Volume 10 • Issue 1 • Spring 2010
A B B EY
BANNER Magazine of Saint John’s Abbey
Art and Artifacts Collection, 4 Elmer Eisenshenk, OSB: Water-Witch or WaterFinder?, 7 Environmental Sustainability, 10 Healthy menu for monks and others, 13 Darwin’s Origin of Species: Theology or Science?, 15 Monks in the Kitchen, 17 Meet the Monks: Ninety-year-old avid readers, 18 Update on Phoenix Rising fundraiser for Tanzania, 20 Review: Uncommon Gratitude, 21 The Abbey Chronicle, 22 Obituaries, 25 Banner Bits, 28 Live out loud! Alleluia!, 31
Alan Reed, OSB (l.) and David Manahan, OSB
Co-Curators of Art and Artifacts Collection
Contents In the cover photo, Alan (l.) is holding a “Retablo” of San Martin of Tours by the New Mexican artist Charles M. Carrillo.
Cover Story The Abbey’s Art and Artifacts Collection
Aelred Senna, OSB
David is holding an unidentified fragment of a very old statue of Saint Benedict.
Pages 4, 5, 6
Features 4 The Abbey’s Art and Artifacts Collection by Alan Reed, OSB 7 Fr. Elmer Eisenshenk, OSB: Water-Witch or Water-Finder? by Daniel Durken, OSB
10 Abbey’s Task Force for Environmental Sustainability by Isidore Glyer, OSB
15 Darwin’s Origin of Species: Theology or Science? by Wilfred Theisen, OSB
13 Reflections on a healthy menu for monks and others by Abbot John Klassen, OSB
18 Meet the Monks: The Abbey’s Ninety-Year-Old Avid Readers by Dolores Schuh, CHM
Review 21 Uncommon Gratitude: Alleluia for All That Is
Banner Bits 28 Drawings of Saints Benedict and Scholastica 29 Liturgical Press goes for the gold 30 Novices explore hermit’s life
Articles Editorials 3 From editor and abbot Monks in the Kitchen 17 Caribbean roots yield fruit in Collegeville OSB Volunteers 20 Update on Phoenix Rising fundraiser for Tanzania
The Abbey Chronicle 22 Highlights of December, 2009, January, February, March, 2010 Obituaries 25 Mathias Spier, OSB Florian Muggli, OSB Paul Marx, OSB
Spiritual Life 31 Live out loud! Alleluia!
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 10, Issue 1 Spring 2010
Designer: Pam Rolfes Circulation: Ruth Athmann, Cathy Wieme, Tanya Boettcher, Jan Jahnke, 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.saintjohnsabbey.org/banner/index.html Saint John’s Abbey, Box 2015, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-2015
FROM EDITOR AND ABBOT
A Triple Treat by Daniel Durken, OSB
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ebruary 14, 2010, was a Triple Treat Day: 1. Valentine’s Day 2. Chinese New Year 4708 3. Annual Monks’ Day at Saint Benedict’s Monastery to celebrate the feast of Saint Scholastica. The original visit of our founders is recorded in Pope St. Gregory’s Life and Miracles of Saint Benedict. When Benedict was unwilling to talk all night with Scholastica about the joys of heaven, she prayed earnestly and a rainstorm kept her law-abiding brother from returning to his monastery—a triumph of love over law. Our celebration was highlighted by an inspiring DVD honoring the 80th anniversary of the Sisters’ mission to China and Taiwan. In 1930 the monastery was asked to send teachers to the Catholic University of Peking. Of the 992 community members, 109 volunteered. Six were chosen. Sisters’ letters describe conditions: “There is an abundance of wiggly, wooly centipedes along with scorpions, fleas and even a bed bug crawling on my scapular. The chapel is so cold that we can see our breath. There is little relief from homesickness.” After two years of language study the Sisters opened schools for young women. Their educational efforts were disrupted by the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1941), World War II and the Communist takeover. From 19411945 the Sisters were moved to concentration camps where they were safe but with very little food. They moved to Taiwan in 1948 and established a monastery which now has independent status. The Haehn Museum of Saint Benedict’s Monastery features this extraordinary exhibit: “1930-2010—Mission to China and Taiwan” from mid-March to December 23. I highly recommend it. I also recommend that when the Vatican-sponsored visitation of women’s religious life in American reveals the stories of thousands of these valiant and determined women, Cardinal Rodé should insist that Benedict XVI follow the current “A Year for Priests” with “A Year for Women Religious” and canonize hundreds of them. +
Making a vision statement actionable by Abbot John Klassen, OSB
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n March 2009 the monastic community finalized a vision statement that takes us to 2015. One of the traps in such statements is that they can take on a life of their own. “If we edit this one more time, maybe we will get it perfect . . . .” The real question is, “Is the vision statement actionable?” Here are the results of a planning process we did last January. Each vision element (in bold) is followed by an actionable goal for fiscal year 2011. In our monastery we will:
• strengthen our Catholic, Benedictine identity Beginning Ash Wednesday, each confrere commits to being present for five liturgies or meals per week above and beyond his current typical observance.
• support our apostolates and vital ministries We will develop and solidify the recruitment, staffing, formation, placement sites and funding for a Benedictine Volunteer Corps for 20-25 SJU graduates for 2011.
• practice environmental and sustainable stewardship We will serve one meat, one starch and two vegetables at the evening meal. We also removed desserts from all meals except on Sundays and feast days to reduce sugar sources. • create stronger working relationships with laity During 2010 we will develop an integrated volunteer program with a coordinator [or team] to assist in essential abbey operations.
• serve the poor and under-resourced, locally and globally We will provide educational, cultural and social support to minority groups in transition, focusing especially on local Hispanics and Somalis.
I appointed four confreres to coordinate the implementation of these five elements and to assure leadership and necessary resources in each area. Results will be reported at the January 2011 community workshop. It should be an exciting year! +
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Abbey Archives
FEATURE
1918 photo of the Abbey Museum
The Abbey Art and Artifacts Collection by Alan Reed, OSB
he Abbey Art and Artifacts Collection traces its beginning to a community museum established in 1901 and composed of, as an early report put it, “an enviable collection of specimens and curios, products of years and centuries gone by . . . Compared with other wellknown and elaborate museums of this country, this museum is still quite an (sic) humble one. In its own way, however, it follows its famous models in its well-arranged and well-labeled exhibits.”
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Some of the museum’s early exhibits include the following: • a variety of Native American items presented as gifts to the Benedictines working on Indian reservations in northern Minnesota • specimens of the Tlingit Indians and Eskimos of Alaska including two miniature kayaks, a miniature totem pole and basketry presented by a friend of the school • a set of stud-buttons of President John Quincy Adams
• a sword of President Theodore Roosevelt in the sword and gun collection • conch shells, sponges, sea fans and other coral products from the Bahamas where the monks of Saint John’s labored for over a century • a duho, a carved, wooden ceremonial stool used by the pre-Columbian tribal chiefs of the Arawak people, earliest inhabitants of the Bahamas, and discovered in a cave by a Saint John’s missionary
Paul Jasmer, OSB
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“The dignity of the artist is to keep awake the sense of wonder in the world.” (G. K. Chesterton)
FEATURE • a thousand stuffed birds, from the eagle and vulture to the extinct passenger pigeon
• collections of insects as well as geological and mineralogical specimens
• three large snake skins, the longest measuring 18 feet
• coin, medal and stamp collections including a large bronze disc bearing the date MCCCCXLVI (1446)
• a mounted buffalo and other animals, thanks to the taxidermist skill of Norbert Gertken, OSB
• art dating from the Medieval to contemporary by some notable and some less-than-notable artists
12th century Madonna and Child, gift of Mary and James Mabon
Penitential hair shirt, pre-1940
Snuff box with picture of Pope Leo XIII (pope 1878-1903)
“Fiddle-back” chasuble, Mass vestment of detailed embroidery
Paperweight, c. 1910
Duho: wooden, carved ceremonial stool of pre-Columbian tribal chief of Arawak people, earliest inhabitants of the Bahamas Front view of duho: discovered in Bahamian cave by Arnold Mondloch, OSB, missionary
Plate of Twin Towers of Abbey Church
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FEATURE As the museum was moved from place to place to accommodate other facilities, the holdings fell on hard times. Many pieces came into disrepair, some were misplaced and others stolen by souvenir hunters. The museum became a kind of dumping area for the paraphernalia of deceased confreres. Beginning in 1979 a serious effort was made to recover, restore, and give the holdings proper storage on the ground floor of the Breuer wing of the abbey. A computerized inventory of these art pieces and artifacts has been created. Brothers Alan Reed, OSB, and David Manahan, OSB, the current co-curators of the collection, face the formidable task of continuing this effort to sort the genuine from the junk and thereby preserve the really valuable items related to the history of Saint John’s. +
Drawing of original log cabin on Mississippi River, 1856
Drawing of Saint John’s from across Lake Sagatagan by Julius Locnikar, OSB, 1892
Brother Alan Reed, OSB, former art curator of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, is the co-curator of the Abbey Art and Artifacts Collection.
