Volume 30, Nr. 1, February 2000              Richardton, ND 58652

President's Message

Leadership, Diversity, Vision Keep the ABA Going

The ABA Board of Directors met January 15-16 at St. Meinrad Archabbey. Much of the Board's work at this meeting was focused on getting all the pieces in place for the biennial convention which is scheduled for this August. In the midst of our discussions the topic of board elections emerged. The board expressed some concern about maintaining good leadership in the ABA and the importance that such leadership will have for the future of our organization. I would like to share with our membership some of the concerns that were raised.

Traditionally, some time in January of the year that the convention is held, the vice-president of the ABA sends a letter to the membership requesting nominations to the ABA Board of Directors for the positions of vice-president and members at large. Usually our membership is good at sending in various nominations for the positions needing to be filled. The difficulty arises when the nominated people are contacted and asked if they would be willing to accept a nomination. A very high percentage of those nominated refuse the nomination. That leaves us with a small number of people to pick from when the actual board elections take place at the convention business meeting.

The problem is one that is understandable. We want the best people available for membership on the ABA board of directors. The best people available are, of course, very busy folks. Generally they already have a variety of responsibilities which require more time than is usually available. Thus, they tend to decline a nomination to run for ABA board membership. The board realizes that there is no simple solution to this dilemma. We realize that it will always be the busy people who get elected to things and are asked to participate because they already have a history of getting things done and being creative, and they have established a history of good leadership skills. From that perspective the ABA is not the only organization facing such a problem.

In the very near future you will asked to submit nominations for ABA board membership. The board is asking that each member look at her or his own community for people who might be able to make a solid contribution to the ABA board. We have a sense that there are many people in our communities who would make fine board members but we do not take the time to think of them. We tend to nominate the tried and the tested who have served faithfully over the years. Certainly we do not want to eliminate those people, but at the same time we need to bring some new faces into leadership positions in the ABA.

The board also wants to encourage those who do receive a nomination to be as generous as you can in accepting the nomination. The ABA board does not take a large block of any one person's time. If the board is composed of members who can provide solid leadership the tasks are shared and the ABA is the beneficiary of the collaboration and shared governance of all. The board wins and the ABA membership wins. Without that strong leadership the ABA will not be able to provide the kind of an organization that will be able to meet the changing needs of monastic men and women who make up its membership. We are the ABA. There is no congregation or monastery waiting in the wings to provide for us if we falter. That responsibility is our own. Solid leadership is an essential aspect of every viable organization and it is the responsibility of every ABA member to play a part in providing for that leadership.

The current ABA board feels that our organization is in good shape. We are growing in numbers and we are growing in our diversity. There is no other monastic organization currently in existence that provides the opportunities for interaction among monastic men and women as does the ABA. We feel that its importance will only increase as we continue to move into the future. However, we do not want to take any of this for granted. The ABA is the organization it is today because of the vision and hard work of those many women and men who have gone before us and laid the foundation upon which we currently rest. It has been very important for us and we want to make sure it continues to be important for those who come after us.

Think about the nominations for this year. Take the time to nominate candidates you feel would make a contribution to the ABA board. And if you are one of those nominated, please be as generous as you can in accepting the nomination. It is a good work and an important service to the monastic women and men of the ABA.

Eugene Hensell, OSB, ABA President
Saint Meinrad Archabbey

 

Issue Contents

 

A Gifted Lifetime: Sister Imogene Baker OSB

I cannot let this issue of the newsletter go out without recognizing the loss of a great monastic person, Sister Imogene Baker of Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison, who died this past autumn. Father Terrence Kardong asked me to write a memorial for the American Benedictine Review and, since many of our readers also read that magazine, I do not want to repeat myself. Nevertheless, I did want to note her passing here as well.

In the 1980s she received an award for lifetime achievement from the American Benedictine Academy, an award she most richly deserved as an example of all which the Academy believes and promotes. She was a member from its earliest days when she was a professor and administrator at Mount St. Scholastica College. She participated in the Benedictine ministry of the written word through her work with Benedictines magazine. She nurtured vocations and the strength of her own community through her service as novice director during the challenging period of Vatican II renewal. She assisted other communities in this country and abroad by giving retreats and workshops in her later years.

When it comes to the fostering of monastic scholarship and the building of present and future resources, she was probably one of the best. As one of the editors of the monumental work of translation and synthesis, RB 1980, she will be remembered by those who read, study, live by and cherish the Rule of St. Benedict for generations to come. Less tangible, but at least as important, is the work she did in creating the Center for Benedictine Studies. Because she could imagine it and get others to dream with her, she was able to provide a place which was like no other for Benedictine women during renewal and the following decades.

She wanted women to understand and appreciate their heritage. She brought together people of great knowledge and spirituality and presented them to hundreds of sisters, and later monks as well, through summer monastic institutes and shorter workshops. There, ordinary women got to know other Benedictines and to learn some of the theology which helped them appreciate their charism more. Some of the special interest organizations within American monasticism began as workshops in Atchison. There, people such as formation personnel or liturgists had a chance to share their experiences, recognize their common tasks and form stronger bonds for ongoing communication.

