Abbey Banner - Winter 2002 by Saint John's Abbey

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The Abbey Schola

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Contents The Abbey Banner

Page 6

Magazine of Saint John’s Abbey

Cover Story

Volume 2, Issue 3 Winter 2002

Abbey Schola: The Music of Monks by Paul Richards, OSB

Editor Daniel Durken, OSB

Editorial and Production Assistant

cover photo by Andra Van Kempen

Margaret Wethington Arnold

Designer Pam Rolfes

Contributing Writers Margaret Wethington Arnold Michael Bik, OSB Alberic Culhane, OSB Daniel Durken, OSB Joseph Feders, OSB Bradley Jenniges, OSB John Klassen, OSB Dale Launderville, OSB Benedict Leuthner, OSB Patrick McDarby,OSB Paul Richards, OSB Mel Taylor, OSB Thomas Wahl, OSB

Proofreader Dolores Schuh, CHM

Circulation Cathy Wieme Ruth Athmann Mary Gouge

Printer

Features 4 Christopher Fair, OSB: Woodworker and Toymaker by Michael Bik, OSB 8 A Monk’s Ministry from Pine Curtain to Gray Stone Wall by Patrick McDarby, OSB 10 The Three Churches of Lake Wobegon by Alberic Culhane, OSB 12 A Steady Steward Keeps the Campus Running by Margaret Wethington Arnold

14 A Unique and Creative Gift Shop by Margaret Wethington Arnold 15 The Benedictine Bulletin Board by Daniel Durken, OSB 16 Teahouse of the Winter Moon by Daniel Durken, OSB 17 Wither the Weather? Ask Melchior Freund, OSB by Bradley Jenniges, OSB

Palmer Printing The Abbey Banner is published three times annually by the Benedictine monks of Saint John’s Abbey for our relatives, friends and Oblates. The Abbey Banner brings the extended family of Saint John’s Abbey together with feature stories and news of the monastery. The Abbey Banner is online at www.sja.osb.org/AbbeyBanner

Saint John’s Abbey, Box 2015, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321. 320-363-3875

Departments 3 From the Editor From the Abbot 18 Vocation News 20 Abbey Missions 22 Obituary

23 Banner Bits 27 Spiritual Life Back Cover Calendar of Events Abbey Prayer Time

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FROM EDITOR AND ABBOT

MinneSNOWta! by Daniel Durken, OSB

I am writing this column on October 17. For the past three hours it has been . . . snowing! Big, fat, wet, sticky flakes are clinging to the autumn leaves not yet fallen off the maple tree outside my window. The lawns are covered with snow as well as the cars in the parking lot, the dumpsters, sidewalks and roads. And I will be covered with snow when I go from my office in The Liturgical Press to the abbey church for Noon Prayer. O snow! O woe! It is not that we MinneSNOWtans do not expect snow sooner or later. But October 17 is just a little too sooner even for us natives. Usually we experience “Indian Summer”—a few welcome weeks of warm, sunny weather made bright by the orange, yellow and red foliage of our oak, poplar and sugar maple trees. But this extra-early snow will not last. More snow will come by the time this issue of The Abbey Banner is in your hands. That snow will not last either, for snow is really the harbinger of spring. When we dream of a white Christmas, let’s not forget that the white will go, but Christmas remains. St. John puts it this way in the prologue of his gospel: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (1:14). So often the sad/bad part of Christmas is that it is over so quickly. Our commercial world counts the days before Christmas, but rarely the days after Christmas. But the glad part of Christmas is that the Christ of Christmas stays with us, dwells among us. We must not leave Christ in the crib. We pick him up and put him in our hearts. He is Emmanuel, God-with-us.

Abbot John thanks you. Brother Benedict, treasurer, thanks you. And I thank you for the generous contributions some of you made to help cover the cost of publishing The Abbey Banner or for another designated cause. There is an envelope in this issue for use by new and existing contributors.

Hope Grounded in God by Abbot John Klassen, OSB

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins describes “the Stockdale Paradox.” The name refers to Admiral James Stockdale who was a prisoner during the Vietnam War and was tortured over twenty times. Stockdale had no prisoner’s rights, no set release date and no sure sense that he would live to see his family again. When Stockdale was asked how he survived, he replied, “I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life.” When the interviewer asked him, “Who didn’t make it out?” Stockdale replied, “O, that’s easy! The optimists . . . They were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come and it would go. Then they would say, ‘We are going to be out by Easter, then by Thanksgiving.’ And Easter would come, then Thanksgiving and then it would be Christmas again . . . And they died of a broken heart . . .” Stockdale continues, “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be” (Jim Collins, Good to Great, New York: Harper Business, 2001, 83-85). This survivor is telling us that we must never lose hope. The Advent and Christmas seasons are filled with hope. But this hope is not grounded in our own strength or our own vision of the future. I think Stockdale has a powerful insight into genuine hope. It requires that we never lose faith in the saving power of God while at the same time we are utterly honest about the facts of our current situation. Every day we pray, “Your Kingdom come” and we mean it. Our hope is grounded in a God who so loved this world that he sent his Son to redeem it.

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FEATURE Brother Christopher spends most Saturday afternoons crafting toys in the woodworking shop. photos by Hugh Witzmann, OSB

Christopher Fair, OSB: Woodworker and Toymaker by Michael Bik, OSB

O O Lord, give success to the work of our hands! Give success to the work of our hands! Psalm 90:17

n the highly academic campus of Saint John’s there are individuals who cultivate what the psalmist calls “the work of our hands.” In chapter 57 of his Rule, Saint Benedict refers to them as the “artisans of the monastery.” Painters, sculptors, potterers, weavers, muralist, woodworkers and others have helped beautify their churches and living quarters and bring income to the community. Saint John’s Abbey has been blessed with many such men whose talents have enriched the life of the community. One special talent at Saint John’s is the art of making toys! Over the years Ignatius Candrian, OSB, Benedict Nordick, OSB, and William Borgerding, OSB, have crafted toys ranging from building blocks to wagons. These have been given away to families and friends and have been sold at the yearly Collegeville Christmas Craft Sale. Our newest crafter is Brother Christopher who first came to Saint John’s from Omaha to take part in the summer 1998 Monastic Experience

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Program. He entered the novitiate the following year and made his first profession of vows on September 14, 2000. Christopher was given the opportunity to use his skills in the woodworking shop under the guidance of Gregory Eibensteiner, OSB, master carpenter. Here he helps construct and assemble furniture used within the abbey, prep school and university. He also welcomes the chance to pursue a hobby that, as he puts it, “I was not able to accommodate in my life until I found Saint John’s,” namely, toymaking. He considers himself self-taught, his only formal training in woodworking being a high school carpentry class. He was inspired to make toys by Brother William, who at age eighty-six still makes boxed sets of building blocks. When Brother Gregory was contacted by Bishop Paul Bootkoski, auxiliary bishop of Newark, New Jersey, asking if someone at Saint John’s could make him a crosier (bishop’s staff), Gregory asked Christopher to undertake the project. Using cherry wood, Christopher not only created the staff but also the case for it.

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FEATURE

The cherry wood crosier and case were created by Brother Christopher.

The bishop was very pleased with the finished product. Others have called upon Christopher’s talent. Nicholas Doub, OSB, asked him to make crosses for the study lounges of a student residence. Leonard Chmelik, OSB, had him create baskets in the shape of animals for holding candies and cookies on the refectory tables during the holidays. But Christopher’s first love is making toys. Spending his Saturday afternoons at the woodshop, Christopher cuts, sands and forms through a ten-to-sixteenhour process a creation meant to last a lifetime. He uses scraps of wood from other shop projects, taking time to examine each piece, its grain, color and texture before using it to create his toys. His ideas come from various books, customer requests and friends who have kindled his

imagination. Most of his toys are trucks of various shapes and sizes and also small tractors.

