North American Prior's Council


March 20, 1973

Symbolic Centrum

RELIGIOUS HOUSE DOCUMENT



WORKING PAPER





The

Times

The

Religious

House

Task

TH~ liASTER IN" RO~UCTION

1. Behold the earth from the moon: within the memory of twentieth century man, we have witnessed the colla~se of culture within every civilization on the globe. Economic collapse is manifest in our inability to provide basic necessities for every man. In the political arena, every man experiences disenfranchized helplessness. Culturally, t`.e common stories of what it means to be human no longer release our liYe passion. And yet, in the midst of this time, man has the possibility of creating the civilizational form of a global society. With the passin~ away of the basis of society, there is born the possibility of appropriatin: anew the irrationality which is at the root of life. Meaningfulness has passed away and birthed a new spiritual hunger. The experience of collapse and the experience of resurgence is the experience of every man. Through this individual experience, each man experiences the collapse and the rebirth of the w~lole earth. This, the time of the ~reat resur~ence, is a time of sanctification when man experiences in new depths that he invents humaness. The life question for our time is Just how do I live my life as a sign? This resurgence requires that there be created points of interior calm and sociolo~ical order as signs of the bursting forth of the well­springs of human creativity and as a de,~,onstration of the practical possibility of authentic sociality and creative engaSenent in history.

2. In reaponse to these times, the task of the religious house is to discern the trends of the sociological revolution and call forth hope in the midst of the experience of hopelessness. It's function is described as five­fold. 1) Its profound function is to embrace the suffering and dramatize the resurgence experienced by all. In deinonstrating poss lbility in local situations, it is a presence of victory and triumph, a concrete sign of hope. 2) Ttle house catalyzes the movement by embodyin~ the sacrificial style of the crucified ~nd resurrected people and by calling others forth to this sanie ;­,ossibility. It claims the c~ucifor~ death and seeks the resurrectional rebirth of e~ery collea;ue, and thereby brin~s into being carc~ structures in a con~prehensive context and vision. 3) The relir;ious house is a wayside inn

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North American Prior's Council March 20, 1973 Symbolic Centrum RELI(lIOUS HOUSE DOCI}MENT Page











The
Times


















































The
ReliElous
House
Task
TH~ liASTER IN' RO~I C~ION



1. Behold the earth from the moon: within the memory of twentieth century man, we have witnessed the collapse of culture within every civilization on the globe. Economic collapse is manifest in our inability to provide basic necessities for every man. In the political arena, every man experiences disenfranchized helplessness. Culturally, t e common stories of what it ineans to be human no longer release our life passion. And yet, in the midst of this time, man has the possibility of creating the civilizational form of a global society. With the passin~ away of the basis of society, there is born the possibility of appropriatin6 anew the irrationality which is at the root of life. Meaningfulness has passed away and birthed a new spiritual hunger. The experience of collapse and the experience of resurgence is the experience of every man. Through this individual experience, each man experiences the cDllapse and the rebirth of the whole earth. This, the time of the ~reat resurgence, is a time of sanctification when man experiences in new depths that he invents hu.naness. The life question for our time is Just how do I live my life as a sign? This resurgence requires that there be created points of interior calm and sociological order as signs of the bursting forth of the well­springs of human creativity and as a dei~onstration of the practical possibility of authentic sociality and creative engaSement in history.



2. In reaponse to these times, the task of the religious house is to discern the trends of the 90ciological revolution and call f;orth hope in the midst of the experience of hDpelessness. It's function is described as five­fDld. 1) Its profound function is to embrace the suff erinsr, and dramatize the resurgence experienced by all. In demonstrating possibility in local situations, it is a presence of victory and triumph, a concrete sign of hope. 2) The house catalyzes the movement by embDdyin& the sacrificial style of the crucified and resurrected people and by calling others forth to this sanie i,ossibility. It claims the cruciform death and seeks the resurrectional rebirth o. every collect ue, and thereby brin~s into being care structures in a comprehensive context and vi~ion. 3) The reli~ious house is a ~Tavside inn



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Nortk Americal Prior's Council March 20, 1973 S,rmbotic Centrum RELIGIOUS HOUSE DOCUMENT Pa~e 3





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The
Present
Document
for travelers on the human Journey.­; It cares for the travelers by recreating vision and giving back the sign of possibility. 4) The house is guardian of the historical church. It affirms the Journey of the church and summons it to its historical task. 5) The religious house holds religious practices in history as a way of spiritizing human realities. It practices and creates or recreates the practices needed for the continuation of the human adventure. The body of people which manifests these dynamics is that sociological form which mutates human consciousness in the creation of the future of civilization.



