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SUMMER 2010

KANSAS MONKS

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Abbot Barnabas Senecal -“Shooting pictures is a joyful experience for me.”

From the Abbot (3) | Abbey Notes (23)

Features:

Publisher: Abbot Barnabas Senecal, O.S.B., bsenecal@kansasmonks.org

Editor: Dan Madden, dmadden@kansasmonks.org

Art Direction: J.D. Benning, jbenning@kansasmonks.org

Photography:Dan Madden (cover), JD Benning, Abbot Barnabas Senecal

Kansas Monks magazine is published by the Office of Development. For a free subscription: 913.360.7906, or development@kansasmonks.org.

Abbot Owen Purcell -“It’s all a day at a time.”

Marked by a Sign of Faith (20)

Father Daniel McCarthy -“The liturgy nourishes us all along the process of our human maturation.”

A Grateful Response (21)

Father Gabriel Landis - “Christ, risen in glory, gives continual thanks to his Father.”

From the Desert (16)

Nathan Byrne - “I’ve known Dan Madden for many years, its nice to see he’s finally learned obedience.”

Comforting Shade (12)

Father Michael Santa - “‘Sanctus Benedictus’ was a kind of generic name, much as identifying Abraham Lincoln as “Honest Abe.”

Sanctus Benedictus (19)

contributing writers:

Brother John Peto -“A Christian is known by his happiness in the Lord!”

Oblates (19)

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Abbey NOteS23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

From the Desert

05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20 . . .a Grateful Response

liturgy & the life of the church

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OblatesMarked with the sign of Faithc

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17 . . . . . . clothed with faithGod’s Will In Our Lives

Father Meinrad Miller -“Pray for vocations to St. Benedict’s Abbey.”

Clothed With Faith (17)

Father Bruce Swift -“Listen to the voice of the Lord.”

In a Word (5)

Sandy Fitzmaurice -“It couldn’t have been any nicer.”

Benedictine Hospitality (4)

BENEDICTINE Hospitality ...4True Benedictine Hospitality greets five visitors from Germany searching for Bishop Fink. What had started as a frantic phone call turns into a perfect day.

Gathered for their annual retreat, the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey posed for photographs. Find your favorite monk, or order a print.

A new book from the Abbey invites readers to slow down, breathe and listen to St. Benedict’s message of joy, beauty and peace.

Hospitality and brotherhood distinguished June’s ordination Mass, as Father Jeremy welcomed Brother Cassiano to celebrate with him.

“Saint Benedict” is just a name of holiness applied to a man we know very little about. More research is needed, says Father Michael Santa.

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Sanctus benedictus...19

12 . . . . . . . . Comforting Shade

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SUMMER 2010

Shooting pictures is a joyful experience for me, as it is for many. We see unique things around us. Sometimes we see a moment of beauty, in faces and places, and by good fortune have our camera near. We capture what we see and share it with friends.

Elizabeth Zeller, a Kansas City artist, and Father Blaine Schultz have encouraged me to exhibit my photos in the Abbey Art Gallery.

Our Development Office has produced a calendar in full color, featuring twelve of my pictures and writings already published in Celebration, a monthly ecumenical liturgical aide.

Photos might become the basis of a homily, such as this given to the Benedictine Sisters one morning in May. The annual Maur Hill Mount Academy Bob Goalby golf event is held at Sunflower Hills Golf Course near Bonner Springs. The shots I took were with a camera rather than clubs. One such shot was of two geese walk-ing toward a pond. I followed them and shot as the pair entered the water and began their graceful movement toward the other shore.

+ + +“On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer. We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there. One of them, a woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,” and she prevailed on us. Acts: 13-15

Water is a fascinating reality. For some the water’s edge becomes a place of prayer. The disciples with Paul went to a place along the river where they thought there would be a place of prayer. They sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.

Water creates a moment of invitation. Lydia felt her heart open to pay attention to what Paul was saying. As Lydia was receptive, so was her household.

Water creates a moment of initiation. Lydia and her household were baptized, perhaps entering the water in great calm.

Another invitation followed, from Lydia, that Paul’s entourage stay at Lydia’s home. There, too, there would be great calm.

The Gospel reading is a different setting. It is one filled with

contention, even to the point of facing death. The water of hatred is stirred.

“If I had not done works among them that no one else ever did, they would not have sin; but as it is, they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But in order that the word written in their law might be fulfilled, ‘They hated me without cause,’ I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.“ John 15:24-16:4Those who are willing to kill Jesus’ disciples are stirred because

their sense of salvation, arising from following the code, is chal-lenged. They know not the person who is God.

They will enter into the deep of conversion only when they accept love of another as their standard. Love can present difficul-ties, but the water of baptism gives us buoyancy which protects one from harm and keeps one afloat during stormy times.

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Some photos have become greeting cards. During a visit to our monastery in Brazil, I saw a small animal perched in a flower; this caught my eye. I wrote this four-verse reflection on Monastic Mindfulness. It speaks of my own photographic philosophy. We capture what we see and yet leave it as we saw it. We possess it, and yet we don’t really.

In a flower bed, along a walk, after an afternoon shower, a grasshopper finds food and water in a balance of purple flower. A quick camera shot, up close, holds that beauty before me, helps me to have and yet to leave, that beauty intact. I don’t own such beauty, no one does; it is the Creator’s forever, and mine for now, and I share it with you. Find balance in what you see and do and think, share, preserve, nurture, live in harmony with all that is, know yourself that way. For the little grasshopper in the flower there was opportunity

to be fed and to be warmed. It balanced itself and felt protected. In life we are like that. We find places and tasks that give us protec-tion and meaning. We balance ourselves midst the duties and opportunities that are ours. Photography gives us those moments of reflection, and we can prolong those moments because of the photograph. May our lives be enriched by what we see. We take in what we see, reflect on it, and make it your own.

From the AbbotPhotos Inspire Homilies, Calendars and Cards

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by Sandy FitzmauriceI have known many Benedictine monks since I moved to Atchi-

son in 1970 and no matter what was going on in my life, there has always been one at the right place and at the right time to turn my life around. That is what happened on a Saturday morning in May 2009.

It had been a busy week and I had been up late every night so I looked forward to sleeping in on Saturday. Well it didn’t happen. A little after 7 a.m. the phone rang and a very frantic cousin was on the other end. Now mind you, I was far from awake so everything he said about the German Fink cousins being in town and wanting to come to the Abbey went right over my head. He said that they would be at the Abbey around 10 a.m. and wanted a tour. I said okay, hung up and rolled back over to sleep. As I lay there I thought, “What the heck was Leo talking about? German cousins? He’s got to be kidding.”

I have researched the Fink side of my family for years. My grandma and I use to visit all of the great uncles and aunts and I pounded them for infor-mation. My cousin Leo Fink is also interested in the history, so we share info back and forth. So the more I thought about what he said on the phone the more excited I got. But then excitement turned to panic. How was I going to get a tour on such short notice? This is the week-end; most of the monks are out of town in parishes and on other assignments.

