Abbey Banner - Winter 2008

Volume 8 • Issue 3 • Winter 2008

A B B EY

BANNER Magazine of Saint John’s Abbey

Australian Benedictines celebrate summertime Christmas, 4 Monks in the kitchen, 7 Wandering for God— a pilgrimage to Compostela, 9 Going to pots at the Saint John’s kiln, 12 A tribute to Lee Hanley, 16 The Congress of Abbots, 18 Is traditional monastic culture possible in the 21st century?, 20 A tribute to Nicholas Thelen, OSB, 24 Benedictine Volunteers, 25 AND MORE

Let heaven and earth rejoice.

Contents The visible body parts of Father Nathanael’s Christmas scene are made of polymer clay. The bodies are made with wire work and stuffing with a sewn body stocking over it. Then the clothing is sewn onto the figure. Each figure is completely handmade. The design is from the 17th century Italian tradition.

Let heaven and earth rejoice.

A Christmas scene

by Nathanael Hauser, OSB

Features 4 Australian Benedictines celebrate

summertime Christmas

by Daniel Durken, OSB

7 Monks in the kitchen

by Aelred Senna, OSB

12 Going to pots at the Saint John’s

kiln by Anne Meyer

Monastic Matters 18 The Congress of Abbots 20 Is traditional monastic culture possible in the 21st century?

The Abbey Chronicle 28 Highlights of August, September, October 2008

9 Wandering for God— a pilgrimage to Compostela

by Jean Scoon

Articles Editorials 3 From editor and abbot Banner Bits 15 Prep School addition dedicated 27 Three new lay leaders Tributes 16 Lee Hanley 23 Professor Gyo Furuta 24 Nicholas Thelen, OSB

Vocations 22, 24 Monastic profession and investiture of novices Benedictine Volunteers 25 Reports from Central and South

America, Europe, Africa, Israel and Minnesota

Spiritual Life 31 A Christmas Wish Back Cover Sunday at the Abbey lectures Note: Most of the photos without a credit line were taken by the editor.

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

Abbey Banner Magazine of Saint John’s Abbey Volume 8, Issue 3 Winter 2008

Designer: Pam Rolfes Circulation: Ruth Athmann, Cathy Wieme, Mary Gouge Printer: Palmer Printing, Waite Park, Minnesota

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

Happy New . . . !

by Daniel Durken, OSB

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bet you expected me to write “Happy New Year!” But there is so much more to “new” than just another year that I want to keep this traditional greeting open-ended so we can add new items that are just as worthy of celebration.

What’s new? Let’s start at the very beginning when God decided to do something astoundingly new. God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them—dry land and sea, sun, moon and stars, all living creatures and finally those absolutely amazing beings made in the divine image and called male and female. Every new day renews creation to which we say, “How good it is.”

When the earth showed signs of growing old and worn out from too much fighting and not enough loving, God had a new idea. God sent Jesus into our time and space.

The invisible, inscrutable and immutable God took on our flesh and still lives with us. The Old Testament writer who says, “Nothing is new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) didn’t know Jesus.

Jesus was full of new ideas. He compared the kingdom of heaven to the mustard seed and yeast. He showed us that God heals, forgives and loves sinners. He gave us a new commandment: “Love one another as I love you.” He gave us a new covenant when he said at the Last Supper, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” He proved that life is more powerful than death when he rose from the dead and said, “Follow me.” What he did we too will do. How’s that for new?

Finally Jesus made us this promise: “Behold, I make all things new—a new heaven and a new earth where every tear will be wiped from your eyes and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away” (Revelation 21).

We have a New Year. Soon our country will have a new president. How about a NEW YOU with new love, new energy, a new resolve to pray more and worry less, to help more and hurt less? Happy New You! +

The Incarnation – “Work with me!”

by Abbot John Klassen, OSB

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believe it is in the movie Tin Men that Danny DeVito is pushing a conked-out, used car down the street. Looking up to heaven in a moment of frustration, DeVito prays, “Work with me, God, work with me!”

The line is funny because DeVito is funny, but also because it is God who typically says it to us: “Work with me, work with me!”

God’s sending the Son to become one with us requires human partners, people to work with: a Mary, a Joseph, a you, a me. It requires human beings who are willing to believe the impossible, willing to claim the scandal, willing to adopt and give the child a name, accepting the whole sticky mess and rocking it in our arms.

God asks each one of us to welcome Christ into our midst. In the mystery of Christmas, God’s “yes” depends on our “yes.” God will not do an end-run on the human condition. God will not work around our freedom to say “no.”

The birth of Jesus doesn’t rid the world of evil. For the Christian, as for everyone else, there will still be sickness, senseless hurt, broken dreams, and cold, lonely seasons when love seems far away. We do not get heaven on earth.

We do receive God’s presence in our lives, and this is what redeems us.

When we sense that God-is-with-us in Christ we are able to recognize and let go of selfishness, bitterness and jealousy because we are no longer alone. We continue to work on behalf of the poor, the homeless, those who are in prison. We look for new ways to restore justice, because, again, it is not about us—it is about the God who walks with us and works with us.

Theologian and Cardinal Avery Dulles once put it this way: “The incarnation does not provide us with a ladder by which to escape the ambiguities of life and scale the heights of heaven. Rather it enables us to burrow deep into the heart of planet earth and find it shimmering with divinity.” +

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FEATURE The Choir Christmas Tree of a church in Loxton, South Australia

Australian Benedictines celebrate summertime Christmas

by Daniel Durken, OSB

Loxton Lights Festival website

“When the sun’s a golden rose, And the magpie carols clear, You can say, and I can say On the summer morning, Here at last is Christmas Day, The day that Christ was born on.”

The song is indeed famous and popular for those who live in the northern hemisphere. But for two Australian Benedictine monks studying this year at Saint John’s School of Theology, the words just don’t tell it like it is in their “down under” continent/country.

Michael Tunney, OSB, of Holy Trinity Abbey, New Norcia, Western Australia, and David Orr, OSB, of Saint Benedict’s Monastery, Arcadia,

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New South Wales, Australia, celebrate Christmas in the middle of the southern hemisphere’s summer. December temperatures range from 95˚ to 105˚

Michael Tunney, OSB

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n 1940 Irving Berlin composed the music and lyrics of “White Christmas,” identified as “the most famous and popular of all the Christmas songs.” We all know the words: “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas / Just like the ones I used to know. / Where the tree tops glisten / and children listen / to hear sleigh bells in the snow.”

Kevin Kangaroo looks for Santa’s sleigh.

Fahrenheit. It is grain harvest time in New Norcia and the season for grapes, peaches and plums along with bush fires in the Arcadia region.

FEATURE

Our traditional football bowl games are replaced by the Boxing Day (December 26) cricket match and the Sydney Harbor-to-Hobart Yacht Race with a fleet of 200 yachts sailing the 600 nautical miles.

The extreme heat prompts changes in the Christmas menu. Traditional roast chicken or ham dinners give way to cold meats, seafood and salads. Plum pudding is served with cold custard, ice cream or Pavlova, a meringue base topped with whipped cream and fresh fruits.

Australian Christmas website

How does Santa Claus get around in Australia? Well, his sleigh is pulled by kangaroos, of course, or he may arrive at a shopping center atop a fire truck. If a beach is nearby he will likely arrive in a surf boat and stroll the shore, mingling with exuberant swimmers and sun bathers.

Australian Christmas Bush

Thru’ the Heavens their tale of wonder, While we pluck for His adorning Christmas Bush this hallowed morning.

Australian Christmas Bush

Our Christmas poinsettias are replaced by a variety of native Australian plants in full bloom during the Christmas season.

Christmas plants include Christmas bells, the Christmas orchid and Christmas bush. The following hymn, “Christmas Bush for His Adorning,” pays tribute to this familiar flower:

All the bells are gaily ringing, Birds in every tree are singing: Let us in the golden weather, Gather Christmas Bush together, Christ is born! The angels thunder,

Santa arrives in a surf boat at Manly Beach, Sydney.

