Pax! – Peace!
Many Benedictines begin their letters and emails with this greeting. “Peace!” in this context means more than just a greeting or a wish. It is like the heading of the Benedictine program for life. For a Benedictine seeks peace with his whole life, in the rhythm of prayer and work, in silence, in the encounter with Holy Scripture and with his fellow men, in art, in study and in nature.
Pax Benedictina designates reconciliation with God, with neighbor and with self. It is at the same time a lifelong task and the daily life of a Benedictine monastery. The atmosphere of calm and recollection allows monasteries of all religions to work like cells of strength. For a monastery like Dormition at the intersection of religions, cultures and languages and at a focal point in the history of mankind and its conflicts, this is even more so true.
Our contribution is, to be sure, small: our daily prayer, especially for peace, hospitality for people regardless of their religion, ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue especially with Jews and Muslims, scholarly investigation of questions regarding God and human history. Yet in in the immediate vicinity of the room of the Last Supper, of the appearance of the Risen Lord and of the Pentecost event, we feel ourselves to have been given the search for peace by Christ himself, as a task, but even more as a gift.