Abbey Banner - Fall 2005 by Saint John's Abbey

FROM EDITOR AND ABBOT

Ruminations on a Rummage Sale by Daniel Durken, OSB

or the first time in our 150year history, Saint Johnʼs Abbey had a rummage sale. Brother Paul Richards, OSB, the monasteryʼs subprior, suggested that monks clean out our closets, unload our lockers and bail out our bookcases for a couple of good causes: to help tsunami victims and Darfur refugees. The response was positive, for most of us have said: This is the prayer of the monk: Why do I have so much junk? We raised a siege against stuff—a typewriter that has become an antique, a painting that has lost its appeal, trousers that are tight, coats, caps, scarves, gloves, shirts and shoes that are seldom worn. Two empty monastery rooms were filled with prime products for the successful May sale. Affluenza A contemporary concern for our addiction to acquiring more stuff is found in the challenging book Affluenza (DeGraff, Wann, Naylor, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2002). Affluenza is defined as “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.” Examples abound: • We have twice as many shopping centers as high schools. • Seventy percent of us visit malls each week, more than attend churches. • Our CEOs now earn 400 times as much as average workers. • There are now more than 30,000 self-storage facilities in the country; the industry has expanded fortyfold since the 1960s. • The average size of new homes is more than double what it was in the 1950s while families are smaller. A rummage sale may not be the best answer to this plague of affluenza. Often one personʼs junk becomes another personʼs treasure. Taking our stuff to a Good Will store, the Salvation Army or a St. Vincent DePaul center is a better way to assure that our items get into the hands of those who really need them. As I do my fall cell-cleaning and take my extra trousers, shirts and sweaters to the St. Cloud Good Will store this week, I will remember that the best things in life are not things. +

Saint Benedict advises Pope Benedict by Abbot John Klassen, OSB

hen Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope, the first reason for his choosing the name of Benedict was that his namesake, Benedict XV, served as Pontiff from 1915-1922, inclusive of the trauma of World War I. The second reason was the legacy of Saint Benedict, the patron saint of Europe. I would like to reflect briefly on some of the resources in the Rule of Benedict (RB) that may well guide Pope Benedict in the awesome responsibility of leading our Church in this time. LISTEN! “Listen,” the first word of RB, is the fundamental stance of those who try to live the gospel according to its precepts. We know that deep listening requires our best energies: intellectual, emotional, spiritual. True listening requires us to trust that the Holy Spirit is present as we bring the gospel to our relationships and to our world. Out of a fundamental respect for others we will come to God and Godʼs truth for our life and our times. Our Church needs a commitment to listening from Pope Benedict. HUMILITY Humility, the subject of the longest chapter in RB, allows us to “let God be God,” to prefer nothing to Christ and to realize that we are not God. Humility helps us recognize that we are always learners, expanding our horizons, more aware of the complex mystery of each human being and the surprising ways that Godʼs grace works in each one of us. HOSPITALITY Finally, a commitment to the Benedictine value of hospitality could open the arms of the Church. Such a stance harkens back to those stunning parables that Jesus tells about the great feast, where the poor, the outcast, the tax collectors are seated at the banquet table. Right now some leaders in our Church are spending a disproportionate amount of energy trying to decide who is “inside” the tent and who is “outside.” The virtue of hospitality is suspicious of this activity. Seeing Christ in another is the fundamental commitment. I pray that Pope Benedict takes his namesake seriously as a model for his leadership. + The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 3

FEATURE

Hugh Witzmann, OSB

Shovels and hardhats stand at attention, waiting for the groundbreaking ceremony.

Ground is broken and construction begins on the Abbey Guest House by Daniel Durken, OSB

“The work of building a Guest House is the work of an entire community” (Abbot John).

Daniel Durken, OSB

The 510-foot utilities tunnel in the making

page 4 The Abbey Banner Fall 2005

here is a tradition that says, “If it rains on your wedding day, itʼs good luck.” If that tradition can be transferred to a groundbreaking celebration, then the Saint Johnʼs Abbey Guest House is off to a good start.

on the banks of the Mississippi near the St. Cloud Childrenʼs Home. Later, when they procured the present area, they settled on the other side of what is now I-94 and constructed a wooden building. But as Colman Barry, OSB, writes in Worship and Work:

May 12 was a rainy, chilly day at Collegeville. Umbrellas and rain coats were more in evidence than hard hats and shovels. Foresight, however, provided a tent at the site of the ceremony and the 150 guests and monks kept dry. The crowd processed from the Great Hall to the site of the future guest house east of the abbey church, west of the Prep School and overlooking Lake Sagatagan.

ʻPrior Benedict and his confreres began exploratory excursions across their nearly 2,000 acres, through the rolling woods in 1856. Inevitably they paused on the shore of the delightful and large lake, set like a jewel in the forest. The lake covered three hundred and sixty acres, was fed by springs and creeks, teemed with several varieties of fish and was hemmed in on all sides by wooded shores . . .

After welcoming the assembly Abbot John Klassen, OSB, prefaced the blessing of the area with these comments: “When Boniface Wimmer sent five monks out from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, to found a monastery near St. Cloud, Minnesota, they first landed

ʻHere were water, woods, seclusion and natural surroundings that could not but elevate the mind and heart to God . . . In that year of 1865, as peace finally came to the divided nation [after the Civil War], Minnesotaʼs Benedictines decided once and for all to build on that spot

Vincent James Associates Architects (VJAA)

FEATURE

Architect’s model of south side of the guest house, facing Lake Sagatagan

“Those last words are important. It has taken so long to get to this point because this monastic community wanted to invite our guests to a place ʻwhere all nature seemed to combine in securing the development of the Benedictine tradition of peace.ʼ “As you can see, this is the place. It is, more or less, the place where those

Architect’s concept of the meditation chapel of the guest house

monks first stood overlooking the lake, filled with such hope. We pray that when this building is completed, you and many others will come to this place and know peace.

LEAD DONORS FOR THE ABBEY GUEST HOUSE

“Hospitality always works both ways. The roles of ʻguestʼ and ʻhostʼ are fluid, dynamic. We know you will give something to us as well, and it will be most unexpected but, in the way of the Spirit, it will be exactly what we need. (continued next page)

VJAA

where all nature seemed to combine in securing the development of the Benedictine tradition of peace.ʼ

Barbara and Steve Slaggie, Winona, Minnesota Julia and Frank Ladner, Lawrenceville, Illinois Jackie Breher and Bill Jackson, Mendota Heights, Minnesota Joyce and Bill Sexton, Scottsdale, Arizona Diane Liemandt-Reimann and Ron Reimann, Tonka Bay, Minnesota McGough Companies, St. Paul, Minnesota John Burns and Steven Pederson, Minneapolis, Minnesota Lawrence Kelly Estate, Campbellsport, Wisconsin Norma Culhane, San Angelo, Texas Lois and John Rogers, Long Lake, Minnesota Florence Moritz, St. Cloud, Minnesota Rev. Ken Knoke, Reynolds, North Dakota Ellen and Bob Shafer, Rye, New York Joleen Durken, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota Joy and Brian Crevoiserat, Lakeview, Minnesota Sandy and Bob Klas, St. Paul, Minnesota Rev. Marty Cullen, Fargo, North Dakota

The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 5

FEATURE

Lee Hanley

Abbot John lends a mechanical hand in the construction work on the guest house.

“The care of guests has always been an important work in the life of monastic communities. In his Rule, Saint Benedict instructs us that, ʻAll guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me.ʼ The Letter to the Hebrews adds, ʻDo not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.ʼ “We regularly pray the psalm: ʻIf the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor.ʼ Whenever we look to the interests of our neighbors and serve them, we are Godʼs own coworkers. Let us pray for Godʼs help through this celebration that God will bring this construction to successful completion and keep those who work on it safe from injury.” The following passage from Saint Paulʼs First Letter to the Corinthians (3:9-11) was read by Novice Andrew Coval, OSB: “We are Godʼs co-workers, working together; you are Godʼs field, Godʼs building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled maspage 6 The Abbey Banner Fall 2005

ter builder I laid a foundation and another is building upon it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation than the one that has been laid: that foundation is Jesus Christ.” Abbot John then blessed the guests and the ground with holy water. Major donors to the project joined him in the breaking of the ground. Following the groundbreaking, the Eucharist was celebrated in the Abbey Church after which guests joined the monks for dinner in the monastic refectory. The celebration concluded with Evening Prayer in the abbey church. Construction begins on the utilities tunnel After Prep School graduation and the Memorial Day weekend, work began on the first phase of the construction, the utilities tunnel. Gohman Construction Company of St. Joseph, Minnesota, is building this 510-foot long tunnel that begins between Alcuin Library and Peter Engel Science Cen-

ter, cuts through the east parking lot and connects with the guest house site. The tunnel will carry phone lines, fiber optic, video and voltage cables as well as steam and chilled water pipes. A pedestrian tunnel will allow guests a covered walkway from the guest house to the church. The utilities tunnel was expected to be completed in mid-August before the start of classes. In his July letter to the monastic community, Abbot John announced that this new facility is named Saint Johnʼs Abbey Guest House. Because this does not clearly describe what the facility is all about, a header—A Place of Spiritual Renewal—is being used. The community also desires to recognize the pioneering efforts and vision of Jerome Theisen, OSB, eighth abbot of Saint Johnʼs (197992), who recognized the need for such a facility. A space in the building will be dedicated to a plaque that notes his singular contribution. + Daniel Durken, OSB, is editor of The Abbey Banner.