College football team photo-printed stuffed pillow, c. 1915 Crucifixion painting of Georges Rouault, French artist (1871-1958)
St. Florian, patron of firefighters, puts out a fire in the abbey church.
Photos of art objects by Alan Reed, OSB page 6 Abbey Banner Spring 2010
FEATURE
Fr. Elmer Eisenshenk, OSB: Water-Witch or Water-Finder? by Daniel Durken, OSB
Abbey Archives
“Many knew Father Elmer for his uncanny performance as a dowser, locating underground veins of water.” (Obituary)
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nown and beloved as a Benedictine monk, teacher, pastor, convent chaplain and builder of a large church in Moorhead, plus a nursing home and additional school facilities in Cold Spring, Minnesota, and the one who in 1950 personally asked Pope Pius XII to permit school children to receive Holy Communion on school days without observing the Eucharistic fast, Father Elmer (18951976) has an additional claim to humble fame. He was a dowser.
in 1948, they invited Elmer to come to their foundation to locate water for their garden. He asked the Sisters to send him a photograph of their garden upon which he successfully designated a site of underground water.
In the early 1800s geologists were at a loss to explain how certain individuals were able to locate underground water in areas where they themselves could not. Rather than study the unexplainable abilities of these individuals, geologists simply referred to these water-finders as “water-witches.”
“Gone but not forgotten” could be Elmer’s epitaph. His work as a dowser is kept alive by James and Carol Kuebelbeck of St. Joseph, Minnesota. They own and operate the Underground Water Locating by Dowsing business. Their motto is “Call Us BEFORE You Drill.”
Stories of Elmer’s ability to locate underground water abound. When a small group of Benedictine women missionaries of Saint Benedict’s Monastery moved from China to Taiwan
James was a youngster when his father Max hired a well digger to provide more water for his expanding dairy herd. The strenuous work
Despite his knowing that oil and water do not mix, Elmer was asked to find oil on the land of an Oklahoma friend. Using a state map, he pinpointed the place where soon there was a gusher of oil.
of hand-digging a well was about to begin when Father Elmer drove up. He listened to the discussion about where the well should be dug, got out his dowsing rod (a Y-shaped willow branch), and walked in an expanding circle around the spot Max had marked for digging. At one point the end of the dowsing rod dipped toward the ground as though attracted by a magnet. It was there Elmer told Max to dig. When Max asked Elmer just how deep the crew would have to dig for water, Elmer again applied his rod to the site and replied, “If you dig 23 feet you’ll have all the water you need.” Max countered, “All the wells in this area are about 50 feet deep,” but he reluctantly agreed to start digging. Several days later he found a great supply of water at exactly 23 feet. This experience sparked the curiosity of young James and he was determined to discredit Father Elmer. But Abbey Banner Spring 2010 page 7
FEATURE ■ A newly married couple decided to drill for water before building their home. A professional company drilled 420 feet but found no water. Second and third drillings to 400 and 440 feet produced no water. The driller then suggested hiring the Kuebelbecks. Jim and Carol selected a site. The drillers found water at 57 feet with an output of 15 gallons per minute. ■ A Foley, Minnesota, customer reported that area granite made drilling for water difficult and expensive. His original well of 450 feet into the granite only produced a gallon of water an hour. Jim located a likely spot and the well driller found water at 55 feet, directly over the granite and producing 12 gallons per minute. Carol and James Kuebelbeck
the more he talked with well diggers who depended on dowsers plus the research he did, the more he was convinced that Father Elmer had a Godgiven talent that could not be denied despite the many scientific studies that found no acceptable explanation for this phenomenon. The earliest known historical records of dowsing are 8,000-year-old cave drawings in France, Australia and Africa. Donald Jackson, illustrator of The Saint John’s Bible, includes a drawing of an aborigine using a dowsing rod in the creation scene of the Book of Genesis. The Book of Exodus, chapter 17, recounts the story of the Israelites’ demand of Moses to “Give us water to drink.” The Lord directed Moses to “Go over there in front of the people, holding in your hand the staff with which you struck the river. . . Strike the rock, and water will flow from it for the people to drink.” This Moses
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did—and left us an ancient account of dowsing. Jim Kuebelbeck admits, “Never would I have guessed that my concerted efforts to discredit dowsing would lead to my full-time occupation.” During the past thirtyplus years, James and his wife Carol have located over 4,000 satisfactory well sites. James’ filing cabinet is bulging with testimonials of gratitude from satisfied customers. The Kuebelbecks used to specialize in “last resort” cases but now they work for anyone in need of satisfactory groundwater supplies. James Kuebelbeck and his dowsing rod
FEATURE ■ The builder of a hunting lodge in northern Minnesota hired a well driller who drilled five unsuccessful holes for water. The driller then called the Kuebelbecks who located three promising sites, one of which became a new 120-foot well producing 30 gallons per minute. Saint John’s benefitted from the Kuebelbecks who located an abundant supply of water in November, 2004, near the abbey’s vegetable garden. This well and one other source continue to supply all the water for the Collegeville campus except for lake water for lawns. These wells pump an average of 238,630 gallons each day for a total of 87,100,000 gallons yearly.
A cave drawing possibly showing a dowser with his rod appears on the second-last panel of this detail from Creation by Donald Jackson with contributions from Chris Tomlin, The Saint John’s Bible.
The Lord tells Moses, “Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for people to drink” (Exodus 17:6). Was Moses a dowser?
The day Father Elmer found water for Max Kuebelbeck he took young Jim by the arm and said to him, “Hey, my boy, you can also do this. You are one of us.” As a prophet as well as a dowser, Elmer would surely confirm this statement of Jim: “I am a professional water dowser. It is my belief that everyone has been given special talents from God and it is our responsibility to try and discover these special gifts. I believe God gave me my special talent to carry out God’s will for the good of others so that those who see and benefit from my efforts will appreciate God even more.” +
Monica Bokinskie
In the summer of 2006 Jim and Carol helped locate future water supplies for the Crazy Horse Memorial, the world’s largest mountain carving, near Custer, South Dakota. Recently they were informed that one of their sites has been drilled and the well is an artesian flowing at an estimated 75 gallons per minute.
