124 PART TWO: AN EMPIRICAL ACCOUNT diffuses the boundaries between traditions and enables the monastics to participate across denominational borders, be it hypothetically or in reality. Section 4.4 investigates how the monastics cope with the differences amongst themselves, within the community. On the one hand, they try to grow in sensitivity towards one another, resulting in discretion and even abnegation with regard to spiritual resources. On the other hand, they enthusiastically cultivate the ‘exchange of gifts.’ They are open towards the spiritual resources of other traditions and try to integrate this in their personal spirituality and, certainly in Taizé, into the routine of the common life. This, too, diffuses the ecclesial boundaries. Yet, this time, it results not so much in moving across borders towards other traditions, but in allowing other traditions and spiritual resources to affect one’s own tradition. In this way, the monastics live with the differences. They all indicate that they do not discuss the major ecumenical issues on a theological level. The affective and spiritual dimensions clearly have priority over intellectual articulation in the ecumenical process and mission of the communities. 4.1 COMMON LIFE AS PRIMARY MOTIVATION AND MISSION Vocation to the common life The monastics indicate that they stumbled upon the communities they now inhabit more or less by chance. They did not intentionally search for these particular communities in order to see if they could be part of them. Brother TA, for example, describes how he simply followed in his sister’s footsteps when he first visited Taizé (“my sister has been there, I should dare the same”292). He does not frame his original motivation in terms of spiritual need or ecumenical commitment. He simply took part in a trip organized by his local congregation, together with friends. Similar stories are told by BF (“I discovered by chance practically the Bose community”293), BG,294 and BE.295 TB elaborates on how he was attracted by Taizé’s emphasis on friendship and social action: I was interested in the question of ecumenism, um, because that’s what I understood, that Taizé, it was to gather people from different churches, but, maybe it was evenmore the… this was in the seventies, 292 TA-2,4. The original text in Dutch of all Brother TA’s quotes can be found in Appendix 3. 293 BF-1,2a. 294 BG-1,8. 295 BE-1,14.
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