Abbey Banner - Spring 2014 by Saint John's Abbey

Abbey Banner Spring 2014

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Happy are those who sing with all their heart, from the bottoms of their hearts. To find joy in the sky, the trees, the flowers. There are always flowers for those who want to see them. Alan Reed, O.S.B.

Henri Matisse, Jazz, 1947

Photo: Alan Reed, O.S.B.

This Issue Bury the dead. Console the sorrowing. Desire eternal life with all the passion of the spirit. Keep death daily before one’s eyes. Rule of Benedict 4.17, 19, 46, 47

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Magazine of Saint John’s Abbey Published three times annually (spring, fall, winter) by the monks of Saint John’s Abbey. Editor: Robin Pierzina, O.S.B. Editorial assistants: Aaron Raverty, O.S.B.; Dolores Schuh, C.H.M. Fujimi bureau chief: Roman Paur, O.S.B. Abbey archivist: David Klingeman, O.S.B. University archivist: Peggy Roske Design: Alan Reed, O.S.B. Circulation: Ruth Athmann, Mary Gouge, Jan Jahnke, Danielle Schmiesing, Cathy Wieme Printed by Palmer Printing Copyright © 2014 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

This Issue of Abbey Banner looks to Easter life, to our faith founded on the journey of Jesus through death to resurrection, and to the Church’s practices and ministry of celebrating the transition from earthly life to death to eternal life. Abbot John Klassen opens the spring issue with a reflection on Easter belief. Father Michael Patella explores the richness and significance of the readings for the Easter Vigil, the Queen of Liturgies. Other confreres address the manner in which we prepare for death and honor the deceased. Father Roger Botz shares the role of a hospital chaplain in ministry to the dying or terminally ill, as well as the ministry to those who grieve the loss of a loved one. Life and faith are both celebrated at the funeral liturgy. Father Anthony Ruff explains the significance of music in the Mass of Christian Burial, emphasizing our faith in Jesus’ victory over death. Father Edward Vebelun reflects on the ritual, simplicity, and beauty of monastic funerals. Faith in the Lord Jesus is the foundation of monastic life. Prior Roman Paur welcomes Brother Liting John Chrysostum (JC) Long who professed his solemn (lifetime) vows as a Benedictine monk in Fujimi, Japan, in March. Prayer and service are at the heart of The Saint John’s Benedictine Volunteer Corps (BVC). Father Columba Stewart introduces us to Saint Thomas Abbey in Kappadu, India, and to the community’s two Benedictine volunteers. Brother Paul Richards announces the BVC class of 2015. Before his untimely death in 2008 University President Brother Dietrich Reinhart dreamed of strengthening the Catholic and Benedictine character of Saint John’s University, consistent with the dreams of the founding monks in 1857. Father Mark Thamert confirms how the Benedictine Institute honors these dreams and this mission. Fifty years ago the Holy Spirit inspired the Second Vatican Council to issue Sacrosanctum Concilium, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. Brother Aaron Raverty outlines the significance of this document for the life of the Church and how it guided liturgical renewal at Saint John’s Abbey. This issue also captures one of the cutest critters in the Saint John’s woods; offers two answers to the question: “But what will the neighbors say?”; introduces a monk pastor; and examines the juncture of justice and mercy: the Church’s position on capital punishment. Father Timothy Backous concludes the issue with a reflection on God’s loving mercy.

Cover: Resurrection icon by Aidan Hart

The staff of Abbey Banner joins Abbot John and the monks of Saint John’s Abbey in extending prayers and best wishes to all our readers for a joyous Easter season. Peace! Brother Robin Pierzina, O.S.B. Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. Rabindranath Tagore

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Easter Belief Abbot John Klassen, O.S.B.

o believe in Easter we need to know about death. We need to know that death is real. Our culture uses every imaginable trick to deny the process of aging, relentless loss, and finally death itself. We hear of a young person who dies from the flu. This is deeply troubling to us because of our unquestioning faith in technology. Some go gentle into the night; others go through cancer treatments, Alzheimer’s, or debilitating surgeries. Countless others never have a chance; they die from disease, starvation, or violence. We have to know that Jesus really died.

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To believe in Easter we must believe in change, in conversion, in transformation. Jesus proclaims the reign of God and the need for change. Those who first followed Jesus, however raggedly at times, were those who were willing to change: Peter, James and John, Mary Magdalene, the woman at the well, the Beloved Disciple. (His hometown of Nazareth, not so much!) Everything is transformed by the total self-gift on the cross and the unexpected, unimaginable resurrection. It breaks our language, it crumbles our categories of analysis. The resurrection of Jesus says that selfgiving love is possible, that love is the most powerful force for change in the world. To believe in Easter we need to believe in life. Not life as an abstraction, but my life and your life—the life of spouses, children, parents, brothers and sisters, friends and enemies. We stand with God at the beginning of creation and behold life with a sense of wonder, and say with God, “it is very good” (Genesis 1:31). Every stage of life has its work, its possibilities for growth, for getting stuck and finding a path through, for failing and forgiving, for fear, doubt, and faith, for reconciliation and peace. Life is always new. This is the promise of the resurrection. Anyone who has lived needs Easter. To believe in Easter we must believe in Jesus Christ. It is the risen Lord who calls us by name, who has the words of eternal life, who walks on the road with us, and teaches us the meaning of the paschal mystery. It is he who gives us the great commission to feed, heal, forgive, love, and baptize, who sends us into the world to put flesh on the Gospel as we proclaim it. Only Jesus Christ our risen Lord can speak these words with authority. This is the day the LORD has made; truly it is a marvel in our eyes! (Psalm 118:23-24)

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New Monastic Prep Profession School Headmaster Easter Vigil Readings

Geoffrey Fecht,

Michael Patella, O.S.B.

ften called the “Queen of Liturgies,” the Easter Vigil is the foundation from which all other liturgies and prayers throughout the year arise, and a major segment of the Vigil itself is the Liturgy of the Word. The Easter Vigil’s biblical readings invite us to see ourselves within the narrative of salvation history; when combined with the other liturgical actions, the lessons rehearse our communal and personal redemption wrought by Christ. The context for the Easter Vigil readings is the Triduum, the single, three-day celebration of the paschal mystery (Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection). The Triduum opens with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, featuring the account of the Passover in Exodus 12, the description of the Eucharist from 1 Corinthians 11, and the mandatum for the foot washing from John 13. Good Friday employs readings from Isaiah 52–53, Psalm 31, Hebrews 4 and 5, and the Passion according to the Gospel of John.

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As the Triduum celebration moves into the Easter Vigil, we, the people of God, are emerging from the somber darkness of Christ’s passion and death. The liturgical drama uses this opportunity to set that experience within salvation history, and it does so with the Vigil readings. Each of the seven Old Testament passages includes a response in the form of selected verses from a particular psalm or biblical song. Following the Gloria, the liturgy turns to the New Testament. Romans 6 provides the theological interpretation of Christ’s dying and rising, while the Gospel, from either Matthew, Mark, or Luke, depending on the yearly cycle, describes how the resurrection was seen by Christ’s apostles and earliest followers. This year we will hear Matthew’s account. A variety of good, well-trained readers, who sense the depth of the text and the beauty of the language, make the Genesis and Exodus stories come alive as well as light up the prophetic utterances of Isaiah, Baruch, and Ezekiel. Placing the readers in different parts of the church keeps the liturgy flowing. Sung

O.S.B.

responses for the readings also engage us all in the great story played out before us. The Old and New Testament lessons during the last days of Passiontide are not sequential; rather, they are constructed thematically according to the theology of salvation: suffering and death in Christ’s passion (Holy Thursday through Good Friday) followed by the Vigil’s narrative of humankind’s hopeful longing for redemption. Drawing all our attention with its resonant, opening verse, “In the beginning . . . ,” Genesis 1 relates the six days of creation and the day of rest, followed by the test of Abraham’s faith and God’s loving fidelity in Genesis 22; then the rescue of God’s people from the hand of Pharaoh, Exodus 14–15; the strength of God’s covenantal relationship in the face of human apostasy, Isaiah 54; God’s universal bounty, Isaiah 55; God’s enduring love for holy Wisdom, Baruch 3–4; and the divine rescue of God’s people from the Babylonian exile, Ezekiel 36. Saint Paul’s great discourse (Romans 6:3-11), the first passage of New Testament

Scripture we hear at the Easter Vigil, situates our salvation within the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. This Pauline passage pulls all the readings toward the climax of the Liturgy of the Word: the resurrection Gospel, preferably introduced by majestic music to accompany the sung alleluia. No matter which Gospel of the liturgical cycle we are using in any given year, each account is surprisingly brief, with few details other than what the women saw and experienced and what they told the others. Literally, words cannot describe the resurrection event! In Genesis and Exodus, God’s loving initiative is expressed in the creation of the universe and

humankind, the divine election of Sarah’s and Abraham’s descendants, and the rescue of God’s people Israel from the grip of slavery and death. The prophetic literature then interprets that history through the eyes of God, who forms and shapes the Israelites into a holy people, all in preparation for the coming of Christ. The Old and New Testament readings together set our human experience within Christ’s incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection. The readings supply the images and metaphors for all the other liturgical action within the Vigil: lighting of the Easter fire and candle, singing of the Exsultet, blessing of the water, acts of

All the Vigil’s art and action touch us most inwardly, where we find love lost and found, forgiveness sought and granted, and relationships severed and mended.

baptism and confirmation, and partaking of the Eucharist. These same images and metaphors echo throughout the liturgical year and have become references for over two thousand years of Christian art, music, and literature. Working in concert in this grand liturgical drama of salvation are fire, water, incense, song, flowers, and splendid raiment. All the Vigil’s art and action touch us most inwardly, where we find love lost and found, forgiveness sought and granted, and relationships severed and mended. The Easter Vigil is indeed the Queen of Liturgies. As Saint Athanasius succinctly summarizes the paschal mystery, “Christ became human so that humans can become divine.” This great exchange is what we celebrate at the Easter Vigil. B

Geoffrey Fecht,

O.S.B.