FEATURE The Abbey of Metten in Bavaria was founded in 766. From here Boniface Wimmer established St. Vincent Archabbey in 1846.

Here are the Sesquicentennial Highlights by William Skudlarek, OSB

From April 6, 2006, to November 10, 2007

aint Johnʼs Abbey and University will officially open its one-and-a-half year sesquicentennial celebration on Wednesday, April 6, 2006, the 150th anniversary of the departure of five Benedictine monks from Saint Vincent Monastery in Pennsylvania for the Minnesota Territory.

Special tribute will be given to the Sisters of Saint Benedictʼs Monastery, St. Joseph, Minnesota, and their living witness of “seeking God after the monastic manner of life.” They will be commemorating their own sesquicentennial during 2007 and the celebrations will be both separate and coordinated.

The day will feature the launching of the Saint Johnʼs sesquicentennial book of essays and photographs, This Place Called Collegeville: Saint Johnʼs at 150, edited by Hilary Thimmesh, OSB. In the afternoon Douglas Nowicki, OSB, Archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey, will preside at the community Eucharist. Other celebratory events and exhibits are being planned for the day.

Spring 2006 events in the Twin Cities and St. Cloud will commemorate the arrival of the Benedictine monks as they made their way up the Mississippi River. A special exhibit, “Benedictines in Central Minnesota,” is scheduled to open at the Stearns County Historical Museum in May 2006.

Abbey Archives

The Saint Johnʼs Sesquicentennial will honor the past, but it will also be about now and the next 150 years. Woven into every feature of the celebration will be an expression of gratitude for employees, students,

A drawing of St. Vincent Archabbey in 1855, the year it became an abbey

The principal celebration of the Saint Johnʼs Sesquicentennial will take place on June 24, 2006, the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, patron saint of the abbey and its schools. After a festive Eucharist presided by the abbot of Saint Michaelʼs Abbey, Metten (Saint Johnʼs “grandmother house” in Germany), the campus will become a picnic and fairgrounds for friends and neighbors. Throughout the 2006-2007 academic year there will be musical perfor-

Abbey Archives

neighbors, alumni, parents, friends, Oblates—everyone who contributes to the shaping and flourishing of Saint Johnʼs.

mances, educational symposiums, spiritual life programs and special liturgies. A number of regular occasions, such as lectureships, will have a sesquicentennial flavor. A special sesquicentennial concert on September 29, 2006 (Homecoming Weekend) by musicians from the college, prep school and local area will feature Poulencʼs Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani in G Minor, with Professor Kim Kasling as soloist, as well as compositions that reflect the rich musical tradition of Saint Johnʼs. The completion of The Saint Johnʼs Bible and the dedication of the new Abbey Guest House, both scheduled to take place during the sesquicentennial, will emphasize the forward looking nature of the commemoration. The sesquicentennial observance will conclude on November 10, 2007, the 150th anniversary of the first day of class at Saint Johnʼs. + William Skudlarek, OSB, and Patti Epsky are co-chairs of the Sesquicentennial Board. The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 7

SESQUICENTENNIAL Demetrius di Marogna, OSB, first prior of Saint John’s

1856: The first five Benedictines come to Minnesota Abbey Archives

by Daniel Durken, OSB, and David Klingeman, OSB

Westward Ho! And away they go!

s Saint Johnʼs prepares to celebrate its sesquicentennial, there are other 150-year anniversaries that might be remembered. For example, in 1856 • The first railway bridge to span the Mississippi opened between Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. • Marshall Field and Andrew Carnegie began their lucrative careers. • Notables such as Sigmund Freud, George Bernard Shaw, Booker T. Washington, Oscar Wilde and Woodrow Wilson were born. • James Kelly and Jack Smith in Melbourne, Australia, fought the longest bare-knuckle boxing fight in history for 186 rounds lasting six hours and fifteen minutes. But it is the Benedictine beginnings in that year which capture our attention. In the gray dawn of April 5, the Feast of Saint Benedict, five monks of St. Vincent Monastery in western Pennsylvania, set out for Minnesota. They were Demetrius di Marogna, Cornelius Wittmann, Bruno Riss, Benno Muckenthaler and Patrick Greil. page 8 The Abbey Banner Fall 2005

Selected by Abbot Boniface Wimmer, OSB, who ten years earlier brought the first Benedictines from Germany to the United States, this brave band was answering the plea of Joseph Cretin, first bishop of the St. Paul Diocese, to send missionaries to Minnesota to care for the spiritual needs of German immigrants. Down the Ohio River and up the Mississippi they sailed. When they got to the newly opened railway bridge at Davenport, their steamer was barely able to pass between the piers. In his 1888 memoirs, Father Bruno described the ensuing tragedy. The boilers of the steamboat that followed exploded and its passengers were killed. Two other steamers that came to offer assistance also burned and “hundreds of lives were lost.” Presuming the monks had perished, an Iowa priest sent the Davenport paper with the news of the accidents to St. Vincent where funeral services were celebrated for the truly departed monks. For another side of this story, however, be sure to read the accompanying sidebar.

SESQUICENTENNIAL The faithful five arrived safely in St. Paul and two weeks later Bishop Cretin ordained Cornelius and Bruno. They reached their destination of St. Cloud on May 20 and settled in two small log cabins on the riverʼs west bank—the land claim of Louis and William Rothkopp. The rest is history, recorded in Worship and Work by Colman Barry, OSB (Liturgical Press, 1993). This motley crew of monks was led by fifty-two-year-old Demetrius di Marogna, OSB, born in Austria of a noble Italian family. He was ordained for the Augsburg Diocese in which he served for two decades before coming to Chicago where he worked for five years until he entered St. Vincent Monastery and was soon appointed prior (second in command). His courtly manners, pastoral experience and command of languages made Demetrius a natural leader. But poor health soon necessitated his move to the pastorate of Assumption Church in St. Paul and then to Florida. He returned to St. Paul where he died. He was buried at Saint Johnʼs in 1869.

Four months later, Cornelius moved the monastery and school eight miles west to St. Joseph. The following year he went to Shakopee on the Minnesota River where some of the community hoped to move the school. There he started constructing the first building until he was advised to discontinue his work. As a hobby Cornelius carved numerous wooden statues and crucifixes until he became totally blind. Saint Johnʼs living senior member, 104-year-old Angelo Zankl, OSB, had the duty as a novice of pushing Cornelius in his wheel chair to the chapel. He died at age ninety-two. (continued next page)

Abbey Archives

Cornelius Wittmann, OSB, prior, pastor and first professor of St. John’s Seminary

The wood carvings of the crucifix, Saints Benedict and Scholastica were made by Father Cornelius.

A Monk’s Tale? by Dolores Schuh, CHM

ocal histories of Davenport, Iowa, do not confirm Father Brunoʼs story about the tragedy of the three steamers. Davenport Library records reveal that the side-wheel steamer, the Effie Afton, hit a pier of the bridge on May 6, 1856, about two weeks after the railroad bridge was completed. The bridge and the boat caught on fire and a “number of persons” drowned. Some accounts record no loss of lives at all but only that of bridge and boat. The steamboat company sued the Railroad Bridge Company and the latter was defended by an Illinois lawyer named Abraham Lincoln! Although there was a hung jury and the case was dismissed, Lincolnʼs reputation as a great trial lawyer was solidified.

Alan Reed, OSB

Cornelius Wittmann, OSB, came from Bavaria, entered St. Vincent Monastery and was ordained in St. Paul on his way to St. Cloud. When Saint Johnʼs Seminary was opened

November 10, 1857, Cornelius held the positions of president and sole professor of the school, prior and pastor of St. Cloud. Five students moved into the shanty shelter of the monks and studied history, English, German, Latin, Greek, astronomy, rhetoric and mathematics.