3.` The purpose of this document is to gather practical wisdom pertaining to the dynamics of the religious house. It is a rational compilation of 105 functions: 5 master functions, 20 mayor functions and 80 basic functions, which individually and in relationship to one another describe the function within society which the religious house is. Thia is an initial document, neither directly practical nor polished, aimed at articulating the theoretical foundations of the religious house dynamic. It looks at the religious house as an ongoing historical process, and then emphasizes the function which that process plays in relation to the surrounding society. This approach allows one to see through the various particular forms associated with a religious house to the dynamical process they sustain, and then to their objective historical function. This method is designed to disclose the essential function of a religious house as we have discovered it in our experimentation. This document provides a basis for future consideration of the form of the religiGUS house in our time. Written by the North American Priors Council in March of 1973, it is a gatherinE Of wisdom from five years of experimentation with the religious house, and sets the foundation for bringing global commonality to the religious houses across the world.













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North American Prior's Council March ?0, 1973

Symbolic Centrum RELIGIOVS HOUSE DOCUMENT Page

Manifesting

The

Radical

Pr~:on r',~

I. THE PROFOUND FUNCTION

4. The profound function of the Religious Hous;e is actualizing sociological rebirth, embracing everlastin~ suffering, siPnifying unseen hope and conquerin~ historical tyranny. By representing suffering humanity and demonstrating sociologica7 rebirth, the Religious House calls society to wakefulness. It enables the fragmentary breakloose of the sDirit to become the new trends which gather revolutionary force and chanze the established climate. By callinz to consciousness the need for building a new relevant piety, it stands over against the decadent piety blocking social change, and holds before all men the breakloose of culture out of which the new society is built. It risks clunging through the veil and returns bearing the re created historical symbols and myths which point anew to the truth and call forth new life in others. The Religious House reveals the ontological possibilities for local man to receive his suffering with glorious trust. Burdened with the nain of living in a world which demands all of him, which he hates, and which, in hating, increases his pain, he is enabled to trust that Pain and in trusting it and his helplessness before it, discovers that he is alive and strangely in peace. The ReIigious House celebrates that lourney to trust as the way it is for all life lived before the deeps,and joyfu'ly embraces it as the great gift of God. In acting out­the absurdity of hope in the midst of hoDelessness, it sustains society in its vision of human transformation and signifies the continuing presenoe that lives out of the future. Thus the Religious House demonstrates the absurd triumDh that conquers historical tyranny ­ that of the everlastinp~ weakling in the arms of God. As the scarred, defeated, ridiculed failure, it stands, announcing God's victory, always pointing to that which is the mystery, that which is totally beyond the situation, vet present within it.

A. Dramatization of Resurgence

ualizing 5. One dimension of the Drofound function of the Religious ! Sociological House is to dramatize the Dresence of resurgence in our times.

ir The Religious House is that which discerns the meaning of every

moment of time and SPace and makes it Derceiveable. By trusting in interior meaning it catalyzes and intensifies resurgence for all men. The Relirious House calls forth the mystery, depth, and greatness of every mundane encounter and transforms its mundanity into sDirit. The Religious House's use of futuric imagery creates a screen through which society, locked in old forms, is enabled to perceive new deDth in the despairing everydayness of life. The religious house has eyes to see the trends toward new sociological forms of humanness. It discerns the edge of the human struegle and stakes a claim there. To work where society has given up ­­such as in the ghetto or a dying con~re~ation­­is to boldly announce a claim on the future making

Actualizing

The Sociological

P ­ h; ~th

North American Prior's Council March 20, 1973

Symbolic Centrum KELTO.IOUS HOUSE DOCUMENT Paye

Em~od,~ing

L~fe's

Banquet

Exemplif ying

Representational

Heroism

Embodying

Transforming

Method

oossibility visible for society where none was: apparent before. Capturing and naminF the sociological edge l.nsights porrr­~vea ~n contemporary art forms awakens society to ~he presence OT 1~­~;~rgence in its own consciousness. This kind of dr~nz~­ zar_on discloses the possihilitv of hone for mankind.

