Abbey Banner - Winter 2016

Abbey Banner Winter 2016–17

Aidan Putnam, O.S.B.

This Issue Abbey Banner

Editor: Robin Pierzina, O.S.B. Editorial assistants: Aaron Raverty, O.S.B.; Dolores Schuh, C.H.M. Abbey archivist: David Klingeman, O.S.B. University archivists: Peggy Roske, Elizabeth Knuth Design: Alan Reed, O.S.B. Circulation: Ruth Athmann, Jan Jahnke, Ashley Koshiol, Beth Lensing, Cathy Wieme Printed by Palmer Printing Copyright © 2016 by Order of Saint Benedict Saint John’s Abbey Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-2015 abbeybanner@csbsju.edu saintjohnsabbey.org/banner/ ISSN: 2330-6181 (print) ISSN: 2332-2489 (online)

Change of address: Ruth Athmann P. O. Box 7222 Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7222 rathmann@csbsju.edu Phone: 800.635.7303

Cover: Fujimi, Japan. This bell, the smallest and last remaining of the original five bells of the Twin Towers of Saint John’s Abbey, was cast in 1897 at the Centennial Bell Foundry, Gardiner Campbell & Sons, Milwaukee. Inscribed Excita SS.P. Benedicte Spiritum Tuum in Nobis (O holy Father Benedict, raise up your spirit in us), the bell was a gift from Saint John’s to celebrate the founding of Trinity Benedictine Monastery.

Photo: Roman Paur, O.S.B. Pages 2, 3: Eagle Lake, Minnesota

Abbot John Klassen, O.S.B.

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.

Magazine of Saint John’s Abbey Published three times annually (spring, fall, winter) by the monks of Saint John’s Abbey.

Disruption

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James 2:26

ithin the business world today, there is much concern about disruption and disruptive innovations—that is, innovations that improve a product in a way that the market does not expect. Consequently, a whole new market appears with new products, and the old market disappears. Of course, this has been the case for a long time. But in the twenty-first century it occurs with breathtaking speed.

This issue of Abbey Banner honors and celebrates the decades of missionary service by monks of Saint John’s Abbey in Japan. Saint Benedict expected his monks to spend their lives within the enclosure of the monastery. Roaming outside, he cautioned, “is not at all profitable for their souls” (RB 66.7). The pioneer monks who came to Minnesota from Bavaria in the mid-1800s were aware of Benedict’s reservations about venturing away from the monastery.

They were also aware of the pastoral needs of the German immigrants in central Minnesota. Parochial and missionary service have been part of Saint John’s heritage ever since. Father Roman Paur outlines our community’s ministry to the faithful of Japan from the 1940s until the closure of our priory this summer.

Good stewardship, honoring God’s creation and the work of human hands, is a hallmark of Benedictine life. Medieval monks preserved the culture of the Western world as they copied and illuminated all manner of writings. Outside the monastery, managing and preserving woodlands have been a monastic practice for centuries. Within the monastery, all the utensils and property of the community are to be regarded “as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar” (RB 31.10). Brother Aaron Raverty profiles the expansion of the Saint John’s Abbey Solar Farm and other sustainability practices of our community. Dr. Joseph Storlien updates us on efforts to care for the oaks on our inner campus.

Brother Alan Reed introduces us to Arca Artium, a collection of art and artifacts giving “witness to the vitality of human creativity.”

Abbess, artist, and author; poet, preacher, and philosopher; correspondent with popes and the emperor; a Christian mystic and winner of a Grammy award (posthumously) for her sacred vocal music composed in the twelfth century and recorded as A Feather on the Breath of God in 1981. Who is this wonder woman? Sister Stefanie Weisgram introduces us to Saint Hildegard of Bingen.

Abbot John Klassen opens this issue with a reflection on the meaning of the birth of Jesus. Brother David Paul Lange and Ms. Peggy Roske tell the story of the Christmas tree. We also hear from several of our Benedictine Volunteers, learn of new books from Liturgical Press, meet a merchant marine monk, and more.

Saint Benedict opens his Rule with a challenge to listen with “the ear of your heart” (RB Prol.1). We close this issue with a reflection by Father Timothy Backous on the value of listening with the ear of our hands.

Along with Abbot John and the monks of Saint John’s Abbey, the editorial staff of Abbey Banner extends prayerful best wishes to all our readers for a blessed Christmas and a new year filled with God’s gift of peace.

Brother Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

Some examples may make the concept of disruption more accessible.

Think of what the digital camera revolution did to Kodak. The market for film disappeared in only a few years. This happened even though Kodak was an early leader in digital camera development! In a few short years a multibillion dollar industry simply disappeared, and the way we process photographs was completely changed.

Abbey archives

In a sense, having a child is always a disruption to a family, especially the first child. Having a child requires a recalibration of almost every part of family life. Parents become especially attuned to certain sounds: Is that Emma? Is she crying? Parents also acquire a refined sense of smell, and a repertoire of rocking moves. Sleep deprivation takes on new meaning, as does our experience of happiness and joy.

The birth of Jesus, the Word becoming flesh, is a disruptive event in the course of human history. The birth of Jesus has changed forever the way that we, as humans, think about God. Before Jesus, God is Spirit, holy, pure, powerful, and distant, completely Other from the creation and from humankind. For those who believe in Jesus, God has come close to us and is now part of creation. God doesn’t just look like a human being. God is a human being.

This Jesus brings love, compassion, and healing energy into our world in the proclamation and living out of the reign of God. Could Jesus have become human without sharing, though faultlessly, that journey?

Is not the deepest blessing of the incarnation that Jesus was born to become fully human, with the promise that we too might be so?

In this season as we again reflect on the meaning of the birth of Jesus— the divine and humankind united in a tiny infant—we celebrate as well our birth for heaven. We hear a call to everlasting life for the entire cosmos and the children of God in it for all ages to come. That is a huge promise for one small child, but that is the kind of wonderful surprise we have come to expect of our loving God. The Son of God became man so that we might become God.

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Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 296–373)

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O Tannenbaum David Paul Lange, O.S.B. and Peggy Roske

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he custom of decorating trees in honor of the birth of Jesus Christ is actually a German tradition dating back to the sixteenth century. It is fitting that we recall the German roots of Saint John’s during the Advent and Christmas seasons.

There are various legends surrounding the beginning of the tradition of Christmas trees.

One such legend suggests that Martin Luther began the tradition of bringing fir trees into the home. Supposedly, late one evening in December, Martin Luther was walking home through the woods and was struck with awe at how beautifully the stars shone through the trees. Wanting to share that beauty with his family, he cut down a fir tree and took it home. Once inside, he placed small, lighted candles on the branches to represent the beautiful Christmas starry sky.

And thus, the first lighted Christmas tree appeared!

Another legend of the early sixteenth century reveals that people in Germany combined two customs that had been practiced in different countries around the globe. The Paradise Tree (Paradeisbaum)—a fir tree decorated with apples—was meant to symbolize the tree of

Some 18,000 LED lights complement the ornaments crafted by Brother Andrew Goltz on the Saint John’s Christmas tree.

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knowledge in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9; 3). The Christmas Light (Weihnachtspyramide), a small, pyramid-like frame, usually decorated with glass balls, tinsel, and a candle on top, was a symbol of the birth of Christ as the light of the world. Creating a hybrid of these two trees by changing the apples to tinsel balls and cookies, and combining this with the light placed on top, the Germans fashioned the kind of star-topped Christmas tree that many of us recognize today.

The first record of a community Christmas tree on display in this country dates back to the 1830s and to a group of German settlers in Pennsylvania. Though the Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747, as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were viewed as pagan symbols by the rest of America and were not yet accepted.

What changed? In 1846, in the illustrated London News, the popular English royals, Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert, were sketched standing with their children around a Christmas tree. Since Queen Victoria was so popular with her subjects, what was done at court immediately became fashionable—not only in England, but in the United States as well, particularly with the fashion-conscious East Coast American society. Thus, by the latter half of the nine-

teenth century, Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany, and the popularity of Christmas trees was on the rise throughout the United States.

Europeans still preferred small trees, about four feet in height, but Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling—as in the Great Hall at Saint John’s.

By the early twentieth century Americans were decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German– Americans continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Strings of popcorn were added, after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts. The advent of electricity brought about Christmas lights, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow with light for days on end—instead of for fifteen minutes only, as was the case for the candles burning on Christmas Eve. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country. Having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition, and a Saint John’s tradition as well.

The first tree lighting and blessing ceremony in the Great Hall took place in 1971—about a decade after the new abbey and university church was constructed and the Great Hall ceased to be the primary worship space for our community. This event continued through 1978.

After that, because of concerns

for the safety of the space, not to mention the rest of the quadrangle, we experimented with lighted trees outside: in front of the Great Hall, in front of Sexton Commons, east of Mary Hall, on the northeast corner of Tommy Hall. The tree lighting ceremony tradition ended in 1998, though there continued to be a floodlit, live tree in the Great Hall, decorated with mirrors and with ornaments crafted by Brother Andrew Goltz, O.S.B. In 2015 the tree-lighting and blessing event was revived, when we combined new technology with a love for the Great Hall and for the artwork that graces the apse, painted by Brother Clement Frischauf, O.S.B., in the 1930s. Though no longer a live tree from the abbey arboretum, the symbol we bless allows us to bring back Martin Luther’s original idea—to have the lights of the Christmas night sky, indeed, the full Milky Way, sparkle through the branches of a tree in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Brother Clement’s image of Jesus Christ Pantocrator now becomes, in effect, the star that tops the tree in the Great Hall, a special effect that is unique to Saint John’s.

Brother David Paul Lange, O.S.B., is the director of the Benedictine Institute of Saint John’s University and subprior of Saint John’s Abbey.

Ms. Peggy Roske is the archivist for Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict.

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Benedictine Volunteer Corps Bogotá, Colombia

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he weather in Bogotá, high in the Andes Mountains, is like a permanent Minnesota fall day. Colegio San Benito de Tibatí, where Benedictine Volunteer Nathan Johnson and I work, has been in session since July. We have been enlisted as English teaching assistants, or “English experts,” as the teacher I work with calls us. We do everything from helping students with their pronunciation to composing and grading quizzes to leading in-class activities. We also help coach the basketball and volleyball teams after school.