Brian Boosel, OSB, assistant archivist of Saint Vincent Archabbey, could find no mention of funeral services for any monk there in 1856. There are no deaths listed in the necrologies for the congregation for the year 1856. Evidently Bruno was a good storyteller who enjoyed enhancing, embellishing and enlarging his tales. Dolores Schuh, CHM, is the copy editor of The Abbey Banner. She lives with her community in Davenport, Iowa. The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 9

SESQUICENTENNIAL

Abbey Archives

Daniel Durken, OSB

The tombstones of the Minnesota pioneer Benedictines: Demetrius, Cornelius and Benno are buried at Saint John’s; Bruno is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Spring Valley, Illinois.

rch

iv e s

The first of the two brother Another Bavarian, Bruno pioneers, Benno MuckRiss, OSB, entered St. enthaler, OSB, was the Vincent Monastery and chief cabinetmaker at was ordained with St. Vincent Monastery classmate Corneuntil he joined the lius. Saint Johnʼs is Minnesota missionarindebted to Bruno ies. His carpentry for exploring and skills provided more choosing its present adequate housing for site high above Lake the community than Sagatagan. He recthe original two 12ʼx ognized the potential 12ʼ log cabins offered. of the “Indianbush” area four miles west of A memorable conSt. Joseph and secured tribution of Benno was the land by erecting claim Ab the acquiring in 1857 of a shacks and posting land ap150-pound bell from plication signs. Bruno Riss, OSB, pastor, his Bavarian relatives. explorer and a not too reliable chronicler This was the first bell Bruno returned to St. in Stearns County and Vincent Monastery and was was later installed in the turret of the assigned to parishes in Illinois and first permanent structure at the ColPennsylvania. Later he joined the legeville site. Bennoʼs sudden death new Benedictine priory of Cluny in 1859 put a strain on the struggling in southern Illinois and served as a community so much in need of his hospital chaplain. He died in 1900 and is buried in St. Josephʼs Cemetery, building expertise. Spring Valley, Illinois. page 10 The Abbey Banner Fall 2005

Little biographical information is available about the second brother pioneer, Patrick Greil, OSB. He was the community cook and bore the brunt of the first studentsʼ complaint that “We never had pie or delicacies— in fact there is serious doubt whether our culinary lord ever knew of these agreeable items.” Patrick left the community around 1865 and moved to Oregon where he eventually married. He died in 1902 near Kalama, Washington. These are the first five fearless monks, the original bare-knuckle fighters who not just for six hours but for years “fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). Our gratitude to them is as immeasurable as the hardships they endured. + Daniel Durken, OSB, is the senior editor of Liturgical Press. David Klingeman, OSB, is the abbey and university archivist.

FEATURE Pope Benedict XVI Is he signaling another Johnnie touchdown?

A Benedictine monk meets Pope Benedict by Kilian McDonnell, OSB

hen The Abbey Banner editor was looking for a monk who had personal contact with the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI, he learned that I had several meetings with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger over the years.

said that he chose the name because Pope Benedict XV (1914-22) had been a prophetic voice during World War I. Benedict XVI therefore wants to be a pope of reconciliation and harmony.

About twenty years ago I met with twenty-five cardinals and theologians at the Unity Secretariat in Rome and among them was Cardinal Ratzinger. Five years later the cardinal had some theological issues with a well known priest and I was asked to be the priestʼs theological advisor when he spoke with the cardinal. Admittedly, this is a slim basis for bragging rights.

He also mentioned St. Benedict and the Benedictines as a reason for choosing the name. As a cardinal, he often spent his holidays in Benedictine monasteries. The new pope specifically mentioned the Benedictines as important for “the unity of Europe and a strong reminder of the inalienable Christian roots of its culture and its civilization.”

In 2000 Cardinals Ratzinger and Walter Kasper had something of a public debate on the issue of the relationship of the local, diocesan church to the universal church. In 2002 I published two articles in Theological Studies supporting Kasper against Ratzinger. My father used to tell me that I always put my money on the wrong horse.

Clearly, Benedict XVI is concerned about the Christian nature of European culture. This is seen in the vigorous defense the Vatican made for the inclusion of a reference to the historic role Christianity played in the spiritual and cultural formation of Europe, a reference which was excluded from the prologue to the constitution of the European Union (EU).

Why did the cardinal choose the name Benedict? Ratzinger himself

This same position is seen in Cardinal Ratzingerʼs opposition to the

Catholic News Service

The author answers the question: Why did Cardinal Ratzinger choose the name Benedict?

entrance of Turkey into the EU. There is some alarm concerning the immigration of large numbers of Moslems; other countries have similar concerns. The Cardinal is not denigrating the faith or culture of Moslems. Rather, his opposition is related to something to which he looked to the Benedictines to model for Europe and the world, namely, the unity of Christian culture. Turkey does not fit into this cultural unity. Finally, Pope Benedict XV protested the genocide of the Armenians between 1915 and 1918. Today in Armenia one finds a monument to Pope Benedict XV. The new Pope Benedict XVI likewise wishes to be a defender of the oppressed. + Kilian McDonnell, OSB, is the founder and president of the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at Saint Johnʼs. He has published several volumes of his poetry.

The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 11

FEATURE The 2005-2006 Saint John’s Boys’ Choir

Cass Mackert

as “the Alliance World Festival of Singing for Men and Boys”) six times which brings together outstanding national and international male choirs; the liturgies of Christmas and Holy Thursday; and the annual Thanksgiving weekend concert of alumni and current members.

120 rambunctious songsters and thirty kids with angelic voices were lucky enough to be accepted. “We were off to a roaring start,” Paul remarks.

During his sophomore year he became interested in monastic life and spent the January term with the Trappist community in Snowmass, Colorado. After his junior year he volunteered to teach at the Benedictine Colegio San Antonio Abad in Puerto Rico where he lived and prayed with the monks and solidified his interest in monastic life at Saint Johnʼs. He entered the novitiate in 1978 and professed his first vows the following year.

Asked for the highlights of these twenty-five years, Paul mentions the tours that include Japan, England, Italy and from coast to coast in the States; the popular “Boys on Broadway” performance of show tunes which once gave Paul the chance to play Elvis in “Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”; hosting the AmericaFest program (now known

Even though he never played a band instrument or attended a band concert, Paul was asked to direct the Prep band and choir. In the spring of 1981 Paul approached Abbot Jerome Theisen, OSB, with the idea of beginning a boysʼ choir to sing at the abbeyʼs Christmas Midnight Mass. With the abbotʼs blessing and a gift of $2,500, Paul contacted local grade school music teachers and asked them to recommend talented boys in the fourth through sixth grades. He auditioned

When asked what the hardest part of his work is, Paul replied, “Keeping the kids challenged. They are so bright!” + Daniel Durken, OSB, is the editor of The Abbey Banner.

Bret Amundson

music theory to catch up with his classmates. He joined the Menʼs Chorus, took piano lessons and focused on voice and choral music.

Choir members learn more than music. They develop self-discipline, a sense of commitment, poise and selfconfidence. Their tours give them opportunities to stay with host families and see how other people live. They become aware of global issues like poverty and homelessness. In turn these youngsters are admired for their talent, curiosity, spirit and communication skills.

The Saint John’s Boys’ Choir singing in St. Joseph’s Church in Greenwich Village, New York City, during their 2005 tour

The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 13

FEATURE The informal Father Hilary

Hilary Thimmesh, OSB, has served fifty-plus years and is still going strong

Bill Harvey

by Patrick McDarby, OSB

o write about Father Hilary letʼs begin by paraphrasing the adage, “Youʼve Come a Long Way from . . . Osakis!”—actually, from a farm near this town (population 1300) fifty miles west of Collegeville. There the first of the seven children of Theodore and Frances (Schmidtke) Thimmesh was born in 1928 and baptized Donald Merlin. Ever precocious, five-year-old Donald started first grade in a oneroom, eight-grade schoolhouse. At Osakis High he worked on the school newspaper, participated in speech, drama and chorus activities and was valedictorian of his class. He won a state scholarship which paid half the tuition to the Minnesota college of his choice, Saint Johnʼs, where the tuition was only $500 in 1946. Initially an English major with journalism as a possible career, Donald was influenced by Godfrey Diekmann, OSB, and his impassioned page 14 The Abbey Banner Fall 2005

Hilary has been professor, prior, president and apostolic administrator.

presentation of classic Christian spirituality. He soon decided to join the monastic community. Given the name Hilary, he made his commitment to the Benedictine way of life in 1948, pursued theological studies and was ordained to the priesthood in 1954. Later he earned a doctorate in medieval English from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Various assignments Hilary began his years of service to Saint Johnʼs educational apostolate with a year of teaching English in the Prep School. He is still going strong with his current full load as teacher and dormitory resident in the university.

In his First Communion picture the young Thimmesh is the front and center lad with the shock of dark hair.