The first thing I did was call Leo back to make sure that I hadn’t dreamt the whole thing. He said the German family showed up in Leaven-worth at Immaculate Conception Church looking for Bishop Fink’s grave on Friday night. The priest contacted Leo and his wife Toni who had been entertaining them ever since. It would have all been easier if they all spoke English, but who cared, they were family. We would work it out. We were getting to meet Josef Fink, his wife, Theresa, their son Josef, (Sepp) Jr, Theresa’s brother, Wolfgang, and his wife Maria.

My next step was to call the Abbey to see if I could get anything set up and if it hadn’t been for our switchboard operator, Marlene Bowers, I probably would still be working on this. She connected me with Abbot Barnabas. I explained my dilemma and asked if he would have time to meet them and maybe take a picture or two–15 to 20 minutes tops. Marlene then contacted porter and jack of all trades, Brother Joseph, and he agreed to guide a short tour, so I thought, great everything was set.

As I drove onto campus that morning, I thought, “okay we can do this.” When we walked through the front door of the guest house Marlene called for the Abbot. The rest is a bit of a blur. He came around the corner with his wonderful smile, his trusty camera and everyone instantly felt at home. After the introductions he asked if he could take some pictures. Brother Joseph had to leave so the Abbot said he would do the tour. As we headed down the sidewalk toward the church, Prior James Albers appeared out of nowhere with his special smile and some unexpected German words. Another round of introductions and we were off to the church.

Prior James was in command now and I was in awe. He made them feel so much at home, taking extra care to make sure they under-stood what he was saying. We then left the church; we passed some

photographs and they spotted one of a young Bishop Fink complete with full beard. I guess they had never seen that picture because they were very excited. The Prior took them to the Chapter Room to see more photos of our famous ancestor. Then outdoors and down the hill to Bishop Fink Hall which houses depart-ments for the college. After that and a visit to St. Benedict’s Church, Father James had us up the hill or Mass and Midday Prayer.

Father Meinrad who was the celebrant that day must have had little angels dancing in his head because he announced that the Abbey had special guests from Germany who were related to Bishop

Fink and told of the good deeds that Bishop Fink did in his day. I’m not sure what the family understood, but their smiles said they recog-nized the many times Bishop Fink’s name was mentioned.

After Mass we were all invited to lunch. By this time Sister Marie Louise from the Mount had joined us. She could understand German. The Abbot and his camera rejoined us. This time he was taking a picture of a picture of the home place where Bishop Fink was born and raised. Josef and family still live on that same farm.

What had started as a frantic phone call turned into a perfect day. A 30-minute tour turned into a 3-hour visit.

It was sad when it was over. We all hugged, cried and said our goodbyes. They were so grateful and I think a little shocked at the hospitality they received from total strangers. As for me, well, I should have known better. No matter what, St. Benedict’s Abbey has always been there for so many of us in good times and in bad. I’m just grateful that this was a good time.

BENEDICTINE HospitalityI shouldn’t have been surprised

Relatives of Bishop Louis Mary Fink came from Germany seeking traces of their ancestor and got the grand treatment from the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey. Left to right: Maria Hornaner, Wolfgang Hornaner, Theresa Fink, Josef Fink, Josef Fink Jr. and Abbot Barnabas Senecal.

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The following homily was delivered by Father Bruce Swift during monastic retreat celbrating ordinations.

Fifty years ago last May 26 Arch-bishop Edward J. Hunkeler placed his hands on the heads of seven young monks, ordaining them as priests. Just this past Saturday, Archbishop Joseph Naumann placed his hands on the head of another young monk, Brother Jeremy Heppler, ordaining him a priest.

What happened when bishops have placed their hands on us since the time of Christ, ordaining us as priests? We processed into this church not as priests, but processed out as priests. When we came in we had practiced celebrating Mass, taking an unconsecrated host into our hands, saying the words, this is my body (in Latin, hoc est enim corpus meum, when we were ordained). When we consumed that host all we ate was a piece of fried paste. After ordination an ontologi-cal change took place and when we pronounced those same words with the bishop on ordination day and all days afterwards that piece of fried paste became the body, blood, and divinity of Jesus Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI, who inaugurated the past year as the Year for Priests, has held St. John Vianney as a model for priests.

What can we learn from St. John Vianney? He was not very bright. He was slow to understand ideas and had a poor memory. He was older than the rest of his classmates and they sometimes made fun of him. His formation directors, instructors in the seminary and his own bishop had very serious doubts that this man, who did not have strong intellectual gifts, would be suitable for priesthood. He flunked out of the seminary, but his parish priest knew him to be a holy man and privately tutored him until he eventually passed his exams. After his ordination his superiors allowed him to celebrate Mass, but would not give him faculties to hear confessions. Again his pastor stepped in to tutor him and the bishop reluctantly gave him faculties to hear confessions. This may be legend, but it is said that during his examination by the faculty and bishop, as they sighed in disgust, John looked at them and said, “if Samson could slay 1,000 Philistines with the jaw bone of an ass, think what God could do with a complete ass.” Then the bishop, acting on his estimation of this new priest as a man of few gifts, sent him to the most remote, backwater

village of his diocese; the village of Ars. We know what happened there. He became one of the greatest confessors the Church has ever known.

John was a simple and holy man. He proved to cynics and skep-tics alike that God’s supernatural wisdom and power is able to work wonders. It is the humble heart, open to the power of the Spirit that leads people to God. It is not what dazzles, what impresses and leads people to emotional highs – it’s the presence of the Spirit in quiet, unseen ways that bears genuine fruit.

I read somewhere the future Pope Benedict told of a priest in a large German city whose vocation was inspired by a priest who had no noticeable gifts. He writes this man was a hopeless preacher, a dreadful singer, and so on, and yet under his care the parish blos-somed. In the end four or five priestly vocations were awakened in this parish, something that happened neither under his predecessor nor under his successor, both of whom were far more capable.

From what I’ve read John’s sermons were short and simple. When speaking of Holy Orders he says, “Go to confession to the Blessed Virgin, or to an angel; will they absolve you? No. Will they give you the Body and Blood of Our Lord? No. The Holy Virgin cannot make her Divine Son descend into the Host. You might have two hundred angels there, but they could not absolve you. A priest, however simple he may be, can do it. Oh, how great is a priest! If he understood himself he would die, not of fear, but of love. He will not understand the greatness of his office till he is in Heaven.”

It all goes back to this: to what extent does the priest image the holiness of Christ and radiate his joy? To what extent are God’s people able to see in the priest that Christ lives in him, that the priest no longer lives?

The priest recognizes with St. Paul that what he does as faithful stew-ard is really very little. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God causes the growth. Therefore neither the one who plants, nor the one who waters, is anything but only God who causes the growth.”