6. The Religious House is thar force in hisro~y whic­h creares histor~v by covenanting with lir­e irself, knowing th.a all .nar is needed to create new forms is living life to rhe fullness and relating to life as a glorious banquet. Such a rorce affirms all of life in its Pivenness oast, presen~ and ru~ur~ as ~ood and as open to radical possibility. And in the midsr of saying a radical yes to all of life it is released ro feasting an every particular situation, showing ~hat the si~uat'~or. ~n its most mundane essence has the possibility cf being t~ransformed into a foundation of creative living. The Relig.ious House is that force which in feasting on lif.e as a bar~quet acts as a si~n ro all men that life in its every par~­cu'arlr~ lived in total care and joy is the essence of 1,vinp;.

7. The Religious House exemplifies the new 20th c~rtu,~,r her w s in society who choose to be the creators in the midst of oppre~ sive co~lapse. The heroism is that of a Francis, who chose to be a mirror reflecring the uncOnscsous collapse w~d ti~e unrecognized despair of the society abouc him, and in ~hiS e=?OSUre enabled the possibility of dealing anew with that situarion. By refusing the claims or rewards of any thing, the Religious House becomes the siF,n of triumoh over victimism as it decides to respond to particular needs out of a grasP of being totally responsible for all of life. By refusing security and attachment the Religious House becomes the pioneer for society by stepping out and making a new direction clearly visible. In the midst of society the Religious House discerns where the strategic placement of its troops, resources, and wisdom will have siRnal crea*ive and tnarisparent impact in the sociologi.cal rebirth of socle~y suc~. as choosing to live wnere attention needs to be drawn in order to deal wirh a forgotten or innoc~ntly su ffering seRment.

8. In the midst of tne 20t­t,. century, a C3i~amiC thia~ prov~des a concrete mytholoFv which clar~fies the vision or sucleta~ recreation is needed. To enable the civilizing process a world wide, history lon~ con,ex~c is called for in the mias' of each man's peopranhica: or individual situation. Tne Rel:gious House emerges as the necessary dynamic which operates out of a concrete mytholo~y honoring the given life mysteries of sociality, sexmality, and phasealitv. These life dynamics or di.sccarinuity oCcasion resur~,ence of se,~Iood in the midst of the hisrurical context and man's relation ro nis vocat'2on. This dynamic embodie$ the style of servant care for rhe world wh' Ctl demon~rr 

North American Prior's Council March 20, 1973 Symbolic Centrum RELIG,IOUS HOUSE DOCUMENT Page 6
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Rehearsing
Social
Dynamics
ates a concrete image to release and embrace the spirit deeps of everyman who encounters it, and consequently embraces servanthood as a role for himself. That is, the Religious House, both in its life demonstration and stories it tells about itself, provides the charisma which draws forth: the engagement of everyman into the recreation of society.



9. One of the profound functions of the Religious House is to rehearse the new understanding of humanness upon which the new society is built. The primary way which the house does this is to disclose the Mystery of life throuFh the intentional use of symbols. The symbolic life of the house constantly rehearses what life is all about and ~ives form and substance to man's relationship to it. It is in this way that the edge of humanness is discerned. The house does not do this as an isolated fraF~ment of society but rather as a hody of people who call society to attention to resurgence. For example the regular rehearsal of the Daily Office gives man the opportunity of internalizing the fact that the Mystery of life is what man is unagainst. As man does this he grasns that society,too, is always a new creation and the building of a new society can only come about as men build from this reality. Also, the intentional use and significating of art forms which point to resurgence enables man to reflect deeply on this resurgence in society and given them permission to ~articipate in constructing the new society. Thus the house is the external rehearsal of the interior dynamics of social chanF~e.



















