His administrative assignments include: director of Saint Anselm Hall, the former living and study facilities for pre-seminary college students; director of the abbeyʼs Oblates; academic dean of the university; director of the Hill Individual Learning Program;

FEATURE

Abbey Archives

Hilary is the first actor in the back row of the 1946 university production of “Hamlet,” directed by Dominic Keller, OSB.

chair of the English department; apostolic administrator of Saint Martinʼs Abbey, Olympia, Washington; prior of the abbey; and a nine-year term (19821991) as president of the university. In his spare time he is now editing the sesquicentennial (150 years) history of Saint Johnʼs. University president Asked what he thought he accomplished in his most visible and demanding task as president of the university, Hilary responded: “I like to think that I consistently supported our great tradition of dedicated classroom teaching, coming back repeatedly to the central role of the faculty and the importance of positive faculty-student relations. At the risk of some misunderstanding and ill-feeling I fostered a larger role for women in the university. The present core curriculum dates from the last years of my term. “There was a whole range of practical initiatives to consider such as financial aid, the threat of declining enrollment, the need for a standard faculty handbook. The nature of the presidentʼs job is to be engaged in critical issues more or less constantly, some of them high profile, others

down in the boiler room, but all in need of attention. “I found that fund raising grows exponentially. Michael Blecker, OSB, my predecessor, got us into systematic fund raising but had to be satisfied with modest goals. In my time we could aim higher. I am particularly happy about the separate campaign for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library endowment that resulted from a well thought out strategy and gave the library the beginning of solid financial footing. “On sexual harassment and many other issues I worked closely and happily with the presidents of the College of Saint Benedict, Sisters Emmanuel Renner, OSB, and Colman OʼConnell, OSB. Human rights and human resources received rapid and sophisticated development in those years.”

monastic vocation, Hilary believes that the Rule of Saint Benedict was written for educated people or those being educated. Benedict not only expects his monks to be literate but to spend a whole lot of time in serious reading. Thus Hilary sees education as an eminently monastic work. Shrugging off the suggestion that he is a “wise old monk,” Hilary notes the risk of mistaking prolonged adolescence for holy simplicity. “We are perhaps too well taken care of for our own and for the worldʼs good. We need to counter-balance our security by accepting real responsibilities for other people.” This is but a snippet about Hilary, certainly not enough about the person, his humor, his perseverance bordering on Luxemburger stubbornness, his becoming teary-eyed when declaiming a passage from Shakespeare, his measured reasonableness, his kindness. All that, and more, awaits his biographer. + Patrick McDarby, OSB, is a retired English teacher and editor of CONFRERE, the in-house newsletter of Saint Johnʼs Abbey.

Reflections on monastic life As for the relationship between his academic career and his basic

Hilary and Todd McNerny enjoy a visit on a sunny hillside.

The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 15

JUBILARIANS 2005

Seventeen monks celebrate significant jubilees Jerome Coller, OSB

MONASTIC PROFESSION

After teaching theology in the university and at the Colegio San Antonio Abad in Puerto Rico and serving as an associate pastor, Father Jerome became professor of music at Saint Johnʼs with concentration on piano and composition. He is a regular weekend parish assistant, an abbey organist and the abbeyʼs distributor of Mass stipends.

70 YEARS Mark Schneider, OSB

After teaching Latin and religion classes and serving as chaplain at the Prep School for twenty-six years, Father Mark spent his next thirty-one years as chaplain at various hospitals and nursing homes. His story telling and imitations are legendary and occasionally he can still be heard singing or humming a tune in his Retirement Center room.

Roger Kasprick, OSB

Father Rogerʼs assignments include teaching art and theology at Saint Johnʼs and the College of Saint Benedict, editor of Sisters Today magazine, Master of Novices, faculty resident in campus housing, assistant pastor, nursing home and hospital chaplain and retreat work. He is presently the assistant abbey guestmaster.

60 YEARS Florian Muggli, OSB

Five years of teaching mathematics preceded Father Florianʼs sixteen years of steadfast service as treasurer of Saint Johnʼs Corporation. He then began thirty-one years of parochial ministry, highlighted by consolidation of two parishes in Hastings, Minnesota, and construction of the communityʼs new church.

50 YEARS

Jonathan Fischer, OSB

Father Jonathanʼs earliest assignment was that of assistant director of the once popular summer retreats at Saint Johnʼs. He then taught German and religion in the Prep School, served as pastor of several parishes, chaplain of Saint Benedictʼs Monastery and field director in Germany for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library. He is now chaplain at two hospitals in St. Paul.

Timothy Kelly, OSB

Abbot Timothyʼs first assignments were in Mexico, Bahamas, The Bronx, and Crookston, Minnesota. He then served as Novice Master, taught theology at Saint Johnʼs and was administrator of Belmont Abbey, North Carolina. He led the Collegeville community as abbot for eight years and is now Abbot President of the American-Cassinese Congregation.

James Tingerthal, OSB

Initially a Saint Johnʼs Prep School mathematics teacher, director of its Study Abroad Program and headmaster, Father James then served as director of corporate enterprises and construction supervisor. He also worked as director of special events and manager of campus facilities. He recently completed a three-year term as administrator of St. Leoʼs Abbey, Florida.

page 16 The Abbey Banner Fall 2005

25 YEARS

Robert Pierson, OSB

Pastor of two parishes, director of field education, spiritual director, vice-rector and rector of Saint Johnʼs Seminary and School of Theology and the abbeyʼs vocation director have been Father Robertʼs assignments. He is currently chaplain and director of campus ministry at Saint Johnʼs and sponsor of Catholic ministry and liturgy at the St. Cloud Correctional Facility.

Kevin Ludowese, OSB

Brother Kevin worked in the woodworking shop and was in charge of the abbeyʼs cemetery and funerals. As an assistant in the abbey archives he acquired an encyclopedic knowledge of persons and events. He is now responsible for the serving and cleanup of the monasteryʼs evening meal. He processes community garbage and recyclables.

JUBILARIANS 2005

David Klingeman, OSB

Magnus Wenninger, OSB

Before he became abbey and university archivist, Brother David interned in the universityʼs administrative computing services and worked in the Alcuin Library as technical services clerk, government documents librarian and circulation librarian. He served as secretary for community chapter meetings and is now an abbey organist and the music director of the Collegeville parish.

PRIESTHOOD ORDINATION 60 YEARS Philip Kaufman, OSB

The abbeyʼs only living convert from Judaism, Father Philip served for eighteen years as business manager and teacher of history and religion at Saint Augustineʼs Monastery and College, Nassau, Bahamas. Then he was involved in ecumenical, retreat and adult education projects. He is the author of the best-selling book, Why You Can Disagree and Remain a Faithful Catholic.

Burton Bloms, OSB

Wherever and whenever leadership was needed, Father Burton was assigned. He directed schools in Mexico City, Humacao, Puerto Rico, Nassau, and St. Louis Park, Minnesota. He served as pastor in The Bronx and Minnesota as well as chaplain to Benedictine monastics in Mexico and to local senior citizen communities. He founded and supports an orphanage in Mexico City.

Fintan Bromenshenkel, OSB

Father Fintan taught mathematics and physics in the Prep School and mathematics in the university before becoming director of Saint Johnʼs Computing Center and a computer programmer and analyst. He recently completed fifteen years of his “retirement career” as business manager of Saint Augustineʼs Monastery and College, Nassau, Bahamas.

After teaching mathematics and serving as accountant and comptroller of Saint Augustineʼs College, Nassau, Bahamas, Father Magnus taught mathematics in the university and was the accountant for Liturgical Press. He was also director of Oblates and chaplain for Benedictine monastics. His construction of polyhedron models has won him an international reputation.

50 YEARS Hugh Witzmann, OSB

At the heart of Father Hughʼs ministry are weekend pastoral assignments and university courses in art history, photography and sculpture. His award-winning sculptures have been widely exhibited and his commissioned works appear in museums, institutes and churches across the country. He has received study grants in this country and overseas.

Simon Bischof, OSB

Father Simonʼs major ministry has been the parish apostolate. Except for brief assignments as Prep School chaplain and vocation director, he was pastor in the dioceses of St. Cloud, Crookston and Duluth and the Archdiocese of St. PaulMinneapolis. Congregational singing and choral music have always been essential to his ministry.

Allen Tarlton, OSB

Accepted by Saint Johnʼs for priesthood studies when other communities would not admit Afro-Americans, Father Allen was ordained in 1955, the first Black priest of his native Ohio. He taught English and directed plays in the Prep School and taught at St. Augustineʼs College, Nassau. He is the assistant director of Oblates and the editor of The Oblate Newsletter.

Photos by David Manahan, OSB

The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 17

THE ABBEY CHRONICLE

Fran Hoefgen, OSB

It’s time to turn over a new leaf.

What’s Up? The Abbey Chronicle by Daniel Durken, OSB

March 2005  Vincent Tegeder, OSB, was honored on March 14 for his entertaining presentations at the monthly luncheon meetings of the Administrative Assembly. For the past decade this 94-year-old professor emeritus of history and former archivist, has regaled the audience with vignettes of early Collegeville people, places and events.