Benedict XVI says a priest should show uncon-

ditional love, be full of joy and open to all. In living for the benefit of his flock, the priest-shepherd must dedicate himself totally, often going against the current, and remembering that he who is big must act like the smallest, and he who governs must act like the servant. Leading others does not mean domination but is rather illustrated in the humble act of Jesus Christ’s washing of the feet of the apos-tles. When I was at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif., on sabbatical one of the presenters suggested to us 40 priests that if we had an extra $1.69 we should go to Wal-Mart and purchase a towel to put on our bulletin board as a reminder that a priest is a foot washer.

What is a priest then? He is a shepherd leading God’s people by his example more than by his words. He is an instrument in the hand of God, the master of the vineyard who directs all human effort. He is a man ordained to continue the Savior’s work of Redemption until the end of time.

photos by JD Benning

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Father Jeremy Promises obedience to the bishop and his religious superior during his ordination on June 5, 2010.

What is a Priest?

photo by JD Benning

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The monks gather each June for their annual retreat and community meetings. Monks on mission are welcomed back to the monastery by their confreres. This year Father Xavier Nacke, director of spiritual formation at Conception Seminary College, led the retreat. It was also an opportunity to update the portraits of the monks. Kansas Monks shares the new portraits with you, our friends and benefactors, on the following pages. To order a free digital portrait of a monk, please contact the Office of Development at development@kansasmonks.org. To order a printed portrait shipped to your home, either send an e-mail or phone 913-360-7906.

Monks in Brazil not pictured are: Brother Atilio Malta, Brother Carlos Noguiera Fiho, Brother Diego Neves Oliveira, Brother Jack-son Pereira Gomes, Father Joaquim Carlos Carvalho, Father Josias Dias Da Costa, Brother Gabriel Ribeiros, Father Rodrigo Perissihoto, Father Vinícius de Queroz Rezende; and in Atchison: Father Kieran McInerney.

Father Bertrand LaNoue

Father Bruce Swift

Abbot Barnabas Senecal Bishop Herbert Hermes

Father Ignatius Smith

Prior James Albers

tHe MONKS Of SAiNt beNedict’S Abbey

Abbot Owen Purcell Abbot Ralph Koehler

Father Meinrad Miller Father Maurice Haefling

Father Louis Kirby Father Camillus Wurtz

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Father Aaron Peters

Father Albert HauserBrother Anthony Vorwerk

Father Benjamin Tremmel

Father Blaine Schultz

Father Duane Roy

Father Denis Meade Father Donald RedmondFather Gerard Senecal

Father Hugh Keefer

Father Jude Burbach

Father Roderic Giller

Father Paul Steingreaber Father Matthew Habiger

Father Michael Zoellner +Brother Martin Burkhard

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Father Marion Charboneau

Father Michael Santa

Brother Peter Karasz Brother Simon Baker

Brother Ulrich HenningsgaardBrother Christopher Start

Father Daniel McCarthy

Father Jeremy Heppler

Brother John Peto

Brother Joseph Ryan

Father Justin Dean

Brother Lawrence Bradford

Brother Leven Harton

Father Brendan Rolling Father Gabriel Landis

+As Kansas Monks went to press, Brother Martin Burkhardt passed away. For more on Brother Martin see Kansasmonks.org and the next issue of Kansas Monks.

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SUMMER 2010J o i n e d i n S C h o l a r S h i p

J o i n e d i n brotherhood

J o i n e d i n chr i s t

photos by Dan Madden

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Story and Photos by Dan MaddenJoined as in scholarship, brotherhood and hospitality, two young

monks stood before one bishop to give themselves to Christ in ordi-nation.

Brother Jeremy Heppler, a monk of St. Benedict’s Abbey and native of the prairie city of Wichita, Kan., the day of his ordination to the priesthood, stood beside his fellow theology student, Brother Cassiano Magalhães de Souza, a young monk of the Abbey of Our Lady of Assumption of São Bento Monastery in the mighty metropo-lis of São Paulo, Brazil, one of the world’s largest cities.

Brother Cassiano, a candidate for ordination to the transitional diaconate whose abbot wished him to be ordained in the United States, had merely mentioned the fact to the amiable Kansas monk who studied a year ahead of him at St. Vincent Archabbey Seminary in Latrobe, Penn., and Brother Jeremy was on the telephone. Permis-sion came quickly from Abbot Barnabas Senecal at St. Benedict’s and soon thereafter from Archbishop Joseph Naumann. The unique joint ordination was soon set for June 5.

For Brother Jeremy the idea of sharing his ordination with Brother Cassiano didn’t take away from the celebration but rather enhanced and expanded it.

“My heart leapt at the idea,” he said. “This was a natural fit. Of course there was our natural connection with Brazil. We have a priory there. But there is also a strong international flavor at St. Vincent. I knew Abbot Barnabas and our community and Archbishop Naumann would welcome this opportunity to celebrate the universality of the Church.”

Brother Cassiano, who came to St. Benedict’s Abbey three weeks before the ordination to get to know the community he would be celebrating with, was effusive with his gratitude.

“Even though he invited me, I was worried,” he said, “I told him, ‘It is your day, your family.’ But he said, ‘I invited you. You didn’t ask.’ I don’t know how to thank him. My abbot says he is amazing for doing this.”

Archbishop Naumann blended to the two ordination rituals seam-lessly.

“Brother Cassiano and Brother Jeremy, you began your lives thousands of miles apart, but were united intimately many years ago though the waters of baptism becoming brothers in Jesus Christ,” he said. “You were bound even more closely by your solemn profession as monks of the Order of St. Benedict. Today you become connected in another unique and beautiful way as you are ordained respectively

as deacon and as priest in this same Ordination Liturgy.”Though separated most of their lives the two men have

had the same “life of Christ flowing through their souls,” the Archbishop said. “You have answered the Lord’s call to come and follow him as Monks living the ancient Rule of St. Bene-dict. You now offer your lives again to serve your respective abbeys as well as the broader Church as ordained ministers, preaching the Gospel and administering the sacraments.”

The ordination Mass included a Brazilian custom in which the families of the two men presented them with the vestments of their ministry.

“This beautiful tradition makes clear symbolically that you present yourselves for ordination having been clothed by the faith of your families – particularly your parents who have been your first and most influential teachers of the faith,” the Archbishop said. “Family and friends have been the human instruments that God has used to form you and clothe you in the virtues and talents that you will need to serve your commu-nities and the people of God as ordained ministers.”

For the freshly ordained Father Jeremy the symbolism was striking. He recalls the night he was first encouraged toward the priesthood.

“I was working as a director of religious education and a man who was very active in our Knights of Columbus walked into my office,” he recalls. “I can remember it like a photo-graph. It was a cold winter night. He took off his gray hat and stuck it over his heart and said, I think you would be a good priest. I thanked him and he walked out. Since that moment, priesthood has seemed a natural fit to me. And God has used many more people along the way to guide me.”

Father Jeremy, who also taught high school along with his work as a director of religious education in a parish before coming to the monastery, will teach and serve as chaplain at Maur Hill-Mount Academy, a Catholic college-preparatory school in Atchison sponsored by the monks and the sisters of Mount St. Scholastica. Brother Cassiano will return to his theology studies at St. Vincent.

