Conception Abbey

"Normal" days?

Monastic life may seem to be pretty mysterious to the person observing from the outside. They might wonder what the monks do all day besides pray a lot. I was reflecting on what we do and how we live and I must admit that to us its all pretty "normal." Our founder St. Benedict was a master psychologist when he wrote the Holy Rule. Even though the particular instructions require adaptation to contemporary conditions, Benedict found a way to encourage his monks to be generally happy and peaceful in what they did day after day. The combination of obedience and responsibility rests on a healthy balance between obedience extended to the abbot and those in charge and at the same time the individual monk finding personal satisfaction in developing their skills and interests within the monastic life. The overarching desire which brought the monks to the monastery in the first place, namely the desire to grow in holiness and intercede for all people through prayer, is the real motivation behind the life of a monk. Simple and easy, right? Not!! The weaknesses of human nature weigh on us as they weigh on anyone else and yes, we sometimes forget the focus and purpose of our life. That is where the encouragement of one another and the structures of this lifestyle keep pushing us forward, just as St. Benedict intended. The search for the right balance, finding the balance between work, prayer, holy reading and leisure never ends. Once that balance is found one can hope for the fruits of inner joy, peace, and productivity. Some days are pretty successful, but then again, some days can verge on disaster. Perhaps if you average the highs and the lows we come up with "Normal." A friend of mine who is dealing with cancer has given me a term which captures the idea that drastic changes in our life call for a new attitude. He calls it a "new normal." May we seize the normal, whether old or new, and realize that this is where we meet the Lord, and then live life to the full!

Thanksgiving Meetings and Jubilees:

Thanksgiving means the students leave for home and the monks on mission come home to the abbey. We had the annual tradition of the business and community meetings with everyone present and the combined celebration of jubilees and anniversaries on Thanksgiving Day. Our jubilarians were Fr. Joachim (70 years professed), Fr. Donald (60 years professed), Fr. Kenneth (50 years ordained), Fr. Paschal (50 years ordained), and Fr. Karl (50 years professed). Although the infirmary renovation was not yet finished at the time of the Thanksgiving meetings, the abbot and community assembled in the infirmary (now to be renamed the St. Stephan’s Health Care Center) to bless the building. We all look forward, especially the residents, to its completion in a few weeks.

Br. Mark:

When someone dies there is truly a loss, a vacant space in our lives. That loss becomes all the more painful when that person was very visible and active in the daily life of the community. This is certainly our case as we adjust to the death of Br. Mark (74) on Nov. 30, 2009. We printed a good supply of death notices at the time of his funeral. I would be glad to send one to anyone who would like to receive it. Br. Mark certainly has had a lasting impact on our community and his many friends inside and outside the community. We will miss his smile, his jovial personality (he loved a good joke!), and the many ways he served the community. His work in development for thirty years was very productive and gathered many loyal friends for the work of the abbey. His work as porter in his final years provided a warm welcome to many visitors.

Winter Blast at last!

With the beginning of December our unseasonable warm autumn was blasted away by the first major snowstorm and arctic air. The blizzard conditions on Dec. 9 kept a good number of faculty and employees at a distance. Of course the faculty members who are monks could simply trudge across the campus and classes could continue as normal much to the students’ delight!