Although we are not the most athletically gifted, our 6 foot 6 inch frames are appreciated in the post and at the net.

The monks of the Monasterio Benedictino de Tibatí have been extremely welcoming and treat us like family. They’ve helped our transition not only by teaching us their oración (prayer) and monastic practices but also by showing us around Bogotá.

Interacting with the students is my favorite experience. In the classroom and during afterschool activities, the students have a constant flow of questions: “How tall are you?” “Do you like Donald Trump?” “Can you say ‘Todo’ for us?” Working with them on their English has helped my understanding of Spanish tenfold as well. I like to think I’ve helped their English just as much, but they are the

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better teachers, whether they know it or not.

Volunteering in Colombia has been a blessing, and I cannot thank Saint John’s Abbey enough for the opportunity. Heading into my year of service with the BVC, I did not know what to expect. I could not have imagined how truly involved and immersed in the local culture I would be, and am more than happy I was selected for this year of service and personal growth in Bogotá.

Steven Gitzen Nathan Johnson, BVC partner

Catalonia, Spain Truly, if there was a heaven on earth, Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey would be it! In the heart of Catalonia, Spain, the monastery is located high in the Montserrat mountains, about 1000 meters above sea level.

Besides its impressive aesthetics, Montserrat is an important part of Catalonian history, culture, and religious tradition—perhaps the most recognizable part being the Escolania de Montserrat (boys’ choir school). This choir school has existed since shortly after the founding of the monastery in 1025, making it the oldest boys’ choir in existence. They perform two times a day, during afternoon and evening prayer.

Tanner Rayman, my BVC partner, and I work with the boys of this choir school, serving as English teachers—but not in the traditional sense. We organize

games with them, talk with them, or even help them in the classroom. We act as English teachers by encouraging them to practice their English for a significant portion of the day. My personal favorite time is recreation, when we get to play games/sports (mostly fútbol, or soccer as we call it), go on excursions, or watch professional fútbol matches on television.

Tanner and I learned right away that we don’t stand much of a chance when playing fútbol, despite having at least 30 inches of height over them.

We serve as older brothers to the boys, not just teachers. This alone makes our experience worthwhile. Knowing we have a positive influence on their future is very rewarding. I am so grateful to the Benedictine Volunteer Corps for providing us with this opportunity to give back to the Benedictine tradition by serving in different communities around the world.

Thomas Friebe Tanner Rayman, BVC partner

Newark, New Jersey Interacting with the students, enjoying their sense of humor, teaching psychology and coaching track and field, or going on expeditions with the other Benedictine Volunteers—all have created many new and gratifying memories for me. At Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School, everyone plays a part in running the school. To an outsider, this might sound like a recipe for

disaster. However, exactly the opposite is true, which says something about the importance of community. When everyone works together, supports each other, and is their brother’s keeper, life seems to get a little easier and more enjoyable.

Somehow order is fashioned out of chaos.

Besides learning about the significance of community, I have also learned much about myself, especially how essential partaking in spiritual life is. Not only does it help get me closer to God, but it also helps me learn life lessons and how to apply them. One example has been the importance of friendships when serving those in need: creating an environment where we serve and learn from each other.

My personal growth has been essential to making this an enjoyable experience; watching the personal growth of others has made the BVC experience something I will always remember.

Nicholas Zurn Marcus Vievering, Brayan Garibay, Joseph Evavold, BVC partners

Kappadu, India Saint Thomas Benedictine Abbey is a model of the Benedictine value of stewardship. The monastic community makes use of their land in an efficient and sustainable manner. They grow and sell a variety of crops— including cardamom, pepper, coconuts, cashew nuts, tapioca,

Bovine business, Saint Thomas Benedictine Abbey, India

and various fruits. They also run a small farm with twenty-six cows, ten pigs, and numerous chickens. I have been able to assist in the farm work [above] and have gained a greater understanding of how we, as stewards of the land, can relish in the creation of the Lord.

Jonathon Litchy

My time here has been a profound and humbling experience.

Although Jon and I are guests, we have been welcomed with open arms to share in the joys of Benedictine community life. In the monastery our work has focused on the improvement of the brothers’ English through daily classes and group discussions, a job as enjoyable as it is challenging. In addition we have been organizing and cleaning the monastic library which has been in disarray for years. My experi-

BVC archives

ences have challenged me to reflect on who I am at a deeper level than I have before, and for this I could not be happier.

Gabriel Hanson

East Africa The liturgies in Africa may be comparable to Broadway productions in New York. The feast of Benedict in Dar es Salaam was almost the same length as a twoact play, with the Liturgy of the Word followed by the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Frantz, my BVC partner, and I are understanding Swahili better each day. My work is mainly in the carpentry shop, but I have also joined the choir here—for the blessing of a new abbot and the profession of vows for the novices earlier this year.

Patrick Martin Frantz Soiro, BVC partner

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Sustainability Efforts

Title of Article

Aaron Raverty, O.S.B.

acres of its property to Geronimo Energy for the creation of a photovoltaic solar farm adjoining our first solar facility. Thus, the original abbey solar array gained 616 new panels. Xcel Energy funded this addition in part through a grant from its renewable development fund.

When combined with the original installation, these supplementary panels generate nearly 240,000 kWh annually—enough to power approximately twentyfive homes.

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hile we often think of sustainability as a goal, it is actually a process. Day by day, year by year, the implementation of sustainable practices parallels our Benedictine monastic promise of continuous moral conversion.

Indeed, the monks of Saint John’s Abbey are committed to good environmental stewardship of the resources that are part of our heritage, a commitment we wish to continue into the twentyfirst century.

Throughout our history, the abbey and its various campus enterprises have relied on different energy resources. Wood and coal contributed to our earlier carbon footprint. For a few years, a garbage-burning incinerator produced steam used for heating and cooling. Natural gas is now a primary energy source. More recently Saint John’s has made significant strides to reduce its carbon footprint by cultivating solar energy. The abbey hopes to make its contribution to the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) signed in 2007 by Brother Dietrich Reinhart, O.S.B., pledging to become carbon neutral by 2035. Saint John’s University is making astounding progress, already at 56 percent of its goal.

The Saint John’s Abbey Solar Farm traces its humble

Expansion of abbey solar farm, November 2016

beginnings to November 2009 with the installation of solar panels in an area northwest of the university campus, supported by a $2 million grant from the Xcel Energy renewable development fund. The original 3.9-acre plot for the solar array consisted of 1,820 modules capable of producing a yearly yield of 575,000 kWh—at that time, 4 percent of Saint John’s annual electrical energy needs.

Minimizing our environmental impact, and the provision of educational opportunities for students and visitors, were two of the initial design considerations. The educational component is no small matter as it will define and propel sustainability initiatives into the future. Since the establishment of the abbey solar field, Saint John’s Abbey Arboretum and Saint John’s Outdoor University have welcomed

Robin Pierzina,

O.S.B.

students as young as third grade through middle and high school on solar energy field trips. Many Saint John’s and College of Saint Benedict students and their families have also participated in solar farm tours, as have local and state-elected officials considering solar energy options in their towns/counties. Our solar facility was one of the earliest in the state of Minnesota.

In November 2014 the Geronimo Company of Edina, Minnesota, proposed an expansion of the original solar installation at Saint John’s, along with additional Xcel Energy customers to create a “solar garden,” which Geronimo described as “a centralized, shared solar project connected to the grid and offered to subscribers.” In the subsequent agreement the abbey leased approximately fifteen

The solar operation is currently undergoing yet another expansion, scheduled for completion in January 2017, with an extra 23.6 acres—the Orion Community Solar Gardens. With this addition, Xcel Energy will collect electrical energy generated from these solar gardens which will then be fed to the Avon, Minnesota, electric substation distribution system. Subscribers include Saint John Abbey and University and five local add-ons. This latest addition brings the total area for the abbey solar farm to 27.06 acres. The 5,100,000 kWh generated is enough to power approximately 525 homes annually.

the fixed-rack panel mounting and the single-axis tracking system will ultimately result in calculations of the efficiency of these two types of solar panels, making the total solar power enterprise more cost effective in the future.

Another recent sustainability initiative involves the expansion of campus rain gardens near the student beach and abbey guesthouse, and around the Watab parking area near Stumpf Lake.

Until recently, storm water runoff—from parking lots, sidewalks, and buildings— drained directly into Stumpf Lake or Lake Sagatagan. The new or expanded rain gardens retrofitted the runoff areas with infiltration basins. The beach rain garden expansion included the construction of a riprap drainage swale to direct runoff

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Overall, rain-garden benefits include recharging of groundwater, removal of pollutants, improvement in soil health, and the protection of other nearby bodies of water. This summer’s project was completed in partnership with the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District, with funding support through the Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources.

May the power surge Jesus felt through his healing ministry (Luke 8:46) galvanize Saint John’s ongoing sustainability efforts as a healthy model for our sorely troubled world.

Benefits from the successive phases of solar installation surpass sustainability considerations. Many local construction jobs were created, and the local economy further benefitted from the purchase of materials from contractors and suppliers. Data collected from a comparison of Robin Pierzina,

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to a new rain garden/infiltration basin. Native plantings in and around the rain gardens also provide habitat for wildlife and pollinators. Near the Watab parking area, the new infiltration basins intercept and interrupt runoff moving toward Stumpf Lake. Even the nearby volleyball courts were converted to an infiltration or rain storage area for storm water runoff. By providing a “first flush” of storm water prior to discharging the runoff, these rain gardens will improve water quality by reducing sediment and nutrient loading, as well as hydrology fluctuations in Stumpf Lake and Lake Sagatagan.

O.S.B.

Brother Aaron Raverty, O.S.B., a member of the Abbey Banner editorial staff, is the author of Refuge in Crestone: A Sanctuary for Interreligious Dialogue (Lexington Books, 2014).

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Ministry in Japan Roman Paur, O.S.B.

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n December 2014 the monks of Saint John’s Abbey made the difficult decision to close Trinity Benedictine Monastery, its Japanese priory. This decision affirmed the recommendation of our confreres in Fujimi who recognized that the monastery could no longer sustain itself: the members of the community were aging, and Saint John’s can no longer provide monks from the States; no monk was available for longer-term leadership and Benedictine monastic formation; and there is no likelihood of new Japanese vocations.