 Even though Saint Benedict says, “The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent” (RB, 49), there was no protesting when forty Lenten days plus the Triduum were duly celebrated. Then the Paschal Candle was lit and ALLELUIA again resounded in voices and hearts. The monks who walked or biked the Emmaus trail to St. Josephʼs rectory on Easter Monday were rewarded with a sumptuous breakfast prepared under the direction of pastor, Gregory Miller, OSB. April 2005

Father Vincent enjoys a cookie and a glass of milk.

page 18 The Abbey Banner Fall 2005

lights in front of the sanctuary. A photographic display revealed that sixteen confreres were present at various papal audiences and had their picture taken with this pope.

 The Lenten Food Shelf Drive of our two campuses netted 1,785 pounds of food and $2,392.06 for food shelves in Avon, Cold Spring, St. Cloud and St. Joseph. The leaders of the 2005 drive were David Schoenberg, Ginger Delles (SJU) and Norma Dickau (CSB).

 The death of Pope John Paul II on April 2 was commemorated with the pontiffʼs photograph and vigil

Andrew Coval, OSB

he Collegeville summer is a very busy one. Ginger Delles, director of Conferences and Events, reports the Saint Johnʼs 2005 summer calendar listed 139 events involving 22,929 individuals. From Juneʼs Minnesota State Frisbee Tournament to Augustʼs Catholic Biblical Association Convention, there is no danger of our forgetting Saint Benedictʼs principle, “Idleness is the enemy of the soul” (RB, 48).

Daniel Durken, OSB

“Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and anyone who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night.” (Hal Borland)

May he rest in peace!

 During Evening Prayer on April 3 Abbot John blessed six of the scribes and artists who are working on the calligraphy and illuminations of The Saint Johnʼs Bible in the Scriptorium in Wales. The scribes have now completed Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, Pentateuch, Psalms and Prophets. The Historical Books, Wisdom, Letters and Revelation are partially completed.  The 2005 Maple Syrup Season began March 24 and ended April 10. Dr. Stephen Saupe, professor of biology at CSB/SJU, reported that syrup-wise the season was disappointing with only forty-five gallons of syrup produced, mainly due to unfavorable weather conditions. On the positive side, 115 volunteers donated more than 455 hours of

7.625”

THE ABBEY CHRONICLE

Jennifer Sainsbury, William Skudlarek, OSB, and Alan Christenson empty their sap buckets into a holding barrel.

May 2005  At the May 2 Academic Affairs Awards Ceremony of the university

 On May 8 Saint Johnʼs graduated 427 undergraduate men, the second largest graduating class in the universityʼs history, and 37 School of Theology•Seminary graduates. Neal Laloo, OSB, received the B.A. in liberal studies; Matthew Luft, OSB, received the M.A. in liturgical studies; Walter Kieffer, OSB, received the Master of Divin-  On May 21 the abbey sponsored the ity degree. Dr. Martin E. Marty, first ever Saint Johnʼs Abbey Rumprofessor mage Sale. Monks were asked to emeritus of contribute their surplus stuff for the the University benefit of tsunami and Sudan relief. of Chicago Parents of members of the Saint and author Johnʼs Boysʼ Choir orgaized the of more than event under the direction of Paul fifty books Richards, OSB. Eager rummage and thousands sale shoppers waited an hour in the of articles, rain for the doors of the basketball Martin Marty accepts was given the the Pax Christi Award. court to open. The area was loaded Pax Christi with books and blankets, clothing (continued on next page) Award, Saint Johnʼs highest honor bestowed on those whose lives exemplify Benedictine ideals.

Daniel Durken, OSB

Father Angelo celebrates his 104th birthday with beer and cake.

 At Evening Prayer on Pentecost Sunday, May 15, the Pax Christi Award was given to His Beatitude Ignatius His Beatitude, Ignatius IV Hazim, IV Hazim, Patriarch of the Orthodox Antioch, studies the Pax Christi statuette of Patriarch Saint Benedict. of Antioch. The award recognizes the patriarchʼs support of the work of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library in its photographing of Orthodox manuscripts throughout Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Ethiopia.

Andra Van Kampen

 The election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI on April 19 was somewhat upstaged by a special abbey event: the 104th birthday celebration for Angelo Zankl, OSB. At noon Father Angelo was serenaded with a spirited “Happy Birthday” in the monastery refectory and when asked what he would like for lunch, he thought a moment and said, “A beer!” He then enjoyed an Old Milwaukee with a piece of his special birthday cake decorated with his birthdate, 1901. Angelo is the last link with one of the first community members, Cornelius Wittmann, OSB, who died two months after Angelo made his first profession of vows in 1921.

of Arts on May 14 and viewed the exhibit of The Saint Johnʼs Bible. The exhibit with its breathtaking display of original pages of calligraphy and illuminations proved to be the Instituteʼs best attended event.

John Biasi

several monks were recognized: Wilfred Theisen, Luke Steiner and Melchior Freund (posthumously) promoted to the rank of professor emeritus; Dennis Beach and Michael Patella for ten years of service; Wilfred for forty-five years; Hilary Thimmesh, Luke Steiner and J.P. Earls for forty-five plus years. The retirements of Wilfred and Luke were noted. At the Administrative Recognition Lunch of the university on May 4 the following received Years of Service Awards: Dennis Beach and Cyril Gorman (10); Timothy Backous and Kevin Seasoltz (15); Eric Hollas (25); Dunstan Moorse (30); Jerome Tupa (40); Gordon Tavis (50 years).

Stephen Saupe

service; two Syrup Festivals were attended by more than 400 visitors; and 500+ school children were given educational tours. Visitors learned first-hand about the Benedictine values of work, community and stewardship.

 Groundbreaking for Saint Johnʼs Abbey Guest House took place on May 12. (See pages 4-6)  Two dozen monks attended a reception at the Minneapolis Institute

Rummage sale customers look for a really good deal.

The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 19

THE ABBEY CHRONICLE and candles, pictures and pots. One could find tables, TVs and typewriters, bicycles, skis and filing cabinets. Total sales amounted to $5,500.

Walter Kieffer, OSB

 Sixty-six students were graduated from Saint Johnʼs Preparatory School on May 21, the largest graduating class in almost thirty years. The class included thirteen students from the countries of Bahamas, Ethiopia, Japan, Korea, Russia, Spain and Taiwan.

 The community retreat, May 29-June 3, was directed by Eugene Hensell, OSB, of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. The community’s The theme of retreat director, the retreat was Father Eugene “The Parables Hansell, OSB of Jesus: Paradigm for Monastic Life.ʼ Father Eugeneʼs spirited presentation, laced with humorous asides, was well received by the community.

Andrew Coval, OSB

 The first Donor Appreciation Day was held on May 29 to honor those who help the abbey carry out its mission through annual and planned giving. About seventy-five guests joined the community for Evening Prayer. Due to inclement weather the planned backyard cookout was moved to the monastic refectory which, however, did not dampen the spirit of the occasion.

June 2005  The circus came to Collegeville, June 12-18. Inspired and directed by Paul-Vincent Niebauer, OSB, professional circus performer for thirteen years, two dozen boys and girls, aged twelve to sixteen, spent a page 20 The Abbey Banner Fall 2005

Saint Joseph, Minnesota, was invaded by circus clowns during the Collegeville Circus Camp.

 Five young men, identified in the accompanying picture, participated in the annual Monastic Experience Program, June 18-July 13. They became acquainted with Benedictine life through daily prayer, work, meals and recreation with the monastic community.  On June 25 Abbot John, a 1967 Prep School graduate, received the 2005 Armor of Light Award at the 148th Anniversary Celebration Reunion Weekend of the Prep School. This highest honor given by the schoolʼs Alumni/ae Association recognized Johnʼs “positive energy and integrity as scientist, monk, teacher, and abbot and his living the Rule.”  A veritable Marathon of Music was held June 29-July 5, when Saint Johnʼs Boysʼ Choir hosted The Alliance for Arts and Understanding World Festival of Singing for Men and Boys, formerly known as “AmericaFest.” About 500 singers, directors and chaperones from California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oregon as well as from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia and Germany presented nightly concerts in the church.

Thomas Gillespie

week learning and performing basic circus skills. Performances were given at the Benedictine parishes of Collegeville, St. Joseph and Richmond.