Father Michael Patella, O.S.B., rector of Saint John’s Seminary, is a professor of New Testament at Saint John’s University School of Theology.

Lighting the Easter candle

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New PrepProfession: Monastic School Headmaster Fujimi Roman Paur, O.S.B.

t has been a long time since a monk of Trinity Benedictine Monastery made solemn profession! The last one was Brother Makoto Paul Tada, O.S.B., fourteen years ago. But the waiting was worth it! During Mass on the Feast of Saint Benedict, 21 March, Brother Liting John Chrysostom (JC) Long professed solemn (lifetime) vows in the presence of Abbot John Klassen, O.S.B., and the Fujimi monastic community. Earlier in the day at Morning Prayer Brother Shuuta Maximilian Kolbe Oka, O.S.B., extended his simple vows for another year. Brother JC is the first solemnly professed monk of Saint John’s Abbey from mainland China assigned to Trinity Benedictine Monastery. Liting John Chrysostom Long, 35, was born in Datong, Qinghai Province, an agricultural but mountainous region about eight hundred miles southwest of Beijing. Because of his parents’ work circumstances JC lived with his grandmother, Rongying Yang, during his preschool years in Lanzhou, Gansu Province. Mrs. Yang had been a professor of higher mathematics at Northwest Teachers University and was an accomplished pianist. She was also a victim of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, a dark and tragic decade in Chinese history, when it became a crime to be educated. She suffered mock trials and beatings from mobs of jeering students. During a period of twelve years before the death of Chairman Mao, she

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Brother JC Long (above, left) professes solemn vows in the presence of Abbot John Klassen. Prior Roman Paur witnesses JC sign his monastic commitment.

was forced to do backbreaking farm labor. This kindly lady encouraged JC as a child to study English and, in spite of her own ordeal, instilled in him the value of education. JC’s father, Jiahui Long, was forced to work in the precious metal mines for thirtyfive years because his parents were of the intelligentsia. JC’s mother, Xiumei Zhang, worked as a chemist and production manager in a garment factory. While attending public elementary and high schools in Gansu Province, JC became interested in math and electronics. In 2002, following four years of study, he received a diploma in applied computer engineering from the Physical Sciences College at Lanzhou University. JC’s journey to Christianity and monastic life is remarkably cosmopolitan. His college was located near the Catholic cathedral where he took advantage of the cathedral library. There he met and received instructions from the pastor and was baptized in 2002 at age 23. In 2005 JC moved to the Philippines and spent a year

assisting in a Manila parish while living with Chinese diocesan priests. When he returned to China he entered the National Seminary of the Catholic Church in China, Beijing, where he completed a year of philosophy. In the seminary JC was influenced by a visiting Ottilien Benedictine monk from South Korea who introduced JC to lectio divina (meditative reading of Scripture) and sparked his interest in monastic life. Brother JC’s pathway that led him from the People’s Republic of China to Trinity Benedictine Monastery in Japan included Father Shun Anthony Yao, a graduate of Saint John’s University School of Theology·Seminary and JC’s spiritual director while he studied at the Beijing seminary. Father Anthony encouraged JC to contact the vocation director at Saint John’s, who in turn referred him to the Fujimi community. The rest is history that became our blessing. B Father Roman Paur, O.S.B., is the prior of Trinity Benedictine Monastery in Fujimi, Japan.

In One Voice My life is taking turns that I would not have ever imagined as a child. There are many surprises. I am learning a lot about myself and my expanding world, and about my faith that is still pretty new to me. I am discovering that what is important about monastic life is what I can learn in the community from my brothers and especially from common prayer and holy Mass. I miss my country, and maybe someday I can go back to China and be a small part of Abbot Timothy’s dream of rebuilding a Benedictine presence there. But that would be a long way off. Now I just want to be a good monk. I chose the name John Chrysostom, the fourth-century saint, to remind me to appreciate whatever life has to offer, try to make it better where I can, and always to be grateful. Brother Liting John Chrysostom (JC) Long,

O.S.B.

Lois Kauffman The monks at Saint John’s pray the hours in one voice A difficult task for the untrained and the hurried

The monks at Saint John’s pause between lines Between stanzas Between prayers They speak together Speak to the unseen The silence gives space The space is prayer Prayer happens Prayer is more than noise More than people Prayer happens in the silence The silence is uncomfortable The silence is long Nothing to hear Silence Saint Benedict’s first rule: Listen Listen in the silence Listen to the words Listen to the prayer Listen to God Listen with the ear of the heart How does God talk? How does prayer talk? How does silence talk? I listen: I hear I listen: I know I listen: God speaks In the silence May 2009

Narrow is the road that leads to life (Rule, Prol.48). Brother JC clears the narrow path to the monastery.

Roman Paur,

O.S.B.

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Benedictine Volunteer Corps Kappadu, India Columba Stewart, O.S.B.

n January I was able to spend several days at Saint Thomas Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Kappadu, in the hilly forests of Kerala, India. I was there to teach the younger monks and to learn more about the daily life and work of our two Benedictine Volunteer Corps members, Ethan Howard and Martin Hermann. The founders of Kappadu came from Asirvanam Abbey in Bangalore, a Benedictine monastery founded by Belgian missionaries. When they arrived in Kerala, they wanted to establish a way of life that suited the local culture. From the beginning they focused on traditional agriculture as their major work. The monks sell eggs, milk, rubber, bananas, coconuts, nutmeg, and other crops. They also manage a large hostel for teenage boys attending a local secondary school. When I

was there they had just cleared and planted a large banana plantation that uses drip irrigation to keep the thirsty banana trees happy throughout the dry season. Our Benedictine Volunteers help with the farm and also teach English to the junior monks. The monastery consists of several buildings, with a beautiful church atop a hill. It has the feel of a small village. Although the monastery was officially established only in 1988 and became an abbey in 2004, it already has five small daughter houses used for the formation of candidates. Following local custom, they start monastic life at the age of 15. After candidacy the young men go to Kappadu for their novitiate and juniorate formation. Kerala is the home of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most ancient Christian community. Firmly held belief maintains that Saint Thomas the

Apostle brought Christianity to the region in A.D. 52. The native Christianity of Kerala belongs to the Syriac tradition, and its liturgy to this day has close affinities with that of Churches in the Middle East. Although the monks at Kappadu follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, their liturgy is the SyroMalabar rite of their own Church, celebrated today in Malayalam, the local vernacular. Father Columba Stewart, O.S.B., is the executive director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library.

Class of 2015 Paul Richards, O.S.B.

uring Easter week 2013 Saint Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Abbey hosted representatives from a dozen faith-based volunteer organizations as part of a Lilly Endowment grant program that encouraged postgraduate volunteers to consider longerterm church service. Among the

Being a Benedictine Volunteer has not only allowed me to immerse myself in a community that I would not normally get the opportunity to be a part of, but it has also allowed me to pursue further intellectual and spiritual development in my post-university life.Â Martin Hermann I came to India with every intention of fully giving myself to this way of life so that I may gain even the slightest instance of wisdom that Saint Benedict, and other intellectual giants alike, made a priority to share with humanity. Ethan Howard BVC

Ethan Howard (left) and Martin Hermann assist with meal preparation.

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Bailey Walter

Benedictine Volunteers, 2014–2015. From left, front to back, row 1: John (JD) Quinby, Patrick Kunkel, Jacob Helmer, John Jaeger, Joseph Dick, John Dube; row 2: Mark Greci, Richard Rohlik, Mark Steingraeber, Connor Triggs, Joseph Kinnan; row 3: Benjamin Precourt, Brandon Dorsey, Brian Vander Heiden, Cody Groen, Charles Dudek; row 4: Cody Lynch, Conall Quinn, Adam Bachmeier, Drake Osterhout, Alexander Forster; not pictured: Lukas Ramsey

organizations present were the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (which predates the Peace Corps), the Christian Appalachian Project, Lasallian Volunteers, Quaker Voluntary Service, and L’Arche USA.