All public ministries of Trinity Benedictine Monastery were officially discontinued on 13 August 2016. Closing ceremonies included a concelebrated Mass on 11 August in the Fujimi monastery chapel with Bishop Rafael Masahiro Umemura, Yokohama Diocese, presiding with Abbot John Klassen, O.S.B., and Prior Roman Paur, O.S.B. On 14 August Abbot John and the monks of Trinity Benedictine Monastery celebrated a Mass in the Meguro Church, Tokyo, where monks of Saint John’s ministered from 1947 until 1999.

The Fujimi property was formally acquired by the Fujimi Kogen Hospital on 28 September.

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hristianity came to Japan in 1549 with the Jesuit priest Francis Xavier and with Portuguese missioners. They soon were followed by the Spanish Fran-

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Listen with the ear of your heart.

Rule Prol.1

ciscans and Dominicans. The missioners were initially wellreceived, and over the next fifty years there were perhaps 130,000 converts to the faith.

The conversions, however, were increasingly viewed as a threat to national unity. Prior to the Edo Period in 1587 the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi promulgated the Purge Directive Order, expelling the Jesuits from Japan and persecuting Christians. Ten years later twenty-six Jesuits, Franciscans, and laypeople in

Nagasaki were publicly hanged —the martyrs honored on 6 February, Saint Paul Miki and Companions. The open practice of Christianity in Japan was dramatically ended in 1612 with the expulsion of all European missionaries and the execution of Catholic converts, beginning a period of the so-called hidden Christians.

Catholicism was officially outlawed in 1622 when fifty-five more Christians were publicly executed in Nagasaki, and another one hundred throughout the region in 1639. The faithful practiced their beliefs secretly until the official restoration of religious tolerance in 1873, beginning with the Meiji Period (1868–1912). Prior to the restoration of religious freedom, Japan had opened its borders to trade with Portugal, Spain, and the Philippines with the arrival of the Matthew Perry expedition in 1853 and the Harris Treaty in 1858 that permitted foreigners to live in Japan.

who began a Benedictine settlement in 1931.

By 1936, during this first attempt at establishing the Benedictines in Japan, eight monks of Beuron had moved into newly constructed wooden buildings near Chigasaki (Tonogaoka) south of Tokyo. But the initial burst of optimism soon began to wane due to financial stress, lingering internal disagreements, difficulty in mastering the Japanese language, little pastoral outreach, and no vocations—all combined with heightened external political and social turmoil in both Japan and Germany. In the winter of 1939, the Beuron community voted to close its Japan mission. Most of the monks joined Beuron’s Korean foundation in Tokwon, a community later devastated by the Korean War. A few monks left for the Philippines and Brazil. By 1942

Trinity Benedictine archives

Saint Anselm’s Parish, Meguro

the Chigasaki property had been sold to the Japanese military.

Soon after World War II ended in August 1945, Fathers Hildebrand and Joseph—who had stayed in Japan, protected

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ur Collegeville confreres began their ministry in Japan in the fall of 1947 when Saint John’s Abbey and the Archdiocese of Tokyo created Saint Anselm’s Priory and Parish in the Meguro district of Tokyo. Saint John’s committed itself to this mission initiative at the pleading of Fathers Hildebrand Yaiser, O.S.B., and Joseph Schmerbach, O.S.B., the last two remaining monks from Beuron Archabbey, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,

Kindergarteners reciting the Our Father, Saint Anselm’s Priory

Abbey archives

by their German or Swiss passports—visited fifteen Benedictine monasteries in the United States, begging for help.

Only Saint John’s offered support, and it was significant.

To reestablish the Benedictine presence in Japan, Saint John’s Abbey—during the leadership of Abbots Alcuin Deutsch, O.S.B., and Baldwin Dworschak, O.S.B. —provided monks and financial resources to build first the new priory, and in 1956 the Meguro church [above] designed by Antonín Raymond, who had been an associate of Cass Gilbert and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Initially the work of the Meguro priory was primarily pastoral, with a rapidly increasing postwar Catholic population of converts. In addition to serving the new parish that quickly grew to hundreds of families, the monks

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in Fujimi. Only Chinese-born Brother Liting John Chrysostom Long, O.S.B., made solemn profession on 21 March 2014 and now continues his studies at Saint John’s.

Roman Paur, O.S.B.

Trinity Benedictine Monastery, Fujimi

served many non-Christian neighborhood parents who appreciated the interreligious kindergarten facility and programs at Saint Anselm’s. The Americans in Meguro spent a good deal of their time in language studies, experiencing the challenges and, for most of them, the frustration of trying to learn Japanese. The language and customs of the house were predominantly English. Native vocations were rare. In fifty-two years only two Japanese-born men, who made their solemn profession of vows in Tokyo, persevered in the monastic life: Father Hidenari Peter Kawamura, O.S.B., who died in 2013; and Brother Makoto Paul Tada, O.S.B. The lack of vocations was a big and

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looming concern for the future of the Benedictines in Japan.

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n the early 1990s, during the leadership of Prior Kieran Nolan, O.S.B., the community decided—with the encouragement of Abbot Timothy Kelly, O.S.B., who envisioned the Japan mission as a link to renewed initiatives in China—to conclude its ministry in Tokyo and to move to Fujimi. This rural area was thought to be more conducive to Benedictine monastic life and more attractive to lifelong vocations. Mr. Kenjiro Takagaki was contracted to design the monastery facilities [above]. On 24 May 1999 the monks moved into their new priory, which was formally blessed on 24 June.

In the following years the monks reflected on three critical values: how they lived, prayed, and worked together. They benefited immensely from the work of a dedicated advisory board of religious and lay women and men who shaped community focus and planning. The culture of the place slowly shifted toward Japanese for the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours and Eucharist. The community enjoyed spurts of vocational interest, and optimism for the future was encouraged by the interest of these Japanese candidates. Quite a few Japanese men, nearly all converts, tested our Benedictine life and made simple vows, but all shied away from lifetime commitments

In a country of 127 million people and a declining population, there are fewer than two million Christians, about half of whom are Catholic. Of these, perhaps 450,000 are Japaneseborn, and 550,000 are foreign resident Catholics in sixteen dioceses. Current data shows the Catholic and Protestant populations declining along with the number of both Japanese and foreign clergy and religious, a trend that is likely to accelerate.

The Fujimi monks learned that becoming Christian in Japan is significantly countercultural; families now rarely have more than one child.

Throughout their years in Fujimi, the monks were faithful to their daily prayer services. They were pastoral ministers to the local community as well, presiding at Eucharist, offering spiritual direction, pastoral conferences, and retreats to the Japanese, Filipino, and Portuguese faithful of the Yokohama Diocese in regional parishes as well as to the Trappist sisters of Nasu.

They maintained a guest apostolate, preparing and cleaning the guestrooms, taking care of the laundry, and preparing meals for guests and community alike.

The monks were also responsible for all the daily and seasonal

Guitar concert, Trinity Benedictine Monastery

details of life in a monastery: physical plant maintenance, mowing the lawn and caring for the grounds, vegetable and flower gardening, grocery shopping, shoveling snow—lots of it—and more.

The monastery initiated a community cultural program, free and open to the public, that attracted a considerable number of grateful people for classical piano, organ, koto, guitar, and string ensemble concerts, Gregorian chant Masses, and a children’s Christmas event.

Since 1947 thirty-two monks have served the people of Japan in both Meguro and Fujimi. Our community in Japan was blessed by the Japanese faithful who partnered with us in our life and work together, carrying the banner of the Gospel. The monks are deeply indebted to them for

Roman Paur, O.S.B.

their profound witness of faith, thoughtfulness, and generosity.

We give thanks to God for the privilege of our ministry in the beautiful “land of the rising sun” as well as for the blessings of the people of Japan. We leave Japan with the promise of continuing prayers for world peace and mutual wellbeing.

Father Roman Paur, O.S.B., served as prior of Trinity Benedictine Monastery from March 2004 until its closure in August 2016.

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Rushing Amid Tears

Campus Oak Update

The warming spring sun Penetrates the frozen earth, Once more awakens The strong inner urge for life Latent deep in roots and seeds.

Joseph Storlien

Pale cherry blossoms Float gently down and settle Upon the black hair Of merry sake drinkers Singing and shouting in glee.

Rice plants in neat rows In still water mirroring Soft white clouds floating; While appearing upside down The green spears wave in the breeze.

Autumn’s alchemy Touches the green ginko tree; Each fan leaf crinkles And the edges become gold As the chill penetrates deep.

The poems above are from Rushing Amid Tears: Tanka Poems in English by Neal Henry Lawrence, published in 1983.

The new fallen snow, A blanket of sparkling white Covered the hillside; A skier cut fresh furrows, A glorious giant slalom.

Why do the leaves dance?

Is it response to living In a moving world?

Or is it some inner nature Seeking expression of joy?

There was only one, One star above the mountain Buried in deep snow, One brilliant light in the night, Guiding to the source of life.

Father Neal Henry Lawrence, O.S.B. (1908–2004), was a monk of Saint John’s Abbey who served at Saint Anselm’s Priory in Tokyo and Trinity Benedictine Monastery in Fujimi for nearly forty years. In 1975 he began to write tanka poems in English and soon was regarded as a pioneer in the oldest form of Japanese poetry. In recognition of his contribution to the promotion of Japanese culture, the Japanese government, in the name of the emperor, awarded Father Neal the Order of the Rising Sun, Golden Rays with Rosette, in 1993.

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n the summer of 2014 abbey land manager Mr. Tom Kroll called my attention to the many oak trees on the inner campus that were showing signs of stress and dying. Our preliminary analysis that summer suggested a potential soil micronutrient deficiency.

During the summer of 2015, Mr. Alec Minea, a Saint John’s University environmental studies summer research fellow, and I studied nearly two hundred trees on the Saint John’s campus, collaborating with a University of Minnesota Extension tree specialist, to perform leaf tissue analysis on both sick and healthy trees in order to isolate the particular micronutrient deficiency.

