Abbey Banner - Spring 2008

Volume 8 • Issue 1 • Spring 2008

A B B EY

BANNER Magazine of Saint John’s Abbey

Meet a Monk: Andrew Goltz, OSB, 4 Peter Engel, OSB, and the Chicago World’s Fair, 6 Church of Seven Dolors, Albany, Minnesota, 10 Abbey Gift Shop, 13 Abbey Photo Book, 14 Abbey Associates, 15 Festivities in Fujimi, 16 Benedictine Volunteers, 19 “Phoenix Rising,” 21 A Gift with Strings Attached, 22 Why Saint John’s Cemetery?, 23 Obituary: Philip Kaufman, OSB, 24 And More

Andrew Goltz, OSB, displays a 17th century parchment

Contents Pages 4 and 5

Cover Stories Meet a Monk: Andrew Goltz, OSB, book preservation specialist

Daniel Durken, OSB

The parchment Brother Andrew is holding is a ratification of privileges that Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor, issued to a noble Czech Family on 29 August 1612. The parchment measures 30 x 30 inches.

by Kathleen Parker

Features 6 “Meet me in Chicago, Peter, meet me at the Fair”

by Lee Hanley

10 The Church of Seven Dolors, Albany, Minnesota

by Daniel Durken, OSB

Articles Editorials 3 From Editor and Abbot

21 “Phoenix Rising,” a fund-raising program for students in Tanzania

What’s New? 13 Abbey Gift Shop 14 Abbey Photo Directory 15 Monastic Associates Program

Strengthening Foundations 22 A Gift with Strings Attached 23 Why Saint John’s Cemetery?

Missions 16 Festivities in Fujimi, Japan 18 A Bahamian Tribute to the Benedictines

Obituary 24 Philip Kaufman, OSB The Abbey Chronicle 25 Special Events of November, 2007, through March, 2008

Benedictine Volunteers 19 Benedictine Volunteers check in from Tanzania, Guatemala, Newark and Collegeville

Banner Bits 28 Magnus Wenninger, OSB, receives Lifetime Achievement Award 29 Doug Mullin, OSB; Bill Boom 30 Brothers Luke, Raphael and Xavier Spiritual Life 31 There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy . . .

Back Cover Renovated Stella Maris Chapel to be Blessed

NOTE: Please send your change of address to: Ruth Athmann at rathmann@csbsju.edu or P.O. Box 7222, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7222 or call 800-635-7303.

Editor: Daniel Durken, OSB ddurken@csbsju.edu Copy Editor and Proofreader: Dolores Schuh, CHM Designer: Pam Rolfes

Abbey Banner Magazine of Saint John’s Abbey Volume 8, Issue 1 Spring 2008

Circulation: Ruth Athmann, Cathy Wieme, Mary Gouge Printer: Palmer Printing, Waite Park, Minnesota Member Catholic Press Association

Abbey Banner is published three times annually (spring, fall, winter) by the Benedictine monks of Saint John’s Abbey for our relatives, friends and Oblates.

Abbey Banner is online at www.sja.osb.org/AbbeyBanner Saint John’s Abbey, Box 2015, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-2015

FROM EDITOR AND ABBOT

“I was in prison and you visited me.”

Do not be afraid!

by Daniel Durken, OSB

o not be afraid! I know that you are looking for Jesus the Crucified. He is not here. He has been raised exactly as he promised.” This is the core Easter message and variations of it appear in all the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles. He is not here, meaning the Risen Lord is no longer in the tomb. But he is here with us, in you and in me, in our communities.

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t Midday Prayer on Holy Saturday the monastic community prayed, “God, on this day your Son went down to visit the spirits who were in prison.

Look with kindness on all who wait for their liberation from sin and death and give them a share in your glory. We ask this through Christ our Lord.”

Ordinarily I would not have paid special attention to the phrase “in prison.” But this time I made the connection with my experience as a volunteer chaplain at the state prison in St. Cloud.

Prisoners are in exceptionally good company. Consider people in the bible who were prisoners. Joseph of “technicolor dream coat” fame was jailed in Egypt. Samson, strong man among the judges, was blinded by the Philistines and put to work in a prison. The prophet Jeremiah was beaten and thrown into prison.

In the New Testament John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded for telling King Herod he could not marry his sister-in-law. The high priest and the Sadducees put the apostles in the public jail for healing the sick. Paul wrote his letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon while in prison. The outstanding prisoner was Jesus who spent the night before his crucifixion as a prisoner, beaten and mocked by guards.

The outstanding experience of my prison ministry was a penance service during an inmates’ retreat. I was deeply moved by the sincerity of the prisoners’ confessions of the offenses, outrages, sins and stupid mistakes for which Jesus suffered, died and rose again. Most of the men believe that God has forgiven them. It is not easy for them to forgive themselves.

Like the tax collectors and prostitutes with whom he associated, some of Jesus’ favorite people are prisoners. He identifies with them when he tells us, “I was in prison and you visited me.”

by Abbot John Klassen, OSB

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How often we hear these encouraging words in the Scriptures: Do not be afraid! All through our lives we are challenged by our fears. As children we are afraid of getting lost or being abandoned. Later we are afraid that we will not be liked or that we will just look stupid. Still later, we are afraid that we will lose those we love.

Underlying all these fears is our awareness of our fundamental vulnerability as humans. We can never escape these fears—they are part of our human condition. But the Risen Lord tells Nicole Gausseron (The Little Notebook): “Nicole, I am with you—do not be afraid . . . I have chosen you; I protect you; I am leading you—do not be afraid.”

The most important reality in the resurrection is the grace-filled and free action of God. God raised Jesus from the dead. The mystery of the resurrection is the mystery of God’s very self. It is the mystery of God’s freedom in the creation, in sending the Beloved Son who empties himself for our sake. Our God is a God of the living, not of the dead. God will not let the Beloved Son rot in the tomb nor will God abandon us. God will not allow the suffering servant, the just one, the innocent one to go unvindicated.

When the Risen Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary there is a message and a mission: “Go and tell . , ,” The resurrection is not a private vision for the devotion and edification of the women involved. Witnessing to the resurrection means “go and tell.” “Go, tell my brothers and sisters.” There will be no sour grapes, no grudge. Ultimately it is Matthew who expands this mission to “Go and teach all nations . . .” In our own time, we can do no less. +

In the United States 2.2 million men and women (28% are Catholic) are imprisoned. If we can’t visit a prisoner in person we certainly can pray for those incarcerated and for their families. + Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 3

FEATURE Andrew holds his favorite project: the register of the names of all members of the Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, Minnesota. He restored this volume for the community’s Sesquicentennial Celebration last year.

Meet a monk: Andrew Goltz, OSB, book preservation specialist

by Kathleen Parker

John Parker

“We should gloat over a book, be rapt clean out of ourselves.”

(Robert Louis Stevenson)

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ost mornings Brother Andrew can be found in his workshop in Alcuin Library, bits of paper and cloth adrift around his chair, glue brushes sprouting from smudged old jelly jars on the table and huge, antique iron machinery looming in the corners. Andrew is a preservation specialist, responsible for mending, restoring and preserving the Alcuin and Clemens libraries’ collections. He is a man well acquainted with books.

Andrew took a circuitous route to his work in the library, but books have always been a part of his life.

Born seventy-five years ago into a farming family of Milaca, Minnesota, he has been an avid reader since

page 4 Abbey Banner Spring 2008

boyhood. After high school graduation he joined the Navy as a way to see the world.

A growing friendship with a chaplain led to Andrew’s exploration of the Catholic faith. “As it turns out,” he grins, “he had a good book for me to read.” Eventually Andrew found a spiritual home in Catholicism.

Nonetheless he admits, “The religion question was still out there.” His search for a meaningful response to God led him to investigate monasticism. Andrew continued to search and eventually entered the abbey as a novice in 1957. This year he will celebrate his golden jubilee of first profession of vows.

“I joined the monastery and the next day they put me to work digging a ditch,” Andrew recalls with little nostalgia. It was hard but necessary work, and relief was forthcoming as he was soon assigned to the woodworking shop. He then moved to the glass shop which was set up specifically to assemble the spectacular stained glass window of the abbey church. When this work was completed he had a variety of assignments: porter, bursar, assistant in the Saint John’s observatory. To further demonstrate his versatility he earned a nursing degree that prepared him to help establish Saint Raphael Hall, the abbey retirement center.