OrdiNAtiON A celebrAtiON Of HOSpitAlity, diverSity

Archbishop Joseph Naumann lays hands on Brother Jeremy Heppler at his ordination to the priesthood, as Brother Ulrich Henningsgaard looks on.

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A message from Father Jeremy and Brother Cassiano:

In Thanksgiving……to Almighty God who has called us to serve Him as priest and deacon and through a monastic way of life.…to Mary the Mother of God, our holy father St. Benedict, Saint Boniface, Saint John Vianney, and all the angels and saints for their example of seeking God whole heartedly and for their intercession.…to Father Abbots Barnabas Senecal and Matthias Tolentino Braga, and the monastic communities of Saint Benedict’s Abbey and Mosteiro de São Bento de São Paulo for their guidance, fellowship, and love.…to Archbishop Joseph Naumann, for his presence at our ordination, and for his shepherding of God’s people.…to our families, especially our parents and brothers, for their constant prayerful support and example of loving generosity.…to all who have played a special role in our formation, especially our monastic, spiritual and human formation directors, Father Jude Brady, the faculty and staff of St. Vincent Seminary, and the monks of St. Vincent Archabbey. …to those who assisted in the preparation of our ordination, especially Prior James Robert Albers, Father Maurice Haefling, the Abbey kitchen staff, the BC Events and catering staffs, the Abbey Development Staff, Brother Joseph Ryan, Father Blaine Schultz and the monastic schola, the Knights of Columbus Honor Guard, and all who assisted with the liturgy. …to all the priests who have helped to form us into the men we are today. …to our friends who have blessed us with their love and prayers.…to all those who have prayed for us.

Shalom

Discovering KansasUpon his arrival in Kansas, Brother Cassiano Magalhães de Souza looked

out and saw more grass than he’d ever seen in his entire life growing up in São Paulo, Brazil.

However, it wasn’t the famed prairie grasslands he was gazing upon. It was the small patch of lawn between the St. Benedict’s Abbey’s guest house and the parking lot.

Brother Cassiano, a monk of of Our Lady of Assumption of São Bento Monastery in São Paulo, came to Kansas to be ordained to the transitional diaconate by Archbishop Joseph Naumann. He and then Brother Jeremy Heppler of St. Benedict’s Abbey were enrolled in theology studies together at St. Vincent’s Archabbey Seminary in Latrobe, Penn. When Brother Cassiano’s abbot wished for him to be ordained in the United States, Brother Jeremy offered to share his priesthood ordination day with his fellow student.

Brother Cassiano, who grew up almost exclusively on the hard concrete of one of the world’s four largest cities, came to Atchison three weeks before the ordination to get to know the community he would be celebrating with. And like any good monk he offered to chip in with the work of the monastery. That’s when Brother Leven Harton and Brother Simon Baker introduced him to a strange contraption they called a “weed whacker,” which Brother Cassiano pronounced with a hint of an “h,” and a bemused grin, kind of like, “wheed whackher!”

He candidly admitted that was where the fun ended. “It was nice when it started,” he said. “I started at 1:15, and Brother Leven

came back at three. I hoped he would say, ‘You can stop.’ My arms cannot hold this thing anymore. But he said, Only 45 more minutes. The next day I did not go back to the weed whacker.”

Instead, Brother Anthony suggested he drive the tractor, another first for the urban monk.

“That was much better,” Brother Cassiano said, “even though Brother Anthony said I was driving too slow.”

Brother Cassiano rode in a car to Topeka and again to Omaha, staring in awe at so much wide open space.

“No buildings, no traffic, to be honest it is a little bit scary,” he said. “I don’t know if I could survive here.”

The next lawn implement was a lawn mower, which he tentatively pushed back and forth, as he had been instructed.

But nature interrupted.“I almost gave up when I saw the snake,” he said with a laugh.It was a black snake, about four feet long, crawling out of a basement

window near where Brother Cassiano was mowing. When Brother Joseph Ryan called him over to see, he was torn between fear and curiosity. Haltingly, he inched forward with his camera, snapping photographs and jumping convulsively every time the snake lifted its head, which to the young monk appeared to be the size of a mailbox.

But no snake could intimidate Brother Cassiano like his other nemesis of the heartland.

“Today I am going back to help again,” he said of his work schedule outdoors with the monks.

“But no wheed whackher!” he insisted, shaking his head.

KANSAS MONKS

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The ‘comforTing shade of monasTicism’a new book from The abbey shares benedicT’s message of Peace

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The Rule of St. Benedict may have been writ-ten 1,500 years ago, but its application, its meaning and its purpose remain the same.

“The Rule of St. Benedict contains wisdom that is timeless and as applicable to the 21st Century as it was to the Sixth,” said Father Blaine Schultz. “With its stress on the importance of fidelity, community, stability, conversion and other values today’s world needs to defend and promote.”

In Dan Madden’s book, Incline the Ear of Your Heart, he says this of the Rule:

“Its simplicity, yearning and humility has had much to offer people for centuries. Its Prologue bursts with promise, optimism and expectation. This document, written by a gentle but practical abbot, remains as relevant today as ever. If only–and herein lies the entire challenge, and in the 21st Century, the problem–one is willing to listen with humility.”

“St. Benedict wrote his ‘little rule’ for monks,” said Father Maurice Haefling. “However, his Rule offers to all people a guide for living with one another in community life, a value system filled with the appreciation for the other persons in our lives rather than one centered on self-interest.”

Book’s message: Slow down, listenby Nathan Byrne

Most times, you’ll find Dan Madden in flip-flops and comfortable, casual clothing.

The word, ‘obedience,’ doesn’t come to mind.“It sounded awful,” Madden said, describing how he felt

about that word as a kid growing up in Northwest Missouri. “I’d had more than my fill of obedience from my parents and teachers.”

Madden’s understanding of the word the second time around would prove to be a different experience; one in which he would learn a new way to listen.

Listeningwithhumility

Seeking progressnot perfection

Dan Madden has worked alongside Benedictines for more than 10 years: seven at Conception Abbey in Conception, Mo. and three-and-a-half at St. Benedict’s Abbey.

Their habits rubbed off on him.“I’m no Benedictine,” he said. “But I try to remember to

start each day fresh, as another chance to get it right.”Listening with humility led Madden to start writing Incline

the Ear of Your Heart.The idea came up about a year ago, thanks to the urging

of Kansas Monks art director J.D. Benning, a Benedictine

College graduate, who designed the book and took most of the photographs.

“I’d written a series of articles last year for Kansas Monks magazine on the vows that the monks profess.

I decided to expand on that and delve deeper into Benedictine life,” Madden said. “This book is an expression of gratitude to all the Benedictine monks and sisters who have befriended me over those years.”

Mary Asher, a Benedictine College graduate who now works in the school’s administrative offices, has also been around Benedictines her entire life.

