Humility & Love

HUMILITYANDLOVE

the first profession of br. florian rumpza

At what point did you know you were called to become a monk?

I was outside the Adoration chapel browsing through Facebook on my phone and there was a photo of a monk in my news feed, this older guy in a habit with a great big beard, and I felt something in my heart yearn for that. I thought, “that’s an unusual desire for a 19-year-old guy to have,” but it made me consider religious life. I shared this with my brother, an alum of Benedictine College, and he told me, “You’ve got to check out St. Benedict’s Abbey, because those monks are pretty cool.” After my first retreat back in 2016, I really felt called here.

The first thing I noticed was the humility of all the monks and the way that they serve each other, that it’s always their first instinct to serve the other. I was watching a couple of monks interact and thinking, “There’s no way these guys should get along.” But they seemed to have a love for one another that was greater than human love, a love that transcends human differences – and I was struck by that. I wanted to be a part of a community that loves in this way – to love the other because they saw Christ in them, and that they loved me because they saw Christ in me.

BR. FLORIAN RUMPZA

What was it like when you first entered the monastery?

As we knocked on the door at the postulancy there are nerves, but it was very striking seeing the whole community lined up there, especially knowing that they’re praying for me and for my perseverance. I was struck that they welcomed me so quickly and made me feel like one of the community. At our novitiate entry as we knelt before the Abbot, I was just excited to receive my new name and put on the habit, just one more way of dying to my old self and putting on a new life in Christ – I was filled with joy.

In my lectio divina (holy reading) there were a few times when I got stuck, and I felt like that was God telling me he didn’t want me to move on from those words. For four months He wouldn’t let me move past the first 11 verses of John 15, it states, “If you do not abide in me you will bear no fruit...without me you can do nothing.” That dominated my outlook after that, that if I’m not abiding in God, if I’m not in union with him I will bear no fruit. It helped me focus on Christ and His will.

What had the biggest impact on you during the novitiate?

What will you remember from your first profession?

As the Abbot preached I couldn’t stop smiling, and later I almost started laughing – it was just a rush of joy, knowing that I’m giving myself to God. Then as my parents and Br. Jerome’s brought up the gifts the Abbot gave them a hug, and I was just struck by the idea that they were giving me to the Abbey, that they’d cared for me, sacrificed for me, and loved me, but now they were giving me up – I have a new family in a sense. Their selfless gift was echoed in my profession, that I was giving myself to God. My parents wrote a song together called Heaven Knows, reminding us that only God knows the future. I don’t know what the future holds or what assignments I’ll have, but I know I’ve pledged to give myself to God – to give my whole life to Him, and I can rest assured knowing that it is His will that I give myself to Him – it’s this certainty that keeps me going. • Parents: Michael and Anne Rumpza • Hometown: St. Paul, Minnesota • First Vows: December 8, 2018 • College Major: Music (still in progress) • Favorite Saint: St. Therésè of Lisieux - The simplicity of her “little way” really attracts me, especially the idea that even I can aspire to great sanctity by surrendering myself totally to God in my weakness and letting him draw me to himself. • Favorite Devotion: Abandonment to Divine Providence • Favorite Book: I Believe in Love by Jean C.J. d’Elbee, Story of A Soul, by St. Thérèse of Lisieux • Reading Now: Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen • Favorite Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life • Favorite Food: Cheeseburgers, Donuts • Favorite Childhood Toy: Toy Lightsabers • Favorite Place: The Abbot’s Chapel • Favorite Cereal: Cinnamon Toast Crunch • Best job I ever had: “Choral Scholar” for a

Presbyterian Church (basically got paid to sing in their choir) • You didn’t know: I love Math and Computer

Programming • Qualities I admire in other monks: Patience,

Humility, Perseverance, Selflessness • Best advice I’ve ever received: “Unless you abide in me, you will bear no fruit.”