After determining that manganese was the most probable nutrient deficiency the trees have been experiencing, we researched potential treatment strategies and presented the information to the campus grounds department. We pursued what we felt was the best treatment strategy and applied it to most of the trees [right] in midAugust 2015, intentionally leaving a few trees in each area of campus untreated to serve as controls in the study. Since 2015 Mr. Kroll and I noticed only a marginal improvement of the trees that we treated.

This past summer I worked with College of Saint Benedict student Ms. Leah Ellman to try “dunking” some leaves in two different

treatment solutions and then monitoring for improvement.

We did this on a few trees and saw a slight improvement, but I was hoping for something more remarkable. Mr. Kroll and I also noticed that the soil issue may actually be getting worse, as some maple trees between the Abbey Road and Sexton Commons appear to have turned chlorotic. An urban tree specialist, who had been asked to help investigate, confirmed our earlier conclusion regarding a soil pH issue.

This fall Alec Minea again volunteered to help me perform additional foliar applications (leaf dunking) of both iron and manganese, and monitored changes before the leaves dropped. Again we did not see the remarkable turnaround we had hoped for. However, applications this late in the year may show little response simply because the trees are not actively growing foliage but are instead preparing for leaf drop and the winter ahead.

the soil pH, but that is a long process which could take a few years before we would see any response. And because it also has the potential to damage some of the turf below the trees, this option is not a perfect solution.

Because tree growth is slow, we may have to wait a few years for better results. Not unexpectedly, research projects like this often take years to reach meaningful conclusions.

Dr. Joseph Storlien is a member of the environmental studies department at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.

I would like to see some sulfur applications that would help lower Robin Pierzina,

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Arca Artium the university art department—where he hoped to establish a school of liturgical art—and as an important consultant to Mr. Marcel Breuer in his design of the abbey and university church. In appreciation for his help, Mr. Breuer designed and gave Frank the floorplans for his house in Saint Paul. Frank spent the last years of his life as an oblate living in the monastery. In 1995 he formally donated his collection to Saint John’s University.

Alan Reed, O.S.B.

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evoted to a life focused on the relationship between the sacred and the visual, Brother Frank Kacmarcik, Obl.S.B. (1920– 2004), collected books and art that would inspire him in his work as an artist and designer. He spoke of his early collecting, following military service in Europe during World War II, as his “liberating” of European art and books.

By the end of the twentieth century, his collection had grown to major proportions and contained many significant volumes and pieces of art.

Today the collection, known as Arca Artium (Ark of the Arts), includes several thousand rare books; a reference library about art, architecture, and typography; and an art collection that itself numbers Nuremberg Chronicle Hill Museum approximately seven thousand items. The majority of the art art and design skills—which pieces are works on paper, but were significant. Frank the collection also includes Kacmarcik’s visual ability might three-dimensional works— be described as “perfect pitch” sculpture, objects, and furnishfor the eye. Frank also knew he ings, both religious and domestic. was good at it and didn’t hesitate to share that self-knowledge. At Frank was primarily an artist the beginning of talks or presenwho collected religious art as a tations, he would often show reference for his own work as a an image of himself receiving a Catholic liturgical designer, artist, blessing from one of the popes, and consultant to architects telling the audience that this working on churches or on other was confirmation of “the pope projects related to the spiritual sharing his infallibility with me.” needs of people. For many years he was the designer of the liturBrother Frank’s association with gical journal Worship, which was Saint John’s included a short instrumental in disseminating his time in our novitiate, teaching in

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Initially Frank called his collection of resource materials Arca Artis (Ark of Art), but later revised the name to include other forms of art, Arca Artium (Ark of the Arts). The Manuscript Library heart of the collection is the rare books and works on paper, including etchings, lithographs, serigraphs, and other forms of printmaking. The collection is remarkable for tracing the history of making images in multiples. In the mid-fifteenth century, Johannes Gutenberg developed moveable type for printing books. Working as an apprentice to Michael Wolgemut, illustrator of the Nuremberg Chronicle [above], Albrecht Dürer soon established himself as the most notable printmaker of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Arca Artium has several of those early images,

some of which were made for an encyclopedic description of Europe. Focused on religious subject matter, the print collection is a fairly extensive documentation of the art of printmaking in Europe and the West.

Besides the Dürer prints, it contains a checklist of those artist-printers who advanced the art of making multiple images during the next five hundred years, and contains good examples of most of the techniques that artists used to produce those images. The earliest examples are primarily religious in subject matter, but the collection also contains examples of the tradition of portraiture, architecture, and other subjects of visual

Rembrandt: Resurrection of Lazarus

recording which became more common as Western culture secularized. Arca Artium includes several Rembrandt prints, biblical as well as landscape and portraiture. One of the highlights of the collection is a small Rembrandt print depicting the raising of Lazarus [below] from the tomb.

With the finest of lines, this small work shows the emotion of the participants—at once a stunning example of technological mastery and a beautiful religious subject.

The collection’s focus on religious imagery continued into the twentieth century, when religious art was the exception rather than the norm. Some of the most important religious artists of the last century are included here. Perhaps most significant is the work of the French artist Georges Rouault (1871–1958) who, while printing subject matter that related to early twentieth-century culture, continued to create works exploring his faith. After the First World War he did a series of sixtyfive etchings

Hill Museum

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titled Miserere et Guerre (Mercy and War [next page, bottom left]), attempting to relate the horrors of war with the need for belief in Christ.

Arca Artium includes examples of other religions’ search for meaning as well. It has an almost complete collection of the prints by the Jewish artist BenZion (1897–1987). Significant among his works is a set of thirty-six prints illustrating a Jewish story of the 36 Unknown [next page, top left], ordinary people who, because of their goodness, prevent the world from falling into chaos. The 36 do not know of their roles.

Frank’s collection points to the importance of art and the visual elements as offering us extended pathways in our search for God. To quote Ms. Mary Schaffer, a previous curator of the collection, Arca Artium was “founded in the Benedictine tradition of glorifying God in all things and with the conviction that creativity is a way of life in service to God and humankind. As a research collection of Saint John’s University, Arca Artium is a dynamic and evolving witness to the vitality of human creativity.”

Brother Alan Reed, O.S.B., works with the art collections of Saint John’s Abbey and Saint John’s University.

Manuscript Library

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Arca Artium was founded with the conviction that creativity is a way of life in service to God and humankind.

Mary Schaffer

Images (clockwise from top left): Ben-Zion, The 36 Unknown. Plate VIII The Shepherd. Etching, 1971–75.

Sadao Watanabe, Miraculous Catch of Fishes. Stencil print, 1975.

Albrecht DĂźrer, Saint John before God and the Elders. Engraving, 1498.

Lyonel Feininger, Gelbe Dorfkirche, 3 (Yellow Village Church).

Woodcut, 1931.

Georges Rouault, The just man, like sandalwood, perfumes the blade that cuts him down. Plate 46 from Miserere. Etching 1926, 1945.

All images: Hill Museum & Manuscript Library

New Titles from Liturgical Press Father Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I., writes in his endorsement of this book: “The ache of the heart is the lure to God.” Indeed it is, and Dr. Sheldrake examines this relationship with depth and grace.

Lauren L. Murphy

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hat do you seek? Candidates for the monastic life at Saint John’s Abbey are asked this question at the beginning of their novitiate.

It is a question we are all called to answer at some point—or many points—in our lives. What do we seek? Whom do we seek?

And as we seek, we often turn to Scripture or spiritual guides to assist our discernment. This year Liturgical Press has several books that help guide seeking readers to find answers to these questions.

In Faith beyond Belief, Brother David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B., and Father Anselm Grün, O.S.B., welcome readers to listen in on their conversations on love, the self, fear, God, the cross, and the spiritual life—among other topics. This book is a “crash course” in foundational Christian spirituality. It is an inspirational aid to a spiritual life for many people of our time, whether they consider themselves believers or not. Brother David and Father Anselm offer an orientation in a world that has become complex and often overwhelming. In these pages, they offer a still, silent place in which to rest and be fed. In her endorsement, Dr. Ursula King lauds this “inspiring book,” noting that “We meet two spiritual masters speaking from the depths of their hearts and a wealth of experience. The deepest insights of spiritual life are

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One of the struggles of current seekers is that we live in a visual culture in which images of violence, lust, and greed dominate. We need holy images. In Icons in the Western Church, Sister Jeana Visel, O.S.B., shows how Western Christianity can make room for such images. Within the Eastern tradition of Christianity, the eikon, or religious image, has long held a place of honor. In the greater part of Western Christianity, however, discomfort with images in worship, both statues and panel icons, has been a relatively common current, particularly since the Reformation. Western interest in panel icons has been rising recently, yet we lack standards of quality or catechesis on what to do with them. Sister Jeana makes the case that icons should have a role to play in the Western Church that goes beyond mere decoration. While Roman Catholics may never interact with icons in quite the same way that Eastern Christians do, Sister Jeana shows how icons have the power to help heal our brokenness. She writes: “In the peaceful gaze of Christ and the

Frank Kacmarcik, Obl.S.B.

presented here with so much discernment, beauty, and love as well as great simplicity.”

Seeking is a response to desire, and desire is at the heart of what it is to be human. The power of desire, while embodied and sensuous, is God-given and the key to all human spirituality.

Humanity is blessed with a deep longing that is infinite in extent and can only and ultimately be satisfied in God. In this thoroughly revised edition of Befriending Our Desires, Dr. Philip Sheldrake portrays the intimate connection between desire and the spiritual journey.

Drawing on Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, Christian spiritual classics (with some reference to Buddhist spirituality), poetry, and other literature, plus personal and pastoral experience, Dr. Sheldrake explores the role of desire in relation to God, prayer, sexuality, making choices, and responding to change.

saints, icons teach us to see with new eyes the dignity of the human person and the presence of God among us.”

For Benedictines, seeking God is done by and within the community living in accordance with the Rule of Saint Benedict. Commentaries on the Rule abound, and each one offers a little something different. In The Rule of Benedict, a translation of Abbot Georg Holzherr’s completely revised seventh edition of Die Benediktsregel, readers will encounter a profoundly rich commentary using up-to-date research methods and the latest translations of ancient monastic texts, a completely revised and expanded introduction and commentary, and new insights into the monastic life of women.

