Aelred's Sin Read Online Free
Author: Lawrence Scott
moment of the naming arrived. ‘Brother de la Borde, henceforth you shall be known among us as…’ The Abbot paused for effect. The young novice held his breath. He could feel the community around him hold their breaths before the Abbot’s secret was revealed: his name, his monastic name, always a point of excitement for the old monks, who had known many clothings, and for the younger monks, for whom it was relatively new, reminding them of their own clothing ceremony. The Abbot continued, ‘Brother Aelred.’
Everyone sighed, smiling with approval, and the Abbotlooked around with almost a smirk of self-satisfaction that he had kept them all guessing. Would it be Chrysostom, who had just died? They didn’t have a Leo. Everyone had had their own theory on the naming in the preceding weeks.
The new novice had an enviable name: the name of their monastery, St Aelred’s of Ashton Park; the name of the great English Cistercian of the twelfth century, Aelred of Rievaulx.
The new Aelred remembered the story he had been told as a boy. He remembered his question then. Is love painful? He saw Dom Placid’s answer in the nod of his head.
The Abbot drew him towards his embrace and gave him the kiss of peace on both cheeks.
Then the acolyte of the clothing came forward with a pair of scissors on a silver salver and offered it to the Abbot, who took the scissors and symbolically cut off a lock of the new Brother Aelred’s hair.
Fully clothed and named, baptised anew, the old man stripped off and the new man put on, Brother Aelred was led by Father Justin to the opposite end of the chapter house, where he sat on a stool especially placed for him.
The chief cantor intoned the clothing sequence, ‘Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est ’:‘Where there is love and charity, there is God.’
As each verse was in turn picked up by the choir of monks, antiphonally, the entire community, led by the Abbot, came to Brother Aelred where he sat on his stool clothed in the black habit of a young Benedictine novice. Beginning with the Abbot and followed by the prior and even the old men of the community, they knelt, each one,and, using the silver jug and basin offered by the acolyte of the clothing, they poured water over the naked feet of Brother Aelred, who had, immediately on sitting down, taken off his shoes and socks, his friend Ted’s boots.
They washed his feet and dried them with the linen towel handed by the other acolyte of the clothing and then kissed his feet. All the while, the choir chanted the clothing sequence: ‘ Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. ’Each member of the community performed this act, as Christ had done to his disciples the night before he was betrayed and had said to them, ‘Do unto each other as I have done to you.’ It was on that night that the beloved John, he whom Jesus loved, had lain his head upon his chest.
Then it was the turn of the simple-professed monks, led by Dom Benedict. Brother Aelred kept his eyes lowered, but he noticed, in the solemnity, the encouraging smile of Benedict, as he liked to call him when he thought of him, remembering how kind he had been over the last three months helping him to settle in; Benedict, his guardian angel.
Aelred returned the smile of encouragement, lifted up by this wonderful expression of love and initiation into the community. His smile flickered over his lips as Benedict knelt in front of him and washed and dried his feet and then bent to kiss them. His lips on his bare foot. After kissing his feet he looked up and smiled again.
‘ Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. ’
Brother Aelred was so overcome by these acts, and by the chant of love and charity, that he was thankful for Brother Stephen tickling his feet in jest, bringing a small irreverence to bear upon the solemnity of the moment. Brother Stephen had whispered earlier in the day whilethey were working on the farm, ‘Make sure you wash your feet well before tonight.’ Brother Stephen was
Everyone sighed, smiling with approval, and the Abbotlooked around with almost a smirk of self-satisfaction that he had kept them all guessing. Would it be Chrysostom, who had just died? They didn’t have a Leo. Everyone had had their own theory on the naming in the preceding weeks.
The new novice had an enviable name: the name of their monastery, St Aelred’s of Ashton Park; the name of the great English Cistercian of the twelfth century, Aelred of Rievaulx.
The new Aelred remembered the story he had been told as a boy. He remembered his question then. Is love painful? He saw Dom Placid’s answer in the nod of his head.
The Abbot drew him towards his embrace and gave him the kiss of peace on both cheeks.
Then the acolyte of the clothing came forward with a pair of scissors on a silver salver and offered it to the Abbot, who took the scissors and symbolically cut off a lock of the new Brother Aelred’s hair.
Fully clothed and named, baptised anew, the old man stripped off and the new man put on, Brother Aelred was led by Father Justin to the opposite end of the chapter house, where he sat on a stool especially placed for him.
The chief cantor intoned the clothing sequence, ‘Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est ’:‘Where there is love and charity, there is God.’
As each verse was in turn picked up by the choir of monks, antiphonally, the entire community, led by the Abbot, came to Brother Aelred where he sat on his stool clothed in the black habit of a young Benedictine novice. Beginning with the Abbot and followed by the prior and even the old men of the community, they knelt, each one,and, using the silver jug and basin offered by the acolyte of the clothing, they poured water over the naked feet of Brother Aelred, who had, immediately on sitting down, taken off his shoes and socks, his friend Ted’s boots.
They washed his feet and dried them with the linen towel handed by the other acolyte of the clothing and then kissed his feet. All the while, the choir chanted the clothing sequence: ‘ Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. ’Each member of the community performed this act, as Christ had done to his disciples the night before he was betrayed and had said to them, ‘Do unto each other as I have done to you.’ It was on that night that the beloved John, he whom Jesus loved, had lain his head upon his chest.
Then it was the turn of the simple-professed monks, led by Dom Benedict. Brother Aelred kept his eyes lowered, but he noticed, in the solemnity, the encouraging smile of Benedict, as he liked to call him when he thought of him, remembering how kind he had been over the last three months helping him to settle in; Benedict, his guardian angel.
Aelred returned the smile of encouragement, lifted up by this wonderful expression of love and initiation into the community. His smile flickered over his lips as Benedict knelt in front of him and washed and dried his feet and then bent to kiss them. His lips on his bare foot. After kissing his feet he looked up and smiled again.
‘ Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. ’
Brother Aelred was so overcome by these acts, and by the chant of love and charity, that he was thankful for Brother Stephen tickling his feet in jest, bringing a small irreverence to bear upon the solemnity of the moment. Brother Stephen had whispered earlier in the day whilethey were working on the farm, ‘Make sure you wash your feet well before tonight.’ Brother Stephen was