The following article was published in the Chimes Newsletter, produced by the Benedictine Community of New Norcia.
On the Solemnity of the Annunciation, Wednesday 25 March 2026, Dom Anthony made his Simple Profession of monastic vows before the community at New Norcia – a moment of quiet courage and deep significance for all who witnessed it.
When a novice changes his mind several times about which readings he wants for his Profession Mass, and then becomes a little particular about which translation to use, it is a fairly sure sign that he is on the right track in his monastic journey towards God.
Seeking the elusive yet ever-present God is a serious business, requiring radical faith and an intimate relationship – and like any relationship, communication is fundamental. The prayerful pondering of scripture in solitude, the attentive listening to the proclamation of the Word, and the endless recitation and chanting of the psalms in common: these are the places where Dom Anthony has been, and will continue to be, hearing the voice of God.
Dom Anthony has chosen his readings well – texts that give us insight into the God he seeks, and into who he is becoming along the way. In choosing the New International Version of the first reading from Ecclesiastes – which replaces the word ‘vanity’ with ‘meaningless’ – we glimpse something of Dom Anthony’s progress in monastic life.
The things once considered important, such as material possessions, status, and popularity, have grown a little wearisome, because he has discovered they have not delivered the fulfilment they once promised.
As with the psalmist, his soul is “yearning for the courts of the Lord.” It seems he believes he might find what he is looking for in this monastery – in this rather motley crew of a handful of monks and a nun – and he will, because this community loves him, and wants him to find it.
If Dom Anthony continues to consult St Paul, as he has done in the second reading from 1 Corinthians, he will be able to discern what is essential and what can be set aside. As Paul suggests, the focus will be on true wisdom – not the wisdom of the world, but the wisdom that comes from within, from the spiritual realm.
This path will present all manner of difficulties, because it is, frankly, a little mad – but Dom Anthony is already discovering that it is the only way: the way of the cross, which offers the sure hope of life and fulfilment, even through long and painful periods of feeling that God is absent. The community, for its part, does not waver.
How fitting that this profession coincided with the Solemnity of the Annunciation, in which Mary – for whom Dom Anthony holds a deep devotion – is presented with the unthinkable: to become the Mother of God. So unthinkable, in fact, that she declared it impossible. Yet when she listened carefully to what the angel Gabriel told her of the extraordinary things God can do, she handed herself over, signed on as God’s servant, and agreed to whatever was asked of her.
In professing the monastic vows of obedience, stability, and conversion of life, Dom Anthony is doing the same – handing himself over, allowing God, through this monastic community, to lead him into his new life. That life will take him to many places he might rather not go – places that only a good measure of humility will enable him to endure. Not humility in the sense of low self-esteem, but humility in the truth of who he is before God and before the community.
The paradox is that all of this monastic monotony and toil will bring him joy. It is the same for any of us on any genuine journey – it is only the real substance of life that gives true meaning and purpose, and in turn reveals the person we are becoming: the person God intends us to be.
Before coming to New Norcia, Dom Anthony – Rohan, as he was then – had an extraordinary journey of exploration, delving into the mysteries of many religious and spiritual traditions. That journey will serve him well. It landed, finally, in baptism – in dying with Christ in order to rise with Christ.
In accepting the Rule of St Benedict through monastic profession, Dom Anthony enters further into that baptismal commitment. The community’s one hope, one piece of advice, comes from the very Rule he has publicly pledged to follow:
“Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.”
May it be so for you, Dom Anthony – and may it be so for all of us.