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North American Prior's Council March 20, 1973 Symbolic Centrum RELIGIOUS HOUSE DOCUMENT Page





B. Gloriously Embracing Suffering


Embracing
The
Everlasting
Sufferinz




















































Covenanting
I' i th
Strug,2le
10. The Religious House embraces everlasting suffering as a sign of affirmation of life as it is. Suffering is the perpertual experience of man, who in his sensitivity to life ftnds himself succumbing to a desire to avoid the pain. For instance~ the man who directed the Peace Corps in India is now selling life insurance in a small midwest town. When confronted with the opportunity to deal seriously with vocational questions, he ret sorted, "People raising those kinds of questions should see a psychiatrist." Other people find themselves hopping from cause to cause, engaging up to the point where they can see that it would demand their whole life. The Religious House demonstrates how it is possible to not run or hide from life's pain, but to remain sensitive to it; indeed, it ftnds ways to hold itself continually before the anguish of life. ~ r the wisdoln of the church is that life is empowered ­­­ the despairingly impossible task becomes sheer resolve. It is in this anticipation of the fruits of grace that the Religious House exposes the ^onsclousness of life as 20th century man experiences it and inco:,horates it into its very structure. And far from being ~x~s~.r~pt from the world's care, the Religious House experiences itsel! enveloped in suffering­fully in this world. But what is embodied in that suffering is a profound trust that the suffer~rg is good. Thus the exemplification that the Religious House ig, sheds significance and glory on the painfl1 or hatef1l mNndanities man experiences. Inevitably the Religious House cuts ~urcss the most severe perversions of our times in dealing with suf=~ring" While liberals maintain that man ought to be relieving individual suffering, T~LI makes it clear that to attempt such a feat is to fight against life itself. And the Religious House is there to demonstrate a more glorious stance toward eternal care.



11. To covenant with lifets struggle is radical deci~ion to live life's tension endlessly ­this is t}le profound function of the religious house. Every human life is filled with unending struggle, but the recovery of struggle as t}le gift of life itself lies in the process of bringing each and every moment in life to transparent disclosure of glorious unending mystery. This covenant reflects man's decision to receive his clues for ~liB life style solely in the face of mystery, consciousness, care, and J>eacefu1 living. This covenant to perpetually love life ~,recisely as it comes is the vo~ cation to which the religiou9 house t~ecl^,~ns men. Those who stand as embracing this vocation perform the function of objectifying the Struggle in which men find themselves immersed, and therefore enables them to tkne a new relatior,ship to life. Tt~e religious t~ouse exposes tlle depth of the covenantal life a~d beckons each man to come forth to encounter the ;~articular, the mundane, and the naoramlly rejected moments of life as the beal~tiful, tt~e spirit­filled, and the sought after oCCnSionS of ex i st.el~ e



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North American Prior's Council March 20, 1973

Symbolic Centrum RELIC,IOUS HOUSE DOCUMENT Page g

Disclosing

Struggle

As

fleaning

Embodying

CornT)rehensive

Care

Loving

Painful

Existence

12. The religious house is intensified furtller under the rubric of' disclosing the struggle of life as its meariing. ·~bn has shown uy in our tin~es with an incredible ~'ropensity to escaiie any context of accountability for bis expenditure as a human creature, for it is an ir~crea.sinc~rly difficult task for man to face usin.g meaningfully l~is own time and energy resr~nrces. The religrious li`,use picks up the historical indici!ative that mer1 bascially ',rapple with struggle as meallillca ,nly whell it aiJpears that he can win the strugg~le. The religious li`,use resl,orlsihility is to di.scto~ie t}liS illusioll, alid, therefore, reveal the basic nature of the way life is. To disclose the deptll strui,gle of living is a liighly liractical question which needs serious reI'lection in order to choose t}le most adequate rnetllods to ex!~ose this undersSarlding~. The religious house therefore, provides the i~ossibility of individual care ~nly within particularly chosen sociological contexts wherein a 1,erson's struggle may be proi~erly objectified and structurally cared for. It functions to transcend individual justification i~`cd throws the question of the et! ical life into the nre la of cor',or te responsible action.