“I see first-hand how they live their lives based on the Rule of St. Benedict,” said Asher. “The author of this book has

Humility is...fresh air, a bent back and soiled hands.

Dan Madden

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SUMMER 2010depicted the Monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey in a clearly respectful, true-to-life, and heartfelt manner.”

Madden believes the Benedictine life is to be treasured. The combination of his words and Benning’s photography encapsulates an experience that not every-one has had, but one we can all unlock.

“My favorite thing about this book is its striking beauty—in picture and in word,” Asher said. “It is truly a work of art.”

Both laypeople and Benedictines have given high praise to the work.“I think that Dan wrote his book in an attempt to share with others what he

has experienced in his own lifetime as he has been living under the comforting shade, as it were, of the ever-present tree of monasticism,” said Father Maurice Haefling. “Monasteries and monks have been close at hand and have been a natu-ral part of his life. And now he has found the opportunity to put into writing his understanding of those Benedictine values he has come to appreciate so much.”

We often move in lock-step with those around us, sometimes even blindly. Therefore, the path we follow determines the acquisition of vision.

“I can definitely say I’m better at it than I would be if I weren’t around a monastery each day,” remarked Madden about accepting people, places and things as they are, as the Benedictines strive to do. “The monastic schedule, built around prayer, encourages one to live in the moment, to slow down.”

The book, a quick and easy–yet still rewarding and beneficial–read, could also help many decelerate, recognize and recharge.After reading this book, the layperson will come away with a better understanding and appreciation of the history of St. Benedict’s Abbey

and of the Monks who live there,” said Asher. “Those who read the book and are unfamiliar with St. Benedict’s Abbey might be inclined to come and experience what is depicted in this book.”

Even if readers don’t go near a monastery for a long period of time, or ever, Madden hopes they still take something special from the book.

“It is good to know that the monks or the sisters who live there are going about their lives, gathering to lift the rest of us to God in prayer each day,” he said.

Peaceby way of obedience

Dan Madden eventually came to recognize obedience as a comforting, liberating idea, rather than the oppressive, restrictive vision evoked by the word in his childhood. As an adult, out in the world, facing the stresses and challenges of life, he finally found out what obedience really means.

“It means letting go of the idea that you have to control everything in your life. It means you don’t have to face life’s burdens alone. It means, whether you are in a monastery, a family or a community of any kind, that you put others first and that that they do the same for you,” he said. “But most of all, it means that you let go of your own will and follow God’s will in your life. It takes a lot of trust, but when you get it down, it allows you to sleep and breathe easier.”

Incline the Ear of Your Heart is available for $22.95 at the Abbey Gift Shop or by contacting the Abbey Office of Development at 913-360-7906 or development@kansasmonks.org. It is also available at the following bookstores and gift shops: I Donnelly, Kansas City, Mo.; Trinity House, Overland Park; Blessings in St. Joseph, and the Gift Shop at Conception Abbey.

Editor’s Note: Nathan Byrne is an anchor for KQ2 television’s Live at 5 in St. Joseph, Mo.

Motto of the Order of Saint Benedict. A blessing from God. A goal toward which to strive. A source of great beauty. Order amid chaos. Reconciliation after conflict.

Peace

JD Benning

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I know the title of this column might be a startling claim, but I will explain. Back in 1995 I was going through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) at the Newman Center

located at Wichita State University. Father James Conley, now Bishop Conley was giving a homily on “Redemptive or Salvific Suffering.” I had never heard of such a thing! Of doctrines of the Catholic Church this one caught me off-guard the most. I sat there, thinking, “Hey wait a minute. I never heard of this as a Protestant! What did I get myself into by desiring to become Catholic? Is what Father Conley saying true? My own pain and suffering can save souls?” It soon came to be one of the most meaningful tenants , for me, of the Catholic Faith: Christ gave meaning to human suffer-ing. Christ gave meaning to my own pain and suffering!

This tenant is so important to me that my favorite encyclical of Pope John Paul II is Salvifici Doloris, or “On The Meaning of Christian Suffering.” Pope John Paul II wrote, “Christ causes us to enter into the mystery [of suffer-ing] and to discover the ‘why’ of suffering, as far as we are capable of grasping the sublimity of divine love” [SD 12].

There are two ways we can react to pain or suffering. Poet and playwright Franz Werfel wrote, “Sickness invites us to heaven or to hell.” We can freely choose to be bitter, selfish, and angry, which only makes our suffering worse—that is hell. Or we can freely choose suffering as a gift. When we suffer or are in pain, we can use it to reveal to our soul our “true self.” To under-stand the mystery of who we truly are. As I often like to say, pain and suffering can draw us into our Interior Desert.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen put it this way: “Every man is like an onion. His superficial self has many layers of skins, and at the center of them all is his real self. One of the reasons why so few know God is because they do not know themselves. They live in a world of make-believe where nothing is real, and thus miss the Ground of all Reality.” Thus by entering into this mystery of suffer-ing, we learn to see our “true self” and then, as Pope John Paul II wrote, grasp “the sublimity of divine love.” It can lead us to heaven.

We can use our pain and suffering as gifts to Christ. Saint Paul teaches us in Colossians 1:24, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church.”

Saint Paul is not teaching that the suffering of Christ was insufficient. Pope John Paul II asks, “Does this mean that the Redemption achieved by Christ is not complete? No. It only means that the Redemption, accomplished through satis-factory love, remains always open to all love expressed in human suffering. In this dimension—the dimension of love—the Redemption which has already been completely

accomplished is, in a certain sense, constantly being accomplished. Christ achieved the Redemption completely and to the very limits but at the same time he did not bring it to a close. In this redemp-

tive suffering, through which the Redemption of the world was accomplished, Christ opened himself from the beginning to every human suffering and constantly does so. Yes, it seems to be part of the very essence of Christ’s redemptive suffering that this suffering demands to be unceasingly completed” (SD 24).

When we suffer, be it a tiny splinter in our finger, or fighting a serious illness, grief, or dealing with the normal pains and aches that comes with growing older, we can offer them up to Jesus in two ways. Suffering and pain can be used for expiation for our sins, or reparation for the sins of others.

An example of expiation would be like a boy who hit a baseball and accidently broke a neighbor’s window. Any parent would say, “Take your own money you’ve been saving up and pay for the window. And then also ask for forgiveness from your neighbor.”

So, too, when we suffer we can say a simple prayer like, “Jesus, take this suffering for the expiation of my sins that have offended you.”

Offering up our sufferings for others is reparation. This is what Our Lady of Fatima asked the three children, Saints Lucia, Fran-cisco and Jacinta, to do. She asked them “Are you willing to suffer for the salvation of souls?” They responded “Yes” to Our Lady. This is the lesson of Fatima, to offer penance, including our suffer-ing, for either expiation or reparation. A prayer as simple as “Jesus, I offer up my suffering for souls in purgatory.” Or “Jesus, I offer up my suffering for the salvation of those whom no one loves, or for those who have no one to pray for them, for those whose sins have offended you.”