These differences make for a unique Australian Christmas. But not unique enough to forget the focus of the Christmas celebration, wherever we are. A verse of this Australian carol reminds us:

When summer’s shining moon Dips a silver chalice bright, You can say, and I can say, Joyously and airy— Here at last is Christmas Day, The day Christ smiled at Mary, The day Christ smiled at Mary. (continued)

National Australian Archives, Canberra

A popular Australian Christmas carol captures the spirit of the season:

The North Wind is tossing the

leaves, The red dust is over the town, The sparrows are under the eaves, And the grass in the paddock is brown, As we lift up our voices and sing to the Christ-Child, the heavenly king.

Summertime Christmas features evening outdoor concerts. At the ecumenical “Carols by Candlelight” gathering, crowds hold lighted candles and sing favorite Christmas carols. Sunning and swimming at the beach replaces skiing or tobogganing.

One may find some 40,000 people on the east coast Sydney beach on Christmas Day. The Western Australia shore sand is too hot to walk on during the day, so at sundown thousands of people go to the floodlit beaches where they prepare meals, swim and play volleyball or cricket.

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FEATURE

The Australian Benedictine communities of men he two Australian Benedictine communities of men are separated by just over 2,000 miles. Dom Michael Tunney’s community at the Abbey of New Norcia is located north of Perth in Western Australia.

Saint Benedict’s Monastery, the community of Dom David Orr, is located outside of Sydney in southeast Australia.

The New Norcia community, founded in 1846 by two Spanish Benedictines, began as a mission among the indigenous people of the area. The monks established a selfsupporting mission village, modeled after European monastic towns, to encourage aborigines to settle down as farmers and skilled workers. In the early 1900s the abbey concentrated on establishing parishes and schools.

Michael Tunney, OSB

As the size of the community dwindled from a high of eighty members in the nineteenth century to the present eleven, the monks relinquished their parishes and schools.

Since the early 1980s, the apostolate of hospitality has flourished. The abbey’s guesthouse and the New

New Norcia Abbey, Western Australia

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Norcia town’s hotel, museum, art gallery and educational center attract thousands of visitors and participants in school camps, adult workshops and conventions. A complete picture of New Norcia can be found at www.newnorcia. wa.edu.au.

L. to r.: Dom Michael Tunney, OSB; Dom David Orr, OSB

Saint Benedict’s Monastery in Arcadia belongs to the Sylvestrian Congregation of Benedictines that originated as a monastic reform movement in Italy in the thirteenth century. Sylvestrian monks founded a monastery in Sri Lanka and in 1949 one of its monks came to Australia to pastor a new parish on the outskirts of Sydney. The monastery of Arcadia was founded in 1961.

The eleven members of this community work in the local Arcadia parish and on the monastic farm.

Their emphasis is on hospitality in the areas of retreats, counseling, teaching, writing and lecturing. The community’s Oblates meet monthly to share

David Orr, OSB

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The chapel of Saint Benedict’s Monastery, Arcadia, New South Wales, Australia

scripture and the Rule of Saint Benedict.

For a complete picture of the Arcadia monastery, visit www.benedictine.org.au.

In addition to these two communities, there are an abbey and two monasteries (one Catholic, the other Anglican) of Benedictine women, a large Congregation of Benedictine Sisters, an abbey of Anglican Benedictine monks and nuns and one abbey of Trappist monks in Australia. +

MONKS IN THE KITCHEN Father Dunstan stirs up his Devil’s Food cake.

Monks in the kitchen

by Aelred Senna, OSB

Aelred Senna, OSB

“Two kinds of cooked food should suffice, and if fruit or fresh vegetables are available, a third dish may also be added.

A generous pound of bread is enough for a day” (Rule 39).

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aint Benedict admonishes us to keep things simple with regard to food, stating that two meals per day, with two cooked dishes at each meal should suffice. The fact that cooked dishes are specified indicates that since our founder’s time it has been important for monks to know how to cook for themselves.

The level of skill in this area seems to vary from monastery to monastery, as stories within monastic circles attest to culinary experiences that range the full spectrum on the gastrometer. The observance of Benedict’s guideline regarding the number of dishes offered at a meal also varies from place to place. Whether at Saint John’s we have evolved or devolved to something beyond the guideline of

Saint Benedict is a matter of opinion.

In any case, we certainly do find more variety on our tables now than two cooked dishes.

As a community of Catholic Christian men, our experience of meals in common is closely connected to our experience at the eucharistic table, both of which offer us the opportunity to recognize our participation as members of the Body of Christ. When we come together to take the Bread of Heaven to nourish our spirit, and when we come together to share bread for the nourishment of our bodies, we build up our sense of community, our love of one another, and our ability to express these critical elements of our life together.

It is no accident that in our daily schedule each of our meals follows a liturgy, whether it be a Liturgy of the Hours or the eucharistic celebration.

Food shared at the common table is then a monastic tool for building the bond of community.

While most of our meals at Saint John’s are prepared for us by a lay staff that also serves the academic community, there are still a number of monks with culinary talent who enjoy contributing to the gastronomic experiences of the rest of the community.

“Monks in the kitchen,” a new feature in Abbey Banner, will introduce some of those monks gifted with culinary talents.

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MONKS IN THE KITCHEN It all started with hot dogs and potato salad.

Dunstan Moorse, OSB, has been cooking and baking for over fifty years. At the tender age of six he prepared a quick meal of hot dogs, potato salad, and pork & beans for his family so they could get on the road to the county fair. So began his enduring fondness for preparing food for those he loves. By the time he was in high school he was putting most evening meals on the table for the family while his mother was out helping with the family’s dairy herd.

Father Dunstan has moved beyond the pork & beans stage, making all kinds of delectable treats, both savory and sweet, for his confreres. For example, every monk in the community knows to save room for dessert after the Sunday noon meal, for something amazing is sure to be awaiting all comers to the fourth floor of the Quadrangle, courtesy of Dunstan.

One of the perennial favorites is his Belgian Chocolate Cake, a devil’s food cake recipe (see recipe below) that has been in his family for generations and passed along to him by his mother Helene.

Sunday dessert: Dunstan’s apple upside-down cake

Each year the monks look forward to Christmas day dessert which includes a wide assortment of Dunstan’s Christmas cookies. The Christmas Cookie tradition at Saint John’s began in the mid-1990s as a Cookie Tree

by Leonard Chmelik, OSB. When Brother Leonard became ill in 2002, Dunstan stepped in to keep the tradition going and has been at it ever since, converting the tradition from a tree to an assortment of cookies on

ake Devil’s Food C INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sugar margarine 1/2 cup butter or 2 eggs 1 cup sour milk dissolved in 1 teaspoon soda sour milk 2 cups flour coa 4 tablespoons co powder 1 teaspoon baking ater 3/4 cup boiling w

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trays and in tins, with offerings for the sugar-addicted as well as for the diabetics among us. Visions of sugar plums are already dancing in our heads. + Aelred Senna, OSB, newly professed monk, is the parish product manager of Liturgical Press and an avid cook and baker.

DIRECTIONS:

n, adding boiling Mix in order give floured into greased and water last. Pour oven n. Bake in 350°F 9”x13” baking pa 30 minutes). until done (about ed gian recipe hand This is an old Bel e e Jennen / Moors down through th family.

FEATURE

Carol Marrin on the Camino to Compostela

Wandering for God— a pilgrimage to Compostela

Roseanne Keller

by Jean Scoon

Why voluntarily set out to walk 500 miles over rugged, unfamiliar terrain in a foreign country?

“I

and its possibilities,” she continues with a characteristic sparkle in her eyes. “I see new things.”

Thus it was that Carol, 58, carrying everything she would use

Compostela website/Google

have always enjoyed doing things that make me uncomfortable,” says Carol Marrin, retired director of The Saint John’s Bible Project. “Just to see if I can do them. That way I’m more open to life

French and Spanish routes to Santiago de Compostela

for two months on her back, found herself on the ancient pilgrim path known as El Camino de Santiago de Compostela in April 2007. El Camino de Santiago (“The Way of Saint James”) is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, where legend claims that the remains of the Apostle Saint James the Greater lie. In medieval times this was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages.

The majority of medieval Christian pilgrims hoped for a miraculous cure for illness. Modern pilgrims on “the Camino” often have less specific religious goals, yet are still motivated by the call to a spiritual experience.

While medieval pilgrimages were far more dangerous, uncomfortable and unpredictable, the modern pilgrim still undertakes a challenging journey.

Carol’s introduction to the Camino came through her friend Roseanne Keller who had walked it in 1999 and wrote about it in Pilgrim in Time Abbey Banner Winter 2008 page 99

FEATURE (Liturgical Press, 2007). She decided to do it again and suggested that Carol join her.

Each morning before she continued her pilgrimage, Carol prayed this Prayer of Saint Patrick:

I

arise today through the strength of heaven; / Light of the sun, Splendor of fire, / Speed of lightning, Swiftness of the wind, / Depth of the sea, Stability of the earth, Firmness of the rock.

Carol and Roseanne began their 500-mile journey in the town of Roncesvalles, west of the FrenchSpanish border in the Pyrenees Mountains. With 120 other pilgrims, they spent their first night in a refugio, an inexpensive hostel for the Camino pilgrims. They attended a special pilgrim Mass, entered their names in the Book of Pilgrims and received a blessing. The next morning they were off.

I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me, / God’s might to uphold me, / God’s wisdom to guide me, / God’s eyes to look before me, / God’s ear to hear me, / God’s word to speak for me, / God’s hand to guard me, / God’s way to lie before me, / God’s shield to protect me, / God’s host to save me afar and anear /Alone or in a multitude.

Roseanne Keller

What was it like? “It was hard physical exercise over all kinds of terrain,” Carol explains. “I carried everything in a 20-pound backpack.

I’d find myself choosing between a

Roseanne Keller

“We all have lists,” says Carol.

“Someday I’ll go here, someday I’ll do this. I decided this was one thing on that ‘someday’ list I was going to make happen.”

A direction sign on the Camino

banana and an orange for a snack, trying to decide which was lighter. It often meant blisters, aches and pains.

Life became very simple. Put one foot in front of the other.”

A typical day began at 6 a.m. They walked for two hours before breakfast, then had coffee with milk and eggs or a roll at one of the small restaurants along the way. They ate lunch as they hiked.

The scallop shell is the standard symbol of the Camino de Santiago and is seen on signposts, sidewalks and buildings along the way.

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ne version of its origin claims that after the death of the Apostle Saint James about 44 A.D., his disciples shipped his body to Spain to be buried in Santiago at the western edge of the country. Off the coast of Spain the ship encountered a severe storm and the body of the saint was lost in the ocean. Later the body was washed ashore, undamaged but covered with scallops.

The scallop is an image of the pilgrimage. The grooves of the shell come together at a single point to symbolize the different routes taken by pilgrims who eventually arrive at the one destination.

The scallop is used as the receptacle for the water of baptism and is a reminder that everyone baptized has begun the pilgrimage with God who leads us to glory.

For a practical purpose the scallop is the right size for taking liquids to drink and for eating out of a common bowl. One scoop of food per pilgrim prevented taking too much and leaving too little for others.

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Christ shield me today against wounding / Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, / Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, / Christ on my right, Christ on my left, / Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, / Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, / Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, / Christ in the eye that sees me/ Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today through the mighty strength of the Lord of creation.

About 2 p.m., after eight to ten miles, they checked into a refugio, showered, washed the clothes they wore that day and changed into the one clean set of clothing each carried (washed the day before).

After a nap, they explored the town— “People watching was fun,” says Carol—had dinner in a restaurant, planned the next day and went to bed by 9 p.m.

What are your best memories, Carol?

“The suspension of the ordinary, and the time to think and to just be. And the people we met. They were amazing. There was the retired German

FEATURE

I

Roseanne Keller

Compostela website

n recognition of “the testimony to the power of faith and the 1,800 buildings of great historic interest that lie along its path,” the Camino de Santiago was proclaimed the first European cultural itinerary in 1987 and inscribed as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1993.

The present-day Cathedral of Saint James dates from 1075. This is Christendom’s third-most holy shrine after Rome and Jerusalem.

doctor who gave me the medicine I needed. When I thanked him, he thanked me. During WWII, American soldiers gave his brother and him the penicillin they needed and saved their lives. His goal for his pilgrimage was to express his gratitude by helping somebody each day.”

On May 11, after 170 miles and 21 days on the path, Carol’s plans began to unravel. She got a bad blister and compensated for it by walking unevenly. When they reached the town of Burgos, she had developed tendonitis in her heel and could barely walk.

“It was pathetic,” states Carol. “I couldn’t even limp. My Camino was over. This time, anyway.”

On May 18 Carol returned to Minnesota without her certificate of completion of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

Carol in front of a cutout of pilgrims

Carol describes her feelings: “A refrain you hear along the path is ‘Accept what the Camino gives’—a metaphor for life. I accepted what the Camino gave. There’s another saying: ‘A tourist will complain. A pilgrim will be grateful.’ I learned gratitude.

I felt grateful for everything. I had gotten so much out of the Camino already that it didn’t really matter,” she concludes.

Although Carol didn’t have specific expectations for her journey, she admits to one important experience she hoped for when she set off on pilgrimage.” I hoped to meet myself face to face, without any distractions of ‘normal life,’ and recognize myself, and like myself.”

Well?

“I did, and I do,” she explains with a smile. +

Jean Scoon works at Saint John’s. She greatly admires Carol Marrin for choosing and embracing the lessons of the Camino.

If you think you may be called to “wander for God,” Carol suggests you start by doing some research: • Talk to other pilgrims.

• Check out websites such as www.AmericanPilgrims.com and www.csj.org.uk.

• Read books such as Pilgrim in Time by Roseanne Keller (Liturgical Press, 2007) and A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago

by John Bierley (Camino Guides, The Findhorn Press, 2007).

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FEATURE Abbot John and Sr. Johanna Becker, OSB

Going to pots at the Saint John’s kiln

by Anne Meyer

“The care of potters is for proper coloring, and they keep watch on the fire of the kiln” (Jeremiah 38:30).

A

cross the road from the power house at Saint John’s, the largest wood-burning kiln in North America was recently unloaded after its tenth firing. The eighty-sevenfoot long kiln was built in 1994 by Saint John’s artist-in-residence Richard Bresnahan.

a National Living Treasure. When he returned from Japan, Richard was invited by the monks of Saint John’s Abbey to establish a pottery studio on campus. The Johanna Kiln, named after his mentor, is a combination of ancient Pacific Rim and modern technology.

A student of the Preparatory School and Saint John’s University, Richard took ceramics and art history courses from Johanna Becker, OSB, and was inspired to study Japanese ceramics. Sister Johanna arranged an apprenticeship for him in Japan under Takashi Nakazato, the son of

On October 10, after two years of dormancy, the kiln was lit by Johanna for its tenth anniversary firing. The works of many artists were fired in the kiln. Numerous pieces were created by Richard and his team at the studio: studio manager Anne Meyer, apprentices Matt Bukrey and Matt Van Dusan, and CSB intern Giao Hoang.

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In addition, there were works by three Jerome Foundation visiting artists—Mary Coffey, Junko Nomura and Steven Watson—as well as pieces by the internationally renowned Japanese artist Koie Ryoji. Honoring a Japanese custom, Koie fired one hundred flower vases in honor of this tenth anniversary. To help with the loading and firing of his work, Koie sent Hatanka Keisuke to Collegeville this fall.

Also fired in the kiln were pieces from several Minnesota potters, works

by SJU/CSB sculpture students and a series of sculpture by renowned Minnesota printmaker Nancy Randall.

FEATURE Wood-firing is the oldest but the least common form of firing pottery today because of the amount of effort it takes. Fourteen cords of wood were split over the last two summers to fuel the kiln for ten days. The firing is a grueling process of constantly monitoring the behavior of the flame in the kiln and making adjustments to it.

Sr. Johanna ignites the kiln.

Those who fire the kiln face the difficult task of feeding wood into the kiln as the kiln slowly builds to 2,400 degrees by being fed every fifteen minutes, twenty-four hours a day.

When the doors of the kiln are opened to feed it more wood, the blast of heat can be alarming. Clothed in fireproof attire and wearing welding gloves, the teams of firers must carefully place the wood inside by placing their arm

People came from as far as Colorado, Mississippi and Japan to help with the ten-day firing.

The Johanna Kiln is divided into three chambers designed to fire three different styles of work. The first chamber fires for four days and creates work with a natural glaze from the kiln itself as the ash from the wood heating the kiln is melted in the high heat onto the pottery.

The work in the second chamber is dipped in studio glazes before being loaded and is only fired for an afternoon after being preheated by the firing of the first chamber. The third chamber is a special firing technique originating from Tanegashima Island off the southern coast of Japan. After six days of high heat, the flame threading its way through the tightly packed work begins to etch its path across the pottery in patterns of color.

Richard Bresnahan begins removal of the pots from the kiln.

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FEATURE Pottery by Richard Bresnahan; photos by Anne Meyer

tea bowl

bottle vase

Anne Meyer removes her sculpture from the kiln. cup

sushi plate

into the 2,400-degree space. As a result of this tense process, firers form incredible bonds and a strong sense of community.

The kiln is surprisingly sensitive to weather. Just the rising of the sun and its accompanying rise in barometric pressure increases the draw or speed of the flame in the kiln. Controls on the back of the kiln are used to manipulate the behavior of the flame.

After the third chamber is completed, the entire kiln is carefully sealed with clay to ensure as slow a cooling as possible. Even in the crisp late October air, the kiln will still take ten to fourteen days to cool to one hundred degrees. page 14 Abbey Banner Winter 2008

On October 29, after forty days of loading the pottery into the kiln, ten days of firing and almost two weeks of cooling, the kiln was opened and a week of unloading the 12,000 pieces of pottery and sculpture began. The pottery studio was rapidly filled with these pieces needing to be cleaned and rough surfaces sanded before they are displayed or used, a process that will take the rest of the year to complete.

The pottery studio staff always welcomes visitors. The studio is open to the public without appointment every afternoon from 1:45 to 4:30 except Sunday in the basement of Saint Joseph Hall. + Anne Meyer, a graduate of the University of Minnesota Morris, is the manager of the pottery studio.

jar and lid

jar

Direct questions to ameyer@csbsju.edu.

Phone: 320-363-2930.

BANNER BITS

Prep School’s Bede Hall addition blessed and dedicated “Nothing but raves!”

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he new addition to Bede Hall, the academic building of Saint John’s Preparatory School, was blessed and dedicated on November 15 during the annual Legacy Dinner that commemorates the school’s founding on November 10, 1857. The 22,600 square-foot, $3 million structure was completed by Rice Building Systems of Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, in time for the start of the school’s 151st year in late August.

Eliza Kelly

(Timothy Backous, OSB, Prep School Headmaster)

The Prep School population in front of the new addition

Serving the Prep middle school students (seventh and eighth grades), the three-and-a-half story building contains the following facilities: • three classrooms for the current 79 students • choral rehearsal room • seven faculty offices • bathrooms and storage areas • band and orchestra rehearsal room • four music practice rooms

The new rehearsal room for Prep band and orchestra

• kitchenette and lunch room • elevator When asked about the reaction of students, faculty and staff to the new facility, Timothy Backous, OSB, said it all in just three words: “Nothing but raves!” +

The Prep lunch room and kitchenette

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TRIBUTE

Lee Hanley and his five decades of serendipitous service

by Daniel Durken, OSB

service. By chance, the English department needed someone to teach three sections of freshman English that year.

Lee was hired.

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erendipity is “the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.” Serendipitous may be the term that best describes the five decades of service that Lee Hanley, recently retired at 72, has given to Saint John’s Abbey and University.

Take, for example, his first assignment. After graduating in 1958 as an English major and completing brief active duty as an ROTC second lieutenant, Lee returned to explore teaching opportunities through his alma mater’s teacher placement

Three months later the school’s news service director left for a new assignment. Lee turned down three pleas of the president to fill this vacancy (he was looking forward to summers off as a high school teacher). But he finally accepted the $5,200 contract for the twelve-month post as public information officer.

Lee turned to politics in the mid60s and moved to Washington, D.C., to work for Congressmen Alec Olson (D-MN) and Arnold Olsen (D-MT).

In the District he met his future wife, Ellen Binger of Willmar, Minnesota.

Married in 1966, they raised a family of three sons and a daughter.

In 1971 Lee returned to Saint John’s as director of communications. From 1974-1997 he was the coordinator of grant proposals, supervised the News Service office and served as the associate vice president of university relations. He coordinated successful proposals for many programs and buildings including the Quadrangle

Lee’s view of lake and campus

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TRIBUTE

Lee’s portraits of Marcel Breuer, J.F. Powers and W. H. Auden

renovation, the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, curriculum and faculty development programs and construction of the Palaestra and science facility. He retired in 1997.

Early in 2002, Saint John’s asked Lee to return to coordinate his third successful NEH Challenge Grant proposal. Later when charges of sexual misconduct by members of the abbey surfaced, he became a crisis consultant and served as the abbey’s director of communications from 2002 to 2008.

crafts fair, food and an evening performance by such musicians as Arlo Guthrie, John Prine, Tom Paxton, Richie Haven and John McCutcheon.

This brief review of Lee’s work is proof of the truth of his motto: “Life is ruled more by chance than by careful planning.” We wish him well for a serendipitous retirement that will not be dull. +

Lee’s favorite side assignments were the January term basic photography class he taught for fifteen years and overseeing the Swayed Pines Folk Fest. Samples of his photos are displayed here. He is now planning a new career, using PhotoShop to enhance and restore photographs.

Lee saw the potential of the Swayed Pines Fest that a few students organized in 1973. He adopted and directed Swayed Pines until 1997.

The festival attracted thousands of people to the campus for a Family Fun Day on the last Saturday of April each year. The day featured a fiddle contest,

Lee receives a Saint John’s Bible illumination at a recognition dinner in the monastic refectory.

Lee’s photo of the football team’s fleet-footed mascot

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MONASTIC MATTERS

Participants of the 2008 Congress of Abbots at the Collegio de Sant’ Anselmo, Rome

Report from Rome – The Congress of Abbots

by Abbot John Klassen, OSB

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“The abbot is believed to hold the place of Christ in the monastery” (Rule, chapter 2).

very four years the abbots (or administrators) of all Benedictine monasteries, the abbot presidents of all twenty-one Benedictine congregations, and the priors of dependent houses gather in Rome for the Congress of Abbots. There are 260 monastic communities in the world and approximately 230 of their leaders met September 18-27, 2008, at the international Benedictine Collegio de Sant’ Anselmo.

In addition, abbesses of Benedictine monasteries and representatives of Benedictine women’s congregations were present along with twenty-three sisters representing nineteen worldwide regions and forming the board of

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Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum (CIB). No previous congress has had such a substantial representation of women Benedictines.

Saint John’s Abbey was well represented at this Congress.

Timothy Kelly, OSB, was there as the American Cassinese Congregation’s president. William Skudlarek, OSB, updated the Congress on the work of the Monastic Interreligious Dialog (MID). Michael Naughton, OSB, presented a report as the prior of Sant’ Anselmo. Anthony Ruff, OSB, and Francisco Schulte, OSB, served as simultaneous translators for German and Spanish/Italian presentations, respectively.

Monastic Interreligious Dialog In his first presentation as Secretary General of the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue Father William described his experiences at the Saccidananda Ashram at Shantivanam in India, the monasteries of Asirvanam in Bangalore and Kappadu in Kerala, and in meeting Jean Cardinal Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

William emphasized that Collegio de Sant’ Anselmo is the hub of the Benedictine world. His being there gives him access to monastic men and women who come from many different countries to study and visit.

He is also in regular contact with

MONASTIC MATTERS Vatican officials, especially the office for interreligious dialogue, as well as representing MID at conferences and symposia.

Report of the Prior on Sant’ Anselmo Prior Michael profiled the Sant’ Anselmo student body and its life.

This is truly an international school, totaling between 66 and 88 Benedictine/Cistercian resident students over the past eight years. With some resident lay and diocesan students as well, the percentage of Benedictines and Cistercians ranged between 59% and 77%. Michael aims for a twothirds representation.

Students come from 48 countries.

The official language of the house is Italian. The Divine Office is prayed in Italian although the daily Eucharist is celebrated by respective language groups. Michael has organized the residents into six deaneries, each with its own dean, for the purpose of pastoral awareness and outreach to each monk, especially during the sometimes trying work of graduate school.

Alliance for International Monasticism (AIM) Since the last Abbots’ Congress, AIM funded 670 projects for a total of 4,230,756 euro or $5,409,021 at the current exchange rate. Forty-six percent of this funding went to communities in Africa; 34% to Asia; and 20% to Latin America. In the period 1997-2007, a total of 103 new monasteries, formation houses, and mission

houses were established: 30 in Africa; 19 in America; 19 in Asia, and 35 in Europe.

The large number in Europe is surprising because it reflects the rebirth of monastic life in Eastern Europe (Hungary, Poland, Romania, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, and Slovakia) after the collapse of Soviet hegemony.

Seventy- two of the 103 new monastic foundations have been made by women. These developments were an exciting topic for conversation and awareness.

Abbot Timothy Kelly

William Skudlarek

Election of Abbot Primate Abbot Primate Notker Wolf, OSB, was elected for another four-year term. The Congress affirmed the great work that Abbot Notker has begun in the past eight years and hopes that he will bring it further along in the next four years. The Congress also approved the creation of the Abbot Primate’s Council, comprising three abbot presidents, the prior and rector of Sant’ Anselmo and two community treasurers. In taking this step the Congress set up a support group for the Abbot Primate, especially in guiding the work and financing of Sant’ Anselmo.

The Congress is valuable to Benedictines because it gives visible expression to our international character and our unity. Rapid communication has made the world smaller and we need contact with each other all the more because of quickly changing conditions. +

Michael Naughton

Anthony Ruff

Francisco Schulte

Abbot John Klassen, OSB, is the tenth abbot of Saint John’s Abbey.

Abbot Primate Notker Wolf

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MONASTIC MATTERS Columba Stewart, OSB

Is traditional monastic culture possible in the 21st century?

by Columba Stewart, OSB

This is a condensed version of the September 7, 2008, Sunday at the Abbey lecture.

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hristian monasticism has always used a broad range of practices intended to redirect its adherents according to an overarching religious worldview and then to maintain their engagement over a lifetime. This carefully constructed environment is what I describe as “monastic culture.”

Previous efforts to articulate what this means, such as Jean Leclercq’s memorable The Love of Learning and the Desire for God: A Study of Monastic Culture, have understood monastic culture almost entirely in terms of texts, both Classical and Christian.

Texts may indeed occupy a dominant place in monastic culture. But they constitute only part of a larger, more intricate weaving of practical and aesthetic threads. Together they create

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the environment in which texts are appropriated and interpreted. A more comprehensive view of monastic culture might be: • privileged texts and related

literature • devotional and ascetic practices • bodily expression of identity/ values • differentiation of time and space • music and the visual arts This is the “traditional” monastic culture of my title. These elements are characteristic of Christian monastic movements east and west, with varying degrees of emphasis or intensity at different times or in particular contexts. As a rule one can say that they have tended to be weakened with the passage of

centuries, though strengthened in times of reform or crisis. They have been challenged by the rise of modernity, as have been the elements of any traditional culture, whether in the religious, civic or economic realm.

During the 1700 years of Christian monasticism, there have been many “inflection” points along the way that have stressed and challenged traditional monastic culture, especially in the 12th, 16th, 18th, and 20th centuries.

One could argue that since the 18th century the stress has been continuous and accelerating. Monastic experience, like the world around it, has been expanding and speeding up with no sign of stopping any time soon.

MONASTIC MATTERS Is this culture possible in the 21st century?

Many of the basic elements of traditional monastic culture are still around in our monasteries today, including Saint John’s Abbey. The least evident are some of the ascetic practices, particularly vigils and fasting. Most dramatically different is the diminished presence of the Bible and other traditionally privileged texts because of competition from other forms of literature, media and entertainment.

As a result, our intellectual and imaginative world is very different from that of traditional monastic culture. With the fading of physical asceticisms, our bodies, for all the care we lavish on them, have a much lower profile in our religious practice than has traditionally been the case. How, then, do these differences bear on the answer to the question before us?

First, American/modern western society challenges the notion of any traditional culture, especially religious ones. This is an issue not just for Christian monasticism but for all traditional religious cultures from Muslims to Mormons. Sometimes such a challenge is a very good thing to shake out practices and attitudes that are not about spiritual development or human flourishing but are instead artifacts of sexism or racism.

Second, our particular monastic tradition has given itself to service of others in education, pastoral work, publishing, and cultural preservation.

As a consequence, we have chosen to belong to the same cultural era as the people we serve. The Second Vatican Council’s famous declaration that “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ” presented this fundamental decision in a memorable way.

We have rejected the stance of opposition to the world characteristic of some traditional religious cultures.

We understand our monastic life to be something other than maintaining a museum to preserve a long-lost era.

Thus we have chosen a difficult and challenging journey. The accelerated pace of change and the real issues facing our world challenge us to a new and continual discernment. If we do not undertake such discernment we effectively surrender our agency to forces that have no knowledge, interest or stake in our Christian monastic heritage. We become simply spectators and consumers.

invisible has become the most remarkable feature of monasticism in a world in which stable communities are threatened. There is something much deeper than “monastic culture” here, something profoundly human: community. I think we should pay attention to that. +

So our question remains open. But perhaps it can be rephrased: “Is a recognizable and robust monastic culture possible in the 21st century?”

I think we should set aside the word “traditional” here lest it become polemical jargon. In that rephrasing, I find a hint of what might determine the answer.

In my above list of the characteristics of traditional monastic culture I omitted one element because it was not something remarkable in that culture, existing as well in other traditional societies. That element is “community.” What could once be taken for granted and was therefore almost

Placid Stuckenschneider, OSB

Columba Stewart, OSB, is professor of theology at Saint John’s University and School of Theology•Seminary and executive director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library.

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VOCATIONS

Aelred Senna, OSB, professes first monastic vows

he realized that he was better suited to life in a religious community. Putting his vocation on hold, he worked for fifteen years as the director of product management for a publisher of bilingual and ESL materials.

When the call of a religious vocation resurfaced, Aelred discovered Saint John’s Abbey on the Internet.

Visits to the community revealed many elements important in his life— music, education and publishing.

Aelred now works part time as the parish product manager of Liturgical Press. His hobbies include cooking and baking, knitting, photography and gardening. +

L. to. r.: JP Earls, OSB, director of formation; Brother Aelred, OSB; Abbot John Klassen, OSB

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he Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14 provided the setting for Brother Aelred’s first profession of vows. Abbot John concluded his festive homily: “As we listen to Brother Aelred speak his commitment to monastic life, we renew our commitment to be alert for God’s work in our lives in the saving mystery of the Cross.”

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John joined the Spiritual Life Institute of Carmelite hermits in 1986 and for twenty-one years lived as a hermit in Colorado, Nova Scotia and Ireland.

He eventually discerned the call to a community-centered life and has returned to his Benedictine roots. +

Andrew Frederick enters Associate Program

John Meoska invested as a novice

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A moment later in the presence of the monastic community, his family and friends, Aelred publicly declared his dedication to obedience, stability and the monastic way of life.

A Dallas, Texas native, Aelred, 44, performed professionally as an actor and singer, earned an undergraduate degree in Latin and Greek from the University of Dallas, and taught English as a Second Language. While a seminarian for the Diocese of Dallas

in 1978 and the Master of Divinity degree from Saint John’s School of Theology•Seminary in 1982. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, and served several parishes.

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n September 11, John Meoska, 53, began his year of formation as a novice of Saint John’s Abbey.

He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Saint John’s University

ndrew Frederick, a 1995 accounting graduate of Saint John’s, is discerning a vocation to the monastic way of life through the abbey’s Associate Program. After serving four years in the army as a field artillery officer, he was employed as an auditor for accounting firms in Minnesota and Arizona.

Sensing a call to religious life, Andrew returned to Saint John’s to live in the monastery and participate in the public prayer of the community.

During the day he works as an auditor for a St. Cloud accounting firm. +

TRIBUTE

Fujimi community and Saint John’s Abbey honor Professor Gyo Furuta Roman Paur, OSB

by Prior Roman Paur, OSB

Professor Gyo Furuta and his wife, Chieko Suemori Furuta

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rinity Benedictine Monastery, Fujimi, Japan, in conjunction with Saint John’s Abbey, is pleased to acknowledge a special friend and generous benefactor, Gyo Furuta, for his extraordinary witness to Benedictine values. Through his scholarly writings, translations and popular lectures on western monasticism and Christian thought, especially Saints Anselm and Benedict, Professor Furuta influenced many in Japan.

A citation, signed by Abbot John Klassen, OSB, and Prior Roman Paur, OSB, was presented to the professor with his wife, Chieko, at a special dinner in his honor at the monastery on August 15. The following are excerpts from the citation: Doctor Gyo Furuta, professor, author and lecturer for more than half a century, you have shared especially with the people of Japan your wisdom and appreciation of the Benedictine cultural heritage that profoundly shaped your own life. Your cultural contributions as writer and translator led the Japanese to a clearer understanding of European Christian monastic origins.

To a special friend, generous benefactor and extraordinary witness to Benedictine values

You watched with satisfaction the growth of Kanda University of International Studies, which you founded in 1987, from an initial graduating class of three hundred to its present enrollment of four thousand students. At five universities you taught courses in western classical philosophy, Christian history and theology, medieval studies and intercultural communication.

In your seminars and lectures you passionately emphasized the key values of Benedictine life that transcends all people. Such values have distinguished your conferences on Christian and monastic spirituality and the legacy of Saint Benedict at Catholic religious communities including the Trappists, Trappistines, Benedictine women and Redemptorists as well as parishioners and friends of Saint Anselm’s Church in Tokyo, founded in 1947 by Saint John’s Abbey.

Proudly crowning your many enduring initiatives are the translations into Japanese from the original Latin of the Complete Works of Saint Anselm,

Prayers and Meditations of Saint Anselm and the Rule of Saint Benedict. As an executive editor and writer you also championed in English the nine-volume Kandash Encyclopedia of Japan. You have translated, edited and authored other publications as well as numerous articles compiled in Sophia University’s Medieval Studies.

You are a charter member and served as the first president of the Trinity Benedictine Advisory Board.

In 2008 you contributed to the monastery your library of more than five hundred volumes on medieval and monastic history and Catholic thought.

In recognition of your extraordinary contribution to advancing the appreciation of Benedictine values in Japan, Saint John’s Abbey and Trinity Benedictine Monastery honor you gratefully with this Citation of Achievement and Thoughtful Influence. + Roman Paur, OSB, is prior of Trinity Benedictine Monastery, Fujimi, Japan.

Abbey Banner Winter 2008 page 23

TRIBUTE

A tribute to Nicholas Thelen, OSB, for his 38 years in Japan

Responsible for the physical plant operations at the Tokyo-Meguro church and the Fujimi monastery, Nicholas has kept everything from heating to sound systems working properly. He taped weddings, ceremonies, lectures and special events, setting up and dismantling the equipment in countless rooms for

these activities. He bought supplies and groceries, cooked and baked and served as community barber.

Through all these years Nicholas listened, learned and opened his heart to those in need. He has been a blessing to many who continue to be loyal friends dedicated to the monastery. We are profoundly grateful for this humble confrere who has demonstrated to the people of Japan the hospitality and ministry of our Benedictine community.

Roman Paur, OSB

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rother Nicholas arrived in Japan in 1970. A monk of many talents and few words, of solid insight and little fanfare, Nicholas has been as generous of his talents and time as he is reserved. A skilled calligrapher, an accomplished woodworker and an avid photographer, he also taught Bible classes to kindergarteners and English to both children and adults. All this he did in his spare time.

by Roman Paur, OSB

Brother Nicholas, OSB

Nicholas returned to Saint John’s this fall to attend to medical matters.

He hopes to return to his beloved Japan in the new year. +

Three Japanese novices invested

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Maximilian Kolbe Oka Shuta, 41, an advocate for homeless and battered women, serves the community as kitchen manager, sacristan, and coordinator of the novices’ weekly service visit to a nursing home.

Abraham Johane Paulo Oku Hiroshi, 35, a nursing home helper, takes care of the community’s recycling and waste removal, the page 24 Abbey Banner Winter 2008

Roman Paur, OSB

happy and grateful event occurred at Trinity Benedictine Monastery, Fujimi, on November 22 when three Japanese candidates were invested as novices. Left to right are:

garden and lawn, car maintenance and the special needs of the elderly monks.

Francisco Shimose Toshihisa, 39, a technician and salesman of a music

store and a sound technician of the Japan Broadcasting Company, serves as the community’s assistant guest master and organist. +

BENEDICTINE VOLUNTEERS

Benedictine Volunteers serve in Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Minnesota

by Daniel Durken, OSB

Ten Saint John’s alumni report on their far-flung and local adventures.

Theo Eggermont and Charlie Sawyer and Phil Hanson in Esqui- Cole Woodward in Santiago, Chile pulas, Guatemala

Brady King at Collegio de Sant’ Anselmo in Rome, Italy

L. to r., Charlie Sawyer, Cole Woodward and students

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R. to l., Phil Hanson, Theo Eggermont and a friend

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e started at this Benedictine abbey as migrant workers in the citrus orchard. After a month we began teaching English at the high school and giving private lessons.

We are installing a solar panel at an orphanage library. Our highlights include: the amazing view of the area from the rooftop of the abbey basilica; getting to know the monks; a glimpse of rural life on a trip to a village called “The Soups”; and our recent trip to the Mayan ruins in Copan. We assisted in a seven-day medical mission that was a true test of our Spanish skills. For more, visit taeggermont.blogspot.com.

e have been with the Monquehue Movement since August 18. This is a Benedictine community of lay people, similar to a monastic group. We are working at Colegio San Lorenzo, a community-operated school in a poor neighborhood of Santiago. In addition to helping with English classes, sports teams and hopefully starting a recycling/clean-up project, we are trying to instill in the students a sense of responsibility for their education and community. We participated in a 27-kilometer pilgrimage with 70,000 Chileans and visited the community’s retreat center in Patagonia. For more, visit cesawyer. blogspot.com.

Brady King cleans up the Collegio campus.

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y first task was to learn Italian at a language school. I also started working on the grounds surrounding the university. In late September the Congress of Abbots met here and I worked at the information desk using my new language skill. I continued these assignments after the Congress but expect my duties will change in the coming months. Meeting residents from all over the world has been the highlight of this journey. The diverse demography gives me a glimpse of the entire world while eating in the refectory or walking around campus. For more. visit bradypking.blogspot.com.

Abbey Banner Winter 2008 page 25

BENEDICTINE VOLUNTEERS

Mike Bancks and Mike Leither in Tabgha and Jerusalem, Israel

Ben DeMarais and Charlie McCarron in Tanzania

Joseph Wiechman at Saint John’s Abbey, Collegeville

Charlie McCarron (l.) and Ben DeMarais introduce students to the library.

L. to r., Mike Leither and Mike Bancks with the Sea of Galilee behind them

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abgha, a Benedictine monastery in northern Israel, has a tranquil garden including a natural spring pool, beautiful flowers, large palm trees and quiet, peaceful sitting areas. Called “The Meeting Place,” this section is for groups to gather, communicate and form friendships. We, along with three German volunteers, maintain the grounds and guesthouse. We have many tourists, religious pilgrims and mentally/physically handicapped visitors. Meeting these unique people along with enjoying eye-opening trips around the country leave us craving for more. We especially love the genuine feeling of the people, history, and sights in Jerusalem. For more, visit mpbisrael.blogspot.com.

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e can best describe our work at Hanga Abbey by our acquired titles: teacher, carpenter, computer expert, host, librarian, organizer, gardener, baker, cook, musician, general repairman, and of course Benedictine Volunteer. Ben helps at St. Laurent’s, the abbey’s primary school. Charlie teaches at St. Benedict’s secondary, St. Placidus Religious Seminary, and the Hanga Vocational Training Center.

Highlights include a safari through Ruaha National Park, a trip to the Benedictine convent in Imiliwaha to visit two volunteer graduates of the College of Saint Benedict, and sharing the American tradition of Halloween by carving, not a pumpkin, but a papaya. For more, visit ben-tanzania.blogspot.com.

Joe Wiechman returns from a weekly shopping trip.

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s a student I thought monks were austere, dignified, imposing. It is unfortunate I did not meet more than just those I knew as my faculty resident and through student employment. As a live-in Benedictine Volunteer I have the opportunity to understand this monastic community as a whole and the monks as individuals. My job in the woodworking shop and doing a weekly community shopping trip to St. Cloud have allowed me to meet a variety of independent and unique characters. It has been a pleasure to be accepted as a quasi-member of such an ardent family.

BANNER BITS

Abbey appoints three new lay leaders

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“If you command wisely, you’ll be obeyed cheerfully” (Thomas Fuller, M.D.).

uring the past summer the abbey appointed three new department leaders: Joseph Young, coordinator of communications and marketing; Carol Loch, director of Saint Raphael’s Hall for ill, infirm and aged monks; and Steve Berhow, fire chief, fire marshal and assistant safety director for the abbey and university.

JosephYoung, no stranger to Saint John’s, earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint John’s University in English and mathematics in 1973 and a master’s degree in Scripture from Saint John’s School of Theology in 1988.

Joseph now works with the abbot and various abbey departments to ensure a consistent and unified communications message and marketing presentation. He chairs the abbey’s communications and marketing committee.

Carol Loch is also familiar with the Collegeville community. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in 1991from the College of Saint Benedict and was a student helper in Saint Raphael’s Hall during her collegiate days.

Steve Berhow was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and grew up in California before moving with his family to Onamia, Minnesota. He began his work as a firefighter for the Andover, Minnesota, fire department, where he served as district chief for thirteen years.

Steve Berhow and a fire engine

Joseph Young in his office

A Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, native, Joseph worked as a reporter for Wisconsin’s Baraboo News-Republic and the Portage Daily-Register. For the past seventeen years he was a staff writer and editor of the St. Cloud Diocesan weekly paper, the St. Cloud Visitor.

Carol Loch and Florian Muggli, OSB

Carol previously worked as a nurse of the Melrose, Minnesota, hospital; administrator of the Center for Independent Living in Saint Cloud; public health nurse in Meeker County, Litchfield, Minnesota, in charge of new mothers and their babies; and school nurse for the Hutchinson, Minnesota, public and parochial schools.

Steve is responsible for the training of Collegeville firemen, the scheduling and supervision of campus fire drills, the proper disposal of hazardous wastes, the investigation of accidents and the overall management of the department. He has a staff of trained volunteers including five monks, five college students and two additional laymen. Six new student volunteers have begun their training. +

Abbey Banner Winter 2008 page 27

THE ABBEY CHRONICLE

What’s Up? The Abbey Chronicle

by Daniel Durken, OSB

Good-bye, leaves.

Hello, snow.

The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year, Of wailing winds, and naked woods, and meadows brown and sere.

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(William Cullen Bryant, “The Death of the Flowers”)

he timing was perfect. The day after Gary Pflueger and his Grounds Crew finished sweeping up of the last of the lawn leaves on November 10, the first appreciable snow fell and turned autumn green to winter white for a little while.

Gary Pflueger and his leaf sweeper

After the first frosts of late October,

a stretch of extraordinarily warm days gave us curtain call highs of 73˚ on October 30 and 71˚ on November 3 and a technicolor extravaganza of pink, scarlet and mellow-yellow foliage.

August 2008 ■ The Sisters of Saint Benedict’s Monastery enjoyed the fresh air and Lake Sagatagan view on August 10 with an annual get-together and evening picnic in the abbey’s back yard. Two days later Bishop John Kinney with the priests and deacons of the St. Cloud Diocese socialized in the Great Hall before dinner in the monastery refectory. A common conversation starter was, “How many parishes are you serving?”

■ The last week brought the beginning of our 151st school year. With its largest enrollment in 39 years, the Preparatory School has 79 in the middle school and 259 in high school

Bringing stuff from home to school

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for a total of 338 students. Twentyfive percent of the students come from fifteen foreign countries.

The College of Saint Benedict enrolled 2,068 women while Saint John’s University has 1,897 men, totaling 3,965 undergraduate students, the second largest ever combined enrollment. The two schools have a total of 223 international students from 40 countries.

Saint John’s School of Theology• Seminary enrolled a total of 147 students to continue an upward trend.

There are 57 full-time students, 75 are new to the school and 42 live on campus, the largest number in six years. They include 18 international students from 10 countries and 25 Benedictine men and women from 16 communities.

THE ABBEY CHRONICLE

Tea for two

■ The “Orchid Monk” of Saint John’s, Finian McDonald, OSB, won another first-place blue ribbon at the 2008 Minnesota State Fair for his Phalsenopsis orchid. This splendid bloom is of the “harlequin” type with a white background and dark maroon

■ Columba Stewart, OSB, executive director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, received a gift of $825,000 as part of a $1 million fund established in his honor by HMML friends. During the five years of his directorship the museum-library has increased its preservation fieldwork from two sites to 22 digital studios in 10 countries. Since its inception 40 years ago, HMML has photographed some 100,000 manuscripts totaling more than 30 million pages.

■ With the new Abbey Guesthouse now open, former guestrooms on the north side of the ground floor of the Breuer wing of the monastery have been converted into offices for monks and lay staff in certain key positions.

An open house in mid-September introduced the public to the personnel of what has been dubbed “Abbey Row”: Josie Stang, manager of Saint John’s Cemetery; John Brudney, OSB, assistant abbey development director; Geoffrey Fecht, OSB, abbey development director; Joseph Young, abbey communications and marketing coordinator; Richard Oliver, OSB, administrative assistant to Abbot John; Paul-Vincent Niebauer, OSB, abbey vocation director.

■ With Benedictine roots as a graduate of the College of Mount Saint Scholastica, Atchison, Kansas, the first African woman Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Wangari Maathai received the annual Dignitas Humana Award

from Saint John’s School of Theology•Seminary on September 30. For almost forty years, Professor Maathai has encouraged and enabled African women to plant more than thirty million trees to conserve and improve the environment.

October 2008 ■ The luster of a brilliant autumn was considerably diminished by the late September report that Dietrich Reinhart, OSB, 59, the eleventh president of Saint John’s University

Kimm Anderson, St. Cloud Times

■ The first Abbey Attic Silent Auction was held in the Great Hall on September 2. With the emphasis more on quality than quantity, monks donated their more precious pieces including fine furniture, knick-knacks, souvenirs and Christmas decorations.

Sales netted just over $3,900 with all proceeds going to the abbey’s initiatives on behalf of peace, justice and the environment.

spots. With three hundred orchids to choose from, Father Finian generously loans these gorgeous flowers to decorate special events.

Andra Van Kempen

September 2008

L.to R.: Jerome Tupa, OSB; Dietrich Reinhart, OSB; Abbot John Klassen, OSB. Brother Dietrich leaves sanctuary after Anointing of the Sick.

since 1991, was diagnosed at Mayo Clinic in Rochester with stage four metastatic melanoma in his lungs and the upper left lobe of his brain.

Brother Dietrich described the situation in the words of an elderly confrere as “impossible but not hopeless.” He added, “Something wondrous is afoot. I just can’t see it yet.”

Professor Matthai receives Dignitas Humana Award.

Finian’s first-place orchid

Abbey Banner Winter 2008 page 29

THE ABBEY CHRONICLE

On November 5, the faculty, staff and students of Saint John’s and the College of Saint Benedict and family and friends gathered in the abbey church for Dietrich’s reception of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

A Caring Bridge website has been established for Dietrich to allow updates about his health to the many people who care for him and are praying for him. The address is: www. caringbridge.org/visit/brotherdietrich.

■ Dan Whalen, Saint John’s University interim president, grew up in Argyle and East Grand Forks, Minnesota, majored in government at SJU and earned MBA and Dan Whalen, Interim MA (food research) President of SJU degrees at Stanford University. He established five telecommunication industry companies and is presently principal investor and executive chairman of Vello, Inc., a startup teleconferencing company. He has been a member of the Saint John’s

Board of Regents since 1997, served as its chair from 2004-2007 and was campaign chair of the recently completed capital campaign, “One Generation to the Next.”

Dan and his wife Katharine and their three children live in Oakland, California. The search for the twelfth president of Saint John’s UniverBrother Bradley and the sity is underway. weather station certificate ■ “Old Tools and Fresh Sawdust at the Wood Shop at Saint John’s University and Abbey” is a featured article in the October issue of Chronicle of Higher Education.”

Christopher Fair, OSB, shop supervisor, states, “Yes, one of our old tools is a 1906 planer. Even though the economy is tight, people seem to still prefer quality. Work for collectors and private clients is an increasing portion of the shop’s business. We make furniture that lasts 60 to 70 years.”

■ The National Weather Service office in Chanhassen, Minnesota, belatedly presented Saint John’s weather station a certificate in recognition of 100 years of observations. Weathermonk Bradley Jenniges, OSB, accepted the citation that should have been made in 1992 to commemorate the 1892 beginning of the abbey’s collecting daily observation of temperature and precipitation. The Collegeville

site, one of 12,000 cooperative observer sites nationwide, with its long-term record of observations is particularly valued for the historical range of data that it provides.

■ Official totals of summer 2008 abbey garden produce show a massive amount of vegetables harvested by monks, Benedictine Volunteers and Associates, Oblates and Benedictine Experience participants from the Episcopal House of Prayer. Samples from the list compiled by Bruce Wollmering, OSB, coordinator of abbey produce, include the following in pounds: Tomatoes, 1,333; cucumbers, 238; radishes, 61; beets, 59; yellow squash, 109; zucchini, 110; watermelon, 79; green acorn squash, 110; and pumpkins 135.

Hundreds of gladiolas enriched the campus ennvironment.

Michael Becker

Because of this very serious and debilitating condition coupled with chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Dietrich submitted his resignation on October 16. James Frey, chair of the university’s Board of Regents, announced on October 21 that Dan Whalen, a 1970 graduate of Saint John’s, was named interim president.

Father Bruce prepares fresh garden produce.

Remember our loved ones who have gone to their rest: Geraldine Andert Sr. Frances Borgerding, OSB Robert Brix James Elvig Sr. Jeremy Hall, OSB page 30 Abbey Banner Winter 2008

Everett Kulas Robert Pluemer Dr. Don Schulte William Tegeder

May they rest in peace.

Joseph Toole Sr. Rita Marie Truetlein, OSF Deacon John Woods Lorraine Zierden

SPIRITUAL LIFE

A Christmas wish: “Christian, remember your dignity.”

Placid Stuckenschneider, OSB

by Bob Pierson, OSB

Christmas celebrates our own birth into divine life at baptism.

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ne of my favorite memories of my confrere and theology professor Godfrey Diekmann, OSB, happened one day when I found him sitting in the abbey snack room, enjoying a bowl of soup. As I sat down, he asked me, “In your opinion, what is the most important moment in human history?” Inspired by the Holy Spirit, I answered tentatively, “The Incarnation?” “Exactly right!” he exclaimed. “God became human, so humans could become divine!”

My time with Father Godfrey in patristics class taught me that his statement was not entirely original.

It is based on his understanding of the teaching of several Fathers of

the Church. In a famous Christmas homily, Pope Saint Leo the Great— fifth century theologian who defended the unity of the divine and human natures of Jesus—states, “Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition . . . . Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit.”

Christmas is a time to celebrate not only the birth of Jesus Christ into human life, but also to celebrate our own birth into divine life at baptism.

Perhaps this is why the season of Christmas ends with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord in mid-

January. Just as God the Father says to Jesus, God also says to us, “You are my Beloved in whom I am well pleased.” Do we live like God’s beloved children? Do we recognize our own dignity, and the dignity of others, in whom God is well pleased? +

Upcoming retreats sponsored by the Spiritual Life Program February 27 – March 1, 2009—Lenten Retreat

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he theme for our Lenten Retreat is “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy.” Bob Pierson, OSB, will share his reflections on the mercy of God as taught by Jesus in his interactions with sinners and in his parables, particularly the parables in Luke’s Gospel. The retreat begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, February 27, and concludes after lunch on Sunday, March 1.

May 29 – May 31, 2009—Pentecost Retreat

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on Tauscher, OSB, will share his reflections on the Holy Spirit. The Third Person of the Trinity is alive and well, one with the Father and the Son, yet distinct. This Pentecost retreat will deal with the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ; the Holy Spirit in the Church; the Holy Spirit in actions and results. The retreat begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 29, and concludes after lunch on Sunday, May 31.

The cost for these retreats is $150 per person for a single room, and $120 per person for a double room. For more information and to register, contact the Abbey Spiritual Life office at 320-363-3929 or e-mail us at spirlife@osb.org. You can register on-line at http://www.saintjohnsabbey.org/retreats/reserve.html. + Bob Pierson, OSB, is the abbey’s guestmaster and the director of the Spiritual Life Program at Saint John’s.

Abbey Banner Winter 2008 page 31

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SUNDAY AT THE ABBEY

The 2009 Sunday at the Abbey Lecture Series

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hese lectures, sponsored by Saint John’s Abbey, are given by monks and invited speakers who address the relationship of monasticism to theology, culture and contemporary issues facing the church and society. Held in the Chapter House of the Pavilion adjoining the Abbey Church at 7:00 p.m. on designated Sundays, the lectures are free of charge. Come and bring friends.

JANUARY 25 Timothy Backous, OSB, on “Selfdeception in Flannery O’Connor” Father Timothy, headmaster of Saint John’s Preparatory School, will use the writings of Flannery O’Connor (19251964) to explore self-deception, the Achilles’ heel of anyone who confronts the reality of God.

FEBRUARY 15 Rev. Dr. Michael Wyatt on “12-Step Spirituality” Rev. Michael Wyatt, priest at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Saint Cloud, will consider how powerlessness is experienced on physical, psychological and spiritual levels and the way from pain to hope offered by 12-Step programs.

MARCH 15 Dr. David Kieft on “Dom Virgil Michel, OSB (1890-1938): Educator” Dr. Kieft, Oblate of Saint John’s Abbey and associate professor emeritus of history at the University of Minnesota, will commemorate the 70th anniversary of Father Virgil’s death with highlights of his life.

APRIL 19 Carol Berg, OSB, on “Crossing Cultural Boundaries: Benedictines at White Earth and Red Lake” Sister Carol works in the Development and Communication Office of Saint Benedict’s Monastery.

She will describe the work of Benedictine men and women at these two Northern Minnesota Native American missions.

All presentations begin at 7 p.m. in the Chapter Room of the Pavilion.