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FEATURE Isidore Glyer, OSB, chair of Task Force for Environmental Sustainability
The Abbey’s Task Force for Environmental Sustainability Aelred Senna, OSB
by Isidore Glyer, OSB
“Care for God’s creation is an urgent call for the present generation.” (Abbot John Klassen, OSB)
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n his letter of June 6, 2008, Abbot John wrote, “As a Christian monastic community gifted with rich resources in land, lakes and forest, we are called to bear witness to our students and those who work with us, that we receive everything we have from the hand of God; that our journey on this earth is a short span of years and we are gone; that our commitment must be to leave our earth in such a condition that the next generation will be able to flourish. With this awareness, I wish to establish a Task Force for Environmental Sustainability with its focus on life in the monastery.”
As chair of this Task Force I am grateful that the abbot gave us these goals: • to conduct an environmental audit of our monastic life in terms of energy used and waste generated that cannot be recycled; • to focus on the most basic elements such as reducing or eliminating our use of plastic in such areas as garbage bags, plastic water and soda bottles on campus and plastic picnic tableware; • to evaluate our use of cars with a view toward recommending changes that lessen the environ-impact; • to work with the refection committee towards the use of locally grown food;
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• to propose an education program for the monastic community that raises our level of awareness of environmental issues; • to insure that the abbey’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integrated into the core messages for vocations and the larger public; • to work with others on campus to enhance the overall awareness of creating and sustaining the beauty and integrity of our lands, forest and lakes; • to address sustainability issues in our new building construction and renovation projects; • to have representatives from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University engaged in work related to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
FEATURE
Live Simply. Be Green. Slowly but surely the Task Force has been looking at all aspects of our community life with a view to recapturing Saint Benedict’s spirit of moderation, simplicity and the elimination of superfluities. Our mantra is “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” The message on a new abbey cloth shopping bag puts it this way: “Live Simply. Be Green.” An early examination of monastery trash revealed that 50% of it could be recycled but only 20% was actually being recycled. Small baskets for recyclable items are now available for monks to use in their private room.
Household cleaners: Laundry detergents were to be phosphate-free as of January 1; individual cleaning chemicals are being tested to determine how effective these “greener” options might be.
Lawns: Can we find organic methods to fertilize and treat for weeds?
Bee keeping: There is a desire to have sufficient bee hives to pollinate the apple orchard and garden and increase production. Is there a community member interested in this project or can a local bee-keeper be found who would be willing to place some hives here?
Printer paper: The clean side of printed pages should be used instead of a new sheet. Better use of computer or projection generated notices will reduce the need to print copies for everyone.
Abbey church lighting: Is it time to change the lights in the church so they are more energy-efficient? On a practical level, what habits in our daily use of lighting can we change to decrease our electrical use?
Aelred Senna, OSB
Incandescent light bulbs are being replaced by energy-saving, longer lasting fluorescent twister bulbs. The use of community cars has been reduced by establishing a once-a-week shopping trip to St. Cloud to buy various needed items. Paper napkins for meals in the monastic refectory have been replaced by an individual monk’s cloth napkin that is laundered weekly. Batteries are being recycled.
At recent meetings of the Task Force, agendas included the following items:
Compact fluorescent light bulb. $55.00 is saved in energy costs over the average rated life (10,000 hours) of this lamp compared to a 75-watt incandescent bulb.
Food: At the conclusion of Abbot John’s remarks on a healthy monastic diet (see p. 13), he proposed such changes as these: • At the evening meal only one kind of meat (chicken, turkey, pork or beef) plus fish and vegetarian; one kind of
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
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FEATURE Household cleaning chemicals are being tested to determine how effective these “greener” options might be.
Aelred Senna, OSB
carbohydrate such as brown rice, pasta or potato; two kinds of vegetables; vegetarian and meat-based soup; salad table; varieties of fruit; low-fat yogurt; • dessert only at mid-day and evening meals on Sunday and at the evening meal on special feast days; otherwise, eliminate desserts from lunch and supper in Ordinary Time and sweet rolls from breakfast; provide a variety of fruits such as apples, oranges, bananas and melons; • menus to be checked by a dietitian for overall balance and total caloric intake with regular attention to portion awareness.
Aelred Senna, OSB
The items at the right are part of Saint John’s Abbey’s slow but certain readjustment to the simplicity of Saint Benedict’s vision of monastic life and our desire to accept and act on Pope Benedict XVI’s theme of World Peace Day of January 1, 2010: “If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.” Our efforts towards environmental sustainability are motivated by our dream and our desire “that in all things God may be glorified” (Rule, chapter 57). +
Blue “We Recycle” baskets are now available for monks to use in their private rooms to recycle items.
Brother Isidore Glyer, OSB, is assistant guest master and chair of the Task Force for Environmental Sustainability. page 12 Abbey Banner Spring 2010
FEATURE
Reflections on a healthy menu for monks and others
Simon-Hoa Phan, OSB
by Abbot John Klassen, OSB
Monks at lunch in the monastery refectory
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A synopsis of Abbot John’s remarks to the monastic community on January 12, 2010
n a fine book entitled In Defense of Food (The Penguin Press), Michael Pollan summarizes his thinking about nutrition with three short phrases: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Eat food. A comedian noted that he was going along a counter in a supermarket and came across a package labeled “cheese food.” Anytime we have to be reassured that something is food, it probably isn’t. Not too much. Eating slowly and having a good sense of portion control is essential to healthy eating. Each of us has an individual balance of exercise to eating that will keep us at a good weight. For me, it is probably
25% exercise and 75% eating. Snacking in mid-morning and mid-afternoon with an apple, orange or banana is important to reduce overeating at mealtime. Mostly plants. Plants provide an enormous array of macro and micro nutrients. They are available in a highly unprocessed form so that most nutrients are still there. However, vegetables and other plant nutrition can be utterly ruined in the preparation, both in terms of taste and nutrition. Our dining service is working hard to improve the preparation of vegetables.
What strikes me is how distant we are from the time of Saint Benedict in terms of: • how food is produced and distributed • the technical expertise and understanding of a healthy diet • the demands of our work as pastors, chaplains, educators,
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Aelred Senna, OSB
FEATURE
Aelred Senna, OSB
Fresh fruits and healthy snacks
The salad bar of the refectory
Aelred Senna, OSB
supper or evening snacking that are heavy in the fatty acids that locate themselves around our midsection. Benedict would say, “Don’t snack; you will lose your appetite for the main events.” Nutritionists say, “Do snack with good stuff because you will be less likely to overeat.”
Meat and vegetables on the lunch buffet line of the monastery refectory
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administrators and multiple other things we do the mobility and variety that are part of our lives. Only a few of us do daily heavy manual labor in which we can burn large doses of fat in the diet.
From a nutritionist’s point of view, we orient the nutritional agenda for the day at breakfast. Nutritional input should be biased toward the front end of the day rather than with a big
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If a monk of Benedict’s time missed the main midday meal (followed by a siesta), he was in trouble because there was no other place to get food. The evening meal was probably the light fare of the Mediterranean culture. By contrast, we have a tradition of fairly substantial meals at midday and in the evening. With very few monks working side by side anymore, we generally see each other only at meals and at scheduled prayer times. We need to come to a clearer understanding of the spiritual, theological and social significance of our dining together, for we are communitycentered cenobites, not self-centered sarabaites (see Rule, Chapter 1, “The Kinds of Monks”).
Given Benedict’s admonitions regarding the eating of meat, I do not know how we came to have such an intensely meat-centered diet. It is time for us to seriously question our focus on meat. For one thing, most meat in this country is produced under factory farming conditions with containment and forced feeding procedures. In addition, raising meat is a resource-intensive activity in terms of fossil fuel and water. For example, it takes 16 pounds of grain and soybeans to produce one pound of beef, 6 pounds of grain and soybeans to produce one pound of pork, 4 for one pound of turkey and 3 for one pound of chicken. This is not to mention the use of antibiotics, growth hormones and other strategies to improve the efficiency of converting grain into meat on the humble animal body. Changing our diet around meat will dramatically change the way we are plugged into a system that I believe is unsustainable. +
FEATURE Charles Darwin
Darwin’s Origin of Species: Theology or Science? by Wilfred Theisen, OSB
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harles Darwin’s Origin of Species is the most significant scientific work of the past 350 years. Quite an achievement for a man whose father told him, “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and ratcatching and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family.”