Monastic Experience participants: Front row, l. to r.: Joseph Sullivan, assistant; Paul-Vincent Niebauer, OSB, program director; Peter Schommer. Back row, l. to r.: John Waddell, Alan Traynor, John Oshel, Jesse Timm

July 2005  With the theme of “Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Communities,” the twentieth annual Monastic Institute was held July 2-6. About ninety participants heard presenters Abbot John and Mary Collins, OSB, former chair of the religion department of The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.  Seventy Oblates and Oblate candidates participated in their annual retreat, July 8-10. Theresa Schumacher, OSB, of Saint Benedictʼs Monastery, St. Joseph, directed the retreat on the theme of “The Spirituality of the Psalms.”  Ten monks renewed their initial commitment to the Benedictine way of life and celebrated seventy, sixty, fifty and twenty-five-year anniversaries during the festive Eucharist on the Feast of Saint Benedict, July 11. A special feature of the celebration was the choral performance of the National Catholic Youth Choir, comprised of forty-six young men and women from nineteen states and directed by Anthony Ruff, OSB and Dr. Axel Theimer.

VOCATION NEWS Some of the vocation directors of the St. Cloud Diocese: l. to r.: Crosier Father Stephan Bauer, Benedictine Sister Mary Catherine Holicky, Diocesan Council of Catholic Women Eva Koep, Deacon Vern Schmitz, Benedictine Brother Paul-Vincent Niebauer, Franciscan Sister Marie Dockendorf

Vocation directors help create a vocation culture Steve Gottwalt

by Paul-Vincent Niebauer, OSB

We all have a religious vocation.

t a recent meeting of the St. Cloud Diocese vocation directors, our religious leaders charged us to create a vocation culture among the Catholics of this region. Our task is to help both young and old, married couples and singles understand that a vocation is not just a matter of becoming a priest, a sister, a brother. Everyone has a religious vocation. Accomplishing this mission doesnʼt mean just speaking to fifth graders or high school sophomores. Since a religious vocation is for everyone we have to talk to everyone. So we decided to go to parishes and test the vocation culture of the congregation. Our vocation office provided a team of a priest or a brother, a sister and a lay person. The parish was asked to supply the pastor, the permanent deacon (if available), a married couple and a single lay person. The congregation—from first graders to grandparents—was encouraged to attend this program since vocation is everyoneʼs privilege and responsibility.

Each team member had five minutes to tell how he or she was living a religious vocation. A vocation is not the same as a job. A job starts when a person is old enough to be hired to do a particular task. A religious vocation starts at baptism when we are initiated into the Holy Family with God as our Father, Jesus our brother and the Holy Spirit our live-in counselor and consoler. A job ends. A religious vocation is permanent. Team members did not paint unrealistic pictures of daily life as priest, religious, deacon, married couple and single person. Each one spoke honestly and frankly about the ups and downs, the good days and the bad days. No one played Superman or Little Mary Sunshine. The presentations were followed by questions and comments from the congregation. Thatʼs when the fun began! Married couples began to recognize that life with a spouse and children has obvious connections with life in a convent or a monastery. Someone turns up the heat. Someone turns down the heat. Quirks, habits,

idiosyncrasies, faults pop up and have to be dealt with. Patience is in large demand but in short supply. The priestʼs rectory is as lonely a place as the apartment of a single person or even a family home at times. The outbursts of laughter and the stay-after conversations confirmed the success of the program.We all are more alike than different. Nobody is perfect. We all have to return to our original commitment as priest, religious, husband, wife, sibling. The answer to problems is not to give up but to try harder. In other words, our religious vocation as a Catholic Christian is a life style that is centered in the love of Jesus Christ for me and for those I live with, work with, pray and play with. This is the vocation culture. It is our response to Jesusʼ call of “Come, follow me.” + Paul-Vincent Niebauer, OSB, is the vocation director of Saint Johnʼs Abbey.

The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 21

ABBEY MISSIONS Prior Thomas Wahl, OSB (back left) and Kieran Nolan, OSB (second from right in back row) gather with Bishop Raphael Umemura of Yokohama (front left) and Girard Raymond, C.Ss.R., with some Fujimi parishioners for the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the founding of the first Catholic Church in the region, in Okaya City. The monks of Trinity Benedictine Monastery are involved in parochial ministry to Japanese and international communities in the Yokohama Diocese.

Benedictines in Japan serve migrant population by Edward Vebelun, OSB

Foreign-born Catholics compose fifty-five percent of Japanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic population.

or the first time in modern history, there are more than one million Catholics in Japan, of which 550,000 or fifty-five percent are foreign-born. They worship alongside the 450,000 Japanese Catholics who welcome to their churches these Catholic immigrants.

A few years ago William Skudlarek, OSB, traveled throughout the Yokohama Diocese to celebrate the Eucharist in Portuguese with Brazilian Catholics. Kieran Nolan, OSB, and Thomas Wahl, OSB, celebrate the Eucharist in English with communities of Filipinos in Fujimi, Kofu and Suwa.

Japan is a central figure in the global economy and within the Catholic population the majority are migrant workers from Brazil, Peru and the Philippines. The Benedictines of Japan offer their services to meet the special needs of these migrants.

Last April I began pastoral assistance at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Yokohama. After years of Japanese language study, it seemed ironic for me to do ministry mostly in English. But I quickly became aware of the shortage of available English-speaking priests and the desire for services in English. I was greeted with requests for chaplaincy services at the U.S. Naval base at Negishi and at St. Maur International School where children from dozens of countries are educated.

At the Benedictine community in Fujimi our first focus is to create a place of prayer in the monastic tradition that welcomes guests to seek God. We serve primarily the Japanese with a newsletter and parochial ministry in Japanese. Service to the foreign-born population, however, has been a part of our mission since Neal Lawrence, OSB, and Aloysius Michels, OSB, began shepherding the international community at the Meguro Church and Monastery in Tokyo in the 1960s. English-speaking monks from Minnesota continue to help care for this far-flung flock.

It is more than just an outreach for us foreigners to minister in our native language to those who greatly need the comforting sound of the gospel in a familiar language. Our ministry is also an extension to the Japanese Catholic community that lies at the root of the future Church in Japan. Among the three hundred people from thirty countries who overflow

the cathedral for Mass in English every Sunday, about ten percent are Japanese who attend because they like the liveliness of the congregationĘźs participation. These worshiping communities illustrate a richly diverse and growing Church, even if that Church makes up only a fraction of one percent of the general population in Japan. Each group brings its own cultural lens, and faith is interpreted through the richness of contact with many religions and philosophies. Thus the real missionaries to Japan are the many faithful Catholics in the diverse Church of Japan. As Benedictines in Japan, one of the most valuable services we offer to the Church is to provide the sacramental and pastoral structure that supports and nourishes these real missionaries in their effort to communicate the hope they find in Jesus Christ. + Edward Vebelun, OSB, is a member of Holy Trinity Benedictine Monastery in Fujimi, Japan.

The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 23

OBITUARIES

Henry Bernard Anderl, OSB 1918 – 2005

sserting his tenacity to live when he survived influenza when six weeks old, Bernard was the fifth child of Henry and Katherine (Schneider) Anderl of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

David Manahan, OSB

The Ojibwa Native American Band of Grand Portage made him an honorary member, giving him the name “Ki wita ge-shig” (“Around the World”). During the last decade of his active ministry Henry was joined by Brother John, his blood brother, and together they served a Minnesota and Wisconsin parish.

Melchior Gerald Freund, OSB 1930 – 2005

Inseparable in their retirement at Saint Johnʼs, Henry and John took good care of each other. John served Henryʼs daily Mass in their reserved chapel and they ate their meals together in the monastic refectory. Both are buried in their family plot in Chippewa Falls. May they rest in peace. +

usic, mathematics and meteorology were some of the defining features of Father Melchiorʼs life at Saint Johnʼs. This first son of Ivo and Angeline (Ditter) Freund of Minneapolis, Gerald was encouraged by his pastor, Father Pirmin Wendt, OSB, to attend Saint Johnʼs Preparatory School.

Father Henry earned the masterʼs degree in economics and business administration at the University of Minnesota and taught accounting at Saint Johnʼs for fourteen years. He was the faculty moderator and photographer of the student yearbook, The Sagatagan, and also moderated Young Catholic Students groups.

Abbey Archives

Young Anderl studied at Saint Johnʼs Preparatory School, University and Seminary. He was given his fatherʼs name when he entered the abbey. He made his first profession of vows in 1939 and was ordained in 1945.

Father Henry and a student plan the yearbook, The Sagatagan.

Building on his musical talent developed during grade school, Gerald performed a piano concerto with the university orchestra during his senior year in high school. Willem Ibes, a Saint Johnʼs faculty member and concert pianist from the Netherlands, gave him the opportunity to take lessons in Amsterdam during a summer study abroad. Back at Saint Johnʼs, Gerald entered the monastic community and received

In addition to retiring a parish debt two years ahead of schedule, Henry helped restore St. Francis Xavier Church, the last remaining building of Indian Village, Chippewa City, the forerunner of the city of Grand Marais. page 24 The Abbey Banner Fall 2005

Abbey Archives

Henry then served as a hospital chaplain, associate pastor and pastor of several parishes. His most significant pastoral assignment was to the communities of Grand Marais, Grand Portage and Taconite Harbor in northeastern Minnesota.