Our sufferings should not go to waste. In His Divine Plan, God allows suffering to come our way. Let us offer it back up to him as a gift. Let us help build the Body of Christ—the Church. Let us mint coinage for our own salvation and the salvation of the world.

Father Gabriel Landis

Christ on the Cross is the ultimate example of suffering for salvation.

From The DesertSuffering is a gift

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SUMMER 2010

This July 10 will mark the 25th anniversary of my receiving the habit and beginning my life as a monk here. The greatest attraction of the Abbey for me was the common life: Mass, prayer, fellowship, and the work of the Apostolate. In my case, in addition to teaching religion at Maur Hill-Mount Academy for two years, the rest of my life’s work as a monk has been given over to my continued ministry at Benedictine College.

According to St. Benedict, in the first chapter of his Rule, in choosing to live as a Cenobite I have chosen to live the life of the most valiant kind of monk. The word Cenobite is the Latin word for one who lives the life of the Koinonia, or communion, fellow-ship, participation. The life of the Holy Trinity lives in me and moves me to love my brothers and all I meet. The practical way of doing this, according to St. Benedict, is to live together under an abbot and a rule.

Like any vocation, perseverance in the monastic life takes work. It involves dealing with many personalities. Often it is my own thoughts that cause the most problems. The early monks, Evagrius and Cassian, and every subsequent generation of spiritual writers

have developed a wonderful way of dealing with these thoughts. St. Benedict established the monastery as a school of the Lord’s service. The prayer, silence, humility and obedience to the Abbot and one another are what make up this school.

An example of a truly great monk was Brother Vincent Fitzger-ald. Brother Vincent was a native of Chicago. When he came for his first visit to the monastery he never left. After becoming a monk, Brother Vincent served for many years in the college print shop. He died of cancer on May 6, 1997. At his funeral Abbot Barnabas read a quote from a conference Brother Vincent had given to the monks the previous Lent:

“If we become great monks the Lord will want many more of us. Great doesn’t have to be spectacular, or showy, or outstanding in any field, just good people who are good to those around them; supportive, understanding and generous with time and apprecia-tion and concern; good to be with. Like if a person can feel he is a better person by knowing us.

“We go to the Lord together. I can pull you down with me when I reject God’s grace, if I concentrate on what pleases or displeases me and harp on it. I can help you spiritually if I affirm you and everything you are. Love and prayer are the strongest powers in the world. We have to seek God.”

I thank God for my 25 years of being here in the Abbey. I pray that many more generous young men will join us in searching for God.

Father Meinrad Miller

What is a ‘Great’ monk?

clothed with faithGod’s Will In Our Lives

Father Justin Dean, currently a novice of St. Benedict’s Abbey, receives his copy of the Rule of St. Benedict from the Abbot. A novice receives his habit and Rule upon entering the novitiate.

photo by JD Benning

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b e au t y i n fac e s a n d p l ac e s

Coming auguSt 15 to the abbe y art gallery

A collection of photos by Abbot Barnabas SenecalThe long-awaited exhibit of the photography of Abbot Barnabas will open in the

Abbey Art Gallery following Sunday Mass on August 15. A 2011 calendar featuring the Abbot’s photos and poems is available now. Contact the Office of Development:

913.360.7906 | development@kansasmonks.org

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SUMMER 2010

As I write this it is June 1 and many members of the commu-nity are celebrating by attending a baseball game in Kansas City. On Saturday we will have a great celebration at the priestly ordi-nation of Jeremy Heppler. Jeremy began part of his Benedictine journey by becoming an oblate while a student here at Benedictine College. Saturday’s ordination will add another day of celebration to Jeremy’s life. We all have special days of celebration in our lives and I invite all of you to look at all of the wonderful days we cele-brate each year.

The first celebration after our birth is our baptism when we began our journey of faith. We so often think of baptism as an event that has taken place rather than the beginning of a journey toward our final goal in life. How many of us really stop at least once a year on the actual day and celebrate our Christian begin-ning? On Easter Sunday we renew our baptismal vows but do we renew them on the actual day? How best can we renew those vows usually spoken by others on our behalf?

I would suggest that on the actual anniversary we try to set aside a period of prayer to once again consider how our journey has progressed. Are we growing in our faith each day or have we reached a period of stagnation? Are we crawling along doing only what is necessary to live the Christian life? Each time I take holy water I remind myself that it was with holy water that I began my own journey.

The second celebration may not seem like a celebration to many but the sacrament of penance is truly a celebration for in it we receive forgiveness of our loving God time and time again.

What a celebration to realize how much we are loved by God and how he allows us to begin again and again. We may fall very far or we might simply wander away a little but the love of God remains the same. Do we even remember the first time we looked deep within, even as a child, and realized we failed but that we were forgiven?

Somewhere along the way we were confirmed and the day meant so

much, but how often do we remind ourselves of the presence of the Spirit in our lives? Following the Second Vatican Council there was a rebirth of the Holy Spirit in the Church and many people became involved in prayer groups looking to the Holy Spirit for special guidance. Like many movements the Charismatic move-ment has faded somewhat, but that doesn’t make the Spirit any less evident in our lives. Let us recall our confirmation and celebrate the anniversary each year.

If you are married, do I have to say much about that celebration? Your spouse is hopefully very good about reminding you if you happen to forget the day.

Many of the readers of this article are oblates and hopefully you recall the day you made your final oblation and renew your obla-tion in a special way on that day.

I made my monastic vows on June 11 and each year I recall that day as a beginning of a new life but one that I must renew each day and grow in conversion to the monastic way of life.

If you believe you have too many special celebrations in life at least try to pick several to celebrate each year. We are living in a secular age and we indeed need support and reminders of our commitments to something beyond the here and now.

Oblates

Brother John PetoDirector of Oblates

Bonds of oblation

- Have you ever considered becoming an Oblate of St. Benedict?- Does it mean I make vows? Do I have more prayers to say? Does it cost money? Come and see or contact me, Brother John Peto, jpeto@kansasmonks.org 913-360-7896

Sanctus BenedictusBy Father Michael Santa

During the feasts of St. Benedict last year it occurred to me that we really don’t know our founder’s name. I wrote to one expert on the subject and he agreed with me. He went so far as to say that “Sanctus Benedictus” was a kind of generic name. It is much like identify-ing Abraham Lincoln as “Honest Abe” or Andrew Jackson as “Old Hickory.” We don’t know the names of the parents of the man we call Benedict. His real name could have been Giacomo Coronato for all we know. The author of the famous Rule of Benedict never identifies himself. All we know is that someone must have written it.

Does this really make any difference? Sanctus Benedictus could be translated as Holy Blessed one. He must have been so holy that over the years he acquired the name Sanctus Benedictus. Should we not go on just as we always have? On the other hand, Pope Leo X said in an encyclical to historians, “God does not want our lies.”