FEATURE Having proved himself a jackof-all-trades, in 1990 Andrew was assigned to the library to assist with the rare books collection. His work as the library’s book preservation specialist for the past eighteen years is the longest job he has ever had. “It’s a nice job and I like it,” he says with a satisfied smile.

Andrew’s daily work involves repairing general books for the libraries of both campuses. The Alcuin and Clemens libraries hold nearly a million volumes, and long years of use mean many suffer wear and tear.

Every week Andrew repairs around fifty books, replacing worn or broken spines, tightening loose bindings or reattaching pages gone astray.

Andrew had his most valuable learning experiences by working alongside experts. He is committed to carry on this practice of hands-on training, now coaching an apprentice, Bob Lillard, who has been working under his tutelage for two years.

“Book preservation is a good fit for a monk,” says Andrew in his gentle, unassuming manner. The abbey had a binding operation nearly from its beginning, and he uses some of the original equipment from the abbey

shop, including a guillotine paper cutter and a seven-foot iron book press.

The unhurried, quiet work of book repair proceeds at a pace suited to a life that values contemplation over competition. It is evident that Andrew enjoys caring for the kinds of collections he has always treasured. And with a smile he says, “I’m still reading books.” + Kathleen Parker is director of libraries and media for the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.

Abbey Archives

Andrew designed a box to contain an eighteenthcentury document signed by Empress Maria Therea of Austria with her wooden seal which he is holding.

Daniel Durken, OSB

Occasionally Andrew is asked to work on a special project. The libraries rarely do restoration of rare books, preferring the more common practice of creating a special preservation casing for fragile items. Andrew has made boxes for a rare 1480 Bible and a facsimile of a tenth-century Exultet scroll.

Recently he completed custom cases for a collection of rare signatures, including a box designed to hold a document signed by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (17171780) with her large wooden seal attached. One of his most satisfying projects was the restoration of the handwritten, leather-bound register of Saint Benedict’s Monastery as a gift for the community’s Sesquicentennial Celebration last year.

John Parker

Special preservation and restoration projects

In 1960, Andrew worked on the stained glass window in the facade of the new Abbey Church.

Andrew will restore the broken spine of this book.

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 5

FEATURE

“Meet me in Chicago, Peter, meet me at the Fair.”

Abbey Archives

by Lee Hanley

Peter Engel, OSB, took his camera to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

Abbot Peter Engel, OSB, 1856-1921

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n the summer of 1893, the year before his election as the fourth abbot of Saint John’s Abbey, Father Peter—professor of chemistry and physics and an avid photography buff—took his camera to the Chicago World’s Fair and left us a remarkable record of his visit.

The saga of this Columbian Exposition to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the landing of Christopher Columbus is so riddled with obstacles that it is amazing the fair happened at all. The stakes were high. This was to be the sequel to the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889 and something “really, really big” was needed to compete with the icon of the Paris exposition—the Eiffel Tower.

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The Eiffel Tower had relegated the Washington Monument to second place among the earth’s tallest structures. In addition to Chicago beating out New York in a congressional vote to determine the host city, the project’s planners, architects and artisans survived major fires and lousy weather to complete the 633-acre installation along the Lake Michigan shore and open for a five-month run on May 1, 1893.

Twenty-seven-million people, more than a quarter of the nation’s population at the time, visited the fair. Erik Larson’s book, The Devil in the White City (N.Y., Crown Publishers, 2004), weaves the intricate details of the Exposition’s unlikely success with a parallel and true tale of H. H. Holmes, a “charming doctor” and serial killer of perhaps thirty female fair goers.

Holmes set up his office and crematorium at the far end of the spanking new “El” train line carrying folks to the fair and there he lured young women into his office and murdered them.

The Columbian Exposition was a dazzling showcase for cutting edge products and technology. It was the first event of its kind to be powered and lit by electricity—thus the “White City” moniker. Telephone lines made it possible to broadcast live a New York orchestra concert. Other new products included Thomas Edison’s motion picture machine, Cracker Jacks, Shredded Wheat, Cream of Wheat, Quaker Oats, Aunt Jemima pancake mix, Juicy Fruit gum, diet carbonated soda and Pabst beer.

All photos of the fair are by Peter Engel, OSB

FEATURE

T Transportation t ti Building B ildi — designed d i d by b Adler Adl & Sullivan S lli and an apprentice named Frank Lloyd Wright

The term “Midway” for the fair’s central corridor was coined here, and there was a 166-foot high “wheel” designed by Pittsburgh bridge-builder George Ferris. This was the first Ferris wheel with thirty-six glassenclosed cars, each of which accommodated sixty passengers or a total of 2,160 at one time. The White City was the herald of America’s arrival as an exciting land of invention, commerce and industry.

Among the fair-goers was Peter Engel who lugged his camera and glass plates the length and breadth of the Exposition grounds. Some forty of these historic glass negatives are stored in the abbey archives. Ten years later Abbot Peter oversaw the

All the men wore hats and the women wore long dresses.

Parasols were common.

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 7

FEATURE construction of Wimmer Hall, the institution’s library that now houses the computing center, business offices and the studios of KSJR and Minnesota Public Radio. The building featured an immense skylight to illuminate one of Minnesota’s earliest and most sophisticated photographic studios. Peter wrote in his journal, “My spare moments from 1881-1894 were mostly taken up with work in the photographic gallery.”

Fair organizers, eager to make a buck to help offset the event’s $27million price tag, charged a relatively

expensive fee of $2.00 to bring a camera on the grounds, and this dissuaded many shutterbugs from taking pictures. Peter’s 4 x 5-inch glass plates were the largest format allowed. The Exposition contracted with its own cameraman to make the official photographic record.

The Blarney Castle

Ship Columbia anchored in Lake Michigan

off Wimmer Hall A 1914 photo h t off Saint S i t John’s J h ’ photo h t studio t di on top t floor fl Wi H ll

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German House

FEATURE A visit to Google reveals that most of the official images are relatively unpopulated, sterile views of statues and structures. They stand in stark contrast with the human components of Peter’s portfolio. Look at these views from Peter’s day at the fair and you will see more than the striking facades designed by such architectural greats as Louis Sullivan and his young assistant Frank Lloyd Wright (the Transportation Building). You will also get a glimpse of a moment in time as fairgoers saunter about on a summer day 115 years ago. Look closely and you

30 More Photos:

will not find a single hatless man or a woman without a long skirt and a parasol.

For a virtual day at the fair visit the well written journal of Edgar Rice Burroughs of Tarzan fame that details his extended June, 1883, visit to the Exposition (www.erbzine. com/mag12/1275.html). + Lee Hanley is a photographer and the abbey’s director of communication and chair of the Communications and Publications Committee.

Inexpensive lunch items: 10¢ sandwiches, home-made pies for 5¢

www.saintjohnsabbey.org/chicago/

Visitors were entertained by authentic belly-dancers.

Strolling the “Midway” in top hat, long dresses and parasols.

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 99

FEATURE

The Church of Seven Dolors, Albany, Minnesota, boasts a back yard golf course and awesome art

by Daniel Durken, OSB

Lee Hanley

“We have profited much by the educational, social, and cultural advantages offered

by Saint John’s Abbey and University.” (Centennial History)

The Church of Seven Dolors, Albany, Minnesota, with repairs being made on the steeple

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lmost a century passed between 1863, when the first settlers of Albany were grubbing tree stumps before planting their crops, and 1960 when a nine-hole golf course was built in the broad back yard of the Church of Seven Dolors, a Benedictine parish ten miles west of Saint John’s. In between times there arose a town and a church that bear the fruits of the hard work and faith of their pioneer founders.

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Memoirs of the original settlers tell the story of their stamina. Mathias Wievoda left Austria and landed in New Orleans where he paid a Confederate soldier fifty cents for a grey overcoat and set out on foot for Minnesota. He covered the windows of his one-room cabin in Albany with honed and shaven deer hide.