13. The function Jf t}le elil,~ir?us house is to raise a socioloaical si nr of those who ernl,orly comprehensive care. 2~hln constantly operates out of inkages w}~ich tell l~irn tllat he already has more to care for than he can possibly manage. Ile is convince(l that the realm of his rcslonsibility should !,e n~' larger than what he can reasonably control. The religious house works to reveal man's sense of the encounter of the world upon his life and thus exl~oses the pain of his own inadequacy and pettiness. It raises with every human being the question of the quality and direction of life experldittlre. It points out that 20th century Inan lives in the globe and therefore, no adequate life model can exclude other yeople, neigllhor}`oods, cities or nations. The house functiorl, therefore, is to demonstrate to man that he can spend his life fully in the suffering that comes with resposlaibility for tl e world. In tile midst of B global context eveyman becomes one's neighbor and all creation becomes his unique and total resT>onsibility.

14. Existence is pain­filled for every n~an as he faces the constant call to engagement while at the same time being confronted by the absurdity of tliS own deatll. The emptiness of all action is thrust before one, yet the call to act remains. This dual awareness lies at the root of mans despari, from which a l~aralysis of authentic will results (such as manifest in CvniCism9 stoicisrnr or defiance). The religious house functions to release the will to struggle by providing assigninents to corlll rehensively contexted strucu~es which thrust one into the arena of authentic decision about living. By universalizing the structures which attach the particular and n~undane issues, one is thrown into an arena wilere his struggle is radically intens­'fied and his doing is transl~arently informed by the context. For exarnple~ to be given an assimunent to wash dishes witllin the context nf ~

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North American Pricr's Council

Symbolic Centrum RELTOIOUS HOUSE DncuMENT

March 20, 1973

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structure to "~::nable lievolutionary }'astidi`,usness" ~!ushes orle beyond his previr,us I ucidi ty ul)out the cien.ning of engaging in the tasl­. In l~erforming tl.is ~aundarle tasli i~l tl,e IIC'W C'OllteXt, he sees ttiat the ambiguity of his life exl~cnditure hns ntJt been al1eviated, ')ut has bee~l intensified, cEIllillg forth a greater decision to wrestle and dialogue with the curltext out ·~f which the action is perforr:led. In tl~is way, the arnl~igllity `'f all expenditure is c,~unrdod, while the ellticemellt t`>ward !noro coml~lete eiabo<lirnent of tl.e context is rnaint.lilled.









































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        C. Vision


        Signifying
        The
        Unseen
        Hope


































































        Embodying
        Repento,pt
        Creaturliness
Recovery


15. The profound function of signifying the unseen hope emerges in the collacse of vision where man is held in the immobility of life's brokenness and is led to see life as a cruel joke. The dentin of this collapse even reaches his understanding of the word of Dossibility that seems to be pulled away from him and Derpetually lost from his gras~ of that which is certain in life. In the midst of this collapse of hope is the conviction that the only thing left to do is to give up, to quit, to wallow in despair and to live his life out as a zombie. The function of the Religious House in the midst of this is to life as those who are continually condemned to hope where there is no hope in the midst of the total collapse of hone, to stand in the realization that this life is the only life that is. This is healing to a sick and weary world that has decided to knuckle under the seemine imoossibilitv of the transformation of lif~. lt is ti` recovery of vision based on nothing but trusting rhe fact th=t the way life is is trustworthy, that the unliveable l~fe is liveable. The theatres that were birthed in the midst of manq Jewish concentration camDs revea~s the realization that the p~esent moment is the stuff of mants existence, his final si~nificance~ his one life story. The trust is that the awe­full life is the holy life. The hope creates victory in the midst or seemling defeat that springs from a kind of radical absurd freedom that envisions the possibility that can only come from this brokenness. It is the story of the DroDhet Jeremiah, who, knowing that inevitable takeover of his people's land, spread the news of this upcoming doom and then presented the sign of imDossible hope by buying up all the land and staking a claim on it. Llfe £s freed up to be mission in history, to trigger newness in the midst of utterly collaDsed and dying situations. The story of the prisoner who was being brainwashed to say that the Church was dead and decided to carve a cross in his hand and, thereby, tell himself over and again that the Church was alive in history, noints to this rtalitv. Man is finally left with nothing but his creativity as his possibility for movin~ into the future.