The translation by Father Mark Thamert, O.S.B., is masterful and accessible. This commentary is meant not only for experts in the field of ancient monasticism but also for all lay and monastic readers interested in delving into the teachings and spirituality of Saint Benedict and his spiritual predecessors in the East and in the West.

As we discern what it is that we seek, these books, by authors who are also seeking, can offer helpful guidance and wisdom for the journey.

Ms. Lauren L. Murphy is the managing editor of the academic department at Liturgical Press.

Faith beyond Belief: Spirituality for Our Times, A Conversation. By David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B., and Anselm Grün, O.S.B. Edited by Johannes Kaup. Translated by Linda M. Maloney.

Befriending Our Desires. Third edition. By Philip Sheldrake.

Icons in the Western Church: Toward a More Sacramental Encounter.

By Jeana Visel, O.S.B. The Rule of Benedict: An Invitation to the Christian Life, a translation of the revised, seventh edition of Die Benediktsregel by Georg Holzherr, O.S.B. Translated by Mark Thamert, O.S.B. Find these and other titles from Liturgical Press online at www.litpress. org or by calling 1.800.858.5450.

Congress of Abbots

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very four years the Benedictine abbots from around the world, along with priors of independent monasteries, gather at Sant’Anselmo in Rome for the Congress of Abbots. For two weeks in September, 250 religious superiors discussed what is happening in their monasteries and the viability of Benedictine monastic life itself, how they can work together, and how they can reach out to the rest of the world.

A major task of this year’s Congress was to elect a new leader of the Benedictine Order to succeed Abbot Primate Notker Wolf, O.S.B., who held the position for sixteen years. The election of Abbot Gregory Polan, O.S.B., of Conception Abbey in Missouri on 10 September was greeted with great rejoicing among the Congress participants. A respected Scripture scholar and graduate of Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary, Abbot Primate Gregory is a longtime friend of many monks of Saint John’s Abbey. During the ceremony immediately following his election, the new primate renewed his profession of faith while resting his hand on a facsimile of The Saint John’s Bible, opened to the beginning of the Gospel of John.

The first abbot primate was named by Pope Leo XIII in 1893 to serve as the Benedictine liaison to the Vatican, to promote unity among the autonomous Benedictine monasteries around the world, and to represent the order at international religious gatherings.

Abbot Gregory is the tenth abbot primate and fourth American to hold the position. Saint John’s Abbot Jerome Theisen, O.S.B., served as primate from 1992 until his untimely death in 1995.

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Lives of the Benedictine Saints: Hildegard of Bingen

Stefanie Weisgram, O.S.B.

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ildegard of Bingen—or Holy Hildegard, as many of her contemporaries called her—was a remarkable woman, Benedictine nun and abbess, recognized as a prophet, and named a Doctor of the Church in 2012. Though life in the twelfth century was much different than ours, we can still be amazed by this woman, just as her peers were. Born in 1098 in Germany, Hildegard was the youngest and last of ten children.

At age 8 she was given by her parents to a holy woman hermit named Jutta to be educated and raised for God. Jutta lived on the grounds of a men’s monastery and eventually had so many women join her that they formed a community following the Rule of Benedict. When Jutta died in 1136, the nuns elected Hildegard as their mother superior.

From an early age Hildegard experienced marvelous visions, but when she learned that others didn’t have them too, she stopped talking about them. In 1141 Hildegard received a divine command: “Say and write what you see and hear!” She began to describe her visions with the help of her teacher and secretary, Volmar, a monk of Disibodenberg where her cloister was located. From time to time Hildegard held back on recording her visions. When she did so, she became very ill until she resumed her writing. God was clearly communicating that

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Hildegard was to write! She was grateful for the added encouragement of Volmar, Bernard of Clairvaux, and even Pope Eugenius III—who read some of her writings at the Synod of Trier and also insisted that she record her visions. For the rest of her life—she died in 1179— Hildegard continued to write.

Under the direction of God, she also went on several preaching tours to both priests and laity.

The twelfth century was a remarkable, if not particularly stable time. Hildegard lived through the reigns of seventeen popes and anti-popes, five Holy

Roman emperors and German kings, and six archbishops in the diocese where her monastery was located. In addition, the Church and the Empire were often in conflict with each other. Hildegard was active throughout this time, writing to and even criticizing popes and emperors.

This was an amazing woman!

She believed everything should be approached with wide-open faculties. She was sensitive and mentally alert for word, sound, and timbre—as confirmed by her considerable musical compositions. She was also open to and deeply appreciative of nature, but she went beyond just

The Choirs of Angels, illustration by Hildegard, Rupertsberg manuscript

seeing and admiring. She saw human life as a continuation of the divine creation: its aim, to produce a well-rounded person.

Hildegard taught that all of nature should be carefully cultivated: breathing, eating and drinking, work and relaxation, sleeping and waking, passions and joys. In other words, we are responsible for our well-being and our lifestyle, which should become more humane as time goes on. Hildegard believed we should follow the path of moderation. Everything we experience in life—including disease and suffering, all our hardships, crises and problems—naturally tend toward transcendence and salvation. We are apt to remember our goal of salvation when we experience joy or blessedness of any kind, but it is present in all of our difficulties as well.

If Hildegard were alive today, she would have much to say to us. She couldn’t be ordained to the priesthood, but she would likely be recognized as a prophet, a woman with an urgent message from God to Church and society.

Hildegard’s view of our relationship to nature is one such example. She saw humanity as God’s privileged creatures, and believed that we have a special obligation to our world, to nature. But because we humans want to be autonomous, we disturb the tranquility of nature. So we suffer as we move forward toward salvation. God made us and gave us the whole world so we could work with nature.

No woman previous to Hildegard revealed such a wide range of knowledge and creative thought. The extraordinary breadth of her writing skills, which ranged from music to drama, to scientific texts on the classification of stones and herbs, to theological speculation, to language games, to the philosophy of psychology, reveal a genius unparalleled by a woman and matched by very few men up to the twelfth century. The additional discovery that Hildegard was the first person to develop an original theory in support of the philosophy of sex complementarity makes her contribution to the history of the concept of woman in relation to man all the more significant.

Prudence Allen, R.S.M. The Concept of Woman: The Aristotelian Revolution, 750 B.C.–A.D. 1250

When we look at how we have treated nature, we see waste and destruction, pollution of water, air, earth, and more. How would Hildegard respond to our disregard for creation? In her own day she said, “This springtime would be just the same as previous springs, this summer just like past summers, and so on.

However, since humankind, because of its disobedience, no longer fears or loves God, the elements and the seasons overstep their bounds.” Hildegard may have been predicting climate change!

Discretion was a prime virtue for Hildegard. With this virtue, she felt, we act rationally, recognize reality, are reasonable and open, take the measure of things, and then see and taste things as they actually are. This means being aware of how truly blessed we are. Justice was another virtue valued by Hildegard. It moves us in the direction of the right social order. Justice means that

each of us is to have his or her own space while respecting others: we are to show consideration for others, allowing all human beings to be themselves, giving them what is rightfully theirs, showing concern for them—and doing this daily.

Like Dorothy Day or Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Hildegard had a special concern for the poor. “The poor,” she wrote, “must be brought to, and kept near to God through love because as human beings, they are related to us as our brothers and sisters. God himself loves the poor because the poor are his image.” We are challenged to respond accordingly. Hildegard speaks to us as she did in the High Middle Ages. Saint Hildegard, pray for us!

Sister Stefanie Weisgram, O.S.B., was the collection development librarian at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University until her retirement in 2012.

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Meet a Monk: Luke Dowal spirit of generosity. He always made others feel that what was in those drawers was available for the asking. All he asked, gently, was that whatever was removed from the drawers or closets be returned in a timely manner. He was so good at what he did as sacristan that he was called out of retirement and clocked thirty-four years in that capacity.

Timothy Backous, O.S.B.

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he editorial staff of Abbey Banner envisioned this feature as a way for readers to learn more about the people who make up the monastic community, a generic term that in no way captures the unique blend of people who inhabit our monastery. It would be an understatement to say that this edition’s focus is on someone readers definitely want to know more about: Brother Luke Dowal, O.S.B. Abbey archives

Born Zygmond Stanisław Dowal on 18 December 1923 to Vincenty and Stanisława Dowal of Gardner, Massachusetts, he was one of eight children. Sadly, the couple lost five of those babies during infancy. Zygmond grew up with two siblings: John, now deceased; and Josephine Cormier, who is enjoying her ninetieth year of life.

Brother Luke graduated from Gardner High School in 1941 and became a merchant seaman in December 1942, serving in both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters throughout World War II. After his “conversion to life” (as he calls it), he applied to the novitiate at Saint John’s Abbey in May 1958, made his first profession of vows as a Benedictine monk in 1960, and then solemn (lifetime) vows in 1967 while serving the community in Mexico.

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Brother Luke’s list of accomplishments in monastic life clearly explains his reputation as a Renaissance man. Most monks know him as a sacristan par excellence, meaning, he was always ready to help presiders vest, navigate books, or find, in the numerous drawers of the sacristy, anything that might be needed. He is quick to add that the job, in those days, was significantly more complex than it is today. The liturgy included more involved rituals that actually required clothing changes, multiple books, and myriad accessories. Besides serving the usual prayer hours and daily Mass, Luke would cheerfully avail himself for funerals, weddings, baptisms, and numerous other events that might punctuate his week. Any sacristan will confirm that the element of surprise should be no surprise at all. As keeper of the keys, Luke handled the unexpected with patience, kindness, and a

But there is much more to Luke’s monastic labora than working in the sacristy. He worked at Abadía del Tepeyac as a missionary from 1963–1967, professing solemn vows in Mexico City. In Tepeyac at that time, Luke recalls, there was no electricity or indoor bathrooms, which made life “interesting.”

But he and Brother Stephen Thell, O.S.B., worked to lay a foundation and, over time, helped build a new school that would allow the Mexican community to move from the confines of the city to a more rural location where the monastic community could sink its roots.

During that time Luke served in whatever capacity he was most needed—sometimes at the building site itself, sometimes in the kitchen. When he returned to Collegeville he served as an assistant refectorian, gardener, carpenter, and even as a nurse after getting his degree in 1972.