Some day he hopes to make trains and has been exploring books as well as the Internet for additional ideas.

He uses as few pre-manufactured parts as possible to maintain the homemade quality of the work. Once cut and sanded, the wood is given a coat of allnatural, virgin olive oil or walnut oil to maintain its durability and “child-safe” handling. He marks each piece with his “symbol,” production number and date and keeps a pictorial record of his work. Christopher tries to keep his toys affordable. He says, “I make these creations out of love for the Creator.”

Christopher would like to create toys on a full-time basis, but he also enjoys learning the art of bookbinding from Andrew Goltz, OSB, at the Alcuin Library along with his regular work in the woodshop.

In addition to the eleven trucks he is working on, Christopher is completing a table-top bowling alley for use in the abbey’s recreation room. He wants to make a pinball machine and something he calls a “kinetic energy sculpture.”

Saint Benedict cautions his monks that “idleness is the enemy of the soul” (chapter 48). For Christopher, Saint John’s newest “poet in wood,” craftsmanship is a welcome soul-friend as he creates his toys and shares with others his God-given gift. Michael Bik works in the abbey’s retirement center and assists the Director of Abbey Housekeeping.

Christopher and the Christmas display of toys he crafted

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COVER STORY photo by Andra Van Kempen

Abbey Schola: The Music of Monks by Paul Richards, OSB

dvent and especially Christmas can be considered the “singing season” of the Church Year. It has been this way since the beginning of the Christian era.

Mary, pregnant with Jesus, began the tradition with her Magnificat: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” Zechariah, father of our Advent patron John the Baptist, continued the song fest with his Benedictus: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel.” Solos soon became a choir of angels hovering over Bethlehem and singing, “Glory to God, . . . and on earth peace.” So too at Saint John’s Abbey where singing has been an integral part of the monastic life since its earliest days. A twentytwo page essay, “Music at St. John’s from 1867 to 1900—A Reminiscence,” written in 1917 page 6 The Abbey Banner Winter 2002

by John Katzner, OSB, gives a brief but informative summary of the earliest efforts to add music to the curriculum on the Collegeville campus. Two blood brothers, Wolfgang and Ulrich Northman, OSB, came to Saint John’s in 1867 as volunteers from Saint Vincent’s Abbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania. They were promptly appointed president of the college and professor of music. Father Ulrich was known as an excellent piano and cornet player and Father Wolfgang also played piano, cornet and violin. Besides offering piano and violin lessons for the students and forming a school band, a “church choir”—forerunner of today’s schola—was formed in the summer of 1867 under Wolfgang’s direction. The choir consisted of two members, Wolfgang and William Baldus, OSB, who was also the community’s baker and blended the unique flour of Saint John’s Bread. The two usually sang Werner’s Mass in C. Brother William had a very high clear voice and sang the

soprano part while Wolfgang played the organ and sang the alto. The Katzner essay pays tribute to the contribution of William: “The only member that never left the choir and sang as long as he could was Brother William. He was the main support and singer of the choir for fully 40 years. He would lead the choir and sing his part at the same time, when no other leader was present. He would practice alone with some of the brothers and make himself useful wherever he could.” For well over half of the twentieth century the names of three monks loom large in building the choral tradition of Saint John’s. Innocent Gertken, OSB, served as choirmaster from 1903-46. Dominic Keller, OSB, then assumed that role and

Innocent Gertken, OSB, abbey choirmaster, 1903-46

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COVER STORY

Dominic Keller, OSB, abbey choirmaster, 1946-55

Gerard Farrell, OSB, abbey choirmaster, 1955-70 photos from Abbey Archives

shaped the singing of Gregorian Chant for ten years until 1955. He was succeeded by Gerard Farrell, OSB, whose manner with chant and polyphony was described as “ethereal,” “polished,” and “refined.” From 1970 until the present the directorship of the Abbey Schola has been shared by a variety of community members: Bartholomew Sayles, Jerome Coller, Cletus Connors, John Howard, William Skudlarek, Robert Koopmann, Daniel McMullin,

Paul Richards, Nicholas Doub and Anthony Ruff. The current Abbey Schola has twentyfive to thirty-five members and is conducted by Paul Richards, OSB, and Dr. Axel Theimer, professor of music at Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict. A few college students, referred to as “choral scholars,” bolster the mostly monastic makeup of the choir. The schola sings at Sunday liturgies twice each month and more frequently during the high feasts. Rehearsals are held for one hour prior to the liturgy and also once a month for an extended period of practice. The schola’s repertoire includes more than fifty chants, motets, spirituals, anthems and other pieces. Renditions of Afro-American spirituals are performed with the same sort of care and competence as Renaissance motets. Some of the schola’s favorites are “Ave Maria” by Franz Bibel; “Haec Dies” by Jacobus Gallus; “Blow Ye the Trumpet” by Kirke Mechem; “Precious Lord,” a traditional

gospel song; and “He’s the Lily of the Valley,” an Afro-American spiritual. For the past twenty-two years the Abbey Schola has joined the Saint John’s Boys’ Choir to present a concert and service in the abbey church prior to and during the Midnight Mass of Christmas. The concert begins at 11:15 on Christmas Eve. Visitors who wish to participate in the abbey’s celebration of Christmas should plan to arrive early for good seating. The concert is simultaneously broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio and carried statewide by the network.

Paul Richards, OSB, is the director of the Abbey Schola and the Saint John’s Boys’ Choir.

The Saint John’s Boys’ Choir occasionally sings with the Abbey Schola. The Boys’ Choir, under the direction of Paul Richards, OSB, was founded in 1981 and is composed of area grade school youngsters. The group has toured extensively throughout the United States and in countries from Austria to Japan. Third and fourth grade boys along with their parents are invited to attend an information meeting at 7 p.m. on January 21, 2003, in the music building of Saint John’s University. photo by Cass Mackert

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FEATURE Joel Kelly, OSB, outside the gray stone wall of the Minnesota State Correctional Facility photo by Daniel Durken, OSB

A Monk’s Ministry from Pine Curtain to Gray Stone Wall by Patrick McDarby, OSB

wo institutions for men lie on opposite sides of the Mississippi River that bisects the St. Cloud area. To the west is Saint John’s Abbey; to the east, the Minnesota State Correctional Facility, formerly known as the St. Cloud Reformatory. Saint John’s is surrounded by the Pine Curtain. A gray stone wall surrounds the correctional facility. One link that connects these two unlikely places is their goal of promoting the reformation of life. Another is that Benedictines are involved in both facilities.

In 1937 Berthold Ricker, OSB, became the part-time chaplain of the correctional facility. He was followed by these confreres: Peter St. Hilaire, Barnabas Laubach, Omer Maus and Joel Kelly. The Abbey Banner recently interviewed Father Joel. page 8 The Abbey Banner Winter 2002

PMcD: Tell me about your ministerial experience before you became a prison chaplain. JK: For six years I taught theology and was faculty resident, chaplain and director of the A Better Chance (ABC) program at Saint John’s Preparatory School. Then I served at a monastery school and parish in Puerto Rico for four years. This was followed by graduate study in psychology while I ministered as a Spanish-speaking priest in two Chicago parishes. I was also a clinical supervisor in an inpatient treatment center for the chemically dependent. Then I served as college chaplain of Saint John’s University for eight years. My current assignment began in 1993. PMcD: What training did you receive then and subsequently?

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FEATURE Father Joel on a tier of the prison cell block photo by Placid Stuckenschneider, OSB

JK: I was already prepared by thirty years of work with students and recovering addicts and I had some fluency in speaking Spanish. I also had received my master’s degree in counseling psychology and I had done advanced work in abnormal psychology. PMcD: Why do you want to work with prisoners? What do you hope to accomplish with and for them? JK: One very clear goal is to teach what I have learned: that respect for all religious expressions is vital while letting the Catholic/Benedictine tradition continue to inform and enliven me as a minister. Intolerance leads to so much crime, so I quickly saw that tolerance and respect are fundamental to ministry in prison. PMcD: What have you found most rewarding and most frustrating about your ministry? JK: Most rewarding are my contacts with inmates on the galleys of the cell blocks and at worship. Inmates too can be people of deep faith and they consider chapel time to be a privileged time.

They are happy to praise God and partic- JK: As chaplain at Saint John’s I ipate. Worship is not a burden for them. worked with my predecessor, Father Omer, to have students assist at his Very close to this blessing is sharing weekly Mass. The program took this ministry with the students of Saint off in the early 1990s and I continJohn’s, the College of Saint Benedict and ued and expanded the effort when I other area colleges as well as with my became prison chaplain. brother and sister monastics of Saint John’s Abbey and Saint Benedict’s PMcD: Is there a special accomMonastery. Having my Benedictine col- plishment you have made? leagues come in with me helps me to JK: I have successfully coordinated explain when someone asks, “How are the Residents Encounter Christ things in the prison?” I simply say, “It’s (REC) retreat program. We have always dynamic.” had an overwhelming response to Other cherished rewards are experithe ten retreats we have offered in encing the faith, hope and love of the the last five years. inmates and the support of the prison Personally I have come to better staff. Building trust with the Indian comunderstand why Jesus gives such munity as I support their efforts to prominence to the captive and the improve the quality of their sweat-lodge and pipe and drum ceremonies is partic- prisoner. We get a profound insight in Matthew’s Gospel where ularly rewarding. Jesus says, “I was in prison and Frustrations include the you visited me” (25:36). It is waiting that is peculiar to remarkable that Saint John the prison life. The inmates Baptist, Jesus and Saint Paul spent describe it as “Hurry up so time in prison. we can wait.” The tremendous amount of paper work I Patrick McDarby, OSB, is the editor of have to complete for every Confrere, the monthly newsletter of the activity I organize for the pris- monastic community. oners is another factor of frustration. PMcD: Did you begin the regular involvement with students?

Joel preaches to his parishioners in the prison chapel. photo by Adam Barker

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FEATURE Immaculate Conception Church, New Munich photos of churches by Andra Van Kempen

The Three Churches of Lake Wobegon by Alberic Culhane, OSB

n the almost thirty years since Garrison Keillor put the town of Lake Wobegon (pop. 942) on a mythical map of Minnesota, listeners to A Prairie Home Companion have come to know and love the place where “the women are strong, the men are goodlooking and the children are above average.”

When people ask Keillor just where this town is located, he tells them, “It’s in central Minnesota near Stearns County, up around Holdingford, not far from St. Rosa and Albany and Freeport, northwest of St. Cloud” (In Search of Lake Wobegon, New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 2001, 12). This location means that the Catholic churches in and around Lake Wobegon are Benedictine-founded parishes that are still served by members of Saint John’s Abbey.

The illuminated steeple of Sacred Heart Church, Freeport, is a beacon of faith aglow in the dark.

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This story features three such churches: Immaculate Conception of New Munich, Sacred Heart of Freeport and St. Rose of Lima of St. Rosa. The original connection of these faith communi-

ties was brought full circle between 19971999 when they were clustered and are now served by one pastor. They have one accountant, a tri-parish bulletin and pictorial directory and many other services and programs. Roger Klassen, OSB, is the present pastor and is assisted by Julius Beckermann, OSB, a transitional deacon, and weekend assistants from the abbey. The founding of Immaculate Conception Parish in 1857 nearly coincided with the arrival of the Benedictines in Stearns County the previous year. The first 24 x 30 log church, built in 1861, soon became too small and the present German Roger Klassen, OSB Romanesque church photo from Abbey was consecrated in Archives 1911.

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FEATURE Sacred Heart Church, Freeport

Keillor calls this stately structure “a veritable cathedral in a town of only 314.” He waxes eloquently about “the inlaid tile floor and the high columns with figured capitals, the rose windows in the transepts, the lovely statues with the compassionate faces.” He admits, “I thought I had based Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility on this church, but if I’d put it in Lake Wobegon, nobody would’ve believed it.” The first settlers in Freeport walked the few miles to New Munich for Mass until 1881. Then a small 36 x 70 wooden frame church was built in Julius Beckermann, Freeport and dedicated to the OSB Sacred Heart of photo by David Jesus. In 1898 a Manahan, OSB larger church was constructed, but this second church

St. Rose of Lima Church, St. Rosa

was destroyed by fire from a lightning strike in 1904. The present yellow-brick, neo-Gothic, high-steepled church was built in 1910. A new parish, St. Rose of Lima, was organized in 1898 north of Freeport in the St. Rosa settlement. The first church in Freeport was no longer being used so it was moved to a man-made hill in St. Rosa, enlarged and given a yellow-brick veneer. It continues to serve the parish today. Since becoming pastor of this cluster of three parishes, Father Roger has seen his activities broadened and revised. He explains, “These are true Christian communities, not a mega-church amalgam. The parishioners are fully responsible for the physical plant and administrative duties. This frees me for the parishes’ sacramental services

and makes possible the nonthreatening evangelization of the parishes’ youth including summer and winter camping trips to the Boundary Waters.” Like Benedictines generally, Roger is conservation-minded in his pastoral ministry. He knows the benefits of corn-and-sawdustpellet heating of large areas. “We have an abundance of corn and woodmill sawdust not otherwise utilized. Sawdust pellets and corn grains make efficient, inexpensive, clean fuel. My living room metal stove, with the help of a fan, heats much of the space in my big rectory. The process helps make conservation and sustainability viable concepts for our life.” No wonder Keillor says that the folks of Lake Wobegon are above average. Alberic Culhane, OSB, is executive assistant to the president for university relations and a faculty resident in student housing.

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FEATURE Brother Linus, r., and Fred Lutz on their way to a construction site photo by William Schipper, OSB

A Steady Steward Keeps the Campus Running by Margaret Wethington Arnold

he 104 buildings on the 2,400 acres of the Collegeville campus are all maintained by Linus Ascheman, OSB, physical plant manager and assistant treasurer of the Saint John’s corporation. Brother Linus is responsible for managing one of the largest physical plants in central Minnesota and one of the busiest administrative departments of Saint John’s. With the help of his fifty-two staff members, Linus is responsible for nearly four thousand maintenance work orders annually for buildings that house and serve more than two thousand people. The physical plant is made up of some 1.7 million square feet of offices, residential housing, classrooms, libraries, chapels, auditoriums, dining facilities, meeting rooms and the abbey church. Linus works with a management team, electricians, plumbers, custodians, carpenters, engineers and a grounds crew. One full-time painter has a student crew of fourteen. A preventive maintenance person visits each mechanical room weekly to oil motors, check belts and change air filters to insure that the equipment remains operational.

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This very busy monk has been a member of the Saint John’s community since 1971. He taught at Saint John’s Preparatory School, served as its headmaster for eight years and was the assistant to Michael Blecker, OSB, president of Saint John’s University, for six years. Linus serves on building planning committees, orchestrates the bidding process and oversees the project. In 1999-2000, for example, he worked on such projects as the expansion and renovation of athletic facilities, construction of the new Peter Engel Science Center, wastewater treatment plant and the realignment of the entrance road—“a very intense period!” He labels his most memorable projects as follows: Most Interesting: The move of Saint Joseph Hall in 1992. “To see 128 airplane tires under this huge two-story building being driven across campus and parked on a dime was unique!” Most Satisfying: The realignment of County Road 159 to create the new campus entrance. “Personally it was very satisfying to create a sense of arrival when you come on campus.”

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FEATURE Most Complex: The renovation of the first floor of the quadrangle. “We had to move people out and work on certain sections while maintaining other parts. We were finding surprises daily.” These surprise discoveries include ping-pong paddles and balls made in Britain in the early 1900s that dropped from the ceiling during the renovation of the quadrangle; and a wallet with a membership card for the Catholic Church Extension Society dated 1910, belonging to a student from St. Martin, Minnesota. The hundreds of workers who come on campus are humbled by the craftsmanship of those who worked on the buildings before them—especially the abbey church. “They visit the church and are amazed at what those workers were able to do forty years ago without the technology we have today. As they work around these old buildings they get a sense that what they are doing now is going to be here for quite awhile.”

A Monk of Many Hats

rother Linus has worked with hundreds of contractors and subcontractors during his eleven years as physical plant manager and assistant treasurer. The hat collection in his office testifies to those relationships and projects. He has more than 220 hats in his display! He shared the story of his collection:

started to pile up in my office, so I began to display them. “When contractors visit they look to see if their cap is up there in the collection. Some of the caps are rather ugly. Some are quite nice. But none of them has been worn or dusted in a long time.” Margaret Wethington Arnold is the editorial and production assistant for The Abbey Banner.

“It is a tradition for many contractors to give away baseball caps to their crews and customers. I am sure part of it is advertising, but it also helps to identify where a worker is from. “Most people in our department wear the caps. But I do not wear a cap and I did not set out to collect them. They just

Although Linus admits he does not possess any particular gifts, it is obvious that his organizational skills and his strong work ethic are exceptional. He never had a career plan. But he sums up his considerable accomplishments: “The abbey has challenged me to do many more things than I ever would have done myself if I were pursuing my own career some place else. If I have met any success it is attributed to the grace that comes with obedience.”

“The first step of humility is unhesitating obedience, which comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all.” Rule of St. Benedict, chapter 5 Brother Linus has more than two hundred hats in his collection. photo by Andra Van Kempen

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FEATURE Brother Jeffrey arranges an Ethiopian processional cross in the HMML Gift Shop. photos by William Schipper, OSB

A Unique and Creative Gift Shop by Margaret Wethington Arnold

hether you want cards, handcrafts, books, mosaics, music, icons, prints or other specialty items, you can count on finding merchandise that is unique and creative at the Gift Shop of the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library (HMML). It is so unique, according to Jeffrey Hutson, OSB, manager and buyer for the shop, that people drive from the Twin Cities and beyond just to shop here. The assortment of products, the background music and the HMML displays give shoppers an insight into the purpose of the library. “We purchase merchandise that is appropriate to the mission of HMML,” said Brother Jeffrey. In addition to his buying trips at San Francisco and New York International Gift Fairs, Jeffrey purchases merchandise from more than three hundred vendors. “Our items are so unique that no one vendor carries the wide variety of gifts that are appropriate for the shop except maybe a wholesale book seller,” he stated.

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The shop, located in the Bush Center at the north end of Alcuin Library, also carries works of artists at Saint John’s Abbey and University. There are cards and prints by members of the monastery, pottery by artist-in-residence Richard Bresnahan and musical CDs from the Abbey Schola, the Saint John’s Boys’ Choir, Collegeville Consort and the National Youth Choir. The HMML Christmas cards are consistently best sellers. The most unique item in the shop is an Ethiopian processional cross, hand-made and priced at about $400. Jeffrey has sold a similar one each year since discovering it in San Francisco.

The gift shop had record-breaking sales during the June Calligraphy Connection, an international conference for lettering artists. Gifts may also be purchased online by visiting www.hmmlshop.org. Jeffrey, who works part-time at the shop, spends the majority of his work day as a reference librarian at Alcuin Library. A graduate of the university and the School of Theology•Seminary, he also holds a master’s degree in library and information science from Simmons College, Boston. He has been a member of the abbey since 1992. Margaret Wethington Arnold is the editorial and production assistant for The Abbey Banner.

Founded in 1993 by Eric Hollas, OSB, and Nathanael Hauser, OSB, the shop had humble beginnings with a few displays containing items recommended to them or purchased during their travels. In 1996, Father Eric, executive director of HMML at the time, asked Jeffrey to manage the shop, and its display space has been considerably expanded. Visitors to the shop include conference attendees, alums, parents, retreatants and travelers.

The popular HMML Christmas cards on display

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FEATURE Two monks view notes posted on the abbot’s bulletin board. photo by William Schipper, OSB

The Benedictine Bulletin Board by Daniel Durken, OSB

efore the invention and invasion of CNN, fax machines, voice mail, e-mail and the Internet, the chief means of quick, quiet and comprehensive communication in Benedictine communities was and still is the BULLETIN BOARD. At Saint John’s Abbey there are bulletin boards and there are bulletin boards. The largest is the one that measures sixteen feet, four inches by six feet, ten inches and is located on the basement level of the Breuer wing of the abbey. Here a plethora of pages includes reports of the senior council and the design, budget task force, abbey guest house and liturgy committees. The bulletin board browser will see posters of forthcoming concerts, workshops and lectures; schedules for table waiters and readers; the haircut sign-up sheet; the birthdays of confreres; and a photo directory of this year’s visiting monastic students from such countries as Colombia, England, Guyana, Guatemala, Indonesia, Ireland and Korea. The most often-read bulletin board is the smaller one outside the abbot’s office on the first floor. Here are posted requests for prayers; a list of abbey

guests; announcements of special events; schedule changes; reminders of community meetings; weekly pastoral ministry assignments; and the daily local weather report of high and low temperatures and the amount of precipitation. The majority of bulletin board messages are straightforward. Occasionally an element of humor is evident. Robin Pierzina, OSB, has collected these gems of joviality and stored them in his “Monastic Mischief” file. Here are a few samples: On the barbershop’s customer list Gabriel Beniek, OSB, had signed up for a nine o’clock appointment. Conscious of his precarious health, he added this parenthesis: “(if still alive).” To which another confrere added, “If not alive, Brother Fred would like to take his place.” Late one December, Jude Koll, OSB, posted this note: “Will whoever removed the plant from the third floor balcony please return it. I coddled it for three years and would like to continue doing the same.” Confreres hoped it was not a cactus he had been coddling. The doldrums of a late February day were brightened by this notice:

“Timothy Backous was informed yesterday that he needs bifocals. Please remember him as he works through this difficult time in his life.” A sign headed by “Help! Help! Help!” made this urgent plea: “I had Father Alban give me a haircut! I need some remedial adjustment. Can anyone help me?” This explanation of a minor accident on campus was given by Paul Richards, OSB, director of the Saint John’s Boys’ Choir: “The reason Murphy Ambulance was outside the music department today was because one of the choirboys ran into a tree while playing football during our recess. Good singer. Poor football player.” Given the effectiveness of bulletin board notices, Mary’s husband Joseph might have solved the “No Vacancy” problem of the original Christmas if he had posted a note on the bulletin board of Bethlehem Square that read: Wanted: room for pregnant wife expecting first child.

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FEATURE Brother Paul’s teahouse on Lake Sagatagan photos by Daniel Durken, OSB

Teahouse of the Winter Moon by Daniel Durken, OSB

ne fish house on frozen Lake Sagatagan is not your ordinary, run-ofthe-ice fish house. It is a teahouse—designed to accommodate good tea and good talk. Taking a cue from John Patrick’s 1953 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Teahouse of the August Moon,” this slim, straight structure might be called the “Teahouse of the Winter Moon.” Paul Jasmer, OSB, with help from Gregory Eibensteiner, OSB, built this five-by-seven-foot cubicle out of scrap plywood, a few two-by-fours and aluminum printing plates donated by Sentinel Printing Company. The building was blessed on December 13, 1991, feast day of St. Lucy, with a ritual composed by Michael Kwatera, OSB. The ceremony began with a reading from the Book of Sirach praising God who “sprinkles the snows like fluttering birds . . . scatters frost like so much salt, . . . and clothes each pool with a coat of mail” (43:18-21). Brother Paul describes his petite place as “a rustic haven on winter days and a place where I

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can read to the lulling crackle of the fire that brings the water in my pot to a boil. I study the sagas and histories written in Medieval Iceland, the land of fire and ice, volcanoes and glaciers. The image of fire and ice is replayed as the oranges, pinks and reds of the low winter sun are reflected in the glare of the ice.” Paul’s teahouse is not a monastic cell of solitary confinement. Rather, it has become a celebrated spot for faculty, staff, resident scholars of the Ecumenical Institute and monks to visit on a wintry afternoon. In December, 1992, Paul extended an invitation to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of England to visit his teahouse. The Queen’s assistant private secretary, Sir Robin Janvrin, replied to express The Queen’s appreciation for the invitation and her regrets at not being able to come to Collegeville. Paul has a three-part routine for guests: 1. a cup of Sikkim tea (a blend from northern India) and a plate of orange slices and cookies; 2. the reading of poems brought by the visitors or supplied by their host; 3. conversation. Paul finds

that tea and poetry are a good mix for bringing out the richness of shared talk. His Nordic heritage has given Paul an appreciation for winter. He says, “Winter is the most majestic time of the year . . . the winterscapes . . . the snowdrift sculpture . . . the sun glaring on the ice. That’s why I wanted this fish house to escape to . . . Nature enlivens people. “The first word of the Rule of St. Benedict is ‘listen.’ That means to listen to what’s going on around you. You can hear things when you are quiet out in the snow on the middle of a frozen lake. You are surrounded by the inexhaustible beauty of nature which enlivens you and enriches you in millions of ways.”

Brother Paul entertains Kirsten Clark, librarian, and Carl Schlueter, Prep School religion teacher.

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FEATURE Melchior Freund, OSB, has been in charge of Saint John’s daily weather reports since 1957. photos by William Schipper, OSB

Wither the Weather? Ask Melchior Freund, OSB by Bradley Jenniges, OSB

“N

either snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays the weather observer from the careful completion of his appointed measurements.” This motto, originally descriptive of the postman, certainly applies to Father Melchior who has been recording daily weather observations at Saint John’s for the better part of the past half-century. Soon after his first profession of vows in 1951, a chance reference about cumulus humilus clouds to Landelin Robling, OSB, at that time the abbey’s weather observer, had a long-term consequence. Vitus Bucher, OSB, superior of junior monks, soon told Melchior, “I want you to help Deacon Landelin and replace him after his ordination next summer.” Melchior was in charge of the daily weather reports until his own ordination in 1957 after which he did graduate study in mathematics and astronomy. In the late 1960s he was again called upon to take over the observations “until a permanent replacement could be found.” To this day, a permanent replacement has not been found. Melchior’s many years of weather observation constitute a substantial portion of the 110-year history of continuous daily Collegeville weather measurements dating from October 12, 1892, the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ landing in the Americas.

Peter Engel, OSB, was the abbey’s first weather observer and continued even after his election as the fourth abbot of Saint John’s in 1894. When a telegraph line came to Collegeville in 1893, Saint John’s began to receive and distribute daily weather forecasts from the National Weather Service. Flags were displayed from the tower of the old science building (now Simons Hall) to signal to local farmers the expected weather. The daily weather observations at Collegeville include high and low temperatures, times when precipitation occurred as well as the 24-hour precipitation total, snowfall and snow depth on the ground plus reports of fog, glaze, ice pellets, thunder or damaging wind. As one of Minnesota’s 195 climatological stations, the Collegeville operation does not forecast the weather but simply records it. For example, our average annual precipitation is 28.66 inches. Temperature extremes range from 106 degrees to -39 degrees, both records set in 1936. Such information helps the physical plant staff determine how much storm runoff flows into our wastewater sewer

system and makes it easier for a construction crew to establish the air-conditioning and heating capacity needed for a structure. During his recuperation from a hip fracture late last year and a more recent appendectomy, Melchior has been assisted by this author. As the latter learns the loops of weather observation, his mentor continues to prepare the monthly report for the National Weather Service and keeps a watchful eye for another cumulus humilus cloud. Bradley Jenniges, OSB, is assistant chief of the Saint John’s fire department and an assistant to the corporate treasurer.

Bradley Jenniges, OSB, checks the weather instruments.

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VOCATION NEWS One of our more visible “homegrown” vocations is Brother Dietrich (Thomas) Reinhart, OSB, a 1971 graduate of Saint John’s University and now its president. This ad appears in the Saint John’s magazine.

Homegrown Vocations by Joseph Feders, OSB

have never done an official count, but I imagine that well over fifty percent of the monks of Saint John’s Abbey are homegrown vocations, nurtured in our schools or parishes. With the recent death of our confrere, Father Vernon Miller, we were reminded again of this reality during Abbot John Klassen’s Funeral Mass homily. As a young man, Vernon came to Collegeville to study for the diocesan priesthood. But after spending time with the monks, he discerned that God was calling him to monastic life. As monks tell their vocation stories, this is often the case. The personal witness of Benedictines living lives of prayer and work is the primary reason why many men seek to join the monastery. Our vocation ad campaign for the Saint John’s University alumni magazine is built on this

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truth. With the theme “For some Johnnies four years is not enough,” we hope to encourage former students to see themselves as future monks by highlighting their classmates, professors, faculty residents and mentors. The alumni magazine has three issues a year, so I am not concerned about running out of monk subjects any time soon. But as our monastic presence diminishes in our schools and parishes, I am concerned that young people will soon be missing out on the real thing. And I am not the only one with this concern. In April, 2002, nearly 1,200 delegates representing every constituency in the church in North America gathered in Montreal for the Third Continental Congress on Vocations to Ordained Ministry and Consecrated Life. A central theme of that gathering was a preferential option for the young. The participants concluded, “If the Church’s future mission in North America is to bear fruit, if ordained ministry and consecrated life are to survive as vital life-choices for a new generation of Catholics, significant financial, human

and spiritual resources need to be invested in presence to and direct pastoral work with young Catholics.” The delegates stressed the need to build a culture that nurtures the vocations of Catholic youth. What this means for each of us is pastoral activity that focuses on five actions: to pray, to evangelize, to experience, to mentor and to invite. Each of us is called to live a life of prayer—to be holy, to be converted, to worship. We are called to evangelize—to teach, to form, to catechize. We are called to experience our faith—in liturgy and prayer, in service and charity, and in witness and proclamation. We are called to mentor—to accompany, to guide, to model, to witness. Finally, we are called to invite—to discern, to choose, to commit. With God’s grace may our faithful efforts help young people discover their true call! Joseph Feders, OSB, is the vocation director of Saint John’s Abbey.