What distinguishes our Benedictine Volunteer Corps (BVC) from other volunteer groups? The key difference is that those chosen to serve in the BVC have been raised in our own backyard as students. Other volunteer organizations hire recruiters who spend a considerable amount of human and fiscal resources finding their volunteers at schools across the U.S. and then vetting and training them. The Benedictine Volunteer Corps begins its recruitment and training when men enter Saint John’s University as freshmen. The undergraduate experience at Saint John’s creates an applicant pool seasoned in the Benedictine culture of service and prayer. And we don’t have to travel

more than six blocks to find them! This year’s Benedictine Volunteer class continues our elevenyear tradition of service to the Church, the Order of Saint Benedict, and local communities by more than one hundred alumni. The applicant pool was the largest ever (more than forty) and comes from a class whose members have distinguished themselves academically, spiritually, and socially. Beginning in June, Saint John’s Abbey will send more than twenty volunteers to Benedictine com-

munities around the world, including two new sites, New Norcia in Western Australia and Mount Saint Benedict in Trinidad. Special thanks to readers of Abbey Banner who support the BVC through prayer and financial contributions. Visit us at www.saintjohnsabbey.org/bvc. B

Brother Paul Richards, O.S.B., is the founder of The Saint John’s Benedictine Volunteer Corps.

Following a two-week retreat in late January, Matthew Palmquist, 2012 alumnus of Saint John’s University, has been serving in the Benedictine Volunteer Corps at Saint John’s, assisting in the abbey woodworking shop and living in the monastery. As an undergraduate, Matthew worked at the Saint John’s Pottery and also helped to establish Johnnie Java, the campus coffee shop. He will serve in the BVC until June.

Robin Pierzina, O.S.B.

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New Prep SchoolInstitute Headmaster The Benedictine about their vocations as colleagues at Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s. Ms. Gloria “Chick” Hardy and I have a hand in leading this formation program. The assistant director of the Benedictine Institute, Chick is well known for her ability to teach and guide participants throughout the preparations and the study tour itself. One member observed, “You took a group of people who barely knew one another and helped us deepen our relationship to God and each other. You have a gracious gift for seeing the best in everyone.”

Mark Thamert, O.S.B.

he Benedictine Institute of Saint John’s is well known for its Benedictine heritage study tours for faculty, staff, and administrators. For twelve days each summer, these groups follow the footsteps of Saint Benedict in central Italy and then visit the founding monasteries of Saint Benedict’s Monastery and Saint John’s Abbey, in Eichstätt and Metten in Bavaria, respectively. More than one hundred colleagues from Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s have participated in these pilgrimages. All report that the group travel, prayer, Masses, lectio divina, and spiritual discussions are lifechanging. For Professor of English Matt Callahan, “One experience really stands out. It was during the Mass at San Benedetto, the tiny church in the heart of ancient Rome just off the Tiber River, where Father Mark served as concelebrant and translator with Father Maurizio, the Brazilian pastor of this small parish. It was morning, and later that day we would experience the splendor and magnificence of Saint Peter’s and the Vatican. But San Benedetto was simple and quiet, plain by comparison. The sky was pale blue, the air clear and warm and still. Swallows twittered just beyond the open windows, and seagulls called from the Tiber River not more than a stone’s throw away. In addition to the twelve Americans, there was a handful

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Gloria Hardy

Saint John’s Abbey coat of arms in the crypt ceiling of Monte Cassino, Italy

of other participants in the congregation. Standing within those worn walls where Benedict himself once stood, I felt at once both large and small, removed from the hustle and bustle of Rome and the greater world and also absolutely connected to it. I caught a glimpse of what might have driven Benedict out of Rome to that cave in Subiaco many centuries ago and also what brought him back from seclusion. It was, at the risk of sounding too dramatic, one of the most profound moments of my life.” To prepare for these travels in Italy and Germany, participants engage in a five-month formation program that includes meals and liturgies at our two monasteries, talks by monks and sisters, discussions of readings on Benedictine spirituality, and participants sharing stories

he impetus for the Benedictine Institute dates to 2008 when former University President Brother Dietrich Reinhart, O.S.B., proposed such a center as a “counterpart to such institutes at other prominent Catholic universities such as the Jesuit Institute at Boston College and the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education at Santa Clara University.” Shortly before his death Brother Dietrich became the first director of the Institute, succeeded in July 2009 by Saint John’s University President Emeritus Hilary Thimmesh, O.S.B. With a group of colleagues, Father Hilary set about crafting a mission statement that would honor the vision of Brother Dietrich: “The purpose of the Benedictine Institute is to strengthen and articulate in fresh ways the Catholic and Benedictine character of Saint John’s University that has been its hallmark since it was founded

by the monks of Saint John’s Abbey in 1857.” The Institute fulfills its mission by nurturing in students, faculty, and staff, as well as alumni, parents, and friends, an understanding and appreciation of Benedictine tradition, spirit, values, and the many-faceted Catholic intellectual tradition. In collaboration with Saint John’s University Residential Life, we are now finalizing plans for a group of twelve students to form a living community in Virgil Michel House at Saint John’s. Beginning this fall the participants will live, pray, and learn about Benedictine life together for nine months. They will be taught by a team of monks, sisters, and lay colleagues who will introduce them to community living and spirituality in the Benedictine tradition. This past October the Institute’s noontime lecture series included

a presentation by Brother David Paul Lange, O.S.B., “Designing a church for Saint John’s in the mid-20th century: What the architect and the monks had in mind.” In November Father Columba Stewart, O.S.B., gave a talk, “From the Dark Ages to Cold War Europe, from Ethiopia to the Middle East and India, and on to Timbuktu: How Benedictines can’t stop preserving endangered manuscripts.” In addition, the Institute sponsors afternoon discussions on spiritual and historical topics. Recent discussions included the America magazine interview with Pope Francis and his statement on the future of the Church; four sessions devoted to Professor Annette Atkins’ book about the history of the College of Saint Benedict, Challenging Women Since 1913; and a slide show and discussion with Mr. Vince Michael on church and

monastic architecture. Other discussions included Mr. Jose Bourget’s reflections on working in the Church of the poor in the Dominican Republic, and a panel discussion by Sister Josue Behnen, O.S.B., and Sister Elizabeth Liebert, S.N.J.M., comparing Benedictine and Ignatian views of discernment. This spring Bishop Dennis Madden, former monk of Saint Benedict’s Abbey of Atchison, will talk about his years of pastoral service in the Gaza Strip and about the spirituality of the Decree on Ecumenism of Vatican II, Unitatis Redintegratio. Last month Professor Gerald Schlabach, resident scholar at the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, gave a talk, “Glamour, a Sense of Place, and Young People: The Meaning of Benedictine Stability in Today’s World.” We also hosted Abbot Primate Notker Wolf, O.S.B., who discussed The Art of Leadership, which he coauthored. We continue to seek ways to strengthen and articulate our Catholic and Benedictine character, “so that in all things, God may be glorified” (1 Peter 4:11; Rule 57.9). B Father Mark Thamert, O.S.B., director of the Benedictine Institute, also teaches German language and culture at Saint John’s University.

Gloria Hardy

Brother Dan Morgan and members of the May 2012 Benedictine heritage tour enjoy lunch at Saint Scholastica Abbey, Subiaco, Italy.

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Ministry to the Dying and Grieving Roger Botz, O.S.B.

haplains’ contact with terminally-ill or dying patients is intermittent rather than constant. We may be with them when they receive the initial diagnosis. Patients may then transfer to their home, a nursing facility, or a hospice program. We may see them in the hospital as they return from time to time for specialized therapies. Finally, in need of enhanced pain control, patients may come to the hospital a final time and die here. Chaplain ministry is about the meeting of a person with a person, a patient with a chaplain. The patient is the focal point. The chaplain will meet the patient where the patient is, emotionally, spiritually, physically. What the patient wants to talk about is the agenda. If the patient cannot or does not talk, the chaplain provides a quiet, caring presence. A chaplain’s role is to let the patient know that God is present—a God of mercy, of tenderness, of forgiveness, a God whose own heart breaks at the

When a chaplain expresses sorrow over loss, it is God who is speaking.

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Alan Reed, O.S.B.

same moment a patient’s heart breaks. A chaplain’s task is not to coach but to accompany. For Catholic patients, a priest can administer the healing power of the sacraments, the sacraments of anointing and reconciliation and last rites. From their early years, patients have become attuned to the importance of these rituals when death approaches. Their faith in God to heal and save makes the rites effective. The priest offers them as gifts from a loving God. Dying is about more than the patient, the chaplain, and God. It is also about the family, including everyone who carries the familial fealty of love, caring, and inclusion. The chaplain is supportive of all, quietly and unobtrusively present. When a chaplain expresses sorrow over loss, it is God who is speaking.

The chaplain may do well to remind the family that not all is lost in death. Love does not end with death, neither their love for the deceased nor the deceased’s love for them. The chaplain confirms: there are many persons in heaven whom we love, and many who love us, and now your dear one is among them. Memories are not lost either, neither for the deceased nor for us. What does end with death is the physical relationship with the deceased, and that loss must be grieved. Sometimes the greatest gift from the chaplain is to encourage the family to grieve and to stand with them in their loss. Then we let go. B

Father Roger Botz, O.S.B., has served in the spiritual care department of St. Cloud Hospital since 1985.