When John Dirkes and Elizabeth Dobmeier were married on May 12, 1870, they walked the seven miles

from St. Joseph to St. Cloud for the ceremony and later walked sixteen miles from St. Joseph to St. Nicholas for their honeymoon.

For five years the sacraments were celebrated in the homes of the Catholic settlers until they erected a 30- x 20-foot log building in 1868 to serve as a temporary church. Parishioners were asked to pay $5.00 for the support of the church. The unusual name of the parish came about this way:

FEATURE

A Station of the Cross with German title

Records in the parish history reveal building a larger church, adding a sacristy, a tower and high altar, erecting the rectory and an addition to the church, until finally the present church was built and dedicated in 1900. This was followed by the construction of Holy Family School, a new rectory, a convent, and the renovation of the church’s interior in 1968 to conform the sanctuary to liturgical adaptations of the Second Vatican Council. In 2003 a Parish Center and Gathering Place were added to the parish complex and everyone wondered, “How did we ever get along without this space?”

During the first century the parish was served by twenty Benedictine pastors. A comment in the Centennial History is noteworthy: “From a layman’s viewpoint, it might be said

Lee Hanley

Mary’s seven sorrows are: 1. Prophecy of Simeon 2. Flight into Egypt 3. Loss of the Child Jesus in the temple 4. Meeting Jesus on the Way to the Cross 5. Crucifixion 6. Taking down the Body of Jesus from the cross 7. Burial of Jesus.

Daniel Durken, OSB

Simon Groetsch was digging a well on his farm. He was at the bottom while a worker above operated a pulley to lift out the large buckets of dirt.

The worker lost control of the pulley handle and the full bucket hurtled toward the bottom of the well. Simon saw the bucket coming and called upon the “Dolorous Mother” for help.

Suddenly the rope became entangled and the bucket stopped just in time.

In thanksgiving Simon and his wife promised to donate a statue of one of the Seven Dolors (Sorrows) of Mary to the church. The statue was brought from Bavaria and installed on a side altar and the name “Seven Dolors” was given to the church.

Lee Hanley

Above the crucifix of the main altar are depictions of five sorrows of Mary, namely (l. to r.), Simeon’s prophecy at Jesus’ presentation in the temple, flight into Egypt, finding Jesus in the temple, meeting Jesus on the Way of the Cross, and removal of Jesus from the cross. The crucifix represents the fifth sorrow. Below the altar table is the Seventh Sorrow - the burial of Jesus.

The sanctuary of the Church of Seven Dolors

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 11

FEATURE

No such rigors developed during the pastorate of Corwin Collins, OSB, who recently resigned after the longest pastoral term of over twenty-one years (1986-2007). A native of the Bronx with an obvious Irish heritage, Father Corwin worked well with the parish council all those years and speaks proudly of the generous spirit of the 2500 parishioners. His successor, Jonathan Licari, OSB, adds an Iron Range and Italian background to his experience as teacher, monastic superior and pastor of one of the largest Twin Cities’ parishes, Holy Name in Medina.

Corwin Collins, OSB, pastor, 1986-2007

designed butternut wood backdrops of the main and side altars, the Stations of the Cross with their original German titles, the plentiful statuary and the richly colored stained glass windows will prompt the visitor to say with Saint Peter at the transfiguration of Jesus, “It is good to be here.” +

Father Jonathan, pastor

Lee Hanley

An example of these “rigors” occurred in 1888 when Gregory Steil, OSB, became the first resident pastor.

He urged the people to establish a parish school staffed by Benedictine Sisters but when a majority of parishioners vetoed Gregory’s proposal, he left the parish. The St. Cloud Diocese bishop, Rupert Siebenbusch, OSB, closed the church for a month until the issue was resolved in favor of opening a parochial school.

Lee Hanley

that the platoon system of changing pastors was the correct thing, for certainly one pastor could not endure all the rigors of a growing parish for any great length of time!”

The gathering place. A basketball court to the left completes the addition.

The pre-school and K-6 Holy Family Grade School

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Daniel Durken, OSB

A visit to this church, close to the fabled Lake Wobegon Trail, is a rewarding experience. The finely

Photos by Daniel Durken, OSB

WHAT’S NEW?

Display of Abbey Gift Shop items

New Abbey Gift Shop opens

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aint John’s Abbey’s interest in having a special space to showcase and sell the creations of community artists and craftsmen was realized on December 5, 2007, with the opening of the new Abbey Gift Shop. The opportunity presented itself when the pastor of Saint John the Baptist Parish and the guest master of the Abbey Guesthouse moved to different offices and vacated the south room just inside the entrance to the Great Hall.

The Gift Shop features items such as: • popular bread paddles and the Saint John’s Cross: Abbey Woodworking • wood engravings: Placid Stuckenschneider, OSB • creations of dried flowers under glass and homemade jams and jellies: Dunstan Moorse, OSB

• art prints: Jerome Tupa, OSB • pottery: Neal Laloo, OSB • polyhedrons: Magnus Wenninger, OSB • liturgical vestments: Janet Merdan, abbey tailor: • icons and figures: Nathanael Hauser, OSB • poetry books: Kilian McDonnell, OSB • music CDs: Robert Koopmann, OSB and Martin Rath, OSB • assorted picture post cards and note cards • and more!

The Gift Shop is open during the daily hours of the Great Hall, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The shop operates on the self-service principle.

The key to the shop is available from

the attendants at the Information Desk of the Great Hall. Customers are free to browse and bring items for purchase to the Information Desk attendants. +

Paul Richards, OSB (standing), and Herard Jean- Noel, OSB, are the managers of the Abbey Gift Shop.

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 13

Simon-Hoa Phan, OSB

WHAT’S NEW?

Cover of the Abbey Photo Directory 2008

New Abbey Photo Directory published “Smile! You’re on Candid Camera!”

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Intended as a finishing feature of the abbey’s Sesquicentennial that concluded last November, the project, begun in the summer of 2006, was completed in April, 2008. The 54page Directory with black and white photos of each monk has four pages of full-color scenes of community life.

The soft cover book, in horizontal, landscape format is twelve inches wide by nine inches tall. The Directory was printed by Palmer Printing of Waite Park, Minnesota, the printer of Abbey Banner.

Previous editions of the Abbey Photo Directory were published in 1969, 1980 and 1993. In the latter edition 240 members of the monastic community were pictured. Since 1993 83 of those monks died and 22 others left the community.

The Directory is a limited edition only distributed privately. +

A divider page of the Abbey Photo Directory featuring community scenes.

Editors Simon-Hoa Phan, OSB (l.) and Lee Hanley discuss publication issues.

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Daniel Durken, OSB

Simon-Hoa Phan, OSB

smile is always appreciated but there is nothing “candid” about the formal photographs of the 153 community members taken

by Simon-Hoa Phan, OSB, and Lee Hanley for the 2008 edition of the Abbey Photo Directory. Brother Simon-Hoa is the university’s assistant professor in art. Lee, a layman, is the abbey’s director of communications, chair of the communications and publications committee and a veteran photographer.

WHAT’S NEW?

Dan Morgan, OSB

Abbey announces new program for young men

by Paul-Vincent Niebauer, OSB Young monks and guests enjoy a recreation period.

Features of the Monastic Associates Program: • The vocation director and subprior are co-directors of the Monastic Associates Program.

• The program is designed for 20-30-year-old men.

• Associates must exhibit an interest in sharing the prayer, work and life of the monastery although this is not intended as a permanent commitment.

• Associates have paying jobs on or off campus or are assigned work for the abbey.

• Associates participate in the schedule of the monastery including table, housekeeping and liturgical service as they are able.

• Associates work for or pay for room and board in the monastery.

• Associates receive weekly instruction in the Benedictine life as well as spiritual direction.

• Associates are not pledged to renunciation of private ownership, nor are they bound to religious obedience in the manner of a monk or claustral oblate.

How ever, they are expected to live chaste lives, cultivate a simple lifestyle and follow the guidance of the abbot, his council, the chapter, and the community of monks and associates in matters pertaining to the community.

• Associates go through an assessment process. Before moving into the monastery, prospective associates can live in the community for a probationary period or several extended stays.

After being accepted, associates make a public covenant between themselves and the monastic and associate communities.

• Participation in the Monastic Associates Program is renewable semi-annually for up to three years.

