She spoke about the various members of our Order whose causes are being pursued, for example, Blessed Marie-Joseph Cassant, Blessed Maria Gabriella, the blessed martyrs of Atlas, the martyrs of Via Caeli, and the venerable hermit Romano Bottegal to name a few. Listening to Sr. Gabriella, I was impressed by the impact of the cult of these brothers and sisters on the faithful. These saints make present in flesh and blood the spiritual path of our Order. And what is that spiritual path? On the one hand, it is to progress in this way of life and in faith and run on the path of God’s commandments with hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love; and on the other hand, it is to remain hidden in the humility of patience which is the door to sharing in the sufferings of Christ.

For example, Blessed Marie-Joseph was running with great delight towards the goal of conformity to Christ in the priesthood only to run into the humiliating experience of formal studies for which he was ill-suited. Maria Gabriella’s zeal for the unity of the churches consumed her soul, while she waited in patience for the Lord to consume her young body with tuberculosis. Our brothers of Atlas lived their passion for community patiently to the end, living and dying together out of love for their Muslim neighbors, our Order, and the Church universal.

Of course, Sister Gabriella’s presentation would not have been complete without mention of your patron, St. Rafael Arnáiz Barόn. His cult continues to grow. His writings are becoming better known. The meaning of his life is penetrating not only our own Order but especially the hearts of young people. He shares many characteristics with our other saintly brothers and sisters, especially a heart overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love, purified by the patient suffering that intercepted him time and again throughout his journey. Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit is saying to us through this dear brother, for he is like a pillar of iron and a wall of bronze against all that can bring us low in monastic life, all that can obstruct our way or cause a depressed state of mind. He shows us the path of life.

St. Rafael certainly learned this mysterious spiritual path of our vocation. He had great zeal upon entering San Isidro. He brought with him great love for his family, a great capacity for friendship, for art, for music. He had everything going for him. But then God revealed to him the spiritual path of Citeaux. God began to remove whatever would slow down Rafael’s sprint. He purified his overzealousness for his blessed La Trappe by allowing him to be sent away three times for health reasons and military service. Rafael was like a ping-pong ball, re-immersed in his family’s intimate love during his recuperation only to pull up roots again to return to La Trappe. His affectionate nature had to suffer the difficult lessons of detachment and holy abandonment. Finally, God also gave him a thorn in his side—the affliction of severe diabetes with its incredible thirst and pervasive weakness, which, eventually, St. Rafael would refer to as his greatest blessing. All his talents and generosity were thrown into the fire, either voluntarily with his own hand or mercifully by God’s hand. You may be aware that diamonds are formed deep down in the earth by a combination of extreme pressure and heat. St. Rafael was formed in the deep recesses of humility where the pressures and heat of cenobitic life combined to make of him a diamond pillar.

There is a short bio written for the Vatican website that summarizes this process of maturation for St. Rafael: “Despite his brief life, he embodies the Cistercian grace in a remarkably pure way. From beginning to end he let himself be led through a series of bewildering contradictions and perplexities: illness, war, the inability to pronounce his vows, abnormal community relations until he totally renounced himself. Humiliation was his constant companion. His one desire was to live to love: to love Jesus, Mary, the Cross, his Trappist monastery. His reputation for holiness spread rapidly throughout Spain and his grave at San Isidro became a place of pilgrimage where many favours were received. On August 19, 1989, at the World Youth Day in Santiago de Compostela, Pope St. John Paul II proposed Bro. Rafael as a model for young people today, saying in his homily at the beatification Mass that this Spanish Trappist set an example” of a loving and unconditional response to the divine call”.”

So, Br. Rafael, if you find that God is leading you through a series of bewildering contradictions and perplexities; if you find that humiliation is a constant companion and thoughts start rising up in your heart, quickly, lay hold of these disturbances and dash them against Christ and reveal them to your novice director. But also remember that your patron endured the same things on his spiritual path, for he experienced in his heart the inexpressible delight of love while at the same time sharing in the passion of Christ through patience. St. Rafael, pray for us!

Reflections by Dom Vincent to Br. Rafael at his clothing in the novice’s habit on Sunday 2 November during Chapter.