16. In the 20th century man strives to make his life secure. Technology guards him against unexpected events, but when it breaks down he is terrified. When the electricity YOe5 out o' snow blocks mobility, he is Daralyzed. He seeks to solidify the universe into something he can predict. Finally in tne midst of striving it becomes Dainfully obvious his attention is be£ng directed elsewhere. Even when human society is progressing toward the ideal and man orides himself with overcomin~ creatureliness, barbarianism or uncivilized manners; still political and cultural leaders are assassinated, and cities are unsafe, land i9 mis u3 ed and environment is polluted. It is out of man's refusal to deal with his contingency that the world he attemDts to create i3 becoming a hoDeless nightmare. Nevertheless just as personal traRedy dramatizes to the individual the need for repentance,
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Awe­Filling
Never­the­less
Stance




































Envisioning
The
Promised
Future
societal tragedy reveals the yearning for a sign of social repentance. The sign of repentance is doing without "making life sure with the means of living." For the individual, repentance occurs in situations where his shortcomings are so obvious that there is no excuse or self­pride which can save him. Where there is no place to hide, the decth of personal insecurity is most terrifying. For societal repentance, insecurity is demonstrated in doing without sufficient money, without the comfort of approving friendship, or without the surety of a long life. Embodying repentant creatureliness is the function of taking upon oneself the humiliation of being what society reJects. The religious house embraces the creatureliness of man and finds in that depth ambiguity that freedom and creativity are realized. Thus freedom is discovered in repenting of having refused contingency.



17. The Religious House dynamic in history embodies the stance of awe­filling, never­the­lessness to life. In the midst of painfilled lucidity about life's arbitrariness, it holds the wonder of the Holy Place as that which transforms internal dread into significant election. Thus, situations or structures which appear to be collapsed are seen as on~ortunities for new life in concrete forms. This can be seen as a promising lawyer accepts a judicial appointment, in a society which demans that role, seeing the exciting challenge of doing battle to create a new role for the future, on behalf of all men. In the midst of the tension or tragedy of life, every event is seen as a gift of God­­living out the style of forgiveness, so that all men can live out their tension­filled lives as the way it is­­God's glorious will. For example, Dag Hammers;kold's reflection" of his ownstruggle with loneliness, ambiguity and personal disaPr~ointment. Yet, he never used this reality to escape from the resoonsibilitY of creating the will of Cod in every situation. The Religious House celebrates every day events and explodes their temporality into eternal destiny. In the stance of faith, it transcends the immediate and ioins with the Saints in Awe.



18. The religious house envisions the promised future by living out an undying faith that authentic life springs out of an acute awareness of failure. In every social breakdown the broken ones knew that the God of Heaven is still the God of Earth and they perceive man's collapse to be the prime source of the Spirit's new plan. Spirit giants like Moses and Martin Luther King embodied that abiding faith by actualizing the future they anticipated. Focusing the primal wisdom of the ancients on the raw givenness of these chaotic times grants men the courage to be the sign of dauntless faith and heroic humanness. Living the absurd Yes transforms the dispirited and dispossessed into men of hone and assurance. Constant rehearsal of resolute hope enables men of faith to he the victorious future they anticipate to release the dynamic creativity of the promised future.
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Demonstrating
Human
Trans f ormat ion
19. The function of the Religious House is initiating and nurturing change within the complexity of the human make­up by engendering vibrant life in the midst of weariness. The trans~ forming quality of human spirit excites those who come in contact with it. Cool Hand Luke ts decision to make the unexciting task of pouring tar for a road a consuming race of joy and exhaustion, startled those guarding them. For to be the highly motivated in the midst of no visible rewards reveals possibility to all men and demonstrates that fulfillment lies in total expenditure. The corporate life of a Religious House stands as a constant rehearsal that man's incomplete, small, and wretched human body is the very creation of God. This cruddy body of human beings is the Lord's vehicle in performing His will. Continually throwing oneself into impossible situations brings forth an absurdly conquering spirit. When a man bases his life on what is needed, knowing that finally the demand will claim his life, he finds that ~all is possible. In the encounter with another person's decision to live his life and die his death, local man is faced with the overwhelming possibility of making of life decision or of denying his own greatness. Here is revealed the function of the Religious House as demonstration of depth change in man's spirit, calling men to their life of radical consciousn~ss.

















































































