Father Melchior stands beside the astronomy building north of the apple orchard.

OBITUARIES Saint Augustineʼs College was well on its way to becoming the premier educational facility of the nation.

Melchior completed his college and seminary studies and was ordained in 1957 with Saint Johnʼs Seminaryʼs largest class, a total of thirty-four priests, twelve of them Benedictines. He taught mathematics in the Prep School and university and studied at the Universities of Nebraska and Iowa with an emphasis in astronomy.

When Saint Augustineʼs Monastery was stable enough to become an independent priory, Father Silvan returned to pastoral work in Nassau and Family Island parishes. At one time or another he was the pastor of many of the Nassau congregations.

When the computer age dawned, Melchior learned its quirks and quarks, designed a program for grading multiple-choice exams as well as an inventory program for the chemistry department and taught introductory courses in computer science. For forty-two years Melchior was Collegevilleʼs weather monk, daily recording temperatures, precipitation and the first and last ice on Lake Sagatagan. A serious fall from the observatory roof, heart fibrillation and lung cancer all contributed to Melchiorʼs death. May he rest in peace. + Remember our loved ones who have gone to their rest: Colonel James Brummer Marie Cordie Rev. Frank Ebner Julie Feders Wilard Goltz Doloria Jabas Edmund Klein Eugene Nestor Mildred Ostrowski Lorraine Raden George Schneider Alvina Smith Gladys Tupa Dorothy Wilberding May they rest in peace!

Silvan Alvin Bromenshenkel, OSB 1915 – 2005

lvin was the third of the nine children of Alex J. and Theresia (Unger) Bromenshenkel of Sauk Centre, Minnesota. After graduating from high school he worked on the family farm and in a retail dairy business. His younger brother Alfred attended Saint Johnʼs University and entered the abbey with the new name of Fintan. Alvin, deciding to follow suit, was given the name Silvan in religion. He made his first profession of vows in 1942. The brothers soon parted company: Fintan assigned to teach in the university and Silvan sent to the Bahamas after his ordination in 1947. There he served forty-seven years as teacher, pastor, director of Oblates, editor, administrator and archivist at Saint Augustineʼs Monastery and College in Nassau.

Silver-haired Silvan returned to the college in 1985 and taught religion classes. Always ready to fill a pastoral need, he served a year as pastor of the churches on San Salvador Island and then returned to the monastery to offer weekend assistance. Silvan and Fintan were reunited in 1990 when the latter began his “retirement career,” taking charge of computer operations at the school. Silvan is also remembered as the founding editor of Bahama Benedictine, a newsletter sent to friends and benefactors of the monastery, as director of Oblates and as community archivist. He returned to Saint Johnʼs in 1995 and patiently endured the travails of the aging process. A few hours before he died in the early morning of July 8 he had an alert conversation with the prior of Saint Augustineʼs, Mel Taylor, OSB, who had just arrived for a visit. May he rest in peace! +

Father Silvan taught for nine years at the newly built Saint Augustineʼs College for high school students. He then served as rector of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral and the Acting Chancellor of the diocese for four years. He spent three more years as pastor of a Family Island parish and then succeeded Frederic Frey, OSB, as the prior of Saint Augustineʼs Monastery. To expand the school Silvan invited his confrere, Burton Bloms, OSB, to become headmaster. New buildings soon filled with new students and

Abbey Archives

With his typical intensity Melchior taught astronomy and mathematics at Saint Johnʼs for over fifty years. He designed a new $20,000 observatory.

David Manahan, OSB

the name Melchior, the traditional name of one of the magi star-followers of Matthewʼs Gospel.

Father Silvan checks a student’s work at Saint Augustine’s College, Nassau.

The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 25

Clemens Schmidt

BANNER BITS

Benedictine Peace Statement 2005

n Fall 2002 Benedictine men and women in the United States presented a statement opposing the proposed and unprecedented pre-emptive attack against the people of Iraq. Today more than ever do we see that violence and war do not lead to peace. Thousands of vulnerable people in Iraq have died or been displaced from their homes, resulting in an increase in terrorism and a destabilization that threatens continued violence in this world. As Benedictine men and women, we reverence the Gospel of Jesus Christ who is called the “Prince of Peace.” Our Benedictine manner of following the gospel has continued for 1500 years through faithfulness to this gospel, which teaches us to be just to all, receiving all as Christ, and welcoming especially the poor, the sick and all who are needy. We believe that violence does not yield peace. We are concerned about the military and political ethos of our own country where justice is defined on the basis of our self-interest rather than on a consciousness that we are page 26 The Abbey Banner Fall 2005

part of a common humanity. We are deeply disturbed by • policies of disinformation which create distrust of our nation; • policies that incarcerate citizens, contrary to our Constitution; • policies that incarcerate foreigners without regard to accepted rules of war; • policies approving methods of interrogation contrary to the Geneva Conventions; • policies that promote the use of brute force rather than negotiation; • policies which indicate our unwillingness to consider the advantages of a world court where questions of fair treatment of vulnerable persons can be adjudicated. As Christians and Benedictines we call for a return to the basic moral principles of our nation, principles of justice for all, hospitality to the oppressed and the immigrant, recognition and acceptance of legitimate differences, help for the poor, the deprived and the sick. We as a nation must know that the user of power is accountable to God, that might does

not make right, that respect for all people is the duty of the civilized nations of this world. As Christians and Benedictines we believe that “Those who say, ʻI love God,ʼ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from [God] is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also” (1 John 4: 20f.). Our brothers and sisters include all peoples, all races, all nations. If we are indeed pro-life, we must be for the lives of all people of this earth. With Pope Paul VI in his address to the General Assembly of the United Nations, our cry from the heart is, “No more war. War never again.” + This statement was prepared on March 5, 2005, by leaders of Benedictine Congregations and Federations, subsequently signed by 2,357 Benedictine men and women and sent to President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

BANNER BITS An illuminated page of The Saint John’s Bible, courtesy of the Hill Museum & Microfilm Library.

The Saint Johnʼs Bible goes to prison by Rev. Gary J. Ternes

“One evening I tried something different for our prison ‘Bible Study’ time.”

here is no shortage of Bibles in prison. The chapel library always has plenty of various versions of the Bible ready for use by interested inmates. As prison chaplain I receive regular inquiries from groups willing to supply Bibles to the prisoners. The Bible is one of the few hard cover books inmates can have as a personal possession in their 9ʼ x 6ʼ cell (most often shared with another inmate and sometimes two). The Bible is widely perceived as the ultimate self-help tool for correction and governance. One evening I decided to try something different for our prison “Bible Study” time. My brother works for The Saint Johnʼs Bible project and he loaned me a copy of the BBC video “The Illuminator” concerning this project. I was impressed and wondered if this project would interest the inmates. Surly inmates, disappointed with the offering of the evening, had walked out on me before, sometimes taking several others with them. Would this be one of those occasions? Men in orange jump suits filled the room. They were beginning their stay in prison and most were bored, scared and depressed. They come to chapel events just for something to do and maybe find something positive in an environment of “No” – No freedom. No family. No friends. No phone calls. No visits. No job. No money.

No dignity. No forgiveness. No trust. No love. No hope. Prison. The video begins with the bells of Saint Johnʼs Abbey calling the monks and those within earshot to prayer. The inmates easily settled in to the spiritual mood of the video. Sitting in the back of the room I watched the men for signs of restlessness and disruption. Soon I forgot my concerns and watched the men enjoy the video in the stark context of prison life. When the film ended I asked the inmates if they had any questions or reactions. Silence. Then one bold fellow just said, “Wow!” The men started to murmur with agreement. One after another expressed appreciation for the dedication, vision, art and mysticism of the Bible project. They picked up on the openness and universality of the project. This, they observed, is not a Bible that beats you over the head for your sinfulness but one that invites you to enter the mystery of God. The Bible project had worked its magic and created another welcome to the presence of God for these men in orange. Since that initial viewing I have used the Bible video with inmates several times. Each time the message of this project cuts through to the spirit and announces Godʼs presence, not in

dogmatic words, but in the Word. It elevates the Scriptures beyond memorized and quoted passages to a living document of Godʼs life among us today. Religion versus spirituality is frequently a discussion topic for men in prison. Often the message of religion tends to proclaim who is right rather than what is good. The spirituality of the Bible project announces the Word of invitation to spiritual goodness. Through this video these prisoners taste the freedom of that invitation for a moment before returning to their cells. Following our discussion of “The Illuminator” I usually ask the men to use their time and spiritual talent to explore the mystery of God within themselves. After seeing the movie and experiencing the golden touch of God in the Bible project, everyone in the room knows what Iʼm talking about. The Word made Flesh takes another incarnate step forward in the Bible project. + Gary Ternes is the Catholic chaplain at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 27

BANNER BITS Members of the ninth annual Juniorate Summer School gather for a parting photo. The two monks in white habits are members of the Anglican Order of the Holy Cross who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. J. P. Earls, OSB, director of the program, is in the left-hand, front corner of the group.

