The following homily was delivered by Abbott John Herbert OSB at the Requiem Mass for Dom Paulino Gutierrez
“Do not worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it.”
Dom Paulino must have heared that message from Jesus through the Gospel of Matthew pretty early on in his life and taken heed, because, given his family history of longevity, if he hadn’t taken heed he would have had a lot of worrying to do, almost 100 years of worry.
No, Dom Paulino knew from his early years in the little Spanish village in Burgos that if you’re content with simplicity, you’ll never have to worry about anything.
“We were poor” he said, “all 50 families in my village were poor, but we didn’t know we were poor, because we were happy, we had enough to keep us alive.”
Perhaps that’s why Dom Paulino was so content, so happy with the work he was given throughout his monastic life: every job he was given had something to do with either food (he was the miller, the baker, the gardener, the olive oil maker) or clothing (he mended the monk’s shoes and did the sewing), or the body (as infirmarian he cared for the sick) … in taking up these tasks he didn’t want anyone to worry about not having those things – food, clothing, someone to care for them – the basic necessities of life.
Dom Paulino would’ve had good reason to worry on the occasion, when, after he had completed his novitiate at the monastery of Velvanera, he went to visit his family just before leaving Spain for Australia: “you’ve made a hole for yourself”, they said “so now you must jump in it.” Again the scriptures guided Dom Paulino: as we heard in the second reading from Philippians,
For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him.
In leaving his happy existence in rural Spain and taking up the invitation to leave for the New Norcia Mission in faraway rural Western Australia, Dom Paulino was certainly given a place in Christ, because it was Christ who issued the invitation in the first place, through his monastic superior in Spain.
In Dom Paulino we are given the perfect example of monastic obedience, a promise he made at his profession, and through that promise of obedience he said ‘yes’ to everything that was ever asked of him. It was not some immature or naive or blind obedience; his “yes” was always grounded in listening, in discerning what was best for the good of the whole community.
Even when Dom Paulino said “no”, he gave himself away, because that cheeky smile of his indicated that he really meant “yes” anyway.
So everything Dom Paulino ever did achieved perfection, even if it wasn’t perfect, because everything he did was undertaken firmly grounded in his faith in Christ, who gave him the strength and courage to accept every task, even in the most difficult of circumstances and conditions.
For most of his life Paulino was afflicted with limited mobility, but the first reading we just heard from Isaiah assures us that in the everlasting life Dom Paulino’s feeble knees are made firm, and he shall leap like a deer.
So Dom Paulino was given a place in Christ here in New Norcia where he lived for 80 years, by which we can see him as the perfect model of another monastic promise he made and kept: stability. Whilst Dom Paulino was thrilled to have beaten fellow Spaniard Fr Maur in the competition to see who would live the longest, he’s beaten every monk who ever lived in New Norcia by being the longest serving monk in our history. Now there’s a good reason for our humble monk Dom Paulino to be a very proud monk indeed.
Humility: now we’re getting to the essence of this most remarkable monk. Most abbots would argue that Chapter Five (on obedience) is the central chapter
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in the Rule of St Benedict, the rule that governed and guided Dom Paulino for most of his life.
For years now I’ve been arguing that Chapter seven (on humility) is the central chapter, and I know Dom Paulino agreed with me. He agreed with me, because he saw that true humility is the surest path in the journey towards God.
For Dom Paulino, humility was a disposition, a disposition he received by grace. There are 12 steps of humility in Chapter seven of the Rule and Dom Paulino took every one of them.
I hope you’re feeling comfortable, because I want to say something about all 12.
The first step of humility calls us to mindfulness of God and to be aware that God is looking down upon us in every moment.
Dom Paulino was so attuned to the presence of God that he radiated that presence; his face glowed with the inner joy of knowing God through prayer and community.
After the midday meal each day, he would sit on the bench outside his cell, close his eyes, and bask in the sun.
When once I commented on how much he seemed to enjoy this, he said, “I’m cold, and God is keeping me warm.” And so, it was prayer.
The second step of humility calls us to follow the will of God, not our own will. Not only did Dom Paulino understand that all that was asked of him was the will of God, he carried out God’s will happily and without complaint.
“All right, whatever you think,” was his constant refrain.
The third step of humility calls us to accept human direction. Dom Paulino knew what it meant to live under a Rule and an Abbot. Even when he didn’t fully understand what was being asked of him he agreed to put his trust in his monastic superiors.
I was his Abbot for only a year, but twice I had to ask him to accept the difficult decisions I had to make on his behalf.
At my direction he willingly, without complaint, left his beloved monastery enclosure of 80 years and went to Glendalough to be cared for by the Little Sisters of the Poor. That decision was made easier for us all to accept knowing that he was receiving the best care we could ever have wished for, and when visiting him there, we knew he was happy.
To the Little Sisters and their staff, we sincerely say “thank you”.
On one very recent visit I made, Dom Paulino was a bit confused about what was going on at New Norcia and asked who the boss was these days.
Thank goodness he was pleased enough to learn it was me, but then asked me to take him home to die.
It was the most heart-wrenching moment of my first year as Abbot, but again that dear old man accepted my decision that he should stay where he would receive the best care. It is of great comfort for us monks to know that he didn’t die alone; he died at twenty past midnight with a Little Sister of the Poor at his side, both of them in prayer.
The fourth step of humility asks of us patience, particularly patience in suffering. In reading the transcripts of Dom Paulino’s oral history these past days, I was struck by the countless examples whereby Dom Paulino had to endure hardship in every era, every facet of his life.
And, of course, every example displayed his willingness to embrace, rather than run from, the challenges he faced. If he could do it himself, he would; if he needed help, he had the humility to ask for it.
The fifth step of humility requires the non-concealment of faults.
Right to the very end Dom Paulino availed himself of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
I used to wonder, what sin could this holy man possibly have to confess?
But he had the humility to acknowledge his own weakness, and the insatiable desire to purify that weakness so that he could meet his God free from the stain of sin. Mission accomplished.
Dom Paulino was often asked the secret for a long life, and although his answer was often “good bread, good wine, and good olive oil”, he once gave the answer “a clear conscience”.
The sixth step of humility asks that we accept lowliness in deed. I don’t think Dom Paulino had to endure much of that in later life.
Because he was our “model monk” he was regarded with the highest esteem and was treated with much love and kindness.
I imagine, though, that in the early years here, when there were different ‘classes’ of monks, he would’ve had some very difficult moments.
In this regard, he says: “We [lay brothers] were happy with the old style of monastic life and I am happy with the present style; everything is good for me.” Everything is good for me: it’s that sort of thinking that earned him the reputation of being our ‘model monk.’
The seventh step of humility suggests a degree of lowliness of heart, a sort of inferiority. This doesn’t mean falling into a sense of low self-esteem, but rather an acknowledgement that there’s always room for improvement and that others in community may be superior in their own giftedness.
One sure thing that turned on that unforgettable smile on Dom Paulino’s face (apart from a bumper olive harvest, or the sudden death of any parrot that tried to harm any of these precious olives!) was the sheer joy he felt in the achievements of others.
The eighth step of humility invites us to integration into community. Dom Paulino was content, particularly in his later years, to be alone, but boy did he love community.
He didn’t like community meetings and chapters so much, but he was in his element when the community gathered for recreation, for picnics, for barbecues, or for laudates, those special feast days when he knew he’d be receiving a chocolate on his plate at table, a glass of liqueur after the meal and an opportunity to tell stories.
Dom Paulino, thank you for your stories. We promise never to forget them.
The ninth step of humility encourages us to value silence. Although Dom Paulino didn’t see any need for it in choir – in fact, that was another competition between himself and Fr Maur: who could sing the loudest?
I don’t think either of them realised that the competition extended to: whose singing was most out of tune?
I’d better set the record straight: I’m sorry Dom Paulino, but you most definitely won that one.
But regarding silence, one message of condolence we received reminded us that Dom Paulino had the rare gift of keeping his negative thoughts to himself.
The tenth step of humility is not to be too quick to laugh. Dom Paulino was one of the happiest monks I’ve known, and he laughed a lot.
But his laughter was never foolish, his laughter never disturbed the reflective atmosphere of the monastery, and his laughter was never at the expense of another.
The eleventh step of humility calls us to a certain level of seriousness. A wise man is known by his few words. We have lost our wisest monk.
The 12th step of humility is a call to total humility.
That’s why I’ve mentioned every step, because Dom Paulino was humble in body, mind, and spirit. He was humble in every place and in everything he said and did.
And, where did this life of humility take Dom Paulino? He has arrived at the perfect love of God … in life and in death.
His hope to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, to take his place in the resurrection of the dead, is no longer a hope, but a reality.
Well done, good and faithful servant.