Waking Up the World

from Kansas Monks Winter 2015-16

From the Abbot

looking back at the year of consecrated life

by fr. meinrad miller

For the past year (starting November 30, 2014) the church has united to celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life. This has given us an opportunity to be grateful for the contribution St. Benedict’s Abbey has made to consecrated life, and to the life of the Catholic Church. Since 1857 the monks answered the call of Christ to offer their lives in service to the Kingdom through prayer and work.

Since the foundation of St. Benedict’s Abbey the monks have played a significant role in the evangelization of this region, as well as the larger world. There were few Catholics in this region of the country when the first monks arrived. Early on, in addition to the schools and the farm, the monks ran missions far flung in Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. Not looking to their own comfort, but seeing the needs of the faithful, the monks generously sacrificed their own comfort for the spiritual welfare of the people.

In recent years we have witnessed a great growth at Benedictine College. When I was chaplain of the college we brought FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) to campus in 1998. Since that time there has been a steady growth in the enrollment of the college. Not only FOCUS, but other groups like Communion and Liberation, St. Paul’s Outreach, Knights of Columbus, Ravens Respect Life, and countless other groups have helped the college to grow. From this growth there has also been a good number of men and women who have found a religious vocation.

The Abbey has also witnessed a growing number of men interested in our way of life. What is essential for this growth is to realize that our life with Christ is not about a program or a technique; rather it is an encounter – a love story with Jesus Christ. This year of consecrated life is a chance for us to acknowledge how the Holy Spirit has guided the community through the years, and continues to do so today.

But, what I really want to ask is – where do we go from here? As monks we are reminded each day of the presence of God: in the Eucharist, in prayer, in the Abbot, in the brothers, in our work, in the guests. There is nothing in the monastery that is apart from the life of Christ. The monastery exists to cry out the presence and goodness of Christ. Each monk who comes will have a different background and interests; what is the same is that we all seek God.

When we follow Christ, not only will we grow in our faith, hope, and charity, but by living these virtues we will also experience joy. Praying together and sharing our lives because we have encountered Christ leads us to a joy and a peace that no one can take away.

We remember the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Benedict as models of that joy. Mary knew the joy of giving birth to the Savior, and the sorrow of seeing him die on the cross. But ultimately, she witnessed the Resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. St. Benedict was a witness to these things, experiencing Christ in his time in the cave of Subiaco, then at Monte Cassino where he would write the Rule.

Like any year, this year of consecrated life can pass by without our noticing it. Let us thank God that consecrated life is part of His plan for the Church. Pray for and encourage men who may be called to be monks here.

One of the most celebrated members of consecrated life, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, will be canonized this coming September as part of the Year of Mercy. May she pray for all of us to renew our joy in following Jesus.

On February 2, 2016, the Year of Consecrated Life will end. But hopefully the fruits of this year will only be a beginning as we witness a continued growth in the number of those who seek God here as monks. We join Pope Francis and the entire Church in gratitude for the Year of Consecrated Life. During the year of consecrated life, four men, (L to R) Br. Karel Soukup, Br. Benedict Geist, Br. Placidus Lee, and Fr. Jay Kythe consecrate their lives by professing vows.

Fr. Denis Meade celebrated 65 years of consecrated life in 2015.

of consecrated life in Kansas

1855 Father Henry Lemke came to Kansas from Pennsylvania without permission from his Abbot, Boniface Wimmer. Kansas was new, raw and wild. Father Henry could endure hardship, and he had plenty. Repenting of his truancy, he approached Bishop John Baptiste Miege, SJ, bishop of the East Rocky Mountain Territory, to regularize his situation. Bishop Miege assigned him to serve the new river town of Doniphan. Reconciliation with Abbot Boniface took place. Father Henry waxed eloquent about Kansas being a great place to make a new foundation. Abbot Boniface agreed with him, establishing St. Benedict’s Priory, but said that Father Henry would not be part of it and called him home. Four superiors led the community from its beginnings until 1876. On September 29, 1876, Father Innocent Wolf of Saint Vincent Archabbey was elected the first abbot and the priory became St. Benedict’s Abbey. In truth, Abbot Innocent was the founding father of the community, and fatherly he was. At the death of Abbot Boniface in 1887 he was so respected by the monks of Saint Vincent that he was elected successor to their founder. However, he declined and remained at his post in Kansas. For him, seeking and doing the will of God was not a pious phrase but the real driving force of his life. He loved his community. All the same, life was sometimes overwhelming. At one such point he wrote to a confidant, “Being abbot is like being married to a wicked wife.” During his tenure the community grew from twenty to ninety-seven members at the time of his retirement in 1921. Abbot Martin Veth, an Atchison native, was selected to succeed Abbot Innocent. The greatest project of Abbot Martin’s time was the construction of the present abbey complex (shown under construction at left). However, after the monastery had been completed, the Great Depression, beginning in 1929, thwarted the building of the centerpiece of the structure, the abbey church. In the 85 years that have followed much has happened: Monks served as Chaplains in two World Wars; the Abbey Church was completed in 1957; a new foundation was started in Brazil in 1962; and so much more...