Probably as well known as his work in the sacristy was the magic that Luke conjured up in

the kitchen. His creations of breads, pastries, cakes, or pies were often the very reason many monks refused to miss a holiday meal. He and Brother Raphael Olson, O.S.B., were legends in their own time; the ethereal aroma of their baked goods often filled the corridors of the monastery, leaving salivating confreres to ponder when the results of their labor would grace our table. However long the wait, it was always worth it!

Luke’s favorite baked creation is something he calls “Kilimanjaro,” basically a gelatinous parfait. He learned his craft

during his stint in Mexico but was limited by the altitude—which discouraged certain types of baking—so he had to improvise.

Luke’s creativity is not limited to the kitchen. He also has a passion for painting. The monastery walls, and some of the university’s too, feature his work: everything from delicate floral arrangements to striking landscapes of mountains or lakes. He took up painting in 1969 when, he says, he “didn’t know beans about it.” Enrolling in a course taught by Sister Thomas Carey, O.S.B., he gained confidence because of her encouragement.

He was in awe of her talent as a colorist and was inspired to explore his latent talent.

His favorite work is actually a composite of several photos he’d seen in magazines. “If I couldn’t visit these places,” he said with a wry smile, “I decided to create them on the canvas.”

Luke’s work is more and more in demand because, while dedicated to artistic expression, he is not The Visitor

There have been so many wonderful things that have happened over the years. I would encourage anyone who wants to come to the monastery, even after all we’ve been through, anyone who wants to come and join us: I would certainly encourage it. After [fifty-six] years, I’m still a very happy man.

Brother Luke Dowal, O.S.B.

exactly prolific. His paintings are given as prized retirement gifts, but even then, rarely. It is amazing to find that, when he talks about his paintings, he knows where each one is, and is content, knowing that they all have found a good home.

At age 93 Brother Luke is still faithful to the Liturgy of the Hours. Those lucky enough to sit near him can easily recognize his basso profondo, whether spoken or sung. He is too humble to admit this, but his presence in our midst is a testimony to what a life well lived can produce: a quiet, reliable, hard-working, sensitive, and deeply spiritual man who is always there with a smile and an infectious laugh.

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Rule of Benedict

Called by God

A monastery consists of a motley crew of people who have been called by God to live together in community.

Kathleen Norris

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’ve been a Benedictine oblate for thirty years, which makes me a rank beginner. My hope is that my conversion of heart will continue until the day I die, when I will still be a beginner.

There is no “mastery” here, only trying to live each day in a spirit that reflects the values of the Rule of Benedict. Of course I fail most of the time, but there is always another day, another chance being offered to me, if only I will pay attention.

I first went to a monastery because a writer I admired, Carol Bly, was appearing there.

I was vaguely interested in religion but hadn’t been a church member for years. In studying to become an oblate, I quickly recognized that I first had to join a church. The abbey could not be my community; my identity as a Christian must come through an ordinary congregation.

The significance of this later became clear to me when I was asked to address the Monastic Institute on the subject of Benedictine spirituality, and I realized that I knew very little about it, as I had always been a guest in a monastery. There’s a huge difference between being shown deference in a monastery, and experiencing the rough-and-

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tumble of life with other Christians in a church family. From the Benedictines I gained a new appreciation of the psalms, and a new, inexhaustibly rewarding way of reading Scripture. I also gained an enhanced understanding of what constitutes true hospitality, which begins with simply listening to another person, and relinquishing any illusion of control.

I think it’s a fair assessment. A monastery consists of a motley crew of people who have been called by God to live together in community. It’s so improbable that only God could have conceived of it.

Ms. Kathleen Norris’ most recent book is Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life (Riverhead Books). She is an oblate of Assumption Abbey in Richardton, North Dakota.

I finished my first memoir, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography, at Saint John’s while I was a resident at the Collegeville Institute.

I had not intended to write about the Benedictines, but in getting to know the Saint John’s community, I realized that there were stories I needed to tell—stories the Benedictines couldn’t tell about themselves, but that were worth sharing, about ordinary people living in an extraordinary way. That unloading of stories became my book, The Cloister Walk.

When I want to alert an audience to what monastic life is about, I ask them to imagine that the people they encounter every day at work or school are the people they will commit to live, pray, play, and work with every day for the rest of their lives. This generates gasps, but

Robin Pierzina,

O.S.B.

Guests Eric Hollas, O.S.B. Guests are never lacking in a monastery.

Rule of Benedict 53.16

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o wrote Saint Benedict, and that experience has been confirmed in monastic guesthouses in the course of 1,500 years. What Benedict never imagined, however, is something that today has become an important part of the routine in many monasteries.

Benedict outlined the procedure for the reception of guests, and in the initial encounter the abbot or guestmaster welcomed them with a prayer. We are left to assume that most guests also visited and prayed in the church, and perhaps some even lingered to listen as the monks chanted the psalms. But that was it. The Latin and the musical notation put participation beyond the reach of most guests. However, that is not the case today.

Nothing better illustrates the change than one activity in the orientation of freshmen at Saint John’s University. In August, 463 freshmen filed into our church to join us for Evening Prayer.

The abbot welcomed them and spoke for a few moments about the monastic community. Later, after prayer, small groups of students met to visit with individual monks. But the main business at hand was the recitation of Evening Prayer. Doubtless for many of the students it

Frank Kacmarcik,

was a new and strange ritual.

But it was also their chance to take part in something beyond the reach of guests in Saint Benedict’s day.

English became the language of the liturgy at Saint John’s fifty years ago, and after that visitors began to join the monks for prayer in greater numbers. Still later they began to sit in the section of the choir stalls adjacent to the stalls used by the monks.

There a monk is ready to guide them through the books. Most guests fall easily into the rhythm of the psalms and hymns, but if on occasion there is a note of disharmony from one or the other of the guests, adjustment to the pace of recitation comes quickly.

Obl.S.B.

was distracting for a few confreres, but the dynamic is rather different today. Guests now are an important part of our daily prayer. The presence of faculty, staff, students, and other visitors bolsters our spirits. We feel their absence keenly during the holidays.

Last August the abbot invited the freshmen to join us for prayer in the course of their four years at Saint John’s. Are we disappointed that all 463 have not joined us regularly since then? Not at all! But on those rare occasions when guests truly are absent, our prayer seems strangely incomplete.

Father Eric Hollas, O.S.B., is deputy to the president for advancement at Saint John’s University.

I can only imagine that in those first years the presence of guests

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TitleMartin of Article Rath

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he eighth of ten children of Charles and Mary (Schneider) Rath, Father Martin Rath, O.S.B., was born in Minneapolis on 9 June 1922 and baptized Peter Francis. He attended Saint Joseph Catholic School from 1929 to 1937 and then continued his education at Robbinsdale High School where he was particularly interested in art classes. He later transferred to North High School in Minneapolis, excelling in German and mechanical drawing, and graduated in 1941. During World War II and the years immediately following the war, he held a number of positions: draftsman at Diamond Iron Works and, later, at Northern Pump Company; milkman for Purity Dairy; and auto and life insurance agent. He also assisted in the family-owned Rath’s Cafe in Medicine Lake.

Following a retreat at Saint John’s Abbey, Father Martin felt called to the monastic manner

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Title Damian of Article Rogers of life. He received the religious name of Martin upon entry into the novitiate as a brother candidate in March 1949, and professed his first vows as a Benedictine monk on 21 March 1950.

His work in the monastery mirrored the multi-tasking that had characterized his earlier life.

Martin served in the abbey print shop; assisted in the abbey garden, monastic refectory, and in the abbey farm operation; and from 1953 until 1967 was part of the staff at the Saint John’s University Bookstore. In April 1968 Martin became the officer in charge of the Collegeville Post Office in Wimmer Hall; three years later he was appointed postmaster. While he was postmaster, a crucifix and framed picture of Saint Benedict graced the walls of the post office, undoubtedly the only federal building in the United States so appointed. In 1979 he gave up his federal career to pursue his dream of becoming a priest.

Martin began his philosophy and theology studies at Saint John’s Seminary and later enrolled at the Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He would tease his brothers at the abbey: “With a little theology, you too can become a priest.” Following his ordination to the priesthood on 4 June 1983 Father Martin spent the next twenty-four years ministering at Minnesota parishes and chaplaincies: Church of St. Bernard in Saint Paul, Saint Therese of New Hope, Most Holy Redeemer in Ogema, St. Ann in Waubun, Sacred Heart Parish in

Freeport, and finally at St. Mary’s Care Center in Winsted, before his retirement in 2007.

Always interested in learning about and promoting small Christian communities, Martin helped found Nazareth House in Saint Paul in 1987, a home for the brokenhearted and neglected, and a house of prayer for the weary. During a sabbatical in 1989 he visited ecumenical and Christian communities such as Taizé in France and others in Sweden, Germany, Israel, and Canada. His work at Nazareth House continued until 2001 when it closed.

On the occasion of his golden jubilee of monastic profession, Father Martin observed: “I entered the abbey at age 26, served as a brother for 33 years, then as a priest—striving always to do it all for the honor and glory of God.” Following years of declining health, Father Martin died on 22 August 2016. After the Mass of Christian Burial, he was interred in the abbey cemetery.

ln the postmaster at Collegeville, people always found a friendly and engaging presence.

Father Martin passionately believed in the work of hospitality and dialogue.

Abbot John Klassen, O.S.B.

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rother Damian Rogers, O.S.B., the eleventh of twelve children of Joseph and Mable (Weinberger) Rogers, was born in Osage, Iowa, on 12 June 1942 and baptized Donald Edward. He took the religious name Damian upon entry into the monastic community.

Growing up on a dairy farm, Damian worked with his father and became well acquainted with hard, regular work and the mechanics of farm equipment. He received his primary education at Washington and Lincoln schools in Osage from 1949 through 1957. He continued his education at Osage High School, graduating in 1961. With encouragement from his local pastor, a Saint John’s Seminary graduate, Damian visited Saint John’s Abbey. He felt called to monastic life, entered the novitiate, and professed his first vows as a Benedictine monk on 11 July 1965.