She also had a gift for recognizing talent and encouraging it. Many of today's prioresses, monastic scholars and other leaders were touched by Sister Imogene. They were introduced to one another as young sisters attending an institute; they were invited by her to give a presentation themselves in a workshop; they were personally energized by her advice or her example.

Hers was an extraordinary life, but she would not have wanted any fuss made over it. She would have smiled gently and humbly and said that she just did what she could with what she had. Isn't that what makes for "lifetime achievement?"

Judith Sutera, OSB, Editor
Mount St. Scholastica

 

Issue Contents

 

 

Guest Essay

(The author of the following essay, J. Steven Covington, was a student in a moral theology class taught by Timothy Backous, OSB. In submitting this reflection, he stated, "The essay isn't about monastic life per se. However, as a layman who is closely associated with a Cistercian abbey, I am deeply affected by the Benedictine charism. I am interested especially in the ways in which Benedictine Catholicism can become a venue for bringing the charity of Christ into the world. Thus the enclosed paper on peace.")

 

Want a Perfect World? Eat a Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I don't eat meat. I'm not what you think of as a typical vegetarian, however. I don't have any particular moral or ecological agenda against the raising or hunting of animals for food. Meat can be healthy and delicious. I'll gladly admit that some of the finest meals of my life have been centered around such gustatory delights as pecan-smoked duck, roast beef salad with cumin vinaigrette, pork medallions in herbed wine sauce, and even a cute little grilled pigeon resting upon a nest of baby artichoke leaves.

But my decision not to eat meat is driven by a moral agenda nonetheless. Quite simply put, I abstain from meat as a mystical sacrifice offered up for the cause of world peace. In the course of my prayers I often reiterate a vow, saying something like, "Whenever I choose not to eat meat, God, I ask that you accept my little ascesis as a spiritual offering, a symbol of my earnest desire that there be peace in all regions of the world." Every time I'm confronted with the opportunity to eat meat yet choose not to (as I live in Wisconsin, that opportunity is actually more like a thrice-daily obligation), I am quietly reminded of the reason why I don't eat meat. I am at that very moment submitting a prayer for peace to God, while also staging a silent little protest against all acts of hate, violence and war in the world, including not only the notable acts of evil in Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Algeria, etc., but also acts against charity committed by me and others in our workplaces, our classrooms, our homes, our minds and our hearts.

I suppose it seems a tad grandiose to think that by refusing meat I'm somehow making a dent in the vast evils of the world. As a Christian, however, I'm undaunted by visions of grandiose, even eschatological proportions. Indeed, I believe that we Christians are obligated to see a time when the reign of God truly is at hand, a reign that is brought about because we Christians have finally decided to cooperate with God's grace, have finally decided to accept the fullness of his love by reflecting that love upon each other and all of creation. When we become nothing but mirror images of God's love, when we allow no room in our souls, our minds, and our lives for anything but divine love, we will have no room for hate. When there is no hate among us, we will know only the good things that God desires for us: love, joy, and peace. As our souls are individually transformed into images of the divine, as we empty ourselves of hate and fill the void with the perfect love of Jesus, we consequently will have no choice but to express his transforming love to everyone around us. Allowing ourselves to become transformed into an image of Jesus and at the same time exposing all around us to his divine love presages the end-time when the risen Christ will transform the world into the kingdom of God.

God wants us to reside with him in that state of perfect peace which he first created for us. The eternal reign of God promised to us by Christ is not so much a new place that will exist, but instead a return to the way things were when all of God's creation existed in the perfection in which he created it. Peace, according to God's plan, design, and creation, is the normal state of affairs, a state of affairs we humans through our own selfish sins have corrupted and temporarily maligned with our acrimony.

I think it's important to understand that peace, from a Christian perspective, is not merely defined as the absence of war. Instead, peace implies what St. Augustine described as a constant "tranquility of order," a state in which the liberty of one's body, spirit, and psyche is unencumbered, where there exists the possibility of "free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity." "Peace," we are reminded, is the never-ending "work of justice and the effect of charity."

The Scriptures consistently equate the presence of the divine with the presence of peace. Judges 6:24 flatly states that God "is peace." By seeking a life which is fully invested in the ways and will of God, we share in a peace that brings us not just a felicitous absence of strife, but a peace that brings us into an eternal communion through which we share fully in the traits of the divine: tranquility, courage, joy, patience, and charity. Indeed, it would seem God expects our life to be thoroughly imbued with such traits as outward manifestations that we are living in communion with him, that we are living within the boundaries of the holy covenant he established with us through his revelation to the Hebrews and made permanent through the human life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament, peace was a highly sought after commodity, one which carried with it an implication that God had truly blessed those who lived in peace (Lv 26:6). For the Hebrews, living in peace was not seen simply as a reward or favor bestowed capriciously upon certain people by a fickle God but an affirmation that one was living in covenant with God, honoring the commandments and laws set down by God. "In peace I will both lie down and sleep," writes the psalmist, reflecting the confidence and security of one who lives within the boundaries of Gods covenant, "For you alone, 0 Lord, make me to dwell in safety."