Contact: Br. Paul-Vincent Niebauer, OSB / Vocation Director / Saint John’s Abbey / P. O. Box 2015 / Collegeville, MN 56321-2015 / E-mail: pniebauer@csbsju.edu Phone: 320-363-2548

The first Monastic Associate of Saint John’s Abbey

Aelred Senna, OSB

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aint John’s Abbey announces its new Monastic Associates Program in recognition of the interest and needs of young men who want to explore Benedictine community living more intensely but are not yet ready to make a lifetime commitment to a monastic vocation. The program enables young adults to consider monastic life while experiencing it fully for a well-defined period of time.

Associates pray with the community, learn about the monastic tradition, develop a taste for prayer and reading scripture in a reflective way, and use their skills for work and leadership.

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ason Ziegler, 28, is the first Monastic Associate of Saint John’s Abbey. Coming from Berryton, Kansas, Jason received the Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 2005 from Kansas University, Lawrence, Kansas. He was a summer Monastic Experience Participant (MEP) in 2001. Since beginning his associate program last November he has worked in the Abbey Vocation Office. Jason is applying for graduate studies in systematic theology this fall in Saint John’s School of Theology. +

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 15

MISSIONS Present for the 60th anniversary of the founding of Saint Anselm’s Parish, Tokyo, are (l. to r.): Thomas Wahl, OSB, Peter Tada, OSB, Roman Paur, OSB, Leo Schumacher, pastor, and Archbishop Peter Takeo Okada.

Festivities in Fujimi

by Roman Paur, OSB

Saint Anselm’s Church, Tokyo, commemorates 60th anniversary

Publication of the biography of Neal Lawrence, OSB

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n 1947 Abbot Alcuin Deutsch, OSB, sought permission from the archbishop of Tokyo to start a parish and a monastic community in that megalopolis. On the First Sunday of Advent, November 28, 1947, Archbishop Peter Totsuo Doi gave his approval for this new parish in the Meguro Ward of Tokyo. It would be dedicated to Saint Anselm, tenth century Benedictine abbot and doctor of the church, and given to Saint John’s Abbey in the hope of our developing a monastery and a school for boys.

On December 2, 2007, the First Sunday of Advent, Saint Anselm’s Church honored its Benedictine founders at the commemoration of its 60th anniversary. Tokyo’s Archbishop Peter Takeo Okada presided at the celebration of the Eucharist along with Fathers Leo Schumacher, pastor, and Roman Paur, OSB, prior of Trinity Benedictine Monastery, Fujimi. An overflow gathering of friends welcomed monks of the Fujimi community after the Mass.

ather Neal would have been one-hundred years old on January 22, 2008, the day his biography, The Six Lives of Father Neal Lawrence

by Robert Morton, was introduced at Saint Anselm’s Church, Tokyo. This book details the six stages of Neal’s long and fruitful life as businessman, naval officer, diplomat, monk and priest, teacher and poet.

A native of Clarksville, Tennessee, and a graduate of Harvard, Neal worked for Lever Brothers from 1929 to 1943, rising to a senior executive position. Drafted into the Navy in 1943, he took part in the battle of Okinawa where the horrors of war convinced him to work for peace. After the war he became a diplomat stationed in Tokyo and oversaw the economic reconstruction of Okinawa.

His desire to work for peace eventually moved Neal to embrace the Catholic faith and monastic life. He entered Saint John’s Abbey novitiate in 1954, made his first profession of

vows in 1955, began seminary studies and was ordained to the priesthood in 1960. He was assigned to the abbey’s dependent priory in Tokyo where he served there and at the Fujimi monastery for forty-four years.

Neal’s fifth phase as a teacher took him into the classrooms of major Japanese universities and earned him a decoration by the emperor of Japan for his contributions to education and culture. Last but not least, he began writing tanka poetry in the traditional Japanese format of the 5-7-5-7-7 syllable count. Between 1978 and 2000 Neal published four books of tanka poems.

The author of Neal’s biography, Robert Morton, is an associate professor at Chuo University, Tokyo, vice president of the Asiatic Society of Japan (publisher of the biography) and editor-in-chief of the Society’s journal, The Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan.

The 139-page biography is available for a gift of $25.00 to Trinity Benedictine Monastery, Fujimi, by writing to Roman Paur, OSB / Saint John’s Abbey / P.O. Box 2015 / Collegeville,

MN 56321-2015 (fclr@csbsju.edu). page 16 Abbey Banner Spring 2008

MISSIONS Research library on the works of Saint Anselm

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rinity Benedictine Monastery gratefully accepted a major gift of some five hundred books making up the Saint Anselm collection of Professor Gyo Furuta. This is perhaps the most important resource on Saint Anselm and medieval Europe in Japan and could attract significant scholarship. Professor Furuta is one of the founders of Kanda International Studies University, Chiba City, Japan, where he taught philosophy and was director of the comparative culture research center. He translated into Japanese the writings of Saint Anselm and the Rule of Benedict.

Professor Gyo (Gabriel) Furuta among his books on Saint Anselm in the monastery library

Monastery accepts gift of a tracker pipe organ

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he monastery is grateful to the retired surgeon, Dr. Michio and Mrs. Yumiko Otsuki who donated their tracker pipe organ commissioned in 1999 and crafted by the Tsuji Organ Company, Gifu Prefecture. This beautiful instrument is used to accompany community worship as well as for organ concerts in the Community Cultural Program.

Sponsoring a Community Cultural Program

Dr. Michio and Mrs. Yumiko Otsuki, Japanese friends who donated their $100,000 pipe organ to the Fujimi community

T

he monastery’s Community Cultural Program begun last year has been welcomed by the people of Fujimi with standing room only attendance. The program was initiated with a piano concert of classical music by Professor Augusto Borromeo from the Philippines and two performances by a regional group of nine accomplished student violinists. Planned for this year are organ concerts played on the new chapel tracker pipe organ. + Roman Paur, OSB, is the prior of Trinity Benedictine Monastery, Fujimi, Japan.

L. to r., Kieran Nolan, OSB, Her Highness Princess Takamado, Roman Paur, OSB, and Robert Morton, author of The Six Lives of Father Neal Lawrence

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 17

MISSIONS Pictured are several of the executives of the Bahamian Chapter, l. to r.: Pierre Dupuch, Dayrrl Butler, Monsignor Preston Moss, Dietrich Reinhart, OSB, Saint John’s President, Prince Wallace, Basil Christi and John Young, Saint John’s Associate Vice President for Advancement.

PHOTO CREDIT ???

A Bahamian tribute to the Benedictines

by Pierre Dupuch

Excerpts from an article published December 31, 2007, in The Nassau Guardian of the Bahamas

M

any questions go through a young Bahamian’s head when making his first trip far from his home for an education.

Why Saint John’s University where winter temperatures are thirty-belowzero? We’re from the Bahamas where sixty-above calls for sweaters and fur coats.

As the bus sped from Minneapolis to Collegeville we thought of great men like Frederick Frey, OSB, founder of Saint Augustine’s College in Nassau where we went to high school.

Other Benedictines of the Bahamas include Fathers George, Magnus, Elias, Cornelius, Burton, Leonard, Prosper, Brendan, Marcian, Gaul, Ephrem, Silvan, Theophile, Bartholomew, Fintan and Mel along with Brothers Barry and Henry and many more. All are household names in the Bahamas.

The Bahama-Collegeville connection began when the original Benedictine missionary to the Bahamas, Chrysostom Schreiner, encouraged

page 18 Abbey Banner Spring 2008

several young Bahamians to attend Saint John’s. Useph Baker and Etienne and Eugene Dupuch were among the first. Eugene composed the “Johnny Fight Song” and became a legislator, Queen’s Councilor and leading lawyer.

Lou Adderly, an athletic icon in the mid-1950s, learned to play tennis in his bare feet with a piece of wood as a racket and the tar road as a court.

He was the conference champion in tennis in 1953-55 and wrestling in 1953-54. He taught and served as headmaster at Saint Augustine’s.

as professors, advisors, even friends.

Martin Schirber and Gervase Soukup taught economics and advised large corporations. Godfrey Diekmann, renowned liturgist and Vatican Council II advisor, taught theology. Paul Marx was a leader in the “Right to Life” movement.