During his first years in the monastery, Brother Damian served as a sacristan. After five years he was asked to take charge of the abbey’s fleet of vehicles. Although Damian knew little about cars, and had been born with no manual dexterity or strength in his right arm, he enjoyed the challenge.

Later he would write: “It was a big change from sacristan to the garage, but I was happy to change. I was able to be outside and move around a lot. I learned the trade by doing it.”

As a youngster, Damian enjoyed hunting and fishing. His delight in the outdoors only deepened after he became a monk. He relished fishing excursions to wherever there was a body of water, and his hunting success supplemented the abbey’s table with venison. He was also a sports enthusiast. Though interested in local teams—he was devoted to Johnnie athletics— Damian’s unwavering loyalty was to the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team and to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

For the next forty-five years most of Damian’s labors in the monastery involved work with cars, trucks, or lawnmowers.

Initially, when there were only a few vehicles in the abbey fleet, all car maintenance was outsourced to the neighboring towns. As the fleet grew in size and as more maintenance work was done on site, Damian pushed and prodded for a garage that could accommodate the needs of the fleet. His persistence paid off: in 1977 a new garage was constructed north of the abbey gardens. To his delight, Damian had the facilities he needed to check the engine, change the oil or tires, replace shock absorbers or mufflers, and wash the cars.

No upgrade in facilities, however, would ever prepare Damian to deal with the wildly differing driving abilities of his confreres.

In surveying the remains of a battered car after an accident, an annoyed Damian would mutter, “How does that happen?”

Brother Damian’s battle with cancer and with the ravages of chemotherapy and radiation ended on 11 November 2016.

Following the Mass of Christian Burial on 15 November, Damian was laid to rest in the abbey cemetery.

Damian had a great skill for asking a nonsensical question with a deadpan expression, just to see if you got the joke or not.

Abbot John Klassen, O.S.B.

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Abbey Chronicle

T Abbey archives

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

New Chapel Trail Bridge A large crowd of Saint John’s Abbey Arboretum friends gathered on 25 September for the dedication and blessing of the new timber-frame bridge on the shores of Lake Sagatagan, south of Saint John’s Preparatory School (formerly called “Bridge of Sighs” on Pickerel Point). Several monks and lay volunteers constructed the bridge in July while enrolled in a timber-framing class at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota. In August, with the help of the Saint John’s University football team, the hundreds of segments were carried to the shoreline and reassembled. The covered bridge, made of white oak and white pine from the abbey’s woods, is at least the fifth iteration on this site going back to the 1880s.

Abbey archives

Photos: [Upper left] Wooden bridge, circa 1888. [Left] Concrete and metal bridge, 1914. The most elaborate concrete bridge on Pickerel Point was constructed in 1917 [below, left] and replaced in 1955 [below].

he abundant rains of summer continued into September, during which Saint John’s received more than twice the average monthly rainfall.

The fall equinox/first day of fall was marked with nearly two inches of rain. October opened with a delightfully warm weekend: bright sunshine and calm winds as the leaves began to show their fall hues. But the brilliant Collegeville colors were scarce. The landscape was actually rather dull and subdued.

The first frost of the season was recorded on 13 October, followed by more rain. Lovely, Indian Summer weather greeted those in the abbey cemetery for the feast of All Souls and for the burial of our neighbor, Bobby Vee. On 18 November a blizzard, “just like the ones we used to know,” clobbered western and northern Minnesota, dumping eight inches of snow on Saint John’s.

Umbrellas, not parkas, were needed to welcome Advent.

Now we await the warmth and light of Son Day. O come, O come, Emmanuel!

August 2016 • On 14 August Father Thomas Wahl presided at a concelebrated Mass in a packed Saint Anselm’s Parish in Meguro (Tokyo) for the local community and the monks of Trinity Benedictine Monastery of Fujimi, as they concluded their missionary service in Japan.

Abbot John Klassen preached

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Abbey archives

University archives

Alan Reed,

the homily, translated into Japanese by Brother Makoto Paul Tada. A luncheon prepared by the parishioners followed, during which the monks and parishioners expressed their mutual appreciation for the support of this faith-filled community and for the sixtynine years of ministry by thirtytwo Benedictine confreres.

September 2016 • Brother Paul Richards was honored by the Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University with its 2016 Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award during a luncheon in Minneapolis on 15 September.

The award recognizes those whose achievements best exemplify the ideals of entrepreneurship “while practicing Benedictine values in the workplace and in their lives.” Brother Paul

O.S.B.

founded The St. John’s Boys’ Choir in 1981 and served as its music director for twenty-six years. In 2003 he established the Saint John’s Abbey Benedictine Volunteer Corps and continues as its director.

• A number of monks, sisters of Saint Benedict’s Monastery, local clergy and religious, Saint Cloud Bishop Donald Kettler, and some two hundred local residents attended a Muslim/ Christian dialogue meeting and panel presentation at Saint Joseph Catholic Church on 22 September. Fourteen Somali Muslim families recently moved to Saint Joseph, Minnesota. The gathering was an opportunity for local Christians to extend a warm welcome to their new neighbors.

• Abbot John and Father Hilary Thimmesh represented the monastic community at a

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memorial service for young Jacob Wetterling, held at the College of Saint Benedict on 25 September. The mystery of Jacob’s disappearance had gripped central Minnesota since his abduction, at age 11, on 22 October 1989. In recent weeks his abductor admitted to killing Jacob that same evening. In a private service two days before the memorial, Jacob’s remains were laid to rest in the Saint John’s Abbey Cemetery. The family said that they considered the abbey cemetery and grounds along the lakeshore to be a place of rest, safety, and peace, and sheltered from undue attention. May he rest in peace!

October 2016 • In response to the staggering number of refugees being sent into exile from millennia-old communities, the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) is determined that their history will not be erased. The Hill Library is currently managing fifteen digitization studios at nine sites: Mali, Egypt, Jerusalem, Malta, Rome, Croatia, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. The manuscripts belonging to these commu-

Photos: Michael Patella,

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yielded over eleven thousand pounds of produce. Leading the tonnage totals were squash (5200 lbs), potatoes (1786 lbs), and tomatoes (1225 lbs).

Our table was also sweetened by 145 lbs of honey from the abbey apiary; and 135 lbs of raw black walnuts produced 50 lbs in the shell.

nities, like the communities themselves, are highly endangered by local and global forces such as war, terrorism, and mass emigration. By digitizing these collections, HMML hopes to keep the languages, histories, and literary and liturgical traditions of these communities alive and accessible forever.

• Our church organ is swell! Our church 0rgan is great! But after fifty-five years, the Swell, Great, and Positiv (Herrberger Brooks) keyboards of the mighty Holtkamp are in need of repair. The original ivory tops have loosened, and the action of the keys is uneven. This month John Nelson Woodworking of Little Compton, Rhode Island, began replacing the ivory with cattle bone of similar thickness. The refurbishment of the three keyboards—one at a time, so the organ can still be played— is expected to be completed in time for the Christmas liturgies.

• As of October 2016 the Collegeville skyline has been forever altered: the Saint John’s Powerhouse smokestack is no more!

The smokestack was constructed of 155,000 bricks, of which 35,000 were face bricks.

Nicole Pederson

A campus landmark (or eyesore) for seventy years, the brick smokestack had outlived its usefulness after Saint John’s discontinued burning coal. For five weeks, beginning on 6 September, a demolition crew, using a lift, hammered the stack into smaller sections, dumping the debris inside the structure. According to the 27 September 1945 edition of the student newspaper The Record, New York licensed contractors Pete Beagen and Walter McVeigh erected the 165-foot structure anchored with 138 yards of concrete footings and five tons of reinforced steel.

The change in the skyline was short-lived, however. On 28 October a seasonal dome was inflated over Gagliardi Field on the university athletic complex.

Looking like a giant puffball mushroom (or the maggot that ate Collegeville), the dome can be

seen from the freeway entrance to Saint John’s. Throughout the winter months the covered field will allow students and employees to exercise, play football, soccer, lacrosse, or whatever, as they attempt to avoid cabin fever.

November 2016 • In order to address the overpopulation of deer in the abbey arboretum, and the consequent threat to the health of the forest ecosystem, Saint John’s is hosting its fifteenth controlled deer hunt since 1933. The archery hunt opened on 19 October and will continue until the end of December. As of 30 November, twentyfour antlerless deer have been taken.

• The Lord of the harvest blessed Saint John’s abundantly this year! The abbey gardens

• In anticipation of the Christmas season and to celebrate the golden anniversary of the creation of the Amahl Puppets, sixty live singers, musicians, and puppeteers staged the one-act opera Amahl and the Night Visitors on the weekend of 18 November. Under the direction of Brother Paul-Vincent Niebauer, seventeen students from Saint John’s Preparatory School operated the puppets, while students of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, and two St. John’s Boys’ Choir members supported the production with voice and orchestra. Written by Gian Carlo Menotti and performed in English, the libretto tells the simple, yet powerful story of the Three Magi who stop for a night on their journey to Bethlehem and meet a special young boy named Amahl [above]. The puppets used in this production were commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1966 and created

by John and Lyndie Wright of the Little Angel Puppet Theatre of London. In 2008, Saint John’s Abbey and Saint John’s Preparatory School acquired the twenty-three life-sized figures.

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Fifty Years Ago

Monks in the Kitchen

Excerpted from Confrere, newsletter of Saint John’s Abbey:

Etiquette Dinner Ælred Senna, O.S.B.

October 1966 • If American Benedictines do not soon get the privilege of praying the choral Divine Office in English, it will not be the fault of Abbot Baldwin Dworschak.

[During the international Congress of Abbots in Rome, the participants recovered] from the initial shock of finding Pope Paul’s letter reaffirming the use of Latin in the Divine Office. The general feeling was that the pope could not possibly have been correctly informed about conditions as they exist. With the support of 36 American abbots, Abbot Baldwin took the initiative. In the name of 3,000 English-speaking Benedictines, he gave an “intervention” at a general session. He drew up a resolution to petition the Holy See for the fourth time for the vernacular, and asked all Congress participants to sign (of those at the session, 148 signed placet [assent]; 11 non placet; and 7 abstained). In the confrontation with Cardinal Antoniutti, prefect of the Congregation for Religious, Abbot Baldwin pleaded for the use of the vernacular, returning no less than six times to the chief argument that the vernacular was essential to an integrated prayer life within the community, so that all might pray together.