Music for the Mass of Christian Burial Anthony Ruff, O.S.B.

lder readers might remember the Requiem æaternam and Dies iræ chants of the old Latin funeral Mass. The Requiem æaternam is the entrance antiphon, “Eternal rest (grant unto them, O Lord).” Its opening words eventually became the name for the whole liturgy, and hence some still speak of a “Requiem Mass” for the dead. The second chant, Dies iræ, is the sequence hymn formerly sung before the gospel reading. Its text is ominous: “Day of wrath, day when the world dissolves in ashes.” A later stanza says, “Tearful that day when the guilty one arises from the ashes to be judged. Spare him, O God!” The first chant is still part of the funeral Mass, but since the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the second is not. Why the change? Because the Council decreed that “the rite for the burial of the dead should express more clearly the paschal character of Christian death.” This means expressing the entire Easter Triduum—not just the death of Good Friday but also the resurrection of Easter Sunday. The second chant was thought to be too focused on dread judgment, without the hope of the resurrection, and so it was removed.

coffin. It is a gentle and consoling piece in which we entrust our brother to a forgiving and merciful God. In most parishes, some other English hymn is sung to express the mystery of death and resurrection, as the reformed liturgy also permits. The introduction to the Order of Christian Funerals tells us that the funeral liturgy has several purposes: to proclaim that the risen Lord is the center of the Church’s life, to strengthen the faith in the paschal mystery of all the participants, to pray for the dead with confidence in Jesus’ victory, to console those who mourn, and to offer praise and thanksgiving to God for the gift of the life of the deceased. The music of the funeral liturgy should express this rich expanse of themes. The emphasis is on the Lord and his victory, with the

deceased and mourners sharing in the Lord’s life. This is not simply a “celebration of life” of the deceased, nor is it quite a “Mass of Resurrection,” as some want to call it. The music should be hopeful, with even a bit of Easter joy breaking through, but should also express our sadness, including our acknowledgment of the reality of sin in our lives. We pray for the deceased, but in a spirit of hopeful confidence, as in the communion antiphon, “May eternal light shine upon them, O Lord, in company with your saints forever, for you abound in love.” B

Father Anthony Ruff, O.S.B., teaches liturgy and liturgical music at Saint John’s School of Theology·Seminary and is the moderator of Pray Tell, praytellblog.com, a blog that offers practical wisdom about liturgy.

This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia!

At Saint John’s Abbey we still chant the Requiem æaternam in Latin as the monks process into the church to stand before the

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Celebrating Life in Death Edward Vebelun, O.S.B.

remember, as a novice, my first experience of a funeral at Saint John’s Abbey. I was struck by the ritual and beauty, and I experienced a profound feeling of understanding how the final stage of my own monastic vocation would unfold. I recall standing in the baptistery of the church, waiting for the monks to arrive, and listening to the slow tolling of the bell to signal the departure of one of our own for the next step of the journey unto eternal life. In the monastery, at the reception of the body, we gather in the baptistery and sprinkle the body with holy water to recall our Christian vocation given through baptism. Then we read from the Prologue of the Rule of Saint Benedict, “Listen, my son, to your master’s precepts, and incline the ear of your heart” (Prol.1). For the monk this pulls the imagination back to the noble beginnings of our monastic vocation and places death within the proper context of the entire Christian and monastic life. Saint Benedict exhorts his monks “to keep death daily before one’s eyes” (RB 4.47). Community members speak with great fondness of our funeral rite, a cherished memorial of our brothers and a way to place the reality of death within the context of the entire monastic vocation. Following the initial reception of the body in the baptistery, the

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community processes into the church with the body and recalls the journey of life by reciting the psalms and listening to the Word of God, or another selection, specially chosen to reflect that monk’s life. For monks, who enjoy a daily diet of Scripture, it is easy to find a passage that speaks to us of the character and focus of our deceased confrere’s life. In all of this the presence of the body is significant. The Catholic funeral rite has allowed for cremation for decades, but it continues to give a strong preference for the “presence of the body” at the funeral Mass. At Saint John’s, once the body is brought to the front of the church, we open the casket so that we can look upon our confrere. In life we knew our brother only in a physical, concrete expression; so seeing his face and entire body dressed symbolically in the monastic habit gives us an appropriate

venue to mourn his loss and to see our own eventual death as a natural rite of passage from death into life. The presence of the body is so significant and natural at funerals that in some cultures, such as in the Philippines, it is common to keep the body at the family home for days, or even weeks, to allow friends and family to gather, mourn in its presence, and celebrate life. In Japan, throughout decades past, it was common to have a ritual cleaning and dressing of the body at the home, in front of family and friends, instead of taking the body to a funeral home. Our monastic funeral Mass begins with the entire community gathering around the body for a final view of our brother as the casket is closed and clothed with the white pall, symbolizing a garment of salvation. Following the funeral

In cultures where cremation is normative, appropriate leave of the body is taken. For example, in Japan, at the closing of the funeral Mass, each person in the assembly is invited to place a flower into or near the casket. The body is then escorted by the family and closest friends to the crematorium where they pray and witness it go into the oven and the oven turned on. When the cremation process is finished, by Japanese custom, the family reassembles around the remains (mostly skeletal remains) and takes turns ritually placing them into an urn. This urn is placed within the family home for 49 days until it is ceremoniously taken to its final resting place. The number 49 is believed to be, in Buddhist mystical understanding, the amount of time the spirit continues to roam the earth before it seeks its final rest.

Our funeral rite: a cherished memorial of our brothers and a way to place the reality of death within the context of the entire monastic vocation. University archives

Mass, the community processes with the body to the cemetery. The community walks along the road chanting familiar psalms that comfort us with the hope of the resurrection. As we turn to climb the hill into the cemetery, we sing a pilgrimage psalm, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We shall go up with joy, to the house of our Godâ&#x20AC;? (Psalm 122). Since we live and die in the hope of the resurrection, there is no need to mask the realities of death. Following the cemetery rite the body is lowered into the ground, and all who are present are allowed to cast a handful of dirt over the casket or to bless it with holy water before it is completely covered. At one

funeral in the past, attendees could even hear the roar of the backhoe moving toward the cemetery to seal the grave. According to monastic tradition, commemoration does not cease when we leave the cemetery. Grieving and closure are aided by a display of photos and memorabilia of the deceased monk within the monastery that are viewed and cherished by the community. For thirty days we also place two candles at the dinner table in our monastic refectory to honor the deceased, and we recall his name at Morning Prayer each day for the same length of time.

The monks of Saint Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Abbey take great pride in our monastic cemetery. Intentionally placed atop a hill overlooking the monastery and Lake Sagatagan, it is adorned with ordered rows of granite monuments that lie in the midst of towering pine trees, in the shadow of the centrally placed cross. The cemetery is frequently visited during walks by confreres because of its beauty and significance as a memorial of our common life. B Father Edward Vebelun, O.S.B., is the pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Church in Richmond, Minnesota, and Saint Martin Church, Saint Martin.

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Bernard Buffet: The Passion of Christ

Clockwise from top left: The Agony in the Garden, “Ecce Homo,” the Crucifixion (including the scriptural text), the resurrected Lamb of God, and Veronica’s veil. Considered one of the most important postwar French artists, Bernard Buffet (1928–1999) worked in an expressionist style, striving to show emotional content with an aggressive handling of the artistic elements. La Passion du Christ was published in Paris in 1954 in an edition of 140 copies and includes, along with the biblical narrative of the Passion and death of Jesus Christ, twenty-one drypoint, etched illustrations. It is said that these images were influenced by the photographs of World War II German concentration camps that were published after the liberation of the camps. The folio comes in a distressed zinc box that further emphasizes the absence of attempts to soften this significant work of art. From the collection of: Arca Artium, Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, Saint John’s University. HMML.org

Fifty Years of Liturgical Renewal Aaron Raverty, O.S.B.

he Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) was a watershed in the history of the Catholic Church. Convened by the charismatic Pope John XXIII, this twenty-first ecumenical council is sometimes likened to an opened window providing an inflow of fresh air. On 4 December 1963 the first document of the council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, was promulgated, addressing the general principles for the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy. In the ecumenical spirit of Vatican Council II, the stress on unity and community allowed for greater similarity in Catholic and Protestant worship as well as helped to overcome individualism and a “me and Jesus” piety. This Council teaching highlighted the importance of adapting to culture in liturgical reform. After emphasizing that Christ is always present in liturgical celebrations, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy underscored the significance of the liturgy for the life and vibrancy of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. It emphasized active participation, a participation that had formerly been limited by the Latin language and the emphasis on the priestly, clerical action apart from the faithful in the pews. It rebalanced the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the liturgy—its hierarchical and communal natures—in addition to its mandates to teach and