Would our holiness be enhanced by our admitting that we do not know as much about Benedict as people think we do? Are we subscribing to a lie by not admitting that much more research into the life of our founder is needed?

This artist’s conception of the man known as St. Benedict hangs in the hallway of St. Benedict’s Abbey. The man portrayed in the painting was likely a contemporary of the artist, chosen for his kind and wise looking face. No one actually knows what “Benedict” looked like.

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Father Florian Demmer1897-1980

Tally Ho!” “I don’t know?” “Captus est!” These expres-sions often escaped the lips

of Father Florian. The latter saying he used when he had the good fortune to trump a bridge oppo-nent’s attempt to finesse. Bridge was on the menu twice daily for his novices. Yet there were other words and largely deeds that formed novices of our community and many other communities in the American-Cassinese Congre-gation for some 23 years. His humor was sly, his approach indi-rect. When a novice came to him for an interview he might ask if said novice wanted the key to “the Iron Curtain.” That being the

place in the attic where the luggage brought to the novi-tiate was kept if the novice decided to depart!

Father Florian had endless proj-ects for his novices like memorizing the prologue to the Rule of St. Benedict in Latin! Picking buck brush and Boston Ivy seed from the vines growing along the abbey walls for sale to seed dealers in New York to gain some little money

for the construction of the yet to be built Abbey Church. There were stones left over from the construction of the abbey in 1929, which novices moved to the north parts of the abbey property. Rattlesnakes and copper-heads were a part of that operation. Father Florian was the first in the Choir Chapel each morning thereby setting an example for the novices. Some followed it.

Father Florian generously helped his friend, Monsignor Joseph Selting, in Leavenworth, and served at St. John’s, Burlington, Iowa, for seven years and with the Benedictine Sisters in Madison, Wisc., for four years. While he served at Burlington Father Florian, true to his green thumb, had a garden near or on the property of the Catholic Cemetery. He liked not only the onions but also the loca-tion. He often said that no one there voiced any objection to his having a garden.

In many ways Father Florian was a “monk’s monk.” He had achieved a very good balance between Prayer and Work. Although

on one Sunday he had us novices pick-ing blackberries on “Iwo Jima,” a large hill on the north part of abbey property. By any other name it was work but he thought it recreation. There we were slimey with Army surplus mosquito oil with mosquitos buzz-ing in our ears. He was there with us although he may have had parish duties that morn-ing. Those blackber-ries were sure good in corn flakes during the winter.

When he left the novitiate he was sent to St. John’s. Burling-ton, Iowa. He used to say that at Burling-ton he had several hundred people under him but there were no complaints.

Such was his reputation as a literally “down to earth” Novice Master that novices came to St. Benedict’s from all over the Amer-ican Cassinese Congregation. There were three abbots from St. Mary’s Abbey, Morristown, N.J., and one from Newark Abbey. Two of those were novices when he was Novice Master.

This Oklahoma farm boy was a scholar having earned a Master’s Degree in history from Notre Dame and also a student athlete at St. Benedict’s College.

The Twelfth Step of Humility in the Rule of St. Benedict states that a monk ought to be on the inside what he appears to be on the outside. It seems that Father Florian was just that: real, genuine and authentic.

Marked with the sign of Faithc

f

Father Florian and former Benedictine College basketball coach Marty Peters.

T

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SUMMER 2010

Catholics throughout the English speaking world will soon be praying with a new translation of the Missale Romanum, the book that contains all the prayers for the celebration of the Eucha-rist. The Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship has recently accepted the translation. There is wide speculation that the new Roman Missal will be ready for implementation in the US on the first Sunday of Advent, 2011.

The shift from offering the prayers in Latin to English began in 1966 with the first English-Latin Sacramentary published by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. In 1974 an international text with national variations was implemented and has served the Church since. During this time we Catholics have been learning how to worship in English, something that the Anglicans have been doing since The Book of Common Prayer was first published in 1549.

Not only have we been learning how to worship in English, we have also been learning how to pray out-loud. Throughout the last millennium, if the assembly ever heard the prayer, it was only at the Sunday high mass when the opening prayer was chanted in Latin without amplification by the priest standing at the altar chanting towards the far wall.

Our current translations of the prayers are given in a language readily accessible to the ordinary person. Their accessibility has helped to ease the initial process of learning how to pray out-loud in English.

The newly translated prayers will have a more developed struc-ture in English, one that is closer to their Latin structure. The prayers may seem strange at first, and people may need time to develop an appreciation of their strengths. My hope is that their more developed structure may more adequately express the senti-ments of the heart in prayer.

I invite you to consider the prayers more fully through a process of reflective consideration or lectio divina of the current prayers for each Sunday and feast day of the upcoming Advent and Christ-mas season. Then, next year, when the new prayers are introduced, this process of reflective consideration will continue with the new prayers. This will give you the opportunity to reflect on the prayers before you hear them proclaimed in the Sunday liturgy, and to do so with both the current and upcoming translations of these prayers.

This process of shared reflection or lectio divina is proper to the Benedictine tradition. It has four steps, known by their Latin names. They are: lectio, a reading of the prayer; meditatio, reflec-tion on the prayer; oratio, offering the prayers of the heart; contem-platio, an appreciation of life anew.

A simple structure for shared reflection on the prayers:

Lectio – Proclamation of the prayers in common – Reading the prayers in silence

Meditatio – Silent reflection – Shared reflections – Prepared shared reflection

Oratio – Personal prayer – Communal prayer

Contemplatio – Appreciating what God does in your life – Naming how you see your life anew

The simple structure for a shared reflection on the prayers includes the following:

1. Proclamation of the prayers - A small group of perhaps six to eight people gather. After an initial check to see how each person is doing, the process of reflective consideration begins. The chosen prayer or prayers of the upcoming Sunday liturgy are then proclaimed. Individuals may proclaim the prayers in turn, or all may read them in unison.

2. Silent reflection - All observe a shared moment of silence for a predetermined length of time, perhaps one to two minutes.

Participants may reflect quietly, or they may wish to re-read the prayers silently. Some may wish to jot down a few reflections.

3. What struck you? - When the time for personal sharing comes, each participant has the opportu-nity to offer their own reflection. This first opportunity for shared reflection is intended for people to name their initial response to the prayers. The goal of this session is shared personal reflection, and each person is respected for the type and degree of personal sharing they choose to offer to the group.

4. A prepared short reflection - I have written a series of commen-taries for each Sunday of Advent and for the Christmas season. One member of the group may read the

a Grateful Responseliturgy & the life of the church

Father Daniel McCarthy

Trappist writer Michael Casey has likened Lectio Divina to a Thanksgiving dinner: take a bite; chew the food; digest it; take a nap.

Put out into the deep

phot

o by

JD B

enni

ng

KANSAS MONKS

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reflection provided or may provide their own reflec-tion on the prayers of the Sunday.

5. Silent reflection - As above, all observe once again a shared moment of silence.

6. See your life anew - A second opportunity for personal sharing is intended for people to name, with reference to the prayer, how they see God at work in their lives and how they see anew their cooperation with divine gift.