There are 240 Bahamian alumni of Saint John’s. As doctors, lawyers, teachers, politicians and civil servants their influence is felt. We simply bow our heads and say “Thank you” to all these men who helped make us men. + Pierre Dupuch is a Nassau publisher.

Cyril Paul, a native of Trinidad and a Nassau policeman, excelled in track and leads a popular calypso band. Tim McCartney received his doctorate in physiology summa cum laude from the University of Strasbourg, France, and worked for the Bahamas government.

Bahamians found at Saint John’s that each student is a name, not a number. Teachers knew students by their first name and they knew them

Bahamian alumni celebrate Saint John’s Sesquicentennial

A

bout seventy-five alumni gathered in Nassau at the home of Mark Munnings ’84 on January 19 to celebrate the Sesquicentennial of Saint John’s. The festive occasion featured the official chartering of the Bahamian Chapter of the Saint John’s Alumni Association. +

BENEDICTINE VOLUNTEERS

Benedictine Volunteers check in from Tanzania, Guatemala, Newark and Collegeville The three lighter colored faces in an upper row belong to (l. to r.) Lew Grobe, Derek Johnson and Paul Conroy with students at Hanga Benedictine Abbey, Songea, Tanzania.

“We highly recommend this program to Saint John’s alumni.”

Paul Conroy, Lewis Grobe and Derek Johnson at Hanga Benedictine Abbey, Songea, Tanzania:

Michael Anderson and Liam Sperl at the Abbey of Jesus Christ Crucified in Esquipulas, Guatemala:

W

ienvenidos a la Abadia de Jesucristo Crucificado! Our projects range from working in a citrus orchard to teaching English, assisting medical missions and working as fundraiser and laborers on a project for homeless children called the City of Joy. Aimed to give new hope to abandoned children, the City of Joy will be home for eighty Catholic Sisters and 100 children. For more information and how to help, e-mail us at michaeland3@yahoo.com.

The experience has been amazing and eye-opening. The people of Tanzania are genuine, happy and grateful to have people who want to help them.

We are grateful for this opportunity to serve them. + Note: Paul and Lew prepare for the 900-mile “Phoenix Rising” bike trek in May (see page 21).

B

We started a recycling program to address a large problem throughout Guatemala - the quantity of unattended litter and trash. We use bamboo sticks to fill up bottles with litter. We are amazed at how much trash can be forced into a bottle. When the bottles are full they are used as building blocks for the library we are helping to construct in the City of Joy project.

No photo credit available

e [Lew and Derek] teach English and math to first year students and opened the new abbey website (www.hangaabbey.org). I [Paul] continue to teach English to second and third year students at the Hanga Seminary while improving their grammar skills in the new English and debate club. We’re finishing a Library of Congress labeling of the 3,000 books from the Books for Africa program.

L. to r.: Michael Anderson and Liam Speri rest a while during their litter picking and packing product.

Our time here helps us grow in our ability to be self-driven, mature, fluent in Spanish and prayerful. Our interactions with the monastic community make our life one of tranquility, mindfulness and peace. +

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 19

BENEDICTINE VOLUNTEERS Jonathan Seldat and Ted Welle at Saint Benedict Prep, Newark, New Jersey:

A

s members of this small monastic community of Newark Abbey (eighteen members), we are called to take part in the prayer and work that are vital to our daily schedule. We have grown to appreciate silence and solitude after working among the 571 young men of Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School.

We are the “in-house substitutes” who never know what adventure lies around the corner every morning— from supervising an elective class of ten seniors to teaching a chemistry class of thirty. We organized a tutoring program for our students with nearby college students and we see that grades of all students are improv-

ing. We are seeking funds to hire two or three full-time staff persons who will also work with the tutoring program.

Being removed from the safety that Saint John’s gave us for four years has made us see issues that exist in the States and the world.

If we have helped just one student or left an impression on this small community of monks, this year at Newark will be a success. +

Jon Seldat (far left) and Ted Welle (far right) with students of Saint Benedict’s Prep School

Severin Kolb and Paul Walters at Saint John’s Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota

S Aelred Senna, OSB

everin from Russikon, Switzerland, spent ten weeks at Saint John’s. Fluent in German, he tutored four Prep School students in the language, assisted Mark Thamert, OSB, in the university’s German department, and did odd jobs on the grounds and in the sacristy.

Aelred Senna, OSB

Severin Kolb

Paul Walters

page 20 Abbey Banner Spring 2008

In a recent e-mail, Severin wrote, “I met people who live a religious and peaceful life and this inspired me.

The abbey is one of the most peaceful places I have ever been. I had a quiet place for myself and time to think about my life. I became much happier and open. “

Paul, a 2005 Saint John’s graduate, works closely with Paul Richards, OSB, on the volunteer program. He is developing fund raising strategies through grant writing and solicitation and revamping the application process. Each week he shops in St. Cloud for items requested by the monks.

Paul says, “My time here has been meaningful and valuable. I am enjoying the work and the wonderful experience of living and praying in fellowship with the monastic community.” + SJU alumni and others interested in this program should contact Paul Richards, OSB, director, at prichards@csbsju.edu or call 320-363-3007.

BENEDICTINE VOLUNTEERS

“Phoenix Rising”: A fund-raising program for students in Tanzania

by Paul Conroy

Liberation through education!

Education to eradicate poverty!

L

ew Grobe, a fellow Saint John’s University grad and Benedictine Volunteer here at Hanga Abbey in Tanzania, one day eagerly exclaimed, “I’ve got a great idea! We’re gonna bike 900 miles from Dar-es-salaam to Hanga to raise money for students who can’t afford to go to school.”

I soon realized that Lew was serious. While I question our sanity in undertaking such an endeavor, this

“Liberation through education!”

“Education for a brighter future!”

“Education to eradicate poverty!”

It is encouraging to see these words screen-painted on the backs of secondary school uniforms throughout Tanzania. But they aren’t realistic.

Take $320 (the annual income for the average Tanzanian), subtract $350 (the average price for one year of high school) and you have a depressingly high number of Tanzanian youth using hoes in fields instead of books

L. to r.: Paul Conroy, Onesmo Sanga, OSB, and Lew Grobe and their “Phoenix Rising” bikes

coming May we’re doing it. We call it “Phoenix Rising” after the legendary bird of hope that lived 500 years, burned itself to ashes on a pyre and rose to live another period. “Phoenix” is also the trade name of the bikes we’ll be riding.

in schools. While the statistics are disheartening, change is on the horizon.

We hope to help push (and pedal) this change along.

Our ultimate goal is to raise $25,000 to start an annual endowment to help pay school fees for Tanzanian youth

who without such help will never set foot in a classroom. Our three-week safari will be conducted on singlespeed, Chinese-manufactured “Phoenix” bicycles, the most durable mode of transportation in East Africa.

Starting in the sweltering, oceanside megalopolis of Dar-es-salaam, our journey will take us through crowded streets of bustling cities to desolate dirt roads winding through uninhabited bush, home of stealthy lions and lumbering elephants to the small village of Hanga in the southern highlands.

If we have raised nothing more than the concerns of our parents and the heads of astonished locals, we will have accomplished little. So it is on behalf of the voiceless youth of Tanzania that we ask you to help us to help them get a basic education and make our “Phoenix Rising” trip a success. Please check out our website—http://www.hangaabbey. org—and click on the “Phoenix Rising” logo for a more in-depth look at our mission and bike trip and how to donate. + Paul Conroy is a member of the Saint John’s Benedictine Volunteer Corps and has been in Tanzania for two and a half years.

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 21

STRENGHTHENING FOUNDATIONS Abbot John and Patty and Mike Bourassa welcome “Ole Bessy” back to Saint John’s.

Geoffrey Fecht, OSB

A Gift with Strings Attached

by Geoffrey Fecht, OSB

“Ole Bessy” returns to Saint John’s.

S

oon after the first Benedictine monks and their students settled into their newly constructed stone building high above Lake Sagatagan, an old German settler drove his horse-drawn wagon up the rough and winding road to the monastery. In the back of the wagon, bedded on a thick carpet of straw, lay a string bass. The instrument had been in the settler’s family long before his arrival in Minnesota.

Not being a musician himself, the settler figured this fledging monastic community with its new school for boys was a fitting new home for the instrument since music had always been an important part of both monastic and school life. For some unrecorded reason the bass fell out of the monastery’s possession and its whereabouts became unknown.

Then in 1931 Clem LaBarre purchased this same string bass at the Vavro Music Company in downtown Saint Paul for $37.00. The instrument

became part of the family and was affectionately named “Ole Bessy.”

Clem was a member of the local symphony and played the bass at concerts throughout southern Minnesota, northern Iowa and western Wisconsin.

In 1954, while living in Rochester, Minnesota, Clem approached Kenneth Warren, an international violin expert, to have him assess the instrument.

Warren identified this rather rare instrument as belonging to the Klingenthal school of Germany and crafted between 1770 and 1800.

According to the Rochester PostBulletin, “Warren said that, because the original varnish was not intact over the entire instrument, it would not command the price of a Stradivarius although it undoubtedly had a higher value than the usual bass viol.”

Upon his retirement, Clem gave “Ole Bessy” to his daughter, Patty Bourassa, who lovingly kept the bass in a corner of her and her husband Mick’s home in Crosslake, Minnesota.

To this day Patty treasures the memories of listening to her father play the instrument in her childhood home.

On September 28, 2007, in recognition of Saint John’s Sesquicentennial, “Ole Bessy” was packed up for another road trip, this time to her pioneer home. Bidding “Ole Bessy” a tearful farewell, Patty delivered the string bass into the welcoming hands of Abbot John Klassen and university professor of music, Robert Koopmann, OSB. They reunited “Ole Bessy” with other Sesquicentennial instruments Saint John’s has in its musical collection.

During the abbey’s Christmas Midnight Mass “Ole Bessy” took her place in the orchestra that performed that night. She was glad to be back home.

The abbey is grateful to the Bourassas and Clem LaBarre for preserving and returning this treasured instrument to Saint John’s. [Clem LaBarre died January 13, 2008. May he rest in peace.] + Geoffrey Fecht, OSB, is the abbey development director.

page 22 Abbey Banner Spring 2008

STRENGHTHENING FOUNDATIONS

Personal Reflections: Why Saint John’s Cemetery?

by Josie Stang

S

everal early purchasers of burial sites in the expanded Saint John’s Cemetery were asked to give their reason for choosing to be buried here. Their testimonials follow.

Daniel Durken, OSB

Robert and Joanne with Tom Andert, OSB (l.), and Wilfred Theisen, OSB, behind them.

Robert (1965 SJU alumnus) and Joanne Neis: Donald and Edward

Edward J. LeMay, 1965 SJU alumnus and brother of Donald LeMay, OSB: “I purchased a cubic foot in the northeastern-most, closest-to-the-sky spot in the columbarium of Saint John’s Cemetery. I chose this spot because it was here at Saint John’s that I first read so much that I still value: The Rule of Saint Benedict, Confessions of Saint Augustine, and the Russians, i.e., Tolstoy. Here I first thought about the care for the planet, climate change, social justice, music, theatre, vagabonding, genealogy and genetics.”

“We purchased a spot in the Courtyard Columbarium this past winter after talking with Fathers Tom Andert, OSB and Wilfred Theisen, OSB about the new cemetery. Even though we qualify for free veterans’ burial benefits, we decided to let our strong Saint John’s community ties outweigh other options. We are avid Johnnie sports fans and support the abbey’s vocations program.” Bob teaches a leadership section for a CSB/SJU management class.

The blessing of the expanded Saint John’s Cemetery is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., Friday, June 6. Guests should gather at the cemetery at that time.

Read about Saint John’s Cemetery in “A Cloud of Witnesses: Thoughts on an Abbey Cemetery” by Gilbert Friend-Jones, Oblate of Saint John’s, in Commonweal (February 29, 2008) (http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/article.php3?id article=2152).

Flip and Pat with Gordon Tavis, OSB

Flip (1951 Saint John’s Prep and 1955 SJU alumnus,) and Pat Spanier: “What could be more glorious than on the day of resurrection to rise on those beautiful shores of Lake Sagatagan with all those wonderful Benedictine monks? Having spent eight years there and almost becoming one of them, this would really feel like home. We have family living in different states and if they so desire, this would bring them back to their roots. Last October we buried our Down’s Syndrome nine-month-old grandson, Maximus Aurelius Stinnett, there—the first one interred in this serene setting. Being an angel he can lead the procession on that final day.” + Josie Stang is the manager of Saint John’s Abbey Cemetery (saintjohnsabbeycemetery.org or 320-363-3434).

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 23

OBITUARY like harvesting garden produce and making ice cream for island hotels and the caring for a herd of goats to provide nutritious milk for undernourished children.

Philip Kaufman, OSB 1911-2008

F

ather Philip was not the ordinary, run-of-the-cloister monk.

From his trademark bow tie to the publication of a controversial book, he was a maverick. Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, he was the first of the four children of Mozart and Ruby (Feld) Kaufman, a Reform Jewish couple.

At his funeral, Sister Joanne Kollash, OSB, of this community said of Philip, “He possessed a listening, hospitable, compassionate heart and keen intellect. I don’t remember hearing the words ‘serve’ and ‘servant’ as much as I heard it from him. Above all he was a gifted liturgist and homilist.”

Like his namesake Philip in the Acts of the Apostles who was “filled with the Spirit and wisdom” (6:3), our Philip “went about proclaiming the good news” that concludes his book: “The Catholic who obeys a sincerely informed conscience, even if it is opposed to official teaching, remains a faithful Catholic.” May he rest in peace. + Abbey Archives

PHOTO CREDIT ???

Returning to Saint John’s, Philip served as the associate director of the newly founded Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research. He then joined the staff of the retreat and conference center of Holy Wisdom Monastery, founded by Benedictine women in Madison, Wisconsin.

A major moment of Philip’s life was the 1989 publication of Why You Can Disagree and Remain a Faithful Catholic that brought him both fame and disdain. Far from being an invitation to “do your own thing,” the book takes a new look at such controversial topics as papal infallibility, birth control, divorce and remarriage and democracy in the church. After seven reprints a revised edition was published by Crossroad Publishing Company in 1995.

After earning a master’s degree in government from Louisiana State University, Philip moved to New York City where he met Dan Sullivan who planted in him the seeds of the Catholic faith that eventually blossomed into Philip’s baptism at St. Anselm’s Church, one of the two abbey-staffed parishes in the Bronx.

Philip taught government classes at Saint John’s for a year before entering the abbey’s novitiate. He made his commitment to the monastic way of life in 1941 and was ordained in 1945.

He was assigned to Saint Augustine’s Monastery and College in Nassau, Bahamas, where he taught history and religion for eighteen years. As business manager he initiated enterprises

Philip looks over the vegetable garden that helped to support St. Augustine’s Monastery and College, Nassau.

Remember our loved ones who have gone to their rest: Rev. Raymond (Benedict) Avery Bernice Doub Arlene Finken Jon Hassler Michael Kopecky Angeline Price Rev. Alvin Rueter

Arthur Spring John J. Symanitz Carol Taylor Bernie Thelen Helen Wieber Gordon Zahn

May they rest in peace. page 24 Abbey Banner Spring 2008

THE ABBEY CHRONICLE

What’s Up? The Abbey Chronicle

Fran Hoefgen, OSB

Daniel Durken, OSB

by Daniel Durken, OSB

December 2007

■ Winter got off to a fast start with almost six inches of snow on December 1 and 2 and another five inches on the 4th. More cold than snow came later as we shivered through belowzero temperatures on ten days in December, sixteen in January, eight in February and three in March for a total of thirty-seven. With the lowest reading of -19 on December 19 and 30 and February 20, the wind chills were in the -30 to -40 range. Brrrrr!

■ Instead of using the usual tall pine trees from our forest to decorate the abbey church for Christmas, several small, potted pines were added to the poinsettia clusters in the sanctuary.