Darwin (1809-1882) was confident that natural selection was the chief means for explaining the origin of species. But biologists of his time were convinced that the contemporary species of plants and animals were directly created by God. Consequently the Origin argues that natural selection is the only explanation for the origin of species, not special creation. Darwin had to address a fundamental theological concept—God as creator of the world. Before the religiously conservative Darwin could convince others, he had to be certain that special creation must be rejected as an explanation for the existence of species. He was a great
admirer of the works of William Paley, especially his Natural Theology. Natural theology is the belief that one can infer the existence and wisdom of God from the order and beauty of the world, implying that every detail of the physical world was carefully designed by God: the hand for grasping, the eye for seeing, the ear for hearing. The key word here is design. When he began his roundthe-world voyage on the Beagle, Darwin was prepared to find evidence confirming this belief. Instead, he found many facts that seemed to contradict it. When he returned from his voyage he wrote a note to himself: “Permanence of species doubtful.” The plan of the Origin is simple. Darwin first gives facts that can be explained through his theory of descent with modification by means of natural selection but are incompatible with belief in special creation. Then he shows that the belief in special
“The antithesis that some assume exists between the concept of creation and evolution is absurd.” (Pope Benedict XVI) creation is incompatible with these facts. For example, in chapter 11 he deals with the issue of geographical distribution of plants and animals throughout the world. He was amazed to find distinct species of finches and mocking birds on the various islands of the Galapagos Archipelago, even though these islands are proximate. In chapter 13 Darwin points out the similarity in basic structure between “the hand of a man, the leg of the horse, the paddle of the porpoise and the wing of a bat. Why should they all be constructed on the same pattern? Nothing can be more hopeless than to attempt to explain this similarity of pattern. . . On the ordinary view of the independent creation of each being, we can only say so it is, that it has so pleased the Creator to construct each animal and plant. On the theory of natural selection, we can satisfactorily answer this question. The old argument of design in nature, as given by Paley, which formerly seemed to me so conclusive, fails, now that natural selection has been discovered.”
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FEATURE
Darwin’s The Origin of Species
But Darwin could not completely suppress Paley’s ideas of design, defining natural selection as the “preservation of favorable variations and the rejection of injurious variations.” This definition implies that natural selection is an “active agent that preserves and rejects, always ready to act, daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is bad, preserving that which is good, . . . working at the improvement of each organic being.”
More recently Pope John Paul II praised the work of scientists that supported evolution but restated that the soul is directly created by God. Benedict XVI stated, “The belief in the Creator does not exclude accepting the theory of evolution . . . and the antithesis that some assume exists between the concept of creation and evolution is absurd.” Google
Yet natural selection is not the cause of the preservation of favorable variations and the rejection of injurious ones, but the consequence. Darwin really means that natural selection is the result of “the survival of favorable and the disappearance of unfavorable variations.”
On the whole, the official reaction of the Roman Catholic Church has been quite restrained and careful to defend its belief in the inerrancy of the bible, the dogma of original sin and the uniqueness of humans. As late as 1941 Pope Pius XII insisted that Catholics must hold that Eve was physically taken from Adam’s body. But in his 1951 encyclical On the Human Race, the pope allows Catholics to accept the theory of evolution.
Darwin’s critics lampoon him.
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There was a strong religious reaction to the Origin. Atheistic societies rejoiced, claiming that the Origin had done away with the need of a creator. Religious leaders saw it as a direct attack on the veracity of the biblical account of creation. Cardinal Henry Manning called Origin “a brutal philosophy, to wit, there is no God and the ape is our Adam.” His sentiments were shared by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman. However, Cardinal John Henry Newman did not find it difficult to believe that humans had non-human ancestors.
The handwritten title page of Darwin’s manuscript of Origin of Species
Cardinal Walter Kasper in an address at Saint John’s last year was very positive: “Darwin is not a new doctor in the church or evolution a new dogma. Evolution is and remains a scientific theory . . . and not a matter of faith. So those who believe they have the evidence can deny evolution, but they cannot do it in the name of Christian faith.” The official Catechism of the Catholic Church is very positive: “The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life forms and the appearance of man.” It is therefore clear that these are scientific issues, not biblical ones. + Wilfred Theisen, OSB, is professor emeritus of physics at Saint John’s University. This article is a condensed version of his “Sunday at the Abbey” lecture on January 17, 2010.
MONKS IN THE KITCHEN
Caribbean roots yield fruit in Collegeville by Aelred Senna, OSB
Aelred Senna, OSB
cookbooks, just recipes that his mother passed along with loving care to her children.
Brother Neal prepares rolls of fresh bread for the monastic community.
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Food preparation methods in Trinidad are somewhat unconventional and used to prepare “poor man’s dishes.” Methods of outdoor cooking are popular such as placing planks of green wood that imparts a smoky flavor over a charcoal fire so that meats are cooked directly on the wood rather than on a grate. Fish are placed within a large piece of foldedover chicken wire that is turned over to grill both sides.
with the Missionary Brothers of the Poor. He helped run a soup kitchen by collecting donations of soup from local hotels. He befriended the chef at the Four Seasons who inspired him with her knowledge of foods and her easy way of bringing out the best in those who worked with her. Coming to Collegeville in 1990 via St. Augustine’s Monastery in Nassau, Bahamas, Neal now serves as the abbey’s refectorian, sharing his culinary skills with the monks and students of Saint John’s. +
orn and reared in San Fernando, Trinidad, Neal Laloo, Aelred Senna, OSB, is the administrative OSB, learned to cook from assistant to the abbot and prior his mother. She made sure that her and assistant monastery In 1984 Neal went to Kingston, two daughters and five sons learned refectorian. Jamaica, and worked for five years to cook, clean and do laundry, teaching them that there is no such thing as men’s work and women’s work. From an early age, Brother s 4-6) Neal learned by trial and Jerk Chicken (serve ginger error to marinate and cook 4 oz. grated fresh d pe op ch ly se ar orange co 1 meat, gather herbs for 1 onion, Zest and juice of c seasoning and bake bread 6 cloves garli salt/pepper to taste es or av le e ym th h and cakes. There were no es fr 1 T. ½ c. olive oil e ym th d ie ss dr t. 1½ 4-6 boneless skinle r ga ne vi ¾ c. white chicken breasts es ov cl le ho w 8 s to a puree. blender and proces in n ke ic ch pt ce ex g or nts place in zip lock ba • Place all ingredie d an rk fo ith w es plac e overnight. eces all in several coat well. Marinat d an • Pierce chicken pi n ke ic ch er marinade ov several baking dish. Pour grill to preheat for on n pa um in um al from causing F. Place disposable ing oily marinade ep • Heat grill to 350˚ ke n, pa on n ke oking chic minutes; begin co grate and basted flare ups. ed directly to grill ov m re be n ca n ke ute, chic • After a few min om pan. fr erator. with drippings closed jar in refrig ly ht tig in ed or st made ahead and • Marinade can be
Abbey Banner Spring 2010 page 17
MEET THE MONKS
The Abbey’s Ninety-Year-Old Avid Readers by Dolores Schuh, CHM inch vinyl record (remember those?). Edwin enjoys good music. This gentle monk was raised by an aunt and uncle in New Ulm, Minnesota, when his mother died at age 39. His father suffered from chronic ill health most of his life but ironically lived to the ripe old age of 109.
Daniel Durken, OSB
Edwin attended Catholic schools in New Ulm and followed his older brother Everardo to Saint John’s to study for the priesthood. His first pastoral assignment was Saint Bernard’s parish in Saint Paul. It was here he developed an interest in languages.
Edwin Stueber, OSB
Edwin Stueber . . . On one recent visit I learned that Father Edwin, an avid reader, could read several languages. This intrigued me so I decided to visit Edwin. What a delightful experience! When I entered Edwin’s room I immediately recognized the mellow voice of Dean Martin singing “That’s Amore.” To my amazement, on a small table right inside the door was an old phonograph spinning a twelve-
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Although his eyesight is remarkably good at age 93, Edwin doesn’t read much anymore. He is not familiar with John Grisham, Steven King or Nicholas Sparks. He loves to listen to music. Well organized is his sizeable collection of records, cassettes, and CDs by artists such as Johnny Cash, Luciano Pavoratti, Nat King Cole, Patsy Cline, and Floyd Kramer. He can fill almost anyone’s request for a classical hit song (not rock n’ roll) or a symphony. I left Edwin’s room feeling inspired, entertained and informed.
In the early 1960s a Learn-A-Language record service in Saint Paul fascinated Edwin. He said it was a cheap way of getting an education as each course consisted of four long-playing records and each record cost only $1.10! Over the next fifty years Edwin learned to read Arabic (most difficult), Dutch, German, Greek, French, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, and Swedish. There are bibles and other spiritual books in various languages on his bookshelves. He has read Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace in English and in Russian! Remember the size of that volume?
Daniel Durken, OSB
W
hen I lived on the Saint John’s Abbey/University campus from 1974-2004, I occasionally visited the retired monks in Saint Raphael Hall. I retired in Iowa but when I get to Saint John’s twice each year I spend at least a few minutes with the monks in Saint Raphael’s.
Fintan Bromenshenkel, OSB
Fintan Bromenshenkel . . . Another avid reader is 91-year old Father Fintan. This soft-spoken monk grew up in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, with his parents and eight siblings. He graduated from Saint John’s Preparatory School and University, made monastic profession in 1940 and was ordained in 1945.
MEET THE MONKS In 1961 Fintan started work on the brand new main computer frame and was involved with the development of computer services at Saint John’s for the next thirty years.
Fintan developed a love of reading in grade school. Spiritual books, novels, biographies, histories are all now on Fintan’s reading list. He likes thick books with lots of pages so he doesn’t have to go to the library so often! He is reading the bible in English and Spanish and enjoys works by Thomas Merton, Flannery O’Connor, Helen Prejean, and Walker Percy. One of his favorites is The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom by Slavomir Rawicz. Still an outdoor lover, Fintan can often be found pulling weeds in the monastery garden in the summertime and splitting logs for the fireplaces on campus in the fall and winter months. It can be said that he doesn’t let the weeds grow under his feet.
Daniel Durken, OSB
Fintan was assigned to Saint Augustine’s Monastery in Nassau, Bahamas, in 1990. He worked in the business office of the school (grades 9-12), and also spent many hours each week pulling weeds on the campus.
George Wolf, OSB (l.) and Don LeMay, OSB
George Wolf. . .
Don LeMay . . .
The oldest member of Saint John’s Abbey is also an avid reader. Father George, 94 years young, spends most of every day reading; that is, when he isn’t out for his mile or more daily walk!
Not eligible for the nonagenarian club for a couple years, Father Don, too, enjoys reading and has several books going at one time. Recently he enjoyed The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans; Fifteen Days of Prayer with Alphonsus Ligouri by Jean-Marie Segalen et al; The Code of the Wooster by P.G. Wodehouse; The Good War: An Oral History of World War II by Studs Terkel.
George does spiritual reading each morning and prefers the works of Columba Marmion, a Belgian Benedictine abbot who did extensive writing on the Holy Spirit. Along with spiritual books, George finds good biographies and nonfiction works in the abbey library. The story of Our Lady of Fatima is one of his favorites and he prefers a mix of light and heavy reading but doesn’t like comedies.
With the computer and the Kindle rapidly becoming America’s methods of reading the works of both old and new authors, it is refreshing to know there are still readers who enjoy turning the pages of a good book. More power to these avid readers in the monastery. + Sister Dolores, CHM, was the executive associate of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at Saint John’s for thirty years. She now lives with the Sisters of the Humility of Mary in Davenport, Iowa, and serves as copy editor and proofreader for Abbey Banner and a proofreader for Liturgical Press. Abbey Banner Spring 2010 page 19
BENEDICTINE VOLUNTEERS
Update on the Phoenix Rising bicycle safari-fundraiser for Tanzania by Paul Conroy
O
ver two years have passed since Lew Grobe and I hatched the idea of Phoenix Rising, a 900-mile bicycle safarifundraiser through Tanzania, East Africa. I initially wrote off the idea as ludicrous. Did we really need to go to such extremes to raise educational funds for poor Tanzanian youth? Why not? So we took off on what was an unforgettable two weeks. We never imagined that our efforts would result in 23 Tanzanian students now being well on their way to graduating. Gloria Sanga, student of St. Laurent’s Primary School, happily holds her scholarship certificate. This past summer I returned to Tanzania as the leader of a service/ immersion trip for university students. Revisiting the village of Hanga where I spent three years with the Benedictine Volunteer Corps, I checked in with the recipients of the Phoenix Rising Scholarships. I am thrilled to
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report that seven of the original 23 have graduated and all the others are diligently continuing their studies. One recipient is 19-year-old Neema Msanga who spent three years working as a maid for a relative who had lured her away from home with the false promise of sending her to school. Neema was able to reconnect with her sister who approached me to help Neema fulfill her dream of going to school. Each student’s story is equally moving and their lives have truly been forever changed.
Paul Conroy with St. Benedict’s Secondary School scholars
Our original expectations for Phoenix Rising have been greatly surpassed by the $23,000 raised to date. These funds are sufficient to support all currently studying scholars for their remaining years of secondary school, and for this we thank our generous donors. Charlie McCarron awards Shaibu Nyoni at St. Benedict’s Secondary School his scholarship certificate.
We invite Abbey Banner readers to join us in our ongoing safari of giving the gift of education through the Phoenix Rising Scholarship. Please use the attached remittance envelope to send your tax deductible donation. + Stephen Komba, student of the Hanga Vocational Training School, displays his scholarship certificate.
Paul Conroy is a supervisor in a student residence of Saint John’s University.
REVIEW
A Review —
Uncommon Gratitude: Alleluia for All That Is
by Patrick Henry
Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, recounts that moment when she and Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury were talking about the spiritual life as they know it—and are always learning it. “Finally I asked him directly, ‘What really interests you most about the spiritual life?’ He said, ‘I find myself coming back again and again to the meaning of alleluia.’ And then we were off.” These two soon realized that God is calling them not to the easy task of praise for all things wonderful, but to a much tougher assignment: how to find the meaning of alleluia in “moments that do not feel like alleluia moments at all.” The wide range of topics is daunting: faith, doubt, differences, conflict, sinners, saints, life, crises, death, future, to name a few. Most chapters are written by Chittister. There is no attempt to blend the styles of the two
I can best explain why I recommend the book by pointing to two of the chapters in which I found the authors’ message especially intense. Rowan Williams’ riff on “Friday” is one of the freshest things I’ve read on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Chittister is an international lecturer and author of some 40 books.
Monica Bokinskie
S
ometimes a book is the end point of an author’s early planning and long labor. But sometimes a book explodes in a moment of unexpected insight, of surprise. Uncommon Gratitude is of this second sort.
authors, but there is deep resonance between their understandings of how, as John Lennon put it, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Or, as Joan’s very wise mother used to tell her, “Of two possibilities, choose always the third.”
Monica Bokinskie
Monica Bokinskie
How to find the meaning of alleluia.
Williams is an international theological writer, scholar and teacher.
He begins with Friday as in “Thank God it’s,” harks back to creation when God rested on Saturday, marvels at the wisdom of the Jewish reverence for the Sabbath, and takes us deep into the experience of Christ and his disciples in those culminating hours of Holy Week. Williams helps me see what it means that one fully human and fully divine was on the cross. Throughout the book Chittister makes skillful use of her own story, most poignantly in “Darkness.” Her mother was afflicted with Alzheimer’s for many years, an excruciating estrangement from one to whom Joan was so close. Only toward the end did Joan come to “understand that God is at work in our lives even when we believe that nothing whatsoever is going on.” A friend has paraphrased an observation of novelist Gail Godwin: our lives can keep on making more of us. Uncommon Gratitude is a guidebook for that journey. Order this 136-page, hardcover book from Liturgical Press, Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 563217500; email: sales@litpress.org; phone:1-800-858-5450. $16.95 plus postage/handling. + Patrick Henry is the former director of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research. Abbey Banner Spring 2010 page 21
THE ABBEY CHRONICLE Early spring arrivals
What’s Up? The Abbey Chronicle by Daniel Durken, OSB
(Jean Giraudoux)
M
Daniel Durken, OSB
innesota and Collegeville lost their winter bragging rights to places like Boston, New York City, Atlanta, and Waco, Texas, that made our snow total of 22 inches look wimpy compared to their accumulations of 40 to 50 + inches. During January we had 15 days of below-zero temperatures with -24 on the 3rd the lowest. March leaped in like a lamb and stayed long enough for us to revel in a welcome early spring of above-freezing temperatures and plentiful sunshine.
The Wimmer family and relatives of Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, OSB
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December 2009 ■ Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, has the most boasting rights to Archabbot Boniface Wimmer, founder of Benedictine life in the United States and first abbot of the Latrobe community. However, the great-great-great grandnephews of Boniface settled in our area and operate Wimmer Opticians in St. Cloud. They were invited to celebrate the 200th anniversary of their great-greatgreat granduncle’s birthday (January 14, 1809) at Saint John’s. Jeff and Deb Wimmer and Joel and Annette Wimmer with son Ryan, a SJU senior and All-American middle line backer on the 2009 football team, and daughter Lindsay, a CSB junior, joined the monastic community for dinner on December 7.
■ How do you get a 27-foot tall, 20foot wide white spruce tree through the 8 x 8-foot entrance to the Great Hall to set up Saint John’s Christmas Tree? With a lot of pulling by a team of volunteers. These photos are from a video by Ben DeMarais, former Benedictine Volunteer to Tanzania and current SJU supervisor in student housing. See the whole show at: http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Rd-XigVFVTY.
1-2-3 PULL!
Ben DeMarais
Daniel Durken, OSB
“The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an example of the external seductiveness of life.”
THE ABBEY CHRONICLE
St. Raphael Hall residents meet their “Secret Santas.”
Daniel Durken, OSB
■ Your roving editor walked through the monastery and counted 65 poinsettia plants that brightened the church and cloister with their brilliant red. Italians call this colorful plant stella di Natale, “star of Christmas.”
A shelf of poinsettias in the monastic refectory
■ Almost 15 inches of snow fell before, during and after Christmas Day to force the cancellation of the Saint John’s Boys’ Choir’s appearance at Midnight Mass. Enough intrepid
In his Christmas homily, Abbot John considered the mystery of the incarnation: “When I reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ, I can’t help but begin with the God who is not contained in this vast universe of 100 billion galaxies. When God first thought of the incarnation, God must have burst out laughing. It is so exactly what we would NOT have done as human beings if it had been up to us. We tend to go toward muscle, control, perfection. God goes toward frailty, weakness, vulnerability and the messiness of human decisions. And so a child is born, a Son is given to us. . .” ■ The 2009 Christmas Midnight Mass from Saint John’s Abbey is archived and available by following this link: http://saintjohnsabbey.org/schola/christmas.html ■ The abbey received a gift of hand-carved wooden statues of Mary, Seat of Wisdom, holding the Christ Child, and Joseph, holding a miniature church as Protector of the Church, both created by Gerald Bonnette, a 1953 art and philosophy graduate of Saint John’s who died in 1988. The statues
were given by Father James Notebaart of the Saint Paul/Minneapolis Archdiocese, in memory of the late Aelred Tegels, OSB, editor of Worship magazine and liturgy professor in the School of Theology•Seminary. ■ The Saint John’s Fire Department purchased a 1991 Grumman 102-foot ladder truck with a platform/bucket that allows a number of people to be evacuated from a location.Without it the department would have to wait for help from a nearby fire hall that could mean a 20-minute delay in the rescue effort. Bought in Alabama, the truck has a service-life of 25 years.
Aelred Senna, OSB
Daniel Durken, OSB
travelers plowed over snow-covered roads to nearly fill the main floor of the abbey church.
The Saint John’s Grumman ladder truck with platform/bucket.
As it begins its 61st year of service to the campus, the Saint John’s Fire Department includes Steve Berhow, fire chief, assistant chiefs Bradley Jenniges, OSB, and John Brudney, OSB, drivers Dennis Beach, OSB, and Neal Laloo, OSB, 15 certified SJU students and three laymen.
Aelred Senna, OSB
Aelred Senna, OSB
■ Directed by Michael Bik, OSB, chaplain for retired and ill confreres, a “Secret Santa” program began in Advent. Monks randomly picked names of St. Raphael Hall residents and secretly gave them small, inexpensive gifts during pre-Christmas weeks. Just before Christmas the “Secret Santas” gave their final gift and revealed their identity. Presents included a 2010 calendar with pictures of Saint Augustine’s Monastery in Nassau, Bahamas for George Wolf, OSB, who worked there for over 60 years; a “memory jar” full of notes that confreres had written of their memories of the recipient; several murder mysteries and a CD of favorite music.
Hand-carved wooden statutes of the Holy Family by Gerald Bonnette, the gift of Fr. James Notebaart
■ Nathanael Hauser, OSB, was featured in the December issue of Minnesota Monthly magazine. Entitled “Puppet Master,” the article describes Nathanael’s practice of the Neopolitan art of crèche-dollmaking. His Christmas scene of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, a kneeling shepherd and three winged angels graced the cover of the winter 2008 issue of Abbey Banner and was displayed in the Great Hall.
Abbey Banner Spring 2010 page 23
THE ABBEY CHRONICLE
Benedictines pray in the oratory of Saint Benedict’s Monastery.
January 2010
■ In his homily during the abbey/ university Ash Wednesday Mass, Abbot John focused on the theme of ashes: “We are a walking, talking, thinking, doing package of dust and ashes. So why do we bother signing ashes on each other’s foreheads? Because God has given us a way out of this continuous loop of ‘Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.’ It is the way of the Cross. . . We renew ourselves in that sign of the cross, to re-commit ourselves to God and the way that God’s Son has shown us.”
■ To conclude the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on Sunday, January 24, the Rev. Katherine Wallace was the homilist at the community Eucharist. Katherine, a priest of the Diocese of Ottawa in the Anglican Church of Canada, has been pastor of rural and city parishes for 21 years. An Oblate of Saint John’s, she represented Oblates last October at the International Rev. Katherine Wallace Benedictine Oblate Congress in Rome.
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Jerome Tupa, OSB
■ The annual community workshop, held January 4 and 5, concentrated on converting the abbey’s Vision Statement into goals and action steps. For a concise description of the agenda see Abbot John’s column on page 3 of this issue.