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Michael Crouser

provide pastoral care for all its members as the Body of Christ. The document addressed the need to adapt liturgy to those whose native languages and customs were different from peoples enculturated under the umbrella of Western influence (inculturation), and encouraged the use of the vernacular while not disparaging the timehonored traditional Latin. Sacrosanctum Concilium outlined needed updates in the liturgical life of each diocese and its parishes, with limited experimentation under the supervision of the local bishop, and the “promotion of pastoral

liturgical action.” This included the nature and celebration of the Eucharist as the summit and ultimate sacrament of the Church’s liturgical life, where it encouraged acclamations, responses, and other forms of participation by the laity (the “dialog Mass”), as well as new norms for the sacraments and sacramentals. Moreover, the document addressed the communal life of the prayer of the Church in the Divine Office and reconsidered the cycle of the Church’s calendar of the liturgical year. It spoke of the contribution of sacred music in liturgical celebrations and advocated for the incorporation

of hymns and other new musical expressions in addition to the traditional Gregorian chant. A fresh approach to the more material and aesthetic aspects of church art, architecture, and sacred furnishings was encouraged so each could enliven the worship setting and inspire the faithful in the space and structures in which the larger Church’s liturgy was enacted. ow was such liturgical renewal addressed at Saint John’s Abbey? Notable changes appeared in the celebration of the Eucharist, with a gradual move from Latin into the full use of English, even though Latin chant has been preserved at Saint John’s, chiefly in our simple Mass ordinaries and in the chant schola choir pieces. The musical repertoire was broadened, especially in the use of hymnody. Communion always includes both bread and wine. The various ministries— acolytes, readers, musicians, and eucharistic ministers—were opened to monks and to lay men and women. Eucharistic concelebration became the norm on weekdays, along with the virtual disappearance of the “private Mass.” In October 1967 our Benedictine Congregation was granted an indult from Rome for the renewal of the Liturgy of the Hours within broad, basic parameters. At Saint John’s the Liturgy of the Hours evolved organically through four major periods up to the present, gradually moving into the full use

of the vernacular. The use of English facilitated the unity of the whole community—priests, brothers, and guests—at daily prayer. Our Liturgy of the Hours began incorporating nonScripture readings from a wide variety of sources: the Church Fathers, ancient and medieval texts, modern authors, Catholic and non-Catholic, men and women, living and deceased authors, canonized saints, and noncanonized holy ones. This is broader than the preconciliar Liturgy of the Hours. A new prayer schedule was devised, and the Hours were prayed at their correct times, never clustered together nor mixed with the celebration of the Eucharist: Morning Prayer, Midday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline (privately). A new and simpler structure came to characterize Morning and Evening Prayer: hymn, psalmody, reading, prayer. The reading of Scripture was increased at the main Hours; prayers of litany followed by the Lord’s Prayer end the main Hours. These litanies are original texts in English; they are topical and flexible according to contemporary needs and events. In addition communal prayer services of reconciliation are celebrated seasonally at the abbey. The communal anointing of those whose health is impaired by illness or old age is celebrated in Saint Raphael Hall (the abbey’s health care and retirement center). Rites of installation of persons in

ministries and of ordination to the priesthood are celebrated in community according to Roman usage. Funerals use the Rite of Christian Burial as adapted by the U.S. Bishops with some minor adaptations according to Saint John’s Abbey customs. Monks of Saint John’s, such as Father Virgil Michel, O.S.B. (1890–1938), spearheaded the liturgical movement in the U.S., arguing for the use of the vernacular as well as the implementation of the dialog Mass long before Vatican II. This encouraged the participation of the congregation in the liturgical action. Father Virgil’s call for liturgical reform was taken up by Father Godfrey Diekmann, O.S.B. (1908–2002), himself a peritus or theological expert at the Council. Through the initiatives of these and other monks, Saint John’s Abbey gained the reputation as a worldwide leader in liturgical reform. B Brother Aaron Raverty, O.S.B., is a member of the Abbey Banner editorial staff.

In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy, the full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else, for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, no. 14

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Flying Squirrels Kristina Timmerman

hy flying squirrels? Visitors to the Saint John’s Abbey Arboretum regularly ask this question when they learn that I conduct field research on these nocturnal denizens. Why indeed! The biology faculty of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University are always on the lookout for field projects that will contribute to our students’ learning and synthesis of scientific methodology, and the chance of seeing one of these elusive creatures draws students’ interest like a magnet! Southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) really are the perfect study organism. They are small, easy to trap and handle, do not pose any health or injury risks to students, and the population is large enough so we usually have success within

Kristina Timmerman

Hannah Von Arb (left) and Stephanie Noyes record data about a captured flying squirrel.

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Kristina Timmerman

After being outfitted with a fashionable ear tag, the flying squirrel is released.

one or two trap nights. Because these chipmunk-size animals are nocturnal, most people are not familiar with them. Despite their name, they don’t actually fly but rather make use of a loose fold of skin (patagium) that extends from the front to the back feet, allowing them to glide distances of up to 150 feet, though twenty to thirty feet is the typical range.

about five feet above ground. If traps are merely set at the base of the tree, the probability of catching a flying squirrel goes down significantly. Saint John’s carpentry shop builds trap “sleeves” out of scrap wood. Our live traps slip into the sleeve; a strap anchors the sleeve to the tree with the trap safely ensconced inside.

After receiving approval from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC), we initiated our first trapping project in May 2012. Jamie Tessier, Wendy Buermann, and Kelsey Puhalla (all 2012 Saint Benedict graduates in biology) participated in the initial study with financial support from the biology department and honor’s thesis student fellowships. This short-term project was carried out to determine if trapping flying squirrels was feasible. Live traps were set up in grid fashion (twenty-five traps total in a 1200 square-foot area), each anchored to a tree trunk

During our active research time, traps were opened at dusk and checked early the next morning for four consecutive days. Traps were then closed for three days, and the cycle started over again. This is how we achieve a ratio of newly captured animals to the recapture of the already marked or ear-tagged animals. Since our study was focused exclusively on flying squirrels, we limited the chance of trapping of diurnal (day active) animals by opening traps at dusk and closing them after the morning check period. When animals are captured, we move them from the trap to a gallon plastic bag for handling. With the squirrel still in the bag, the students determine gender

and reproductive status, and take standardized measurements, such as length of body and tail, and weight. Each animal gets a uniquely numbered ear tag, so in future trappings we can identify individual squirrels. During the summers of 2012 and 2013 students assisted in a population study of flying squirrels; they estimated population size by repeatedly trapping, marking with ear tags, and recapturing individuals. The undergraduates also conducted their own independent research. For example, during the summer of 2013, Kyle Gronbeck and Stephanie Noyes explored whether the old Saint John’s entry road acted as a barrier to squirrel gliding movement. For the 2012 independent study, Hannah Von Arb and Stephanie Noyes investigated the relationship between habitat characteristics and trapping locations. They wondered: Is there a relationship between where a squirrel was trapped

closing the trap for the night. Raccoons quickly learned that there was free food in each trap and systematically walked trap lines, opening each trap to eat the food—again, effectively closing the traps. Therefore, our estimate of squirrel populations in a given area is not reliable because our trapping numbers were too small! We will head back to the scientific drawing board to devise solutions for our mouse/raccoon problem before we initiate another trapping session. A night bandit enjoys free food.

Stealth Cam

and the types of trees or amount of woody debris on the ground? Unfortunately for our trapping efforts, white-footed mice and raccoons had other ideas about trap use! Mice climbed the tree trunk and entered the trap for the peanut butter and raisins used to attract the squirrels. The mice triggered the door to close (as a squirrel would), effectively

Our summer independent research projects were successful, however. The 2012 and 2013 summer fellowship data results have been accepted and presented at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research national meetings. In addition, results were (or will be) presented at the annual Scholarship and Creativity Day at Saint Benedict and Saint John’s. All students report that the summer research enhanced their undergraduate experience within the biology department. They gained confidence in their ability to take on new tasks, and expanded their understanding of ecological and scientific concepts. The experience was also an excellent addition to their résumé—a win-win relationship between student and mentor! B

Stephanie Noyes checks a trap.

Kristina Timmerman

Kristina Timmerman is an adjunct instructor in biology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.

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Dear Monks,

arrived at Saint John’s on New Year’s Day 2009, as “wife of” a scholar at the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research, afraid I would either freeze to death or die of boredom! I came not knowing what “the Hours” were and not knowing much about monks or why monks exist. But soon I was walking to the abbey church in minus-20-degree weather to pray with you. I returned day after day, not knowing why, but I simply could not stay away. You were always there in the choir stalls; I came and you took me in. You gave me hope. At daily Mass I listened to homilies that were from the heart. Some were inside the box, some outside—but they were homilies that have and are changing my life. I prayed prayers that were no longer just words, but truths that caused me to question and to make commitments. After five months at the Collegeville Institute, my husband and I returned to our home in Washington, D.C., but you were still with me. I trusted that my heart, the one you helped to heal, the one that is learning to listen, would be a heart that gives to others and helps bring healing and love to the wider world. If and when that happens, it is because of you. We returned the next fall for a full year at the Institute, and have stayed. I know that you held me in prayer when I was at the point of death. In the summer of 2011 my family asked for your prayers

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when I was suddenly struck by meningitis and encephalitis and not expected to live. I believe your prayers were heard and brought me back to Saint John’s. Thank you! I thought prayer was only for the pious and holy, but you made it available to me and for me. While praying with you I found an old friend in myself, someone whom I had forgotten. You have provided me a place where I could write, a place where I could survive a Minnesota winter and enjoy it. A monk taught me to accept prayer as community and as joy. When praying the Hours I lift my voice and listen to the voices of others. I become one voice in the choir of many voices.

love resides, a place where fear is so powerful that I want to run, and run fast, but which calls me back and won’t let me run. It is both talking and listening. Talking I know; listening is difficult. We have opened the Michael Sattler House across the road from the monastery grounds, where we now live. Inspired by a sixteenth-century Benedictine prior who was martyred for social justice, we provide hospitality to others involved in social justice, offering them what we have been given at Saint John’s. Our door is open to all, as Saint John’s has been to us. Yours in thanksgiving, Lois Kauffman

Prayer is beyond my understanding, but a place where I now must live, a place where

Good Neighbors

Alan Reed,

O.S.B.