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STRENGTHENING FOUNDATIONS L. to r., Brothers Benedict Leuthner, treasurer, John Brudney, development office manager, and Bradley Jenniges, assistant treasurer, discuss the abbey’s new fiscal year. photo by William Schipper, OSB

The Financial Picture of Saint John’s Abbey by Benedict Leuthner, OSB

welcome the opportunity to give you the financial picture of Saint John’s Abbey. I will explain briefly why it is a picture of solvency, not of affluence. The monastic community is smaller than it was years ago. There were almost four hundred members in the 1950s. The community now numbers about 185 monks. Once we were yearly blessed with a dozen or more novices. Today’s novices come to us by fours or threes or ones. The community has grown older. We have more monks in their 70s, 80s and 90s. This increase in age brings a decrease of income. Caring for elderly and ailing members means a substantial increase in health and retirement costs. The level of care given the twenty-six residents of our health care facility is more personnel intensive now than it was years ago. More costly prescription drugs are needed as well as more nurses. For a long time the abbey put aside money for health care needs in anticipation of this demographic shift. But that fund is now inadequate due to the rapid increase in medical costs. Like everyone else, our investments have declined due to a recession and a bear market. For

generations the abbey has been passive in its fund raising efforts. The community was guided by the “pay our own way” principle. The abbey has decreased its lay housekeeping staff and monks are assuming these duties. Major expenditures have been reduced. The abbey’s annual grant to Saint John’s University has been reduced by $130,000 and to Saint John’s Preparatory School by $20,000. Further reductions may be necessary. Abbot John Klassen has given his assurance that financial gifts from our benefactors and funds from the university, prep school and The Liturgical Press are not and will never be used in the payment of settlements in the sexual abuse cases involving community members. Financial compensations to victims of sexual abuse by monks come rather from the labor of the abbey’s monks. Lest I give you a doom-and-gloom picture, I assure you that the abbey is not on the verge of bankruptcy. But we do need your financial help. We need to encourage our families, friends, oblates, benefactors and other associates to help us now as we plan for the future. For example, our long-time dream for the abbey guest house has not diminished.

Saint John’s Abbey continues to be blessed with a solid core of talented, generous and dedicated monks. We have every intention of continuing to pray fervently and work hard “that in all things God may be glorified.” We hope that you will stay with us and support us as we move into the new millennium.

Mr. Shaun Sommerer has resigned his position as Director of Development and External Relations for Saint John’s Abbey. He has accepted the position of Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving for the University of Michigan’s Western States Office in Pasadena, California. John Brudney, OSB, is serving as the manager of the abbey’s development office. Brother John may be contacted at 320-363-2369 or jbrudney@csbsju.edu.

Benedict Leuthner, OSB, is the corporate treasurer of Saint John’s.

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ABBEY MISSIONS The chapel of St. Augustine’s Monastery, Nassau, Bahamas, is decorated for Christmas. photo by Francisco Schulte, OSB

Christmas in Our Missions In the Bahamas by Mel Taylor, OSB

he Bahamas is a decidely Christian country. There is a church on almost every block in Nassau. The dominant denominations are Anglican and Baptist. Catholics constitute about twenty per cent of the population or a little over 45,000 people including the Haitian community. With the return of bright and balmy weather after the hurricane season, Bahamians look forward to the coming of the tourist as well as the coming of Christmas. Colored bulbs brighten some of the narrow streets while homes in the affluent sections are ablaze with lights. Thanks to the generosity of friends, the chapel of Saint Augustine’s Monastery is decorated with a crib scene, poinsettias, candles and artificial Christmas trees on which are hung sand dollars from the beach. The

Midnight Mass is a standing-room-only celebration and worshippers linger afterwards for holiday refreshments in the dining room of the monastery. The churches on the Family or Out Islands of the Bahamian archipelago celebrate Christmas as best as their limited resources allow. The Australian pine, a stringy and straggly plant, is decorated for the chapel. For many of the parishioners the ride to and from the church in the back of the parish truck driven by the pastor is a big thrill. Little sacks of candy distributed at the end of the Midnight Mass are gladly accepted not only by the children but by every adult in attendance.

town streets accompanied by the sound and rhythm of goat skin drums, clanging cowbells, shrieking whistles and loud horns. The festivities continue from four to ten in the morning. Thus do Bahamians remind tourists and themselves that “It’s Better in the Bahamas.” Mel Taylor, OSB, is the prior of Saint Augustine’s Monastery, Nassau, Bahamas.

The civil celebration of Christmas and New Year’s Day is called Junkanoo. Originating during the British colonial days of slavery when black Bahamians were free from work, Junkanoo occurs on the day after Christmas and on New Year’s Day. The celebration resembles Mardi Gras of New Orleans. Rival teams such as the Valley Boys dress up in flamboyant costumes made of colored paper. The groups march and dance through downA decorated dancer in the Junkanoo celebration of the Bahamas

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photo by Father David Cooper

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ABBEY MISSIONS In Japan by Thomas Wahl, OSB

onsidering that Christians account for less than one percent of the population of Japan, Christmas is more visible on the national scene than one would expect. It has taken its place as part of the greatest of the Japanese festivals, Shõgatsu or New Year.

At the community center of Fujimi, we monks attend a Christmas party of the International Club. NHK, the national broadcasting service, features Handel’s Messiah. A TV station may show The Ten Commandments, demonstrating both a wish to nod to Christian sensibilities and a limited understanding of just which aspect of Western religion is being commemorated by the feast. One can shop in the Fujimi J-Mart to the strains of Christmas carols. Indeed, one hears more Christmas hymns in Japanese department stores than in their American counterparts, for there are few who find the religious themes of Christmas offensive. The Westerner may be puzzled to find pine branches and bamboo stakes stand-

Pine branches and bamboo stakes at a Buddhist temple entrance greet the Shinto god of the new year. photos from Fujimi, Japan

Japanese children holding Christmas presents

ing at the entrance of a Buddhist temple to greet the Shinto god of the new year. But the Japanese are not doctrinaire on religious issues, and the more gods that have a benign attitude toward you, the better off you are. In the weeks before Christmas, Nicholas Thelen, OSB, bakes and frosts traditional brown ginger and white anise cookies. On Christmas Eve we make our way to the town church to celebrate with the parishioners. The spirited singing of the congregation honors the memory of Aloysius Michels, OSB, who, twelve years ago, assiduously practiced singing weekly with the few parishioners as the church was being restored after many years without a resident pastor. Japanese versions of traditional Western Christmas hymns and carols complement the rich repertoire of biblical chants throughout the Japanese Church. Even “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” shows up in the songfest before the service.

Parishioners and monks alike bring food for a festive meal in the church after Mass. The heavily laden tables tempt us with Philippine and Brazilian delicacies as well as traditional Japanese and Western holiday fare. On the feast itself a twenty-pound turkey, gift of friends of the monastery, is enjoyed by all. Thomas Wahl, OSB, is the newly appointed prior of Holy Trinity Benedictine Monastery, Fujimi, Japan.

A New Year’s crowd gathers at a Shinto shrine in Tokyo.

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OBITUARY “From the very start I liked St. John’s and everything about it,” Vernon wrote in his autobiographical essay as a novice. “After only a short time I was influenced by the exemplary lives of the monks and the spirit of the Opus Dei.” He entered the abbey and made his initial commitment to monastic life in 1943, pursued his seminary studies and was ordained to the priesthood in 1948.

photo by David Manahan, OSB

Vernon Thomas Miller, OSB 1921 – 2002

ith his birthday on March 21, the Feast Day of St. Benedict, it would seem that Father Vernon was destined from birth to become a Benedictine. But it took a little longer for this fourth of the five children of Peter and Mary Jane (Deviny) Miller to discover his vocational destiny. Born in Currie, a tiny town in southwestern Minnesota, Vernon barely survived bouts of pneumonia and measles when he was three years old. The Miller family moved to Iowa for a short time until the father found work as a barber in St. Cloud. St. Mary’s Grade School and Cathedral High School gave Vernon his early education. After graduation he worked as the assistant manager of a local movie theatre for two years. At Mass one morning his thoughts turned towards the priesthood. His pastor advised him to begin pre-seminary studies at Saint John’s. page 22 The Abbey Banner Winter 2002

Spending the majority of his life in parish and educational ministries, Vernon served as associate pastor of churches in Duluth and Cold Spring and as pastor of parishes in St. Paul, Detroit Lakes and Stillwater. For a dozen years he was teacher, guidance counselor and principal at St. Boniface High School in Cold Spring. In a newspaper interview while pastor of Holy Rosary Church, Detroit Lakes, Vernon revealed the focus of his pastoral ministry: “I can’t just stay in the rectory by myself. I have to be out. I really want to go to the hospital; I want to visit the nursing homes—that’s part of my ministry. I feel I have the personality so that I like people, and they respond to me. That personal contact with people I like very much.”

The Liturgy of Christian Burial was celebrated for Father Vernon on October 8 with burial in the abbey cemetery. May he rest in peace!

Remember our loved ones who have gone to their rest: Alfred Wagman, brother of Father Stephen, OSB, August 19 Rita Stalboerger, sister of Brother Gregory Eibensteiner, OSB, September 7 Mary Boos, sister of Brother Bernard Lutgen, OSB, September 24 Albert Sornsen, brother of Brother Andrew Goltz, OSB, October 4 Blanche Scribner, sister of Father Mark Schneider, OSB, October 28

Bring them and all the departed into the light of your presence, O Lord.

Abbot John Klassen, in his homily at Vernon’s funeral, called him “a gentle, faith-filled man, blessed with patience and good humor, gracious and unassuming, a good shepherd.” The onset of memory loss necessitated the retirement of this beloved confrere in 1995. Alzheimer’s disease slowly and surely invaded Vernon’s body, mind and spirit. The abbey’s nursing staff cared for him diligently and lovingly until his death on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Father Vernon kept a clean desk during his education and pastoral ministries. photo from Abbey Archives

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BANNER BITS

The Breczinski family—l. to r., Katelyn, Duane, Jenifer, Christian and Amanda photo by Robin Pierzina, OSB

Christian Breczinski, OSB, Professes First Vows

“I

promise with vows valid for three years stability in this community, conversion through a monastic way of life and obedience.” With these words Brother Christian made his public commitment to Benedictine life on September 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Christian, 26, was born to Duane and Jenifer (Hanson) Breczinski in Marshall, Minnesota. He has two younger sisters: Amanda, a current student at the College of Saint Benedict, and Katelyn, now 13. His first visit to Saint John’s came in 1987 when his father brought the family to Collegeville one afternoon. “The idea of a college set off by itself, seemingly self-sufficient, surrounded by nature made perfect sense to me,” he said. He eventually chose Saint John’s, unaware of the abbey or his own vocation to religious life. During the January term of his senior year, Christian enrolled in the Monastic Experience Program that gave him his first taste of monastic life. “It was exactly what I needed at the time: silence, prayer, work, time to quiet down and get to know God again. I was interested in

After graduating from Saint John’s in 1998, Christian pursued graduate studies for a year in biomathematics, a.k.a. ecology, at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Grace then intervened in the form of a conversation with his former roommate who said, “You should come with me to the Philippines. We’re going to start a new volunteer program there.”

suing a career in land management. Father Paul’s untimely death two weeks before Christian’s return left him for a while in the wilderness without a compass. Later that summer he contacted Joseph Feders, OSB, Director of Vocations, and began the formal discernment process that led to his entrance to the abbey as a candidate, then a novice and culminating in his first profession of vows.

In September, 1999, the two Johnnies found themselves living, praying and working at the Benedictine Monastery of the Transfiguration on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. For eight months they established rapport with local Filipinos, found work opportunities for future volunteers and shared their own gifts with their monastic hosts. Christian had ample time to reflect on his future plans, and living in a monastic environment helped to solidify his intentions for religious life.

Christian now works at Saint John’s Arboretum where he gives educational tours for local K-12th grade students and provides opportunities for university students, faculty and staff to become more aware of the natural surroundings of Saint John’s. The Arboretum recently received a grant to develop a Geographic Information System for the campus and Christian will also be devoting his time to this project.

the life but I knew it was not the right time to make that decision.”

Returning to the States in May, 2000, Christian hoped to contact Paul Schwietz, OSB, Saint John’s Land Manager and Arboretum Director, for his help in purThe Abbey Banner Winter 2002 page 23

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BANNER BITS The 176-foot Collegeville chimney was built in 1945. photo by William Schipper, OSB

Cleaning the Collegeville Chimney

he top hat, brooms and sooty face of the traditional chimney sweep are not the guise of the two men who inspected, tuck-pointed, sandblasted and banded the chimney of the Saint John’s powerhouse this past summer. But then the 176-foot Collegeville chimney, high above the Sagatagan and towering o’er the oak and pine of the abbey’s acres, is not exactly a traditional chimney. So the identifying apparatus of these two smoke stack cleaners is the safety harness and lifeline they wear. John Windolf, 41, of Payson, Illinois, and Dennis Hill, 34, of Lowell, Michigan, have worked for the Gerard Chimney Company of St. Louis, Missouri, for sixteen and twelve years respectively. Having a chance to get up in the world and traveling from place to place are the aspects of their work that appeal to them. Modern-day chimney sweeps Dennis Hill, l., and John Windolf wear safety harnesses as they climb to work. photo by Daniel Durken, OSB

The Saint John’s stack was a relatively easy assignment for these two veterans who have worked on an eight-hundredfoot chimney in Missouri and a thousandfoot stack in Georgia. John and Dennis say that working on the scaffolding they erect as they move up the stack is as simJohn, l., and Dennis secure the chimney with steel bands.

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photo by William Schipper, OSB

ple as walking on the ground. The view from such heights is often spectacular. The keys to their safety are common sense, staying hooked to the life-line and stopping work on windy days when the sway of the stack is most noticeable. Dennis once fell from a seventy-foot scaffold but his lifeline broke his fall after six feet. If Santa Claus is looking for a really clean chimney this Christmas Eve, the Collegeville one meets that requirement. But getting down the chimney will be a lot easier than getting up it—unless he calls John and Dennis.

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BANNER BITS

Graduate School Receives Generous Grants

rom a pool of over seven hundred proposals, Saint John’s School of Theology•Seminary has been selected to receive a grant of $1,970,508 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to participate in a national program called “Sustaining Pastoral Excellence.” This new effort of the Endowment will focus attention and energy on maintaining the high caliber of many of the country’s pastoral leaders. Saint John’s particular project is entitled “Cultivating a Pastoral Conversatio: A Sustainable Ecology of Ministerial Renewal.” It is a five-year program that will create opportunities for renewal through prayer and study for lay and ordained pastoral ministers in Roman

Catholic parishes in the upper Midwest. Conversatio refers to the monastic commitment to a lifelong conversion into the likeness of Jesus Christ through the discipline of prayer, work, study, contemplation, community and service. Commenting on the project, Abbot John Klassen, OSB, remarked, “The strains on priests and lay ecclesial ministers are great and growing. The need for renewal—collective as well as individual— is very real. The abbey will partner with the School of Theology•Seminary in a number of ways and respond imaginatively and substantively to the compelling challenges of ministry, vocation and the Christian life.”

Dietrich Reinhart, OSB, president of Saint John’s University, hailed the grant as “a huge vote of confidence in Saint John’s as a place of theological and spiritual renewal for pastoral ministers, both priests and laity.” The School of Theology• Seminary has also received a grant of $400,000 from the Henry Luce Foundation to fund a program in theology and art. The grant provides for a visiting professorship that will bring a nationally prominent figure who has done work in these two areas to teach for one semester in each of the four years of the grant period.

“... a huge vote of confidence in Saint John’s as a place of theological and spiritual renewal ...”

Monks Harvest Abbey Apples

eorge Primus, OSB, manager of the abbey’s orchard, reports that fifty-nine boxes of apples were picked this past fall. This total compares with the 213 boxes collected last year and is in keeping with the alternation between a bountiful year and a not so productive year.