■ The devastating earthquake in Chile on February 27 turned our prayers and concerns to our two Benedictine Volunteers, David Allen and James Albrecht, stationed in Santiago. In his e-mail of March 2, David wrote, “James and I were awakened by large tremors. James yelled, ‘Dave, get up! This is an earthquake.’ Our entire house shook for about a minute as things around the house were crashing. My bed literally moved across the room. The earthquake could not have occurred at a worse time for the children of Chile because their school year is starting this week. Please keep us all in your prayers and thoughts,
March 2010 ■ The Lenten theme of ashes took a different twist on March 2 and 3 as a crew from the Chemical Agency Deployment Accounts of Ham Lake, Minnesota, cleaned out a deposit of ashes 40-feet deep and 12feet in diameter from the base of the powerhouse chimney. A high powered vacuum cleaner appropriately named “Super Sucker” piped the ashes into a large container that was taken to a landfill at Big Lake, Minnesota. This chimney sweep is done every three to five years.
Daniel Durken, OSB
The figure pictured above is at the entrance to the Abbey Gift Shop.
Daniel Durken, OSB
One of the Epiphany magi by Nathanael Hauser, OSB
■ A busload of monks thoroughly enjoyed the annual celebration of the feast of Saint Scholastica with the Benedictine women of the Monastery of Saint Benedict on Sunday, February 14. The editor’s “A Triple Treat” column on page three describes the highlight of the occasion.
especially the people of Concepcion, Constitution and Talca that have particularly been damaged.”
The crew and the “Super Sucker” remove ashes from the powerhouse chimney.
■ March showers may bring early flowers and certainly the start of another maple syrup season. The Community Tapping Day commenced the morning of March 13 when 150 student volunteers put out 800 sap-taps in two hours. The absence of belowfreezing nighttime temperatures got the sap dripping off to a slow start. +
Saint John’s Arboretum
Daniel Durken, OSB
February 2010
The sap-to-syrup season begins with tree tapping.
OBITUARIES
Mathias Arnold Spier, OSB 1931 – 2010
T
of Holy Name Parish in Medina: “The day before I arrived the old altars and carpets in the church were removed, and for the first month I offered Mass in a makeshift surrounding. Finishing the remodeling of Holy Name Church was one accomplishment that brought me the greatest satisfaction.” He added his gratitude for the help of three Benedictine sisters from Saint Scholastica Monastery in Duluth. Mathias left his mark on other parishes. He renovated the rectory of Saint Boniface Parish in Minneapolis so confreres studying in the Twin Cities or needing an overnight stay close to the airport could have free lodging and a well-prepared meal. In Medina he worked with local officials to bring sewer and water to the church and area. In St. Joseph he developed the community food shelf, began Meals on Wheels and cajoled the fire depart-
ment to put Christmas lights on the big fir tree in front of the rectory and set up a fine crib set. When the Minnesota Gophers’ football team held their pre-season camp at Collegeville, Mathias invited a coach to the monks’ retirement center to distribute maroon and gold caps and sweat shirts. In his homily at Mathias’ funeral, Abbot John identified him as a “warm, outgoing, friendly man with a dry, lively sense of humor.” Mathias’ obesity complicated other health problems and a month before he died he was told he had inoperable cancer. Abbot John remarked, “As a faith-filled pastor who helped many other people face similar situations, Mathias gave it all to Christ. When he died, he was truly at peace.” Mathias’ funeral was celebrated on January 22. May he rest in peace. +
he fourth of the six children of John and Genieve (Schmeing) Spier of nearby Freeport, Arnold came to Saint John’s Preparatory School in 1945 to determine if he had a vocation to the priesthood. Indeed he did as proved by the forty-five years Father Mathias (the name given him as a novice) served God’s people in Minnesota parishes.
On the occasion of his silver anniversary of ordination, Mathias reflected on his assignment as pastor
St. Joseph Lion’s Club
Ordained in 1958, Mathias was the associate pastor and pastor of parishes in Albany, St. Paul, Medina, Richmond, Northeast Minneapolis, St. Joseph and Jacobs Prairie and chaplain of nursing homes in New Hope and Cold Spring.
Fr. Mathias was the Grand Marshall of the 1989 4th of July parade and celebration of St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Abbey Banner Spring 2010 page 25
OBITUARIES
Florian Elmer Muggli, OSB 1925 – 2010
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he Benedictine roots of Father Florian were deep and widespread. Elmer Joseph was the son of John and Eleanor (Pallansch) Muggli of Richardton, North Dakota, the location of the Benedictine Assumption Abbey. His older brother Julius became a member of Saint John’s Abbey several years before Florian followed suit. His three half-sisters, two aunts and three male cousins were Benedictines.
through a relic and intercession of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. He attended Assumption Abbey High School. Upon entering the novitiate of Saint John’s Abbey he received the name of Florian in honor of his monkfriend, Father Florian Fairbanks of Assumption Abbey. There was no way Florian could have become a Jesuit. Ordained to the priesthood in 1951, Florian taught mathematics and served as a faculty resident of the university until his appointment as procurator/ treasurer of the abbey and university in 1955. For the next sixteen years he supervised the surge of new construction on the Collegeville campus including the monastery wing, abbey church, expansion of Liturgical Press, new Preparatory School complex, Alcuin Library, Peter Engel Science Center, and four university student residences. His tireless service to the community was a faithful fulfillment
of Saint Benedict’s description of the monastery cellarer in chapter 31 of the Rule. Florian moved into pastoral ministry in 1971 as pastor in Stillwater, Hastings, St. Joseph and Jacobs Prairie. His major accomplishment was the merging of the two parishes in Hastings, one staffed by diocesan priests, the other by Benedictines. With patience and persistence, Florian overcame the opposition of some of the parishioners and oversaw the building of a new church and parish offices that united the Catholic community in a splendid setting. His retirement to the abbey was marked by the progression of Alzheimer’s disease to which he succumbed on January 26. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for Florian on January 30. May he rest in peace. +
Osborn Studio, Dickinson, N.D.
Benedictine Sisters of Yankton, South Dakota, were his grade school teachers. The abbot of Assumption Abbey was instrumental in Elmer’s recovery from scarlet fever as a sixth-grader Front row, l. to r.: Noreen, mother Elinor, father John, Norbert. Back row l. to r.: Fr. Julius, Sr. Nillon, Sr. Alexia, Sr. Joanne, Fr. Florian, all OSBs.
page 26 Abbey Banner Spring 2010
OBITUARIES
B
Abbey Archives
enno was the fifteenth child of George and Elizabeth (Rauw) Marx of St. Michael, Minnesota, and grew up on the dairy farm that was in the family for five generations. He attended parochial grade school, often walking the 3½ miles in all kinds of weather, and then Saint John’s Preparatory School where he excelled in his studies and extracurricular activities including football and track. He followed his older brother Michael into the abbey, received the name of Paul, made his first profession of vows in 1942, completed his
Father Paul meets Pope John Paul II.
seminary studies and was ordained in 1947.
Abbey Archives
Paul Benno Marx, OSB 1920 – 2010
After teaching history, religion and English in the Preparatory School, Paul studied at The Catholic University of America where he received the doctorate in sociology and had his doctoral dissertation, Virgil Michel and the Liturgical Movement, published by The Liturgical Press. He founded the sociology department of Saint John’s University and became firmly focused on the family and responsible family planning. Paul put his intense convictions into practice by founding the Human Life Center at Saint John’s in 1972 and in 1981 establishing Human Life International in Washington, D.C. Driven by his belief that life begins at the moment of conception and that the family is the most important unit of society, Paul personified the zeal and energy of his biblical namesake, the Apostle Paul. He was known as “The Apostle of Life” in the pro-life movement and labeled by Planned Parenthood as “Public Enemy #1.” Pope John Paul II said to Paul during a 1979 papal audience, “You are doing the most important work on earth.” Well deserved accolades for Paul’s uncompromising dedication to life accumulated over the years. Of him it was said, “What Shakespeare is to poetry, what Mozart is to music, what Babe Ruth is to baseball, Father Paul Marx is to the pro-life movement.” He was named “Catholic of the Year” by Catholic Twin Circle and received the Cardinal John J. O’Connor Unambiguously Pro-Life Award and the Family Life International Lifetime Achievement Award.