Eileen Haeg

here is an old saying: “You can choose your friends, but not your neighbors” (or relatives, for that matter). My husband, Richard, and I chose to become neighbors of Saint John’s Abbey. The year was 1959. The abbey and university church was under construction, and Richard was assisting in crafting the stainedglass window for the church’s north façade. I was soon to graduate from the Saint Cloud Hospital School of Nursing, and we planned to be married in 1960. That summer Saint John’s Abbey sold us a building site in Collegeville on the “other side” of Highway 52, now I-94. That was the beginning of our relationship as neighbors of the abbey.

Our neighborhood consisted of twelve houses, some of which were built by the abbey for their lay employees and families; professors and trades people employed by Saint John’s built others later. The abbey was and is our generous neighbor. Their woods are our woods. Children and adults spend many happy hours exploring the trails and ravines on foot in summer, or on skis and snowshoes in winter. Their lake is our lake. Summers are spent with children playing at the beach, learning to swim, and even catching fish. Their church is our church. Baptisms, First Communions, weddings, and funerals mark events in our lives that are shared with our abbey friends. Daily and Sunday Masses are also times to come together as neighbors. Saint John’s serves as a cultural oasis in central Minnesota. Neighbors can take advantage of the library by checking out books and films. Many cultural events are offered. Some are for entertainment; others include nationally acclaimed speakers on social justice, political, or religious issues. These are usually open to the neighbors, free or as ticketed events. The abbey is a never-ending source of local conversation. Neighbors speculate and comment on the latest abbey project, sometimes scratching their heads as to the wisdom of the current undertaking, but always interested and often influenced by the success (or not!) of the

venture. The church forever changed the architectural vision of the neighborhood. The flowerbeds and the landscaping are inspiring. The abbey continues to be a source of ideas in art, architecture, music, theology, landscaping, and resource management. As neighbors we are aware of each other’s joys and sorrows, strengths and weaknesses. We share in abbey celebrations and funerals. When the media takes the abbey to task over abuse issues, we are saddened with them. Their troubles become our troubles. We are a neighborhood. I spent thirty-three years working for the abbey in health care. The commute was great! In good weather I could walk the old road through the woods to my job. In 1996 the abbey generously gave me the opportunity to further my education, which I then used in service of the abbey until 2009. I recently returned to the abbey as volunteer coordinator, a job that lets me stay in contact with the community and promote neighborliness. I hope the abbey has benefited from the good will, help, and kindness of their neighbors also. B Ms. Eileen Haeg served Saint John’s as a registered nurse, physician assistant, and especially as “Doctor Mom.”

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Meet a Monk: Matthew Luft taught in the religious education program at Saint Boniface. Later he did his student teaching in Cold Spring and at Apollo High School in Saint Cloud. But a vocation also tugged at him, and he entered the pre-theology program at Saint John’s as a seminarian for the Diocese of Des Moines.

Abbey archives

Eric Hollas, O.S.B.

t was an odd place to meet. There, in the middle of a snow-packed street, Father Matthew Luft, O.S.B., welcomed me to Saint Boniface Church in Cold Spring, Minnesota. He had just finished Mass and was headed across the street for breakfast in the rectory. For a few moments we chatted, until the cold gusts and a car chased us out of the street. To all appearances Matthew seemed to have all the time in the world; but looks often deceive. This is one monk with a lot on his plate. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Matthew came as a freshman to Saint John’s University in 1991. At the time he was not sure of his career path, but neither monastic life nor Minnesota figured into his future. Law school and education ranked among the more likely possibilities, and as a student he

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In the fall of 1996 Matthew began seminary training at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Two years of reflection confirmed in him the call to ministry, but those years also unearthed a surprise. If he were to minister, community would have to be a component. With that to chew on, he left Washington and taught in Phoenix for two years. There he continued to pray, and his search led him back to Saint John’s. In 2000 he entered the novitiate of Saint John’s Abbey, professed vows as a Benedictine

monk a year later, and in January 2005 was ordained to the priesthood. There were other threads that contributed to this pilgrimage as well. First, he had grown up in a Catholic family that included two older sisters and three younger brothers. His father had been ordained a deacon, and Father Matthew’s parents had participated in the diaconate program at Conception Abbey in Missouri. At Saint John’s, Sister Kristin Malloy, O.S.B. (1922–2007), further added to the Benedictine strand. In her First Year Symposium, when Matthew was an undergraduate, she discussed monastic life as well as her own life as a Benedictine. “She was a woman of faith and ideals,” he recalls, and she had a profound influence on him. Two monks reinforced her impact. Matthew remembers well the day Abbot Jerome Theisen, O.S.B. (1930–1995), spoke about the Rule of Saint Benedict; and daily he saw Father Cletus Connors, O.S.B., the faculty resident on his freshman floor.

Heather Luft

Father Matthew celebrates his niece’s First Communion with Deacon Dad/Grandpa.

Following ordination Matthew returned to Catholic University, where he began the doctoral program in liturgical studies; he passed his oral dissertation defense in March. He continued to ponder

his vocational path, this time concentrating on the balance between prayer and work, and the work he might later pursue. For one thing, he relished the chance to study the liturgical tradition of the Church. He also discovered how much he enjoyed teaching. While there he taught graduate courses on “Ministry and the Liturgical Presider” and “Introduction to Liturgical Preaching,” as well as one undergraduate course. On weekends he assisted at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, Maryland. He describes that experience as “absolutely phenomenal,” because it forced him to translate his formal theology into language that was accessible to people in the pews. In 2013 Father Matthew became the twenty-fifth Benedictine pastor of Saint Boniface Church. Not surprisingly, he has not ceased to reflect on what it means to be a monk and now a pastor, but he is firm in one conviction. “I’m a disciple of the Lord,” he says. From that flows life as a monk, a student, a teacher, and a pastor. “All monks are disciples first,” he continues, “and nothing else matters.” But of course there are practical issues to consider. For one, Matthew draws inspiration from the monk-missionary Saint Boniface. Like all monk-pastors before him, Matthew admits to the challenge of maintaining contact with a community that is fifteen miles away. He returns

Father Matthew (left) and Stella and Louie enjoy a lake outing.

to the abbey regularly, both to visit as well as to serve on the abbey finance committee and the mentor council. He also welcomes confreres who come on occasion to help with the pastoral work at Saint Boniface. A second challenge is the steep learning curve he faces as pastor. Parish administration demands a great deal of attention, as do the people’s needs on a daily basis. There is also a growing Hispanic community to consider; Matthew is fortunate to be fluent in Spanish. And he is well aware of the great legacy that twentyfour Benedictine pastors have left at Saint Boniface since 1878. It’s easy to pick up the earnest tone in Matthew’s voice. He’s grateful for the impact that his

parents, Sister Kristin, and so many others have had on his spiritual journey. He’s thankful for life in community and for the chance to pursue graduate study. He feels privileged to translate the Gospel into the experience of people in the pews. And he’s especially awed that people would welcome him into their lives as pastor. There is no doubt that Father Matthew is one busy monk. But above all else he is glad to be a disciple of the Lord. Maybe that’s why he is more than happy to stop in the middle of a snowy street and share a bit of that life. B

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

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Where Justice and Mercy Meet Old Testament, “you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand” (Exodus 21:23-24), the authors take the readers through the Mosaic Law into the New Testament, asking “What Would Jesus Do?” in contemporary American society?

