Rock Solid
Few metaphors are more appropriate when talking about stability than the word “rock.” When we say that a marriage is “rock solid,” we are saying that it is a stable relationship. The popular advertisement for the Chevrolet pick-up truck likens the vehicle to a rock because of its toughness and durability. In Matthew’s Gospel, the person who hears the words of God and acts upon them is likened to a wise man who builds his house on rock. Several chapters later in that same Gospel, Jesus says to the apostle Peter, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.”
When one tours the campus of Saint Vincent Archabbey and College, one cannot help but notice the large cut stones that are the foundations of the buildings. Many of the structures have stood tall for well over a century because they are built upon rock rather than sand. They remain stable shelters in which our students, faculty, and staff can learn and grow and become the physical and spiritual beings that God desires us to be.
Perhaps the most obvious structure on campus with a rock-solid foundation—both figuratively and literally—is the Basilica. The pink Indiana limestone base contains many rocks over six feet wide, while the huge cornerstone was quarried from a local farm. The stable foundation supports the millions of bricks that the monks hand-formed using the reddish orange clay dug from nearby deposits. The entrance to the Basilica is comprised of three portals, with the center portal being the largest and most ornate. A large Roman arch rises above the center doors, and within the arch is the tympanum, or half-moon shaped piece of stone. The tympanum shows Peter knelling before Jesus while the other apostles look on. As Jesus hands Peter the keys of the Kingdom, the Lord declares that Peter is the rock upon which His church is to be built. The person who created the Basilica’s tympanum was a Polish sculptor named Ladislaus Vitalis. Other than his name and nationality, there is no other information about him in the Archabbey archives.
The stability in the structures found on campus is a microcosm of the stable way of life formulated by The Rule of Saint Benedict 1500 years ago. Our Saint Vincent community thrives when we apply The Rule to our everyday lives, which, in turn, allows our many interactions among students, faculty, staff, and religious to develop into meaningful, lifelong, and stable relationships. Like a rock.
