From the Abbot

for His love endures forever

As I write for this issue of Kansas Monks, our community has just finished our annual retreat given this year by Sr. Mary Irene Nowell, OSB. Sr. Mary Irene focused us on something central to our daily lives as monks, something that brings us together, that grounds us, that is a gift, yet something often take for granted: The Psalms. In particular, she focused us on the idea that the Psalms tell a story, and through the story telling of the psalmist, our own stories are being told as we recite and chant this Word of God. The rhythm, the consistency, and even repetition, all contribute to bringing stability to our lives that mirrors the stability that we have professed in our vows. This stability in the Word of God becomes not only our story, but it becomes a part of us, even as the air we breathe is so necessary to sustain our lives.

At appointed times in the day, from early morning to evening, we gather to offer our time, our prayer, and, through our daily experiences, ourselves. Whether a particular day has been one filled with successes, or we have experienced setbacks and limitations to our hopes, we find in the words of the psalmist our own words to express ourselves at that particular moment in our lives and in our vocations as monks. Indeed, the story of any person who enters into the Psalms is told in his or her reading and offers a settling of life, a balance, a stability that is often lacking in our day-to-day living.

This became very clear to me during our retreat when Sr. Mary Irene led us through a story-telling exercise with Psalm 136; a psalm that bids us to recognize God’s enduring love. Sr. Mary Irene began reading Psalm 136, asking us to offer the response for that psalm, “For his love endures for ever.” And after a certain point she began inserting moments from our own history as a community, with us continuing to respond, “For his love endures forever.” So it went something like this…

Give thanks to the Lord of Lords; for his love endures forever. Who alone has wrought marvelous works; for his love endures forever.

Whose wisdom it was made the skies; for his love endures forever.

Who fixed the earth firmly on the seas; for his love endures forever.

Who made the great lights; for his love endures forever. The sun to rule the day; for his love endures forever. The moon and stars in the night; for his love endures forever.

In 1855 Fr. Henry Lemke set out from Pennsylvania to Kansas and became the patriarch of Kansas monks; for his love endures forever.

In 1856 he settled in Doniphan, the first site of the Kansas monastery; for his love endures forever.

while you have the light of life

In response to Lemke’s pleas for help, Frs. Augustine Wirth and Casimir Seitz were sent to join him, and in 1858 the small community decided to relocate to Atchison; for his love endures forever. The monks built a church and began a school even as they became missionaries for the German immigrants throughout the area; for his love endures forever. In 1863 Benedictine Sisters arrived from Minnesota to aid in the ministry of the monks, who welcomed them with a brand new house; for his love endures forever. In 1876 the monks elected Innocent Wolf as their abbot, who served the community for 45 years; for his love endures forever.

The community battled everything from grasshoppers to bedbugs, from bankruptcy to diphtheria, but they persevered in this school of the Lord’s service and laid a firm foundation for a flourishing monastery; for his love endures forever…

it continued up to our times …The community, true to its name “Benedict,” is blessed with good and holy men from its elders to its novices. It continues, strong in perseverance and gratitude, Kansas monks, Benedictine in culture, Catholic in faith, evangelical in words, works and deeds; for his love endures forever. God remembered us in our distress; for his love endures forever. Snatched us away from our foes; for his love endures forever. Gives good to all living things; for his love endures forever. To the God of heaven give thanks; for his love endures forever.

At the end of the exercise I will admit I was quite moved, moved like no recitation of the Psalms had ever evoked from me. I think it awoke in me the idea that the Psalms, the story of a people chosen by God, continues to be the story of the Church, and the story of our community. These words written down millennia ago, the life of the Church handed down across generations, the Rule we follow as monks, our own story in Atchison, Kan., are not some historical artifacts, but living accounts that have transcended time and in their relevance for today provide the anchor we need to bring stability to our lives. Through all of this – the good the bad and the ugly – we recognize our place in all of it and are reminded of how we have been formed and continue to be formed by this particular community, family, work place, or parish, and by this God who created us in his own image. In rooting ourselves in stability of heart – and for some of us, indeed, stability of place – we recognize the need to set aside the vain hope of going out and finding that “perfect” whatever. God has us here, through thick and thin, for a reason: to find the freedom he promises us in our salvation, “For his love endures forever.”

In the spirit of St. Benedict, The Abbey tower, built on the 100-year anniversary of the community in 1957, stands on the bluff as a symbol of stability.