Dolores Schuh, C.H.M.

hile browsing in the Liturgical Press showroom last fall, I came upon Where Justice and Mercy Meet: Catholic Opposition to the Death Penalty. The title caught my attention because I have a pen pal who has been on death row in Raleigh, North Carolina, for nineteen years. Following a Foreword by Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., editors Trudy D. Conway, David Matzko McCarthy, and Vicki Schieber, all associated with Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, have assembled the relatively short articles by seventeen authors. The articles are sometimes preceded by an introduction by the editors, and followed by a short editorial commentary or review. At the end of each chapter are two or three questions for group discussion. Interspersed throughout the book are factual stories of people who have been affected by the murder of a family member. Ms. Schieber, for example, tells of her struggles when her daughter was raped and murdered in 1998. She and her husband realized that vengeance and retribution were not the answer to their grief and would not bring closure to the family. They chose, instead, to honor their daughter’s memory by working to abolish the death penalty. The book reveals some startling facts about the Catholic Church’s position on capital

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punishment. “In the course of the church’s history, there have been three dominant practical conclusions toward the use of the death penalty, each situated within a historical period: (1) Prophetic rejection of the death penalty in the first three centuries of Christianity; (2) Acceptance from the fourth to nineteenth centuries; (3) Pastoral opposition to the death penalty in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.” Starting with the well-known passage from the

Some of the most recent statistics, given in a graphic format in this book, reveal that only nine percent of democracies in the world today use the death penalty, and the United States is in that percentage. In 2010 only four countries in the world (China, Iran, North Korea, and Yemen) executed more people than the United States. Also in 2010, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life revealed that sixty percent of U.S. Catholics support the death penalty. Only seventeen states have abolished capital punishment. This volume would be an excellent textbook for a college course that offers a unit on the history of the Catholic Church’s position on the death penalty. It is available from Liturgical Press at www.litpress.org or by calling 1.800.858.5450. B Sister Dolores Schuh, C.H.M., has served on the editorial staff of Abbey Banner since its first issue in 2001. Those interested in being a pen pal to a death row inmate can contact Sister Dolores Schuh at abbeybanner@csbsju. edu to receive information about an inmate in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Abbey Chronicle

old, darn cold, dangerously cold! January weather arrived a month early, chilling the Collegeville Christmas cheer. Santa and Rudolph’s annual trek from the North Pole was quickly overshadowed by the repeated descent of the polar vortex! (Definitely naughty, not nice.) Frigid temperatures and lifethreatening windchill factors closed schools and discouraged travel throughout Minnesota and much of the country during the first month of the new year. Frequent snowfalls, ice-packed roadways, and numbing cold were the norm through February. Even our confreres in Japan were overwhelmed by snow, such as the nearly four feet that fell in less than twenty-four hours in mid-February and buried Holy Trinity Monastery (above, right). March came in neither like a lamb nor a lion but more like a polar bear: the temperature never made it to zero, and the windchill through most of the day was in the -20s. During Ash Wednesday services, monks repented of having murmured about how hot it was last August. Cold weather marked the first week of spring, delaying the first collection of sap for the maple syrup season until late March. The community hopes for a bright, but not white, Easter. Come Lord Jesus! December 2013 • On Sunday, 15 December, six hundred members of local Latino communities gathered in

Roman Paur,

the abbey and university church for a celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Bishop Donald Kettler was the celebrant of the Mass, Abbot John Klassen concelebrated and preached, and Brother Dennis Beach provided a simultaneous translation of the homily into Spanish. An open house in Guild Hall, with all manner of Latino fare, concluded the celebration. • Despite the cold temperature, a large crowd joined Abbot John and the monks of Saint John’s Abbey for the services of Christmas Eve. Before and during the Eucharist The St. John’s Boys’ Choir and the abbey schola presented a concert of Christmas carols; after the liturgy, light refreshments were served in the Great Hall to fortify guests for their travels home. • Between 26 October and 31 December 2013, a total of fifty-one deer were harvested

O.S.B.

during the twelfth controlled (and first archery) hunt in the Saint John’s woods. About one hundred hunters took thirtyseven adult does, one adult buck, eight yearling does, and five yearling bucks. The goal of the controlled hunt is to reduce the deer population to a level that allows for the regeneration of the forest vegetation and for a healthy herd. January 2014 • Sung Gospels for Major Solemnities in Multiple Voices by Father Anthony Ruff was published by Liturgical Press. These musical settings are written for two- or three-part voices, adapted for the English language from settings of medieval manuscripts. • During the week of 12 January Abbot John gave a series of retreat conferences to three dozen priests of the Diocese of

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New Prep School Headmaster Saint Cloud at the Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo, Minnesota. • Bishop Bruce R. Ough, resident bishop of the Dakotas– Minnesota Episcopal Area of the United Methodist Church, preached at the community Eucharist on 19 January in observance of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

February 2014 • During February and March, Contuitus: A View from the Monastery, video installations by Brother Simon-Hòa Phan, were exhibited in the Saint John’s University Art Center. Based on self-examinations and his reflections on Benedictine life, the video installations presented a glimpse of monastic life, of

Nicholas Moe

Employees parking on the southwest side of the campus on 15 January were shocked to discover but a shell of the Saint John’s Paint Shop standing. A fire, which began about 5:30 the previous evening, had consumed the structure; only remnants of the brick walls and the office space at the south end (a 1938 addition to the original 1912 building) were still standing. Lost in the fire were 143 bed frames, dozens of chairs, and other furnishings from the abbey

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woodworking shop that were being varnished in preparation for use in the university dorms. Two Steinway grand piano lids from the university music department, being refinished because of water damage last summer, were also lost. No lives were lost, however; thanks be to God. Mr. Rob Stoeckel, paint shop coordinator, and student workers were unharmed. Battling the blaze was the Saint John’s Fire Department, assisted by the Avon and Saint Joseph

monastic values and virtues, of place and community, and of a specific manner of life that is Saint John’s, according to Brother Simon-Hòa. “My own experience of living and working as a monk, teacher, and filmmaker are all alluded to in this exhibition. Although it focuses on the monastic life, with its ebb and flow, successes and struggles, beauty and ordinariness, it presents a life

University archives

departments, as well as by the S J F D monk-auxiliary, who made Johnnie Bread sandwiches for the firefighters. Designed by Father Raphael Knapp, O.S.B., the building served as the community laundry from 1913 until the mid-1970s when the laundry operation moved to the monastery and the building became the paint and finishing shop. Since 1979 the building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

that is very much like any other life commitment. It’s an ordinary life, but one that requires extraordinary grace from God.”

“After only a couple of days I noticed the abbey and the liturgies were having a strong effect on me. I was only able to describe it as a feeling of being overwhelmed.” A persistent call to the abbey led Bob to seek to become a claustral oblate. “I look forward to spending my remaining years here, working, praying, and playing with the monks,” says Bob. “It’s a good life!” March 2014

Abbey archives

• On 15 February Mr. Robert “Bob” Kirkley was invested as a claustral oblate of Saint John’s Abbey. Though they are not monks, claustral oblates are men who seek God by following the Rule of Saint Benedict, share the common life of the monastery, and make a promise of obedience to the abbot. Chemistry has been the focus of much of Brother Bob’s life. After completing a master’s degree in organic chemistry at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, he worked as a chemist for Union Carbide Corporation in Tarrytown, New York. He later taught high school chemistry for several years before joining the chemistry department at San Jacinto College Central Campus in Pasadena, Texas, a position he held for thirty-five years. Brother Bob recalls his first visit to Saint John’s in May 2005.

• A $172, 213 grant from Xcel Energy’s renewable development fund will be used to install an additional 198 kilowatts of solar capacity at the Saint John’s solar energy farm. The new fixed tilt panels will also allow for a comparison of efficiency with the current linear axis tracker technology. The power level of the solar farm is now 400kW, which represents four percent of Saint John’s annual energy needs. • On 1 March Mr. Nathanial Putnam and Mr. Brad Rothrock began a three-month candidacy program to discern a call to the monastic life at Saint John’s

Dreams of spring

Ælred Senna, O.S.B.

Nathanial Putnam (left) and Brad Rothrock

Abbey. Nathanial, age 35, from Oakland, California, has managed a café for the last few years and has been active as a minister of faith formation in his parish. Brad, age 43, originally from Tucson, Arizona, is completing his dissertation as a doctoral candidate in theology and education at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. • On 15 March nearly two hundred local volunteers took part in Community Tapping Day at the Saint John’s Abbey Arboretum. Hundreds of maple trees were tapped with nearly nine hundred spiles to inaugurate the maple syrup season. B

Robin Pierzina,

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O.S.B.

Fifty Years Ago Excerpted from The Record, official newspaper of Saint John’s University:

17 January 1964

• That wasn’t a friendly bonfire on the ski hill last Sunday. It was a full-fledged blaze that reduced [the warming house] to a heap of ashes, and although Brother John [Anderl] and crew put out maximum effort to stop the fire, it was levelled. 28 February 1964

• An estimated $12 million program that will complete the second and third phases of Saint John’s 100-year comprehensive development was announced today. The second phase of the program, tentatively scheduled for completion in 1967, includes a new library already designed by Marcel Breuer and a science hall to replace the 1910 building [Simons Hall; formerly Engel Hall]. Work will begin this year. Top priority in the second phase of the comprehensive plan has been given to the 600,000 volume library. It will replace the present building [Wimmer Hall] which was completed in 1901. In view of the rapid changes which are taking place in technology, the library has been designed in as flexible a manner as possible. Fixed rooms will appear only around the periphery of the building, and the majority of the space may be adjusted for shelving, seating, or electronic installations as future circumstances suggest. The third phase of the longrange plan includes a [university]

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University archives

Alcuin Library: the tree of knowledge

recreation center, a student union, a residence hall, and two additional buildings for the preparatory school. 6 March 1964

• Marcel Breuer visited Saint John’s on February 26–27 to help reconsider and update the 100-Year Building Plan, initiated in 1953, to consult the library committee on construction of the new library, and to begin preliminary studies for construction of a proposed science hall. Mr. Breuer’s visit was his first since the dedication of the abbey church in 1961. While touring the church, Mr. Breuer commented on its excellent construction and praised the contractor. He also had words of praise for Val Michelson, a former associate responsible for designing the new prep school. 17 April 1964

