The Abbot’s Table

LUMEN VITAE HONOREE ARCHBISHOP JAMES P. KELEHER

ABBOT JAMES W/ CO-CHAIRS PATRICK & KATE CARR

LUMEN VITAE HONOREE CURTIS MARTIN, FOUNDER & CEO OF FOCUS Abbot’s Table

For the third consecutive year, friends and benefactors of St. Benedict’s Abbey turned out for an evening of prayer, dinner and entertainment for the 2015 Abbot’s Table. The monks honoried two recipients with the annual Lumen Vitae award and spent time with friends and benefactors. At the end of the event, neither group was disappointed.

The Abbot’s Table invites friends and benefactors to get to know the monks a little better. This year’s benefit dinner drew its largest crowd yet, about 650 persons gathered at the Sheraton Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Archbishop Emeritus James P. Keleher and Curtis Martin were both recognized at the event on April 18 for their leadership and important contributions of service to the Church. St. Benedict’s Abbey friends and benefactors were invited to attend Mass to start the evening – Archbishop Keleher was the principal celebrant and Abbot James Albers was homilist. A dinner and program followed the Mass.

Lively videos highlighting both the fun (think plays on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and a humorously forgetful abbot) and more serious sides of the prayer and service of the monks were woven into the event. In addition to celebrating the service of the honorees, the event raised funds to assist with the aged members of the community and the formation and educational expenses of the younger monks. Completing work that has been underway for months, an anonymous donor’s $100,000 challenge gift was matched during the evening.

Both Archbishop Keleher and Curtis Martin, founder of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, were given an opportunity to speak to the crowd gathered for the evening. While Archbishop Keleher was invited to the Abbot’s Table to be honored for his contribution to the church, he was quick to shine the spotlight on the important work others bring to the table. “The monks and abbots of this blessed Abbey have been faithful partners of our Archdiocese from its earliest days,” said Archbishop Keleher, noting the fact that the Holy See named the Abbey’s Prior, Fr. Louis Fink, as the second bishop of the fledgling archdiocese. The videos highlighted some of the contributions the monks have made in the Archdiocese and in many lives.

As much of an honor as it was to be recognized himself, Archbishop Keleher said he wanted to thank the Abbey for the blessing of its prayers and the “powerful ministry” it has provided in so many parishes of the Archdiocese. Br. Luke Turner, a member of the committee that planned the Abbot’s Table, was touched to see Archbishop Keleher share the evening with friends both old and new.

“He was just so engaging with everybody there,” he said. “So many people knew him already. I’m sure he made some new friends, too.”

The event highlighting the contributions of Archbishop Keleher couldn’t have come at a better time than during the Easter season, said Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann.

“He’s an Easter bishop,” said Archbishop Naumann, “he’s filled with joy and hope. I’m so grateful to him. He has been incredibly supportive and encouraging to me, and we’re really reaping the fruits of his great ministry in the Archdiocese today.”

“Archbishop Keleher was a real breath of fresh air when he came to the archdiocese because he has such a great personality and a great

Abbot’s Table

way of relating to people,” said Msgr. Thomas Tank, pastor of Church of the Ascension in Overland Park. Msgr. Tank noted Archbishop Keleher’s “sense of hospitality and his sense of welcome to everyone.”

Special video appearances were made by Cardinal Francis George, OMI, who died on April 17, and Father Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Chicago, speaking about Archbishop Keleher, who is originally from Chicago.

“He’s not a comic, but a man of great joy, and the joy comes through,” said Cardinal George in the video. “Pope Francis talks about the joy of the Gospel, and you can see it exemplified, I think, in Archbishop Keleher.” Archbishop Keleher ordained Abbot James — which means a lot to the abbot — but their history goes much further back than that. “I can remember the first time that I met Archbishop Keleher,” said Abbot James in the video. “I was a student at the college, and he was making his first visit. He reveals his heart to you, and that’s what the Gospel is about, revealing Christ to those you encounter.”

Curtis Martin was honord for his efforts in evangelizing young people. The Fellowship of Catholic University Students has experienced significant growth in both the number of missionaries serving and the number of campuses from its start as a fledgling group at Benedictine College. Curtis illustrated the growth of the organization over the past 16 years – FOCUS has grown to serve 100 campuses throughout the US growing from two parttime missionaries to more than 500 full-time staff members evangelizing and spreading the Catholic faith. Curtis explained that, for good or for bad, young people are greatly influenced by their peers.

“The truth is that the impact of young Catholic evangelizers can deliver the most profound impact in the culture in which our young people look to their peers for inspiration,” he said in his remarks.

“Curtis Martin just has this vision that every college student should have an encounter with Jesus Christ,” said Stephen Minnis, president of Benedictine College. “His goal is to get those college students into heaven, and he’s created an organization for that.”

Many spoke of the contributions both Archbishop Keleher and Martin have made to the church, and in montages thanked them for their work and their friendship.

In conclusion, said Archbishop Keleher, “The monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey have been a great influence in our diocese. . . I consider them an integral part of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.”

For a free DVD of the Abbots Table program e-mail info@kansasmonks.org

Join us April 16, 2016 as we honor

Virgil Dechant for his service as Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus Dr. Dan Carey for his service as President of Benedictine College

Banquet Underwriters

Abbot’s Table

J.E. Dunn Construction John & Terry Gillcrist Terry & Michelle Sexton

Prior’s Guild

The Apostles of the Interior Life Benedictine College Larry & Tresa Buessing Bob & Shirley Chenoweth Exchange Nat’l. Bank & Trust Co. Kuckelman, Torline, Kirkland & Lewis Koechner Family Michael R. & Marlys Haverty Family Foundation in honor of Fr. Gerard Senecal Mitchell Capital Management MGP Ingredients, Inc. Kathy & Jack Newman Jim & Katie O’Brien Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica Monastery Bob & Janet Wholey

table sponsors listed on page 23