7. Praying - The invitation to pray is given: “Let us pray”. After a moment of silence for personal prayer, the participants may wish to give voice to their own personal prayers. Then one of the Sunday

prayers is recited in unison by the group, or is offered by the leader and all respond Amen.

8. Sign of peace - All are invited to exchange a sign of peace. Refreshments may follow.

I have prepared a simple meeting format and the mate-rials so that you may conduct

a small group process of shared reflection on the prayers of the Sunday Eucharist for use during the Advent - Christmas season 2010-2011. The sessions may be adapted to the needs of your local community. If you would like to host a workshop, please contact Sandy Fitzmaurice in the Abbey development office.

913.360.7906 | development@kansasmonks.org

“Now that we can understand the prayers in the hearing, we are getting used to hearing the prayers.”

Benedictine College Campus Ministry offered several mission trips over Spring Break this past March including one to El Salva-dor. Brother Leven Harton led a group of 21 students accompanied by Prior James Albers.

The group worked with the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging to build homes for impover-ished families in the area.

Lower left, clockwise:

- Patrick Caskey and Prior James place the rafters for the roof of one of the two homes.

- A group of students tear down one of the original homes.

- Brother Leven Harton removes a beam from the original home.

- Pablo and his son Hillario share a moment in front of their new home. The photo was reproduced and placed on the wall in their new home.

- The altar is prepared for the group’s first mass in Santa Theresa, El Salvador.

- Emily Tabor hugs a local child.

photos courtesy Benedictine College Campus Ministry

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SUMMER 2010

Father Jude Burbach has offered a Mass at the Living Community of St. Joseph, Mo., on the fourth Tuesday of each of the past seven months. He has done this voluntarily as a service to the residents and visitors. He has worked with Mary Breese, coordinator of religious activities for the Living Community, for scheduling. She thanked him for his months of service, now coming to an end. Millard Miller, life-long Atchison parish member, is a resident at the Living Community.

Father Matthew Habiger conducted a parish Natural Family Plan-ning weekend at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Ashland, Kan., in the Dodge City Diocese, May 22-23.

Father Maurice Haefling served as an advisor to two communities in May, at St. Gregory’s in Shawnee, Okla., and at the Benedictine monastery in Pecos, N.M.

Bishop Herbert Hermes arrived in Denver on May 19 to begin two months of visiting in the States. He is observing his 50th year of priestly ordination

Father Brendan Rolling participated in the ordination of priests for the Lincoln, Neb., diocese on May 29. One of the four men ordained was a second cousin of his, Matthew Martin Rolling.

Abbot Barnabas Senecal participated in the ordination Mass for the Kansas City-St. Joseph Mo., diocese on May 29. One of the three men ordained was Philip Luebbert, a 1971 graduate of Benedictine College. A fine article about Phil appeared in the May 21 issue of The Catholic Key.

Father Daniel McCarthy has written: “To better equip myself for a greater role in teaching Latin, I have made arrangements with Father Reginald Foster, the recently retired Papal Latinist, to write a book that presents his unique manner of teaching the language.” Later in the summer, Father Daniel will reside at Ealing Abbey and will no longer be a resident of Sant’Anselmo in Rome.

Brother Leven Harton is preparing to make peanut brittle for sale. He did a detailed analysis of costs for materials and mailing. He will be consulting with Father Richard Walz of Subiaco Abbey in Arkan-sas, who is the principal peanut brittle maker there.

Pastoral changes in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas have been announced. Changes affect two of our monks. Father Bertrand LaNoue will retire from fulltime pastoral work, rerturning to the Abbey from his assignment at St. Joseph’s and St. Patrick’s in Atchi-son. Father Gabriel Landis will move from St. Ann’s in Hiawatha and assume responsibility for St. Joseph’s and St. Patrick’s. These two moves will be effective on Oct. 15.

Tom and Connie Wilson of Muscotah have been friends of the Abbey for years. Their son Tim graduated from Maur Hill-Mount Acad-emy. Tom was especially good to our monks who like to fish. When Connie died in recent weeks, Tom chose to donate to the Abbey

the hospital bed and power wheel chair that Connie used in her last months. A group of young monks went to the Wilson home to pick up these items. Brother John Peto and Helen Skidmore of Abbey Health Services commented that these will be most useful for our program of care.

The Abbey tomato garden is prospering. The heavy rains early in the growing season threatened but didn’t damage the young plants. Brother Ulrich Henningsgaard, Brother Christopher Start and Brother Simon Baker did the first tying of the plants, beginning the process of raising the vines and making the tomatoes visible for harvest. Father Meinrad Miller has exercised his green thumb apply-ing fertilizer to the tomato plants.

Abbot Barnabas invited Father Meinrad Miller to be the Abbey representative to St. Joseph’s Priory in Brazil, in mid-December, 2010. It is anticipated that there will be vow ceremonies in Minei-ros and Father Meinrad will witness these vows, assisting Prior Duane Roy. This will be the first time for Father Meinrad, the Abbey Subprior, to visit the priory. He has begun some study of the Portu-guese language.

Father Kieran McInerney underwent surgery on his back at Provi-dence Hospital in Kansas City, Kan. Dr. Frank Holladay, a neuro-surgeon, reviewed scan images done both in Brazil and in Kansas City, and determined to limit the surgery to two lumbar vertebrae that were the most obvious causes of constriction on the spinal cord. The surgery was successful in giving Father Kieran relief from pain. Father Kieran returned to Kansas after 35 years of pastoral service and monastic life in Brazil.

Father Jude Burbach was taken to the Atchison Hospital after expe-riencing some difficulty after Mass on June 1. It was determined that he had atrial fibrillation or irregular heart beat. Atrial fibrillation is a strong stroke risk and the thinning of the blood is recommended. Father Jude was seen by Dr. Stephen Meirose, D.O.

The Abbey Notes are an excerpt from Home Pages a monthly news-letter written by Abbot Barnabas Senecal. Check Kansasmonks.org for the monthly Home Pages along with daily reflections, news from around the Abbey and much more.

abbey notes

Father Roderic Giller, Father Gabriel Landis, and Abbot Ralph Koehler each served as pastor of St. Ann’s Parish, Hiawatha. They were together when the Abbey monks were invited there on June 10 for an evening meal with members of the parish at the close of the Abbey’s annual retreat.

photos courtesy Benedictine College Campus Ministry

photo by Abbot Barnabas Senecal

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1020 N. 2nd Street, Atchison, KS 66002Kansas Monks USPS 290-760

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SUMMER 2010 | VOLUME 5 | NUMBER 2

Obedience, conversion and stability. These are three gifts that

Benedict handed down to his followers in his Rule. Through Benedictine hospitality, they

offer them to their friends outside the monastery—that is, if we are willing to slow down, take a deep

breath, and listen.

excerpt from Incline the Ear of your Heartphoto by JD Benning