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| Emmanuel Robert |
Today begins my last week here - today the last Monday at La Sainte-Baume.
Prayers at 7:30am followed by petit dejeuner. Today I made plans to go for a hike with Emmanuel Robert. I met him and three of his friends two weeks ago. He returned alone for this weekend and leaves tomorrow. He really enjoys hiking and has hiked in just about every region of France, Switzerland, and into Spain and Italy. He likes this place because he is searching for something in his life. He admits he's not particularly religious, but he finds a real inner peace here. I can understand what he means, although we would describe it very differently. We decided to hike into the village of Plan D'Aups - where I went last Wednesday. We took the wooded trail rather than the road. Emmanuel is familiar with the many trails around here. I took the road when I went by myself. The wooded trails at the base of the cliffs parallels the road. It was cooler than yesterday, but the sun was still quite warm. We sat in an outdoor cafe drinking coffees and eating lunch. We sat for about 3 hours and had a long conversation. Emmanuel talks with such great enthusiasm about all the places he has hiked, many of them in areas of France that I have visited. He talks about the people he has met. He is fascinated by my sabbatical plans. He believes the best part is the chance to meet so many people. I agree that it is becoming the part I am ejoying the most.
At one point Emmanuel started asking many questions about my vocation. It was curious to me because he constantly says he is not particularly religious. Tonight at dinner, there were two women who were hiking the pilgrimage trails to St. Jacques Campostello, (just google it to learn more - its a future destination for me I think. Maybe even my sabbatical 10 years from now. The diocese lets us take one every 10 years.) For a guy who claims not to be very religious, he seemd to know all the monasteries, religious houses and communites along the way.
His questions about my vocation were not as easy as they sound. Emmanuel has no English at all, so talking about the subtleties of faith and vocation in French is one of the more challenging conversations I have had so far. The only that would be more difficult is preaching (It seems like I may need to do that too on Wednesday. The Prior, Frere Romeric asked me to be the celebrant at Mass on Wednesday when all the friars will be away.) I had this conversation with him two weeks before when he was at dinner with his three friends. And I have the time to reflect on my vocation in French quite a bit since then. So when he asked me again today, I think I was better prepared to answer. He recalled when I had explained that a priest in not married to God. If we are to use marriage language at all than we must say (and here is where the French is so much more elegant than the English) "Je suis epousee avec l'eglise". Literally, "I am espoused with the church". This concept of espousal to a community was fascinating to him. I am learning that there are really two generations of Catholics in France that are almost entirely un-churched; meaning they have little or no personal contact with a priest for their entire life. In the USA, even the non-practicing Catholics have has some connection with priests and have an idea what the relationship between priest and church community is all about. France is really a territory for evangelization. I am wondering if Emmanuel has ever had the opportunity to talk one on one with a priest like this before. He seems to be more in tune with the purely human aspects of vocation, the discernment, the choices, the study, the day-to-day contact I have with people. When I get into faith or theology, it is at this point that he generally finds it hard to comprehend. Who knows how the spirit works.
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| A chene, (oak tree in the field beside the hotelerie) |
After our three hour rest and extended talk at the street cafe, we headed back to the hotelerie. It was really a gorgeous day. As we approached the hotelrie by this new route, we came down the trail that led us past this beautiful tree that I've been looking at from a distance. I finally got the chance to photograph it. While the forests in the area are full of these majestic oaks, this one growing all by itself at the edge of a field has a wonderful symmetry that the others crowded together do not have.
I gave Sister Natalia her first piano lesson today. She did quite well. She already has working knowledge of the staff and notation. We will meet again tomorrow after lunch.
At dinner tonight, Antoine, a seminarian who is two years from ordination joined in at dinner. We were five people. Emmanuel, Antoine, two womer who are hiking to Campostello, and me. Antoine is studying at a seminary that prepares priests specifically to serve in the missions. He explained that part of the process is a year off in the middle of studies to discern where in the world he would like to serve. He has decided he would like to go to Asia - specifically Thailand. There is a large Thai community in Paris and he feels drawn to that region. I was fascinated by this whole process. He will be around for two more days. Emmanuel is leaving tomorrow, the two hikers to St. Jacques are heading out after breakfast. I will have more time to chat with him and learn about his vocation.
I am wrapping this up at 12:30am, or as they say in France, 00:30H.
Bonne nuit, All.