The little evergreens will be planted

Aelred Senna, OSB

E

aster came very early this year—March 23. The calendar of saints scrambled to substitute dates for the saintly celebrations displaced by Holy Week and Easter Week. Saint Joseph’s Day was bumped up to March 15 and Saint Patrick’s Feast, March 17, was all but lost in the shuffle. Benedictines waited until April 1 to commemorate the death of Saint Benedict, ordinarily celebrated on March 21. The Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) was postponed until March 31. But not to worry. It will be another 220 years (2228) before Easter comes this early again.

Spring’s Aaah!

Daniel Durken, OSB

Winter’s Blah!

The Dandelion’s pallid tube Astonished the Grass And Winter instantly becomes An infinite Alas. (Emily Dickenson)

A potted pine with lots of lights

in our woods to replace some of those cut down to decorate recreation rooms.

■ A capacity crowd joined the monastic community for the Christmas Midnight Mass. Abbot John Klassen, OSB, reflected on the mystery and marvel of God becoming human: “The birth of Jesus doesn’t rid the world of evil. For the Christian, just as for everyone else, there will still be sickness, senseless hurt, broken

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 25

THE ABBEY CHRONICLE

■ Mindful of Isaiah’s and John the Baptist’s call to “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths,” our mantra for the New Year could be “Make straight in ’08.” The community tried to do that during our annual workshop on January 7-9. Facilitated

by Linda Marrin and guided by Task Force members Mark Thamert, OSB, Paul Richards, OSB, and Doug Mullin, OSB, we discussed “Expectations for the Common Life of Saint John’s Abbey” and approved three aspects of our commitment: 1. Regular observance of public and private prayer, meals, meetings, service and recreation 2. Balanced lives of prayer and work 3. Fraternal support for the physical and spiritual well-being of each monk

■ The five bells that swing and ring from the banner of the abbey church have a definite “crack record.” For various reasons all of the bells except one have developed cracks and were replaced, some of them twice. On January 21-25 the 5,665-pound Mary bell and the 8,000-pound Trinity bell were replaced.

Lee Hanley

Lift high the bell!

■ From May ’07 to March ’08, Michael Patella, OSB, rector of Saint John’s Seminary, visited twenty-two Benedictine, Trappist and Cistercian Michael Patella, OSB monasteries in fifteen states. He explained the monastic character of our seminary’s Master of Divinity degree and formation program and listened to the concerns of abbots, formation directors and monks. Saint John’s School of Theology concentrates on the Master’s degree, pastoral and

page 26 Abbey Banner Spring 2008

■ An eleven page, thirty-two photo article by Nancy A. Miller in the January-February issue of Architecture Minnesota magazine gives copious compliments to Saint John’s Abbey

Church, the Petter’s Pavilion and Chapter House and the Abbey Guesthouse. Editor Christopher Hudson notes, “St. John’s Abbey and University stands out as Minnesota’s true architectural mecca . . . because Marcel Breuer all but set up shop there as campus master planner and architect in the mid-1950s, designing everything from a utilitarian science center to the hallowed abbey church, one of the most beautiful and stirring concrete buildings in the world.” The stunning photography is by Paul Crosby.

■ Jerome Tupa, OSB, university chaplain and artist-in-residence, was introduced at the Naples [Florida] Museum of Art Reception on January 29.

Jerome is exhibiting his Painting the Pilgrimage: From Paris to Compostela collection of watercolors, oil paintings and sketches. Jerome Tupa, OSB

February 2008 ■ A unique feature of our early Lent was “The Prior’s Tale: Lighten Up for Lent,” composed by Prior Tom Andert, OSB. Attaching a small refuse bag for literal or symbolic use to a purple-colored page, the prior offered these suggestions to live a little lighter: + clean your room and discard unneeded books, clothes and files + lose five pounds + fast and abstain and donate a bag of groceries to the local food shelf + volunteer a bag of time visiting confreres in the retirement center

Lee Hanley

January 2008

pre-doctoral programs while the Seminary’s exclusive focus is the monastic priesthood. Michael also received feedback for our conference, Monastic Witness and the Priestly Vocation, to be held this July 7-9.

Lee Hanley

dreams, and cold, lonely seasons when love is far away. We don’t get heaven on earth. We do receive God’s presence in our lives. It is that presence that redeems us.”

THE ABBEY CHRONICLE

Abbot John gives his annual “State of the Institution” talk.

tion projects. The abbot reported that he, Dietrich Reinhart, OSB, Columba Stewart, OSB, and Donald and Mabel Jackson will present the Books of Wisdom volume of The Saint John’s Bible to Pope Benedict XVI during an early April visit to Rome.

Lee Hanley

■ Robert Koopmann, OSB, professor of music, performed works by Johannes Brahms,

Robert Koopmann, OSB

■ A live webcam mounted on the façade of Alcuin Library now scans the campus from the Peter Engel Science Hall past the Abbey Guesthouse, across the front of the church to the Stephen B. Humphrey Auditorium. Access to the webcam is found at the lower left of the abbey’s homepage www.saintjohnsabbey.org/.

Clicking the link opens a login window. Select the login button.

Another small window opens with the live feed from the webcam. Choosing the button in the upper right of the screen opens a window of controls for panning and zooming the image.

Lee Hanley

work and then spread through Saint John’s woods to tap 600+ sugar maple trees to begin Operation Sap-toSyrup. Metal spigots were inserted in tree trunks and collection pails attached to catch the drip-drip-drip of the sap. We need sunny, warm days and cool nights for a bumper harvest.

The Prep School’s addition is rising.

■ Construction on the 22,600 squarefoot addition to Bede Hall, the academic building of Saint John’s Prep School, is on schedule to be completed in time for the late August start of school.

■ Eight men took part in the annual Lenten Triduum vocation retreat sponsored by Paul-Vincent Niebauer, OSB, vocation director. +

March 2008 ■ March came in like . . . maple sap collectors. On March 1 seventy volunteers first invoked a blessing on their

Maple tree sap collectors

Daniel Durken, OSB

Lee Hanley

■ In Abbot John’s annual “State of the Institution” to the university’s faculty and staff on February 13, he announced the separation of the business offices of the abbey and university to better deal with distinct priorities. He further commented on the success of the Abbey Guesthouse with its current 45% occupancy and satisfaction with the expanded Chapter House and Petters Pavilion. He previewed renovation and construc-

Maurice Ravel and Frederic Chopin at his February 28 piano recital and added a unique “Improvisations on Famous Paintings.” Having previously done improvisations on hymns, Father Bob played musical reflections on the paintings of Kandinsky, Friedrich and Seurat with their works displayed on a backdrop screen of the stage.

Saint John’s Arborateum

+ dump a bag of old wounds and grumpy gossip and replace them with a bag of compliments + donate an extra bag of prayers for world peace

L. to r., back row: Charles Sawyer (Minnesota), Michael Hahn (Minnesota), Caleb Wenzel (Texas); front row: Eric Pohlman (Indiana), Daryl Jackson (Louisiana), André Heywood (Minnesota). Not pictured: Mark Coté (Massachusetts), David Kobza (Indiana).

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 27

BANNER BITS Magnus Wenninger, OSB, “The Polyhedra Padre”

Friedman continues, “In the world of mathematics Father Wenninger is known simply as Magnus. At Art and Mathematics conferences he really loved constructing paper models of polyhedra and polytopes. He would spend each day happily sitting at a table constructing models and conversing with anyone who happened to sit down to watch him work.

Magnus Wenninger, OSB, receives Lifetime Achievement Award

by Daniel Durken, OSB

“Magnus is a pioneer in the field of mathematical art.”

(Nathaniel Friedman)

F

ather Magnus was introduced to readers in a feature story by Wilfred Theisen, OSB, entitled “A Padre’s Passion for Polyhedra,” published in the spring 2002 issue of The Abbey Banner. The past six years have seen no abatement of that passion. Magnus was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Special Interest Group on Mathematics and the Arts of the Mathematical Association of America at their San Diego convention in early January.

The award reads as follows: This award recognizes a lifetime of work in developing methods of construction of a variety of paper models of polyhedra, and sharing insights with teachers, mathematicians, and artists through demonstrations and publications.

For generations of mathema ticians, Magnus Wenninger’s meticulous work has provided an introduction to making polyhedra models and has led to

page 28 Abbey Banner Spring 2008

significant sculptures. Magnus Wenninger is honored as an important pioneer in relating mathematics and art.