Saint John’s Abbey hosts summer session for junior monks by J.P. Earls, OSB

“My experience at Saint John’s was top notch Benedictine hospitality.”

t was like the “good olʼ days” of the 1950s and 60s—the choir stalls of the abbey church almost filled to capacity, a breakfast bottleneck while monks jockeyed for a turn at the milk and coffee dispensers and monks with hair, even dark hair, on their heads. These welcome changes lasted two weeks while thirty-one monks from sixteen Benedictine communities took part in the ninth annual Juniorate Summer School at Collegeville from June 12-25. The “junior monks” are those who are in the formation process between their first vows and their final commitment of solemn vows. The median age of the group was thirtyeight. Ages ranged from twenty-three to fifty-seven. The summer school centered on two classes. Elliott Maloney, OSB, of St. Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, taught “The Kingdom of God and the Monk of Today,” a course on the gospels. Jude Brady, OSB, of the Benedictine Priory, Savannah, Georgia, presented “Community Life—The Glory in the Cross of Benedictine Monasticism.” page 28 The Abbey Banner Fall 2005

A trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to view The Saint Johnʼs Bible was arranged and directed by Michael Patella, OSB, a member of the Bibleʼs committee on illuminations. The group also visited some of the used bookstores in Stillwater, Minnesota. Nearby Saint Benedictʼs Monastery provided a tour of the Native American exhibit, “The Living Culture of the Anishinabeg.” A fun time was had by all at the Valley Fair amusement park. Reactions to the Juniorate Summer School included the following: “Beautiful campus, beautiful forests and lakes, beautiful people and beautiful, jolly and hardworking monks—truly a special place and a very purposeful junior summer camp.” Lucas Sauls, OSB, St. Leoʼs Abbey, Florida

“Everyone went out of their way to make us feel welcome and to make sure we had everything we needed. It was a great experience.” Crispin Rork, OSB, Blue Cloud Abbey, South Dakota J.P. Earls, OSB, is the director of formation for Saint Johnʼs Abbey and the facilitator of the 2005 Juniorate Summer School.

NEW ABBEY ASSIGNMENTS Julius Beckermann: pastor of St. James Parish, Jacobs Prairie, and chaplain of Assumption Nursing Home, Cold Spring Isaac Connolly: Business Office with attention to health care expenditures Joel Kelly: parochial assistance in the high desert of southern California for relief of asthma Doug Mullin: full-time teaching in CSB/SJU Education Department Robin Pierzina: director of Resdential Life in the university

BANNER BITS

David Manahan, OSB

Meet Father Cyril, our new doctor in the house.

Cyril Gorman, OSB, earns doctorate in theology

o write 369 pages on the topic of perseverance took a lot of perseverance on the part of Father Cyril. Last March, however, he successfully defended his dissertation at the University of Notre Dame. Commencement on May 15 was doubly memorable for Cyril when baseball great, Hank Aaron was given an honorary doctorate. Cyrilʼs dissertation, entitled “Augustine and High Medieval Theologies of Perseverance: The ʻPerseveranceʼ Teachings of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Matthew of Aquasparta

and Gregory of Rimini” was written under the direction of Dr. Joseph P. Wawrykow. Central to the theological battles of the Reformation in the sixteenth century was the debate over grace, the issue of faith versus works in which Martin Luther was involved. The controversy, however, began in the early Church no later than the writings between Augustine (+430), known as the “Doctor of Grace,” and his opponents. Augustine taught that both the first grace of our conversion and the final grace of perseverance are gifts of God.

Later theologians quote Augustine extensively. The teaching of Thomas Aquinas (+1274) on perseverance corresponds with the teaching of Augustine. But in the late Middle Ages the Franciscan theologian, Matthew of Aquasparta (+1302), lacked a correct understanding of Augustineʼs teaching while the Augustinian theologian, Gregory of Rimini (+1358), went beyond what Augustine taught. Cyrilʼs examination of these four theologians convinced him that none of these held the Churchʼs current teaching, which allows for the possibility of all people being saved. From his study, Cyril believes that if great theological thinkers of the past could disagree, we might be more tolerant and respectful of the theological debates of our own time. After his ordination in 1990, Cyril served as an associate pastor, earned a masterʼs degree in library science and worked in the Alcuin Library at Saint Johnʼs. He is presently the pastoral editor at Liturgical Press. +

Brother Gregory accepts the Saint John’s Cross (and a cookie).

aking it clear that he is NOT retiring, Brother Gregory graciously accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award for his thirty years of creative and dedicated leadership as director and designer of Saint Johnʼs Abbey Woodworking. Prior Raymond Pedrizetti, OSB, made the presentation, accompanied by the gift of a handcrafted Saint Johnʼs Cross, at a mid-afternoon celebration on June 30. Gregory will continue to be actively involved in the day to day operation of the shop while Christopher Fair,

OSB, assumes the position of shop supervisor. Brother Christopher has completed a nine-month comprehensive course at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. Grounded in the work ethic of a Stearns County native born in Melrose, Minnesota, seventy-one years ago, Gregory was assigned to do carpentry work as a monastic candidate and novice. After his first profession of vows in 1952 he continued this work at Saint Johnʼs for another five years.

Lee Hanley

Gregory Eibensteiner, OSB, receives Lifetime Achievement Award

He then brought his repair and maintenance skills to the Saint Johnʼs Indian Missions in Red Lake and White Earth, Minnesota, and to St. Anselmʼs Parish in the Bronx, New York, for the next nineteen years. He became the director/designer of woodworking at the abbey in 1976. +

The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 29

SPIRITUAL LIFE

Clemens Schmidt

How to do a Benedictine Day of Prayer by Simeon Thole, OSB

Guests enjoy the relaxing rhythm of prayer, meals, silence and prayer.

hy do they come? “My life is so rushed and confused. I canʼt think any more.” “I needed some silence, time for myself.” “I have been through hard times. I needed some peace. This place is so peaceful.” These are a few of the reasons people have come for the last ten years to the Day of Prayer hosted by the monks of Saint Johnʼs. Of course, they come TO PRAY, but they find in the silence and rhythm of the day these other realities of their lives as well. Who are these people? Senior citizens? Retirees? Yes, but certainly not all. Most are active people: CEOs, day laborers punching the clock, moms and dads chasing the schedule of their kidsʼ school activities. Some minister in Catholic parishes; some are pastors of non-Catholic congregations. Friday, the usual Benedictine Day of Prayer, seems to provide a chance to steal a day from the end of a hectic week. Forfeiting time and income seems worth it.

Arriving at the abbey church shortly before 7 a.m., in rain or shine, winter darkness or summer dawn, from Fosston or Frazee, from Pearl Lake or Eden Prairie, these folks find the monastic community gathering for Morning Prayer. The guests join the monks in song and psalm in a service they have never experienced before. Of a sudden they are in a totally religious world, so different from the shrill and siren of the secular one in which they live. After Morning Prayer the guests are escorted to the dining room for a hot breakfast. Here they meet their companions for the day from different geographies and different theologies but all coming to meet their one God. Next a host monk offers a thirty-minute presentation on the prayer theme of the day taken from the liturgical or festal calendar, or from the rhythms of nature or nation. After a mid-morning break for refreshments the group gathers for lectio divina to experience praying the Scriptures, another form of Benedictine monastic prayer. This provides them with an alternative form of

prayer as they disburse for two hours of private prayer. At noon they gather again with the monks to hear themselves addressing God, from whatever place they are in their lives, with the message God has given them in the psalms. A leisurely lunch follows, and then a second experience of lectio divina that hopes to move them into deeper prayer. This is followed by another hour of private prayer, then a final gathering with closing comments and questions. Participants usually leave about 3:30 p.m. Something about this Benedictine Day of Prayer that the monks no longer notice, but their guests experience, is the relaxing rhythm of the day— prayer, meals, silence, prayer. They leave wishing they could continue this experience as they return to their daily lives. And so do we. + Simeon Thole, OSB, is a director of the abbeyʼs Spiritual Life Program.

For dates and topics of Benedictine Day of Prayer go to www.saintjohnsabbey.org/slp and click on “Day of Prayer” or call 320-363-3929. The Abbey Banner Fall 2005 page 31

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID

Saint Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Abbey

PO Box 2015 Collegeville, MN 56321-2015 www.saintjohnsabbey.org CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED