MY DEAR FRIENDS, This summer, as we were preparing to celebrate the funeral liturgies for Brother Mark Kammerer, O.S.B., who died on June 29, I had the time to reflect on the death of one of my brothers. The death of a monk is always a powerful moment in the life of any monastic community, as it is for any family. But, in a special way, a monk’s death puts into perspective the whole meaning and purpose of the monastic life. As strange as it may seem, the monastic tradition characterizes our way of life as an anticipation of the life of heaven. Despite (or perhaps because of) the rigors of our life in community, our sights are set on the ultimate goal of a Christian life: eternity in communion with God. In a real sense, the purpose of monastic life is death – not in any morbid way, but because Christians see death as the passage into eternal life. Every part of a monk’s day, everything he does, is geared towards focusing his attention on that ultimate goal. So, monks live in this world as if they had passed through it. And when a monk actually comes to his death, it is the culmination of a life-long journey, purposefully directed towards its end: eternal life. All human beings are flawed, and Brother Mark was no exception. And so, the Rites of the Church direct us to pray for the purification of his soul, for an easy and swift transition into eternal life, and for his complete and glorious transformation into the image of God that he was always intended to be. Our participation in the funeral rites for Brother Mark, and our ongoing prayer for him, are ways that we unite ourselves in the Body of Christ to Brother Mark, and he unites himself to us. This great communion of persons is Christ’s gift to us through Baptism, and that communion is meant to strengthen the bonds of love and fellowship we share in Christ. We pray for Brother Mark, for a swift and complete purification that will lead to his transformation after the pattern of the Son of God, who loved him and died for his salvation. We pray that, as we participate in the mystery of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, we, too, may come to our final end: life with Christ and with all the souls of the redeemed in heaven. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Abbot Gregory Mohrman, O.S.B., ‘76