“Magnus is considered an icon in the world of mathematical art. . . .

[His five published] books are classics in the field of mathematical models.

Through them countless teachers and students have been introduced to polyhedra. In fact, by introducing color, he created attractive examples of geometric art. Thus he can be considered a pioneer in the field of mathematical art. His polyhedron models are for sale at http://employees.csbsju. edu/mwenninger/.” + Daniel Durken, OSB, is the founding editor of Abbey Banner.

(Signed) Nathaniel A. Friedman Chair, Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America – Arts January 6, 2008

Additional tribute to Magnus was given in the November/December, 2007, issue of Hyperseeing, the publication of the International Society of the Arts, Mathematics and Architecture. An article entitled “Magnus Wenninger OSB: Mathematical Models” by editor Nat Friedman, recounts that Magnus became interested in polyhedra in 1961 when he saw the models made by Robert Beard at Columbia Teachers College in New York City.

Pick a polyhedron.

BANNER BITS

Doug Mullin, OSB, appointed Vice President for Student Development

Lee Hanley

T

he appointment of Father Doug as Vice President of Student Development at Saint John’s University was announced by Dietrich Reinhart, OSB, university president, on March 5. The announcement said in part, “Fr. Doug’s professional career consists of a broad range of leadership and teaching experiences that provide a deep understanding of liberal arts, residential education within the Catholic and Benedictine tradition. The Saint John’s and Saint Benedict campus communities join me in welcoming Fr. Doug to this important role of leadership and service within the College.”

Doug made his initial commitment to the monastic way of life in 1979 and was ordained to the priesthood this past August. He has a doctorate in education from the University of Minnesota and holds the rank of associate professor in the CSB/SJU Education Department. He has taught at Saint John’s Preparatory School and Saint Mary’s Mission School, Red Lake, Minnesota, and served a sixyear term as subprior of the abbey. +

Meet Bill Boom, New Physical Plant Director

Daniel Durken, OSB

I

f anyone deserves a big, long desk strewn with construction drawings, stapled reports and miscellaneous memos, it is Bill Boom, now in the sixth month of his assignment as Saint John’s Physical Plant Director. Hired last November to fill the place of Linus Ascheman, OSB, who died suddenly on June 27, 2007, he is still learning who’s who and the campus pecking order.

There is no doubt, however, that Bill knows the business for which he was hired. He graduated from St. Cloud Cathedral High School, worked as a carpenter for ten years, took courses in construction and drafting from Dunwoodie Institute in Minneapolis and was employed by a local contractor for the past twenty years.

Benedictines are no strangers to him as he grew up just across the street from St. Raphael’s Convent of Benedictine Sisters. He now lives in Avon where he and his wife have two daughters, two sons and four grandchildren.

Relying on his willingness to be a good listener, to compromise and to give credit where credit is due, and depending on a very supportive staff, Bill is looking forward to major construction projects including the new Community Center and residence hall in Flynntown and the addition to Alcuin Library as well as the renovation of Seton Apartments, dining services in the Quadrangle and Sexton Commons and Saint Raphael Hall for retired and ill monks. In the months ahead the campus will certainly be booming. + Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 29

BANNER BITS

E

arly this year Abbot John Klassen, OSB, announced the retirement of Brothers Luke and Raphael as sacristans. The work of sacristan centers on community worship and ranges from setting up for the celebration of the daily Eucharist and Liturgy of the Hours to trimming altar candles and cleaning the abbey church and its chapels.

B

rother Luke, 84, served as sacristan for thirty-four years.

Entering the community in 1958, Luke worked in the garden, dining

room and woodworking shop. He cooked and did building maintenance at the Priory of Tepeyac near Mexico City for four years. He graduated from the Saint Cloud School of Nursing in 1972 and served as the community’s infirmarian for six years.

His hobbies include watercolor and oil paintings and baking desserts.

F

or the past twenty-two years, Brother Raphael, 78, served as assistant sacristan. He entered the community in 1947 and had duties in the monastery dining room, the woodworking shop, the garden and served as night watchman. He

Daniel Durken, OSB

Luke Dowal, OSB, and Raphael Olson, OSB, retire as sacristans

Brothers Raphael (l.) and Luke

spent three years as cook and baker at Saint Maur’s Priory, South Union, Kentucky, and a decade as cook and custodian at Benilde High School, St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The community is relieved and delighted to know Raphael will continue to bake his mouth-watering pies and grow beautiful flowers.

Xavier Schermerhorn, OSB, appointed sacristan

B

Daniel Durken, OSB

rother Xavier, who was assistant sacristan for six years, has been appointed chief sacristan for the abbey liturgies and for weddings and funerals of Saint John the Baptist Parish.

Xavier, 48, made his initial profession of vows in 2000. He

Brother Xavier

page 30 Abbey Banner Spring 2008

served as a nursing assistant in Saint Raphael Hall for four years. He continues his assignment as the Master of Ceremonies and chauffeur for Bishop John Kinney during the bishop’s Confirmation schedule. +

SPIRITUAL LIFE

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy Like the wideness of the sea.

by Robert Pierson, OSB

I

had the privilege of preaching the parish renewal mission at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, during the first week of Lent. The theme of the mission was based on a hymn text, written by Frederick William Faber, which is probably familiar to many of us (from The Collegeville Hymnal, #535).

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, Like the wideness of the sea; There’s a kindness in His justice, Which is more than liberty.

For the love of God is broader Than the measure of our mind; And the heart of the Eternal Is most wonderfully kind.

Father Faber’s original text has many more verses, and most hymnals pick and choose which verses to use.

In all the hymnals I checked, Catholic and Protestant, one original verse almost never appears:

But we make God’s love too narrow By false limits of our own; And we magnify His strictness With a zeal He will not own.

Why is this verse almost never used?

I would suggest that it has something to do with the fact that we really DO make God’s love too narrow, that we really are uncomfortable with a God whose mercy is so all encompassing that even the worst sinner can be forgiven. Like the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son, we want the younger son to make restitution before being forgiven. We don’t want God to take him back too easily.

Of course, the good news of the story is that God’s mercy is like “the wideness of the sea.” No one should fear being beyond forgiveness. If we find ourselves uncomfortable with that fact, we may need to recognize that God’s ways are not our ways. God’s love and mercy are so much bigger than most of us have ever experienced. +

Robert Pierson, OSB, is director of the abbey’s Spiritual Life Program and abbey guestmaster.

Upcoming Events sponsored by the Spiritual Life Program May 30—June 1: The Spring Retreat will be led by Nathanael Hauser, OSB. His topic will be: “The Human Face of God.” July 18—19: Lectures by British theologian James Alison in the Chapter House of the Petters Pavilion: • Friday at 8 p.m.: “Rethinking the Atonement Theory of Salvation” • Saturday at 9 a.m.: “Speaking the Truth in Love: How to be Catholic and GLBT” For more information about these events, please contact the Spiritual Life Office at 320-363-3929.

Or e-mail us at spirlife@osb.org.

Abbey Banner Spring 2008 page 31

Paul Jasmer, OSB

June 28: Renovated Stella Maris Chapel to be Blessed

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he renovated Stella Maris Chapel will be blessed at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, as a highlight of the annual Reunion Weekend of Saint John’s Preparatory School.

A chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) was built in 1872 on a small island off the south shore of Lake Sagatagan. The 16 by 12-foot structure was destroyed by lightning in 1903.

A larger, Romanesque style chapel was erected in 1915 and remains the frame of the present chapel. In 1943 the walls of the chapel were strengthened with buttresses, and in 1989 a new roof was added and general repairs made.

Thanks to the generosity of Don Hall, 1955 alumnus of the Prep School, a thorough renovation of the chapel under the direction of Northfield, Minnesota, architect Ed Sovik, began during the summer of 2007.

Interior upgrades include plastering the walls with a weather resistant plaster, covering the floor with twelve-inch Mexican tile, and adding a Marian sculpture. Outside improvements include the removal of the field stone buttresses and coating the exterior with colored stucco. Stained glass windows have been installed.

Stella Maris Chapel is the first Marian shrine of the Saint Cloud Diocese and remains a crown jewel in the landscape of Collegeville. +

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