George Primus, OSB, holds another crate of abbey apples. photos by Daniel Durken, OSB

Novice Joachim Rhoades, OSB, picks apples from the abbey orchard.

In addition to his duties as the abbey’s tailor, Brother George tends to the ninety-eight apple trees and four plum trees in the orchard south of the abbey cemetery. The variety of apples includes Harrelson, Honey Crisp, Red Prairie Spy, Red Baron, Connell Red and State Fair.

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BANNER BITS Gerard Jacobitz, OSB, teaches a theology class. photo by Andra Van Kempen

Abbey’s Scholarship Fund Helps Students

nitiated in the 2001-02 academic year, the Saint John’s Abbey Scholarship Fund continues to assist deserving students of Saint John’s University to meet their financial obligations. According to Stuart Perry, Director of Financial Aid for the university, this year’s abbey grant of a million and a half dollars has been distributed to 545 students. These need-based gift aids average $2,900. Recipients of abbey scholarships have expressed their appreciation for this assistance. A sampling of their letters of gratitude follows: “My scholarship is extremely helpful, not just because I don’t come from a wealthy background but also because in the summer of 2001 I developed a brain tumor and had to have it removed. Your grant helps offset some of the medical expenses that resulted from my ordeal.” “If it were not for your help, I would not be able to attend the university and get the fine education I receive today.”

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“I am a Nigerian international student. The scholarship has been of immense benefit to me so I don’t have to worry about funds and can concentrate on my studies.” “I come from a family where my mom doesn’t work outside the home and my dad supports six children all of whom are going through Catholic education from preschool through college. The price burden of supporting six Catholic educations in one household by one income can be large. This scholarship helps me personally and my family more than you will ever know.” “Schooling is not a very affordable investment, and scholarship funds like yours bring a great deal of joy to students like myself.” “Once again you have given me this scholarship and once again I cannot express how much I appreciate it. I pay for almost all of my needs from my own pocket. My father is currently in college, too, so he is unable to help me financially. My mother just started a new job but she is also unable to help. So I am left with my own financial difficulties and this scholarship makes a great deal of difference.”

“I am very grateful that I am receiving the abbey scholarship. I am a senior here and I love it at Saint John’s. I help bake the Johnnie bread for which we are so famous. I have made a few acquaintances with those in the abbey and they are worth every minute spent on them. Well, thanks for everything.” “Budgets are always a little bit tight, so donations such as the one you made to the school on my behalf make a world of difference in life and allow me to focus on studying and less on trying to find another job during the school year. Once again, a world of thanks for the scholarship, and I hope you are having as wonderful a school year as I am having so far.” “I enjoy going to school here very much and the financial aid from the abbey makes it possible for me to attend this school. Coming from a strong traditional Catholic background, I really enjoy having clergy on campus to associate with and learn from. Thank you so much for helping me to be here.”

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SPIRITUAL LIFE A Saint John’s winter scene photo by Fran Hoefgen, OSB

The Glory of God Among Us by Dale Launderville, OSB

n our search for God we encounter certain individuals who communicate to us a sense of God’s presence in the midst of the ordinary activities of a typical day. Such people are a dawning light whose presence is intensified by the backdrop of the ordinary. Most often this experience of the holy is subtle and quiet: a smile, a helping hand on a task, an encouraging word. The persons who inspire us by their person, example or care are fully involved in their kind actions, but there is something else about them that is unique. God’s presence shines through these individuals much like the “still, small voice” of God that the Old Testament prophet Elijah perceived at Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:12). The drama of these individuals’ lives increases as we reflect upon their words and deeds, upon the ways that they have impressed us without their knowing it. This extraordinary encounter with God in the ordinary people around us would seem to mirror in many respects the ways the people in Galilee and Jerusalem felt upon meeting Jesus. Certainly the evan-

gelist John tried to put into words the profound character of his contemporaries’ encounter with Jesus when he wrote, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus’ incarnation—his joining of heaven and earth, of the spiritual and the bodily, of the divine and the human—is a reality that continues to inspire and transform us among the saints and sinners that comprise his Body on earth. Jesus was fully divine and fully human. Jesus came to show us not only how to regain the likeness of God lost through sin but also to bring about a deeper transformation in us who receive him. He wished that our lives might be joined with his and that we might become children of God. God takes on human nature so that we may participate in the divine nature. God created us to embody and reflect God’s likeness, for “God created us in his image; in the divine image he created us” (Genesis 1:27).

The long process of recovering that tarnished likeness leads to the recognition that God quietly works wonders in the midst of his human members, under the veil of the flesh, that far exceed our wildest imaginings. Jesus often leads us to recognize him in the midst of paradoxes: joyous laughter by the curmudgeon, generosity by the miser, forgiveness by the victim. Quiet, incremental movements within a changing heart can reverberate through the whole Body of Christ to bring all members to a renewed recognition of Christ as the head. The paradox of God becoming human is a mystery within which “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). The very human children of God with whom we live bring us in the most paradoxical of ways to behold the glory of God among us. Dale Launderville, OSB, is an associate professor of theology and teaches Scripture classes in Saint John’s School of Theology•Seminary.

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Calendar of Events December 6

“Christmas at Saint John’s” Concert, 8 p.m. Great Hall. For tickets call 320-363-3577 or 320-363-5777.

March 7

Benedictine Day of Prayer, 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. For registration contact Don Tauscher, OSB, 320-363-3929 or www.sja.osb.org/slp.

Benedictine Day of Prayer, 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., “Advent: Waiting with Mary.” For registration contact Don Tauscher, OSB, 320-363-3929 or www.sja.osb.org/slp.

March 9

Lenten Oblate Day of Recollection. For information/registration contact Michael Kwatera, OSB, 320-363-2018.

March 21-23 and 28-30

“Oklahoma!” by Rogers and Hammerstein and the theatre department of Saint John’s Preparatory School. For information contact Paul-Vincent Niebauer, OSB, 320-363-3341.

December 7

“Christmas at Saint John’s” Concert, 2 p.m., Great Hall. For tickets call 320-363-3577 or 320-363-5777.

December 15

“Cantus” Concert, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., Stephen B. Humphrey Theatre. For tickets call 320-363-3577.

April 4

Benedictine Day of Prayer, 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. For registration contact Don Tauscher, OSB, 320-363-3929 or www.sja.osb.org/slp.

December 24

11:15 p.m., Christmas Concert and Midnight Mass of Christmas, Abbey Church

April 18

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion, 3 p.m. Abbey Church

January 3

Benedictine Day of Prayer, 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. For registration contact DonTauscher, OSB, 320-363-3929 or www.sja.osb.org/slp.

April 20

Easter Vigil and Mass of Easter, 9:30 p.m. Abbey Church

January 6-8

Monastic Community Workshop: “Healthy in Mind, Body and Spirit”

Abbey Prayer Time

January 19

Seventh Annual Ecumenical HymnFest, Abbey Church, 2 p.m.

February 5-12

Monastic Explorer Week -- For single Catholic men, ages 21-40. For information call 320-363-2548.

Guests are always welcome to join the monks for daily prayers and Eucharist. Please come up to the choir stalls on the west side of the altar, and a monk will help you. Seating for Sunday Eucharist is in the main body of the church.

February 7

Benedictine Day of Prayer, 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. For registration contact Don Tauscher, OSB, 320-363-3929 or www.sja.osb.org/slp.

February 15

Grand Tour of Nations, banquet and silent auction, 6 p.m., Great Hall, sponsored by Saint John’s Preparatory School

7:00 a.m. Noon 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m.

Morning Prayer Midday Prayer Weekday Eucharist Evening Prayer Compline (Sunday through Friday)

Saturday Eucharist is at 11:30 a.m. Sunday Eucharist is at 10:30 a.m. and Evening Prayer is at 5:00 p.m.

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