Summer Happenings:
The casual observer might think that summertime is a pretty laid-back, easy-going time in a monastery in which the monks have nothing to do but pray, go their assigned jobs, pray, eat, pray, work, eat, pray, sleep, etc.—Wrong! The final part of the summer again proved to be a very busy time for the monastic community plus our dedicated community of laity who have worked for us for so many years to keep the whole operation up and running.
On the academic front: one of the major endeavors was a three week program which we offered again this year for foreign-born priests who are assigned to parishes and pastoral work around the country. The LCCIP program (Language, Culture, and Church for International Priests) again attracted a dozen or more priests, the majority from India, who were very appreciative of the individual and group tutoring in the program. A good number of the monks were heavily involved with this program which provided practice in better English pronunciation, homiletics, liturgy, and some good insights concerning the American Church and culture. We hope to make this an on-going program each year. It makes good use of linguistic, liturgical, and musical talents in our community.
Our deacon formation classes for the dioceses of Des Moines and Kansas City, continue to be a healthy gatherings of dedicated husbands and wives who study the curriculum together. We feel strongly that the wife needs to be involved with the diaconate formation since her support and encouragement will be an on-going support in the husband’s ministry.
A variety of other groups spent time on campus as retreatants and bus tours. We hope that our efforts at hospitality and invitation to join us in prayer brought many blessings to them. Although we’re always happy for visitors to stop by and browse in our gift shop, we’re most interested in having them leave with something of lasting spiritual value, even if it is as subtle as a sense of balance and quiet and faith in a very hectic world.
The sounds of construction:
Again, as in past years, construction was a part of the summer scene here. The biggest project which began in July and is projected for completion by Christmas is the renovation of our infirmary building. The gutted building is taking on the new shape and floor plan with each week.
The student dining room and the guest dining room had extreme makeovers this summer with new ceilings, lights, and reconstructed sound system. It took some pretty fancy footwork on the part of the guest department to adjust eating areas for the groups who were here for meals this summer.
The burial of power lines on campus has been an on-going and challenging project. The new system will provide us with the increased power capacity as well as protection from ice damage of recent memory. It’s amazing to see that with the aid of modern boring machines little of the surface needs to be disturbed with trenches, etc.
Personnel issues this summer:
The month of August provided the experience of death and rebirth in our monastic community. At the age of 85 our former abbot, Abbot James Jones died on Aug 5. Being a friend of so many monks, clergy, laity around the country and the world it is not surprising that the funeral was quite large as people came to pray and say goodbye to this good and humble servant of the Lord.
After bidding farewell to our former abbot the community was lifted up in joy and gratitude to welcome four young men as postulants who will pray and discern their vocation among us. On August 15, Novice Adam made his triennial vows and received the name of Br. Maximilian. The joy continued to the next Sunday, Aug 23, when Br. Paul completed his triennial vows and made his solemn profession of vows which will be his lifetime commitment. The very next day Br. Paul left to begin his theological studies at St. Vincent’s Archabbey at Latrobe, PA.
The school year is off to a great start:
We begin this year with the highest enrollment of seminarians since we dropped the school of theology in 1972. Including some part-time students we have 122 enrolled in our seminary. We’ve had the nice problem of finding room for the increased numbers and have had to double some of the larger rooms in St. Michael’s Hall. It’s hard to believe that the days of bunk beds have returned! We’re most grateful for the solid support of our dioceses and the vocation personnel around the country.
Green:
The color of green which is so prominent after this summer of frequent rains and cool temperatures is also a beautiful color of hope. The blessings of this summer and fall seem to make it easy to be filled with new hope and energy as we embark on the tasks ahead. These are certainly challenging times for us and everyone as we wonder about what the future will bring. As always our hope is not based on wishful thinking, but is based on the promise of the Lord who said He would be with us in good times or bad. May the color of green remind us of that solid foundation for hope.