• 16–18 October. The International Ecumenical Symposium

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S Abbot Baldwin and Pope Paul VI

brought to Saint John’s Julius Cardinal Döpfner of Munich– Freising and some sixty German and American scholars. In three separate sessions, participants listened to scholarly papers by well-known Catholic and Protestant ecumenists.

Father Denis Parnell watched while some Chippewas from our northern Minnesota missions danced and then inducted Cardinal Döpfner into their tribe as “Chief Power and Courage.”

December 1966 • 15 December. Christmas came early this year for all monks of the Congregation. It was in the form of a rescript from the Sacred Congregation for Religious dated 28 November and addressed to Abbot Baldwin Dworschak as president of the Congregation. The document gave permission for the use of the vernacular in the choral recitation of the Divine Office in all

Pontificia Fotografia Felici

monasteries of the American Cassinese Congregation.

Commenting on the permission which comes after persistent requests since 1964, Abbot Baldwin said he was aware that the use of the vernacular in choir was but one step in our renewal program. He hoped that it would bring blessings and “enable us to proceed in our renewal in the spirit of Vatican II.”

aint John’s University strives to graduate wellrounded individuals, capable of participating in all aspects of society, at any and every level. With regard to dining, for example, we hope the young men entrusted to our care will feel at ease in any setting, whether they are invited to table in a village in Africa or to a posh fundraiser in the U.S.

the etiquette master for the evening. He sets the table—charger plates, plenty of flatware, never fewer than two pieces of stemware per setting, and napkin folds worthy of Martha Stewart —while I create a menu that challenges diners with a few etiquette hurdles.

hold knife and fork properly, how to manage foods that are awkward to eat, and more. At evening’s end, there is always a delectable dessert and time to relax. One of Brother Paul’s favorite etiquette-dinner desserts is crème brûlée. We hope you’ll give it a try!

Participants learn how to initiate appropriate conversation, which utensils to use and when, how to

Brother Ælred Senna, O.S.B., is associate editor of Give Us This Day and a faculty resident at Saint John’s University.

Crème Brûlée

To help prepare our students for the world of cocktail socials and formal dinner parties, Saint John’s administrators organize etiquette dinners. One of the chief sponsors during recent years has been Brother Paul Richards. (I have happily assisted him on many of these occasions.) Despite his humble beginnings on Minnesota’s Iron Range, Brother Paul is always

(Serves 6)

• 4 c. heavy cream • 6 large egg yolks • ½ c. sugar, plus more for topping • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 6 8-oz ramekins • Large baking dish

Abbot Baldwin’s greetings: “The Second Vatican Council is a source of inspiration we cannot ignore.

Pope John convinced the world that the Church is interested in humanity. We cannot abdicate this interest, this new Pentecost, because the Church is catholic; it exists to give Christ to all, and for no other purpose. We as religious are set in the midst of the world not to protect the life of the Church but to give its life to others, that all may come to know that God loves them.”

Preheat oven to 325°F. In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, bring the cream almost to a boil over medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla with a mixer until combined.

While beating the egg mixture on low, slowly add the cream to the eggs. Divide the custard mixture into the 6 ramekins, and set into the baking dish. Add boiling water to the baking dish, halfway up the sides of the ramekins, taking care not to get it in the ramekins.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set. Remove them from the water bath and allow to cool. Refrigerate until firm.

Remove the custards from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Sprinkle the top of each with sugar, and caramelize the sugar with a kitchen blowtorch or under the broiler. Garnish with fresh raspberries or strawberries. Ælred Senna,

O.S.B.

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In Memoriam

Reaching Out

Please join the monastic community in prayerful remembrance of our deceased family members and friends:

Timothy Backous, O.S.B.

Sonjia Amensen

Lee Hanley, Obl.S.B.

Abbot Simon Ri, O.S.B.

Lorraine A. Arnold

Robert C. Henry

Damian Rogers, O.S.B.

Clare Bloms, C.S.J.

Bernard O. Kathmann

Joan H. Rongitsch

Jeremy J. Bolha, O.S.B.

John D. Klein

Ruth Sausser

S. Burkard Braegelmann, O.S.B.

Mark William Kwatera

Alphonse A. Schindler

Eulalia Brophy, O.S.B.

John A. Linn

Maurus “Mauro” Simpson, O.S.B.

Brigetta Buckley, O.S.B.

John C. Massmann, Obl.S.B.

Rev. Paul David Sørlien

Deborah Burrows

S. Maria Meister

Walter Otto Streich

Angel Casanova

Walburga M. “Wally” Meyer

Sherry Lane Tourino

Stewart C. “Doc” Ellis

Maury Trent Moseley Jr., Obl.S.B.

Robert T. “Bobby Vee” Velline

Mary Fay, O.S.B.

Elizabeth Murphy

Ruby E. Vickerman

Mary Ann “Molly” Gillespie

Michael Dennis Oliver

June Waldron

Gordon Goetemann

Margaret “Peggy” O’Malley

Jean Waletzko

Lyle Grieger

Walter O’Malley

Jacob Wetterling

Marie Grieger

S. Shaun O’Meara, O.S.B.

DePaul Willette

Carol Gruenke

S. Evin Rademacher, O.S.B.

Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.

Psalm 116:15

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n the morning of 2 February 1924, a woman sat down at a typewriter to send a note of gratitude. On the previous evening she had experienced a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. In her letter she gushed over the opulence of rhythm, cadence, and discernment of each instrument’s gift to the symphonic ensemble. She claimed to have heard the rising excitement in the human chorus that “grew more exultant, more ecstatic, upcurving swift and flame-like, until my heart almost stood still.”

Such responses to great music may not be all that unusual. But coming from this particular individual, they were downright miraculous, for the author of this letter was Ms. Helen Keller—who had no sight or hearing from birth. Her family had gathered in the living room for a live radio broadcast from Carnegie Hall and, happily, someone suggested that Helen place her hand over the speaker to experience the vibrations from the orchestra’s interpretation of the famous piece. From the moment she placed her fingers on “the sensitive diaphragm” of the radio, it was a revelation—even for Ms. Keller. The joy she expressed in her letter mentions the most intricate elements of the piece: “I could actually distinguish the cornets, the roll of the drums, deep-toned violas and violins singing in exquisite unison. How the lovely speech of the violins flowed and plowed over the deepest tones of the other instruments!”

Her most poignant comments came from an acknowledgment that Beethoven himself was deaf: “I marveled at the power of his quenchless spirit by which, out of his pain, he wrought such joy for others—and there I sat, feeling with my hand the magnificent symphony which broke like a sea upon the silent shores of his soul and mine.”

(Shaun Usher, Letters of Note Volume 2: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience.)

Accept the guiding hands that reach out to us.

For me, the beauty of this account lies in the simple discovery of something that brings unexpected happiness to our lives. Helen Keller was not supposed to “hear” music, and yet, by reaching out in exploration, she was able to appreciate it like every other human being. Finding the joy of music was not going to come through listening with her ears, so she used her hands.

A Monk’s Chronicle Father Eric Hollas, O.S.B., offers spiritual insights and glimpses into the life of the Benedictine community at Saint John’s Abbey in a weekly blog, A Monk’s Chronicle. Visit his blog at: monkschronicle.wordpress.com.

Father Don’s Daily Reflection Father Don Talafous, O.S.B., prepares daily reflections on Scripture and living the life of a Christian that are available on the abbey’s website at: saintjohnsabbey.org/reflection/.

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Helen Keller’s experience of Beethoven is a potential tool for all us who struggle to find treasures in life. So much of what passes for the ordinary in our lives is rich with all kinds of extraordinary depth. Too often we accept an approach to life that is one-dimensional, and give up on finding depth in our lives. But this vignette is a gentle reminder: even that which seems impossible is not. Our part, however, is to strengthen our determination and accept the guiding hands that reach out to us. It is important to note that in this instance, Helen did not find the vibrations of Beethoven on her own. Rather, a member of her family led her there. She could easily have refused and remained unfamiliar with that symphonic wonder. Instead, she reached out in search of something beyond her dark, silent world. Would that all of us respond to those opportunities in the same way.

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Winter 2016–17 Volume 16, Number 3

4 This Issue Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

18 Arca Artium Alan Reed, O.S.B.

5 Disruption Abbot John Klassen, O.S.B.

22 New Titles from Liturgical Press Lauren L. Murphy

6 O Tannenbaum David Paul Lange, O.S.B. Peggy Roske 8 Benedictine Volunteer Corps 10 Sustainability Efforts Aaron Raverty, O.S.B. 12 Ministry in Japan Roman Paur, O.S.B. 16 Rushing Amid Tears Neal Henry Lawrence, O.S.B. 17 Campus Oak Update Joseph Storlien

23 Congress of Abbots 24 Lives of the Benedictine Saints: Hildegard of Bingen Stefanie Weisgram, O.S.B. 26 Meet a Monk: Luke Dowal Timothy Backous, O.S.B. 28 Called by God Kathleen Norris

30 Obituary: Martin Rath 31 Obituary: Damian Rogers

32 New Chapel Trail Bridge 33 Abbey Chronicle Robin Pierzina, O.S.B. 36 Fifty Years Ago 37 Monks in the Kitchen: Etiquette Dinner Ælred Senna, O.S.B. 38 In Memoriam 39 Reaching Out Timothy Backous, O.S.B.

29 Rule of Benedict: Guests Eric Hollas, O.S.B.

Lenten Retreat 24–26 March 2017 Lenten Direction from Saint Paul presented by Prior Bradley Jenniges, O.S.B. The retreat starts with supper at 5:30 P.M. on Friday and concludes after lunch on Sunday.

Cost: Single room, $195; double room, $340 ($170 per person); meals included.

Triduum Retreat 13–16 April 2017 The Time of Preparation Is Complete presented by Father Lew Grobe, O.S.B. The retreat begins at 4:00 P.M. on Holy Thursday and concludes after lunch on Easter Sunday.

Cost: Single room, $290; double room, $520 ($260 per person); meals included.

Register online at abbeyguesthouse.org; call the Spiritual Life Office: 320.363.3929; or email us at spirlife@osb.org.