The Old Testament also allowed the promise of eternal peace to point the Hebrews toward a day when all evil has been overcome and all creation rests in the loving embrace of God. Foreshadowing the perfect union of divinity and humanity that would come through Jesus Christ, the Old Testament provides a prophetic glimpse of the eschatological society that will exist when we all abide within the covenant of God's love. Most famous among such prophecies are those of Isaiah, who promises that "a child will be born to us . . . and the government will rest on his shoulders; and his name will be called . . . Prince of Peace." In the days of this prince, the righteous will prevail, and peace will flourish "till the moon is no more."

The New Testament announces Christ who plainly believes himself to be the manifestation of Isaiah's promise for peace. He brings the gift of peace, evident through his life of compassion, ministry, and divine love. We must also see Jesus' life as more than just an emblem of peace that was offered by a benign God. Certainly Jesus wanted his followers to lead lives absent of fear or conflict. Jesus, as the "Prince of Peace," the perfect human example of a life dominated by divine love, made it clear that we who receive the grace of peace from God have an obligation to then react to that grace, to reflect the peace of God upon every person and creature we encounter. Indeed, by accepting the peace of God, then reflecting it upon the world around us, we allow ourselves to participate with God, allow ourselves to transform our own souls into mirror images of the divine charity, and consequently allow ourselves to help transform the world around us into the peace-filled kingdom that Jesus promised would arrive and endure.

St. Paul listed a state of peace as the fruit of a life lived in accordance with the will of God. Paul also encourages Christians to recognize that Jesus Christ, as God in our midst, is the very center and source of our peace. Paul also notes that "God has called us to peace," that we should always "pursue things which make for peace and the building up for one another," and that we should keep our eyes focused on a life which is not consumed with narcissistic vanities, but focused instead on the kingdom of God where we will be consumed by the generosity of the Holy Spirit, and consumed by his gifts of "righteousness and peace and joy."

Since the apostolic age, the church has consistently upheld the ideal of eschatological peace as the end toward which all human behavior should strive. Through the admission of what is commonly accepted as the "just war theory," the church at various times has acknowledged that the present age is a time for "waiting and watching," that we continue to experience the "struggles of the last days." Nonetheless, the church abides in the hope that peace is actually the normal state of affairs in a perfect world, and that we are being led by the Holy Spirit back to the paradise in which God originally created us, back to the kingdom of heaven where the "beatific vision, in which God opens himself in an inexhaustible way to the elect, will be the ever-flowing wellspring of happiness, peace, and mutual communion" (CCC 736, 2308, 1045).

In looking forward to a time of unending peace, the church also holds the opinion that such peace can and should exist on the earth in the here and now; and that achieving universal peace is the duty of all people who seek holiness. "By living with the mind of Christ," the Catechism asserts, "Christians hasten the coming of the reign of God, 'a kingdom of justice, love, and peace.' They do not, for all that, abandon their earthly tasks; faithful to their master, they fulfill them with uprightness, patience, and love." We Christians are obligated to work not only for the avoidance of war, but to work also to rid the world of its causes: "injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust, and pride." "Everything done to overcome these disorders," the church tells us, "contributes to building up peace" (CCC 2046, 2308, 2317).

Today, some time after noon, I walked downstairs to the dining room in my office building where a buffet of some type is often provided for the employees. Available in abundance were fried chicken, sliced roast beef, and salami sandwiches. Famished, harried, my mind on the piles of work waiting on my desk upstairs, I briefly was tempted just to plop on my plate the first thing I saw. I rationalized as I salivated: "God put this food here for you. Eating meat is really very good for you, as long as you do so in moderation. Even your friends who are monks eat meat." But then, as I picked through the supply of food, I immediately remembered, "No, I can't eat that. I've made a promise to God and to all the people of the world." It's a promise that I must take seriously; I must believe that my minor sacrifice is for some good in the world and in my life. If nothing else, reminding myself of the reason why I can't eat that salami sandwich brings me for just a moment into communion with God. I am reminded certainly of the little sacrifice that I am making for him and his presence in the world; but more importantly, I'm reminded of the great sacrifice on the cross that he has already made for the cause of peace, eternal peace for each and every one of us, eternal peace for a world transformed someday into the kingdom of God.

So today I reached for a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of cole slaw instead. As I sat down amongst my carnivorous colleagues, I reflected back on the prayer that I say almost daily, an affirmation of my dedication to the vision of an eschatological world where peace reigns forever: ". . . accept my abstention from meat as a sacrifice for the cause of world peace, for peace in Kosovo, peace in Northern Ireland, peace in Algeria, peace in Uganda, peace in all the troubled regions of the world, especially peace in the troubled cities of the United States; let me, oh Lord, become an instrument of your peace in the world, a force for charity and good in the lives of all around me; let me, oh Lord, bring everyone I meet today into the saving presence of your loving peace. Amen."

J. Steven Covington
321 East 4th St.
Neillsville, WI 54456

Issue Contents

OSB | ABA | Am Monastic Newsletter