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D. Absurd Triumph


Conquering
The
Historical
Tyranny
























































Obeying
Within
Humiliation
20. The profound function of the religious house is absurd triumph. The Religious House demonstrates the absurd trusting in God's demands by approDriating the necessary but impossible global needs in the midst of overwhelming contradictions. The Religious House is called to embody external courage, recreat~ ing the story of the missional burden and personal election while transcending the experience of sociological paralysis. It is absurd triumph that is seen in risking creativity in corporate stewing and intuitional brainstorming on £nsurmountable problems. The Religious House conquers historical tyranny by proclaiming God's victory in birthing new consciousness when the world insists that failure is inevitable. This exposes the tyranny of seeing victory as static accomplishment rather than releasing new possibilities. The Religious House illuminates historical tyranny by proclaiming absolution on unsuccessful attempts and placing such events in the perspective of the overall journey of the struggle that is loved by God. The Religious House focuses the attention of society on missional demands by exposing the deeps of dreadfilled failures and thus transforms them into authentic embracable encounters. This is the proclamation of God's judgement/mercy on society. This dynamic of absurd triumph is illustrated by Martin Luther King's announcement of the victory of the civil rights move~­ ment at the same time police dogs were set loose on children and the resulting turn of consciousness of the world's conscience. This dynamic is particularily needed today in a society in which success is in terms of economic stability and yet an average job turnover every three years points to the crippling self story that man is failing to find a vocation that successfully sustains him.



21. Being God's fool is daring to be exposed to any humiliation. Obeying within this humiliation is like the struggle of getting up day after day and pronouncing, "I wouldn't have it any other way." It is the shame of walking in failure, decay, and scorn, and then risking everything again. The Religious House embraces that humiliation and points to that event as the locus for its marching orders. It is the pain of getting no credit for your abandoned expenditure but engaging again in actualizing impossible dreams. The Religious House proclaims this as man's radical demand. ­Obeying within humiliation is to symbolize the promise that the day holds within itself the roads 'gn that says, "This is the place." It is obedience to dramatizing the unconditional surrender to the demand that "somebody had to say 'yes'," and "you were chosen." This obeying within humiliation reveals the further humiliation: that the tyranny of the world's imago is that humiliation is to be avoided, but the Religious House symbolizes that God asks for your obedience no where else but in your humiliation. The Religious House interprets this experience a zift and not a curse.
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Calling
~ rth
Victory










































Disclosing me Mystery
22. The Religious House functions as the Fllture Proclaimers by standing present to the social contradictions and coalescing trends which illuminate the social vision. The House moves toward the vision as a sign of hope for men. The victory of a Religious House is living out of the Word, and the Word alone. It is seeing behind the brokenness to the will of the Lord. The calling forth of victory is the Religious House as prayer. It is analyzing the situation to remain relentlessly present to the reality of the world. It is battleplanning which ensures the victory before the battle. It is tactical action which creates the necesaary deed in every encounter. The dynamic of calling forth victory was embodied by Napoleon when he analyzed the battlefield catastrophes and deaths resulting from cannon accidents. To ignite a cannon the men had to go around, put in the ball, light it, and then run. There were many premature explosions. To overcome this contradiction and win the victory he intended, he put an insignia on each cannon and named these special soldiers, the heros of the revolution and the saviors of the world. This called forth the victory by transforming tragedy into martyrdom. The necessity of the Religious House as the future proclaimer is to be the one who forges the victory out of the everyday going­oneness, thus, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. This gives everyman the possibility of living triumphantly in the situation he has on his hands.