Father Paul and his favorite people
It is fitting that Paul died March 20, the first day of spring when the earth begins its new journey of life. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for him on March 26, 2010. May he rest in peace. +
Remember our deceased loved ones:
Barbara Jean (Theisen) Betts Alfred Bill Braun Archbishop Lawrence Burke, S.J. Anthony Del Greco Aloysius Fischer George Franta Dr. Ronald Gearman Katherine Vonnie Ibes Richard Jochman Joseph Moorse Angie Olberding Hilda Petermeier Leo Rahm Doris Rowe Joan Swenson Kiriji Takahashi Florian Winczewski James Worline
May they rest in peace. Abbey Banner Spring 2010 page 27
BANNER BITS
Drawings of Saints Benedict and Scholastica as twin, young adults
David Paul Lange, OSB
by David Paul Lange, OSB
I
Young Saint Benedict
t is fascinating to imagine Saints Benedict and Scholastica as twins. Western Christian monasticism owes more than we think of the intimate relationship between them. Surely they were influenced from the beginning by a heightened sense of connectedness, equality and balance.
Young Saint Scholastica
eyes and wild, unruly hair. So that one gender would not be privileged over the other, they are both the same height, their habits are similarly designed, both heads are uncovered, and both regard us with a steady gaze.
I portray the two as young adults, not already advanced in years, wisdom and monastic experience as they are so often depicted. They are somewhat conflicted and uncertain as to whether they are capable of what they are being called to, the way many of us experience monastic life at the outset.
There are obvious differences between the settings, and the two drawings deliberately depend on each other. Between the two portraits there is only one cross, one Rule, one library (indicative of a powerful intellect), one empty and undefined cell, one protective raven and one anachronistic symbol of the light of Christ. Neither drawing tells a complete story without the other.
I wanted them to look like Italians— not as northern Europeans—with dark
As for the 20th century light bulb in a 5th century setting, the best explana-
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tion I can give is this: Christ did not belong only to their time, nor does he belong only to ours. God moves both in-and-outside our dimensions of time and space, and I needed a startling element to suggest this. Perhaps there should be more surrealism in religious art. Each print is a high quality, high resolution limited edition reproduction of an original 36” x 54” drawing. The prints come in four sizes, matted or matted and framed, and priced from $60 to $500. Prints are available from the Abbey Gift Shop or by emailing the artist directly at dplange@csbsju.edu. + Brother David Paul Lange, OSB, is assistant professor of art at Saint John’s University.
BANNER BITS
Kris Isaacson, web manager (l.) and Connie Carlson, The Saint John’s Bible program manager, with their ADDY Awards
Monica Bokinskie
Liturgical Press goes for the gold
Prior to the preparation of this website, there were three Collegeville websites promoting The Saint John’s Bible, namely, Liturgical Press for the marketing of the project, the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library for the background history of the project, and the Heritage edition for this elite product of the project. There was an obvious need to combine these three websites into one for a clearer, cleaner focus. Liturgical Press employees Kris Isaacson, web manager, and Connie Carlson, The Saint John’s Bible
program manager, led the diverse team that included HMML, the Heritage edition, copywriter Susan Sink, and two design firms. Their goal was to enable the visitor to this one website to actually experience the text and the illuminations of the Bible. They were delighted that the judges expressed this result of their use of the website.
Readers are welcome to visit the website to experience The Saint John’s Bible at: www.saintjohnsbible. org. +
Screenshots from The Saint John’s Bible website Monica Bokinskie
W
ithout going to the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Liturgical Press won two gold awards in the 2010 ADDY award competition for the Central Minnesota Advertising Federation. In the category of Interactive Media, the Press won a gold award for its The Saint John’s Bible website. The same website received one of three Judges Choice (gold) awards.
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BANNER BITS
Novices explore the hermit’s life Daniel Durken, OSB
by Daniel Durken, OSB
“Benedict stole away secretly and fled to a lonely wilderness.” (Life and Miracles of St. Benedict, 1)
Front row, l. to r.: Lewis Grobe, Michael-Leonard Hahn. Back row, l. to r. : Nickolas Kleespie, Stephen Warzecha
B
enedict wrote his Rule “for the strong kind of monks, the cenobites, who belong to a monastery where they serve under a rule and an abbot” (Rule, chapter 1). Yet he began his own monastic life as a hermit, living alone in a cave at Subiaco, Italy, for three years before he became the superior of a nearby monastery and began his commitment to community life. When he described the four kinds of monks in the first chapter of his Rule, Benedict revealed the high regard he had for hermits. Of them he wrote: “Hermits have come through the test of living in a monastery for a long time, and have passed beyond the first fervor of monastic life. Thanks to the help and guidance of many, . . . they have built up their strength and go from the battle line in the ranks of their brothers to the single combat of the desert. Self-reliant now, without the support of another, they are ready with God’s help to grapple single-handed with the vices of body and mind.”
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For five days in early March, the four Saint John’s Abbey novices experienced the hermit’s life at two nearby hermitage sites sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of St. Francis Convent at Little Falls, Minnesota, and the lay Franciscans of the Pacem in Terris Hermitages near St. Francis, Minnesota.
mon meal, a minimum of furniture) were spiritually profitable. The daily schedule was not established by others but rather upon the individual novice’s initiative and fidelity to specific times for reflective reading, exercise, meals and rest. The setting quickly brings to the foreground issues that might otherwise take months to surface.
During a debriefing session the novices agreed that these few days of solitude and simplicity (no radio, TV or indoor toilet, one daily com-
The high point of each day was the evening meal taken with the hermitage staff and retreatants. Conversing with others helped these young men appreciate the community aspect of monastic life. Not feeling attracted to the life of the hermit as such, they nevertheless recognized the need to make space and time for the silent solitude of the hermit. A monthly “desert day” is a needed antidote for the rush-rush-rush syndrome of our time. +
One of the Pacem in Terris hermitages
SPIRITUAL LIFE
Live out loud! Alleluia! by Robert Pierson, OSB
Placid Stuckenschneider, OSB
Imagine this: I get a phone call from Regis— he says, “Do you want to be a millionaire?” They put me on a show and I win with two lifelines to spare. Now picture this: I act like nothing ever happened and bury all the money in a coffee can. Well, I’ve been given more than Regis ever gave away. I was a dead man who was called to come out of my grave. I think it’s time for makin’ some noise.
T
CHORUS Wake the neighbors. Get the word out. Come on, crank up the music, climb a mountain and shout. This is life we’ve been given, made to be lived out. So, la, la, la, la, live out loud!
Placid Stuckenschneider, OSB
hese words from the Steven Curtis Chapman and Geoffrey Paul Moore song, “Live Out Loud” challenge us to live what we believe about the Good News of Easter: “If we have been united with Christ through likeness to his death, so shall we be through a like resurrection . . . If we have died with Christ, we believe that we are also to live with him” (Romans 6:5, 8). What does it mean for us to live the Good News of the resurrection? Are our lives any different because we believe that Jesus rose from the dead and that we, too, will rise with him “on the last day”? One way we live out loud is by giving up our need to worry and fret about the details of day to day life. If God can raise us from the dead, God can take care of us in the meantime. We don’t need to be afraid. God is with us to provide what we need when we need it. If such is true for us individually, it is also true for us as the human family. We are in God’s care, and no matter how much we may foul things up, God’s Holy Spirit continues to work good out of evil, resurrection out of death. That doesn’t mean we have nothing to do. We still need to do our part, whatever that may be. But we do not need to worry about the outcome. As Julian of Norwich puts it, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” Our belief in the resurrection assures us that “the strife is o’er, the battle done.” Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! + Robert Pierson, OSB, is the director of the abbey’s spiritual life program and guest master. Abbey Banner Spring 2010 page 31
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