Fr om t he A bb ot
On the Shoulders of Giants
We stand on the shoulders of g iant s … This phra se ha s b e en parse d for hundre ds of years and attribute d to many, but I fe el it is appropriate for our community. Ever y time I v isit our Abb e y ’s cemeter y or w alk pa st the wall in the church listing out all of the monk s who have gone to their eternal re w ard, or when I lo ok at the p or trait s of the abb ot s and bishops that have gone b efore me, I am b oth g ratef ul and humble d. It is b e cause of these men, and b e cause of the thousands of B ene dictine monk s throughout histor y, that I am able to live this life of prayer and work – to offer my life in ser vice to Christ and his Church. A life that I am glad to share with you a s you visit us in our mona stic home. On b ehalf of the monk s of St . B ene dict’s Abb e y, I would like to say “welcome!” It is our hop e that you will exp erience St . B ene dict’s dire ctive of hospitality, that you are welcome d a s Christ . Inde e d, finding Christ in the other is one element of what draws us monk s to the mona ster y, and we hop e that during your stay w ith us you encounter Christ in a meaning f ul way. Since 1857 we have sought to live out our mission of prayer and work : offering the sacrament s to those we ser ve in our parishes , e ducating and forming the student s in our e ducational ap ostolates , sharing the merc y of Christ w ith the imprisone d, and e ver faithf ul to lif ting the ne e ds of the world to G o d in our prayer. D uring your stay, I hop e that you are able to join us for Ma ss or the Liturg y of the Hours – that your faith might b e de ep ene d and emb oldene d by entering into these act s of offering praise and thank sg iving to G o d. In this b o ok (which is yours to ke ep) we hop e to share our lives w ith you: the histor y of our order and community ; an answer to the question, “ What is a monk?”; and much more. We are also se eking to share the love of Christ and the G osp el through our so cial me dia channels – in audio, vide o, and text . Plea se follow us online at kansa smonk s .org or search Kansa s Monk s on your favorite so cial me dia platform, and b e sure to share w ith your friends , that we might b e able to share the p eace and love of Christ w ith them a s well. Again, welcome to St . B ene dict’s Abb e y. We know you could sp end your time any where, and we are g ratef ul that you have chosen to sp end some of it here w ith us . In Christ , Abb ot James R . Alb ers , OSB Ninth Abb ot of St . B ene dict’s Abb e y
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