23. The Religious House acts out its profound f~nction as it is the enigma revealer. As enigma revealer, the Religious House structures missional demands which intensify complexity in the midst of life which is experienced as contingency. It discloses the mystery as it celebrates life's absurdity by bringing into focus and radical self­consciousness the limits given by life, such as vocational collapse or unexpected death. It illuminates globality through the use of grids in decor and weekly global reports. It makes visual the invisible when it bleeds the meaning from the mundane. Mystery is a given in life but is seen only by those with the eyes to see it. The function of disclosing the mystery is a necessity because where awareness of the mystery is not present, man is left with inauthentic engagement: that is, life becomes flat, style is engaged for the sake of style, wisdom for the sake of wisdom. Man becomes a nomad wandering in the desert of his own unrelatedness to the Ground of Being.
North American Prior's Council March 70, 1973 Symbolic Centrum RELIGIOUS HOUSE DOCUMENT Page It





WORKING PAPER­­FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY­­NOT FOR PUBLICATION







Releasing
Co­Creation
24. Freedom announcing is pointing to and callin~ forth the next necessary deed and announcing the edge of life. The Religious House reminds the historical church that co­creation is understood only in a covenental community. It exposes the necessary arenas of engagement as it illumines unnecessary innocent human suffering. The Religious House rehearses the context of absolute freedom in the midst of ambiquity, and the potential for sociological creativity. It demonstrates the style of corporateness in its worship, study, planning and engagement in the strategic arenas of human resurgence sue) as Local Church reformulation, mass awakenment and spirit remotivation. It structures human potential into historical movement and change as it creates and implements designs for corporate engagement in mission. It motivates response to innocent human suffering by exposing the need. The Religious House functions uniquely to catalyze self­consciousness in movemental engagement, whereas movemental machinery and gal_ axles actualize this engagement. The Religious House enables the focus on the necessary task rather than any number of good, but ineffective ntrategies. This new engagement of man creating the new earth is his co­creation with God. Releasing cocreation reaffirms the historical church's story of having been chosen by God. m e Religious House reminds the church that creation is always corporate and that without a community there is no story, and without a story there is no life in the community.
        North American Prior' s Counci1
        Symbolic Centrum        RELIGIOUS HOUSE DOCUMENT
March 20, 1973
Page


WORKING PAPER­­FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY­­NOT FOR PUBLICATION







Historical
Social
hecessity
Ct\CLUSIcN


25. The profound function of the religTious house dynamic is historically required in our times in tllat the sociological intensification of the 2()th century has created a climate corldusive to collapse. Tbis collapse is si~mlltaneollsly manifest in the structures of our time as well as in the indivi<lual. Structures assigned by society to be res~onsihle for caring (i.e., the educational systeriis~ have admitted that they no 1orlaer kllOW how to effectively fulfill their assigment . This intensifies the demand on the individual to ;'rodllce, with no context regardinbT his task. The eternal question of why goes unanswered and tile newly lucid man of these times screams no to such rawness in his encourlters witll life. A vicious cycle is established that serves to enable the tyrant of the social rocesses to eat away at the foundational understandings of the individual and of the corporate structures. Stoicism and gnoStiCiSm are classica1 froms of res,;onse to such collapse in history and are particularly manifest today in zombieism or martyrdom and escape into the charismatic movements respectively. Always the dregs of history ban together at such a kairotic moment to become the religious house dynamic out f t}le l~istorical necessity of resurgence. Somecne must answer the call to free society froi~i its l~ast, to enable the present situation to be soc~n as gift, and to envision the recreation of the future. The religious house proclaims tlle absurd word that experiencing the suffering that accoln;~allies such collapse is exactly what is required. It demands that radical raw creatvity be expended to demonstrate the ~ossibility of sociological rebirth. As it embodies that decision it stands as an umleniable, irrevocable sign of aut}lentic hope. Standirlg, as this sigll, the religious house frees society from the current sociological tyrant. It rioints tile way into the future by announcillg victory in the mnidst of absurdity. It structurally reveals th mystery and l~ossibility ~ithin eve~y situation. This structura prayer reveals tbe ~,rofound secret of what it loolcs like to trust God.





































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