• Saint John’s University has been granted an unqualified

preliminary accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools to grant a master’s degree in sacred studies. Saint John’s accepted the challenge of founding the Benedictine Institute of Sacred Theology in 1957, with a five-year summer cycle of theological and monastic studies. The Graduate School, open to priests, seminarians, religious and laity, offers two sequences of study toward the master’s degree. Excerpted from Confrere, newsletter of Saint John’s Abbey:

• (Volume II, No. 2 [February 1964]) In January the theology faculty informs their students that a “more realistic” grading system will be introduced. Said one prof: “Anyone receiving an ‘A’ in my course should be teaching it.” • (Volume II, No. 3 [March 1964]) At the Vatican Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair there will be on display many religious art objects from Saint John’s. For the most part they are statues from the chapels in the crypt of the church. • (Volume II, No. 4 [April 1964]) Maple syrup operations start up after a lapse of four years. Over 1500 pails are hung out by Brother Marcellus Handorgan and his crew. By the end of the season 182 gallons had been boiled down for use on the pancakes and French toast in the monastic refectory. B

Monks in the Kitchen Gathering the Brothers Ælred Senna, O.S.B.

onks typically take their meals in common with the whole community. But occasionally a few of us will gather for a meal and the opportunity to deepen personal relationships that, in turn, strengthen the community as a whole. Recently I had the opportunity for such a meal with a few of my confreres. Brother Michael Leonard Hahn, O.S.B., who serves as a faculty resident in one of the university dorms, hosted several confreres for a Sunday supper. The residential area in which Michael Leonard serves offers apartment-style living and, with its open design, is especially suited to extending hospitality. It allows him to prepare a meal while interacting with guests, even inviting them to assist with the preparation of the meal. Brother Michael Leonard prepared a simple and wonderfully delicious appetizer, called Spanish mushrooms, as he explained the origin of his love for cooking. His interest began while serving as a Benedictine Volunteer in Newark, New Jersey. There he had the opportunity to try many local foods, and he developed a desire to conjure up some of those flavors in his own kitchen. He taught himself through trial and error, research and experimentation.

Michael Leonard’s efforts were definitely successful. We enjoyed not only the Spanish mushrooms but also beautifully prepared and presented braised pork chops, baked asparagus, freshbaked bread, and a dessert of crème brûlée. The latter two items were prepared by Brother Paul Richards. The whole evening—a shared meal, prayer, conversation, laughter—served to strengthen our fraternal bonds. May it always be so whenever friends gather to break bread! B Brother Ælred Senna, O.S.B., is the vocation director of Saint John’s Abbey.

Ælred Senna, O.S.B.

Brother Michael Leonard prepares Spanish mushrooms for the brothers.

Spanish Mushrooms (serves 4) • • • • •

1 t. olive oil 4 oz. thick-cut bacon, diced ½ cup diced red onion 1 clove garlic, minced 1 lb. button or other fresh mushrooms (cleaned, stems removed, quartered) • 2 – 3 T. white wine • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley • Salt

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and add the bacon to brown and render its fat. Sauté the onion until translucent, then add the garlic, stirring another 30 seconds or so. Add the quartered mushrooms and stir until they soften and begin to release their liquid. Add the wine and continue to cook until the total liquid is reduced by about half. Stir in the parsley and salt to taste. Serve hot, right out of the skillet, on small plates, tapas style.

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In Memoriam Please join the monastic community in prayerful remembrance of our deceased family members and friends: Jacqueline C. “Jackie” Breher

Joseph Hucko Jr.

Shirley Mrochek

Mary Katherine Brenneman

Moran Mar Ignatius Zakka I Iwas

Roger J. Nierengarten

Norma Cowan

Gregory A. Jenniges

Sandra “Sandy” Notch

Daniel Durken, O.S.B.

Jose L. Jimenez

Flores Ottenhoff

Edward Eckroth

John E. Jorgensen

Aelred Reid, O.S.B.

Francis Ehnat, O.S.B.

Gerald “Jerry” Kavanaugh, Obl.S.B.

Francis “Rex” Riley

Dorothy Eisold, O.S.B.

Jeannette Klassen, O.S.B.

Marion Sauer, O.S.B.

Edward Englund, O.S.B.

Woodrow E. “Woody” Klingeman

Stephen Savage

Eunice M. Erceg

Ebert A. Konz

Francis Cloud Schellinger

Urban Feucht, O.S.B.

Nancee Kretschmer

Martina Schindler, O.S.B.

Tracy Lynn Flascher

Allen “Al” Kuebelbeck

Arthur Schmit, O.S.B.

Daniel Gagliardo

Joseph Laloo

Laurian Schumacher, O.S.B.

Stephen Leo Glady

Mary Henry Landsteiner, O.S.B.

Irene Margaret Shay

Marvin D. Hanson

Bertrand LaNoue, O.S.B.

Bishop Alphonse Sowada, O.S.C.

Austin “Doc” Harren

Robert Licari

Herb Taus

Dorothy Hauser

Caroline Liebl, O.S.B.

Mary M. Thelen

John N. Heinz

Hildegarde A. Lueck

Scott R. Westrup

Kathryn D. “Kay” Heiskari

Richard S. McGuire

Zachary Williams

Grace Margaret Hendel

Ethel C. Meagher

Joseph Woidyla

Jane Herbst

Eugene Mohr

Gilbert M. Zilka Leonard D. Zylla

Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones. Psalm 116:15

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: www.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: www.saintjohnsabbey.org/reflection/.

Tender Fire Timothy Backous, O.S.B.

very year the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary update the text with new entries. Recent additions have included “hoki,” which is a fish in the hake family found mostly in the waters of New Zealand; or “audist,” meaning one who considers him- or herself superior based on an ability to hear. A word that seems more colloquial, but nonetheless effective, is “whip-smart,” used to describe a person who is quick-witted or extremely intelligent. One word I came across recently, but which I’d never heard or seen before, is “smooring.” The word refers to stirring a fire in a way that will keep the embers glowing until morning. It is understandable that this word would be unfamiliar to those of us who grew up with central heating. Rarely do we find ourselves reliant on a fireplace or a wood stove as the source of heat.

As used in an old Celtic prayer, the word is moving and profound in its simplicity: I smoor the fire this night As the Son of Mary would smoor it. The compassion of God be on my fire, The compassion of God, on all my household.

May God’s loving mercy continue to warm the hearts of those who need it most.

It is easy to imagine the deeply felt emotion of the one stirring the fire as this prayer is said. The words speak to a desire to protect and thereby love those in our care, those who depend on us for the most basic needs of life. To place one’s self in company with the Son of Mary indicates a mindfulness of God’s pervasive presence in the fire— not only in the home but also within the relationships that thrive there. Even though very few of us will smoor an actual fire today, there is still plenty to smoor in our lives. The fires of compassion, empathy, understanding, patience, and respect are under constant threat of growing cold. May our dependence on and awareness of God’s mercy be the smooring we need to keep the embers of those virtues and practices alive. May God’s loving mercy continue to warm the hearts of those who need it most. B Father Timothy Backous, O.S.B., is vice president for mission integration and Benedictine sponsorship at Essentia Health in Duluth.

“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” Luke 12:49

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Abbey Banner 4 This Issue Robin Pierzina, O.S.B. 5 Easter Belief Abbot John Klassen, O.S.B. 6 Easter Vigil Readings Michael Patella, O.S.B. 8 Monastic Profession: Fujimi Roman Paur, O.S.B. 9 Poetry Lois Kauffman 10 Benedictine Volunteer Corps Columba Stewart, O.S.B. Paul Richards, O.S.B. 12 The Benedictine Institute Mark Thamert, O.S.B.

Spring 2014 Volume 14, Number 1

14 Ministry to the Dying and Grieving Roger Botz, O.S.B. 15 Music for the Mass of Christian Burial Anthony Ruff, O.S.B. 16 Celebrating Life in Death Edward Vebelun, O.S.B. 18 Bernard Buffet: The Passion of Christ 20 Fifty Years of Liturgical Renewal Aaron Raverty, O.S.B.

25 Good Neighbors Eileen Haeg 26 Meet a Monk: Matthew Luft Eric Hollas, O.S.B. 28 Where Justice and Mercy Meet Dolores Schuh, C.H.M. 29 Abbey Chronicle Robin Pierzina, O.S.B. 32 Fifty Years Ago 33 Monks in the Kitchen: Gathering the Brothers Ælred Senna, O.S.B.

22 Flying Squirrels Kristina Timmerman

34 In Memoriam

24 Dear Monks, Lois Kauffman

35 Tender Fire Timothy Backous, O.S.B.

Benedictine Day of Prayer 16 May 2014: Religion: I don’t practice it anymore The day begins at 7:00 A.M. with Morning Prayer and concludes about 3:30 P.M. Cost: $50. This includes retreat materials, breakfast, and lunch. Rooms are available in the abbey guesthouse for the preceding overnight. Register online at abbeyguesthouse.org; or call 320.363.3929.