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

 

Various Opportunities for Ongoing Formation

Monastic Interreligious Dialogue is sponsoring an Institute for Interreligious Leadership from Tuesday evening, July 18, to Thursday noon, July 27 at Loyola at The Cenacle, 513 West Fullerton Parkway, Chicago, IL. Staff will include Bishop Michael L. Fitzgerald, Pontifical Council for lnterreligious Dialogue; Dr. John Borelli, Secretariat for Ecumenical and lnterreligious Affairs, Washington, DC; and Fr. Thomas Baima, Archdiocese of Chicago.

Participants will review documents and resources, receive an introduction to various religious traditions and interreligious dialogues, as well as visiting a mosque, Buddhist, Hindu, and Baháï temples. Discussion questions and topics raised by participants and sharing of experiences will also enhance the program.

Participation is limited to 22 and NADEO members and their nominees have priority of reservation until April 1. After that date, registration will be opened to members of Monastic lnterreligious Dialogue and other interested persons. The fee is $998, but eight $500 scholarships will be made available to monastics through the MID Board.

To register, send a check for $100, made out to "Institute for Ecumenical Leadership," along with name, address, phone numbers, e-mail address and diocesan or community affiliation to

 

John Borelli, Interreligious Relations
3211 Fourth St. NE
Washington, DC 20017

 

For further information, please call Dr. Borelli at 202-541-3020.

To be considered for the MID scholarships, send a letter describing why you wish to participate and how it would benefit your monastery: Send application to Father William Skudlarek in care of the MID office at

 

Meg Funk, OSB
Our Lady of Grace Monastery
1402 Southern Avenue
Beech Grove, IN 46107
Phone: 317-787-3287
Email: megfunk@earthlink.net

 

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Shalom Prayer Center offers the Prayer of the Heart Retreat, a month-long contemplative experience for men and women in the prayerful environment of Shalom Prayer Center and the beauty of the Willamette Valley, June 27-July 27. The cost is $2015. Retreatants enjoy silence and solitude in a Benedictine monastic atmosphere amid Oregon's natural beauty. The retreat experience includes spiritual direction, contemplative sitting, teachings on prayer, and break-day outings to the nearby Pacific beaches, Cascade Mountains, or Columbia River Gorge.

Shalom's nine-month sabbatical, Shalom Sabbath, is an unstructured sabbatical program with regular spiritual direction and many optional opportunities for renewal of mind, body and spirit. A monastic atmosphere provides contemplative space for reflection and spiritual renewal. Individuals may participate for nine months or for shorter periods as desired. Contact

 

Shalom Prayer Center

840 So. Main St.
Mt. Angel OR 97362
Phone: 505-845-6773
Email: shalom@open.org
Web site: www.open.org/shalom/

 

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This year marks the four hundredth anniversary of the conversion of the famous Benedictine monk, Augustine Baker. To celebrate in his hometown, The Hill College in Abergavenny is hosting a conference "'. . . that mysterious man . . .' Augustine Baker, OSB" on his life and work. To be held May 9-10 it will include papers about him and a tour of the sites associated with his life. For information, contact

 

Baker 2000 Conference
Three Peaks Press
9 Croesonen Road
Abergavenny
Monmouthshire, NP7 6AE, U.K.

Phone: 081873 853260
Email: baker@p3p.org
Web site: www.p3p.org/

 

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The International Congress on Medieval Studies, an annual event at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, will be held on May 4-7. Drawing thousands of medievalists from around the world, it will include sessions sponsored by the American Benedictine Academy, Cistercian Studies Publications, the journal Magistra, and many other presentations with a monastic emphasis. Registration materials are available from

The Medieval Institute
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI 49008-8750
Phone: 616-387-8745; fax: 616-387-8750
Email: mdvl_congres@wmich.edu
Web site: www.wmich.edu/medieval/

 

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Summer session at Saint John's School of Theology in Collegeville, MN, is scheduled for June 19-July 28. In the area of monastic theology, there will be courses on the Rule of St. Benedict, taught by Mary Forman, OSB, and Lectio Divina, taught by Columba Stewart, OSB. Scripture, liturgy, spirituality and study in Jerusalem are among the offerings. Contact

 

School of Theology
Saint John's University
P.O. Box 7288
Collegeville, MN 56321-7288
Phone: 800-361-8318; fax: 320-363-3145
Email: mbanken@csbsju.edu
Web site: www.csbsju.edu/sot/

 

The annual Monastic Institute at Saint John's, Collegeville, will have as its theme "Monasticism and the Life of the Church" and will be held July 2-6. Christian monasticism is a form of ecclesiastical living, but the relationship between the monastic and other forms of Christian life, and between monastic communities and other church structures has often been a point of ambiguity or misunderstanding. This year's monastic institute will explore the history and theology of those relationships to help the renewal of our understanding of the essential role of monasticism in the life of the church. For more information, call 1-877-556-9518 or write to Vic Klimoski, coordinator, at vklimoski@csbsju.edu.

 

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SACRED ARTS : The Arts in Church and Home will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena Presbyterian Church and All Saints Episcopal Church, June 9-11. Presented by Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, CA, in collaboration with the Jubilee 2000 Committee of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Sacred Arts Festival will be a celebration of the sacred arts tradition of the Christian faith. The twenty rooms of the Pasadena Center's Conference building and the nearby churches will feature exhibits of arts and fine crafts to view and/or purchase; performances in drama, dance, and music; a film presentation with panel discussion; workshops exploring the relationship between the arts and spirituality; liturgies in the tradition of the Benedictine monks of Valyermo; and workshops for children and teens. Monastic arts and traditions will be featured in each of these areas.

For forty-two years Saint Andrew's Abbey has welcomed artists and craftspersons to its Fall Festival in Valyermo. In the year of the millennium, the monks will come to the urban setting of Pasadena to bring to the people of Southern California the opportunity to explore and experience a broad range of sacred arts for church and home. Every example of the sacred arts will be of the highest quality to give praise and glory to God and to honor their role in worship and spirituality.

At the meeting of the Benedictine Academy in 1998 at St. Vincent's Abbey, Latrobe, persons who participated in it were made aware of the Sacred Arts Festival and a special invitation to monastic artists was extended from St. Andrew's Abbey. Some persons signed up at that time to bring their work to California. They have received an application letter in the mail. There is still time to become involved in this great celebration of the Jubilee Year and of the arts.

We invite every one in the monastic community to pray that this effort to bring together Christian artists will serve as an inspiration. The Sacred Arts Festival will honor the holy images that reveal the life and teachings of Christ; it will offer examples and experiences of the beauty of sacred art that make truth and goodness values of splendor and delight.

For further information or an artist application, please contact

 

Sister Theresa, OSB
Phone: 661-944-8959; fax: 661-944-8950
Email: stheresa@valyermo.com

 

 

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Monastic News Omnibus

 

The monks of Belmont Abbey have elected Placid Solari, OSB, to serve as their abbot.

Sister Josetta Grant, OSB, was appointed superior of Osage Monastery, Sand Spring, OK, a monastery of the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

 

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Seventeen Cistercian superiors from across the United States participated in a regional meeting at Snowmass, CO, June in order to prepare for the General Chapter which was held in October. The chapter, held at Lourdes, France, brought together both male and female Cistercian superiors, who were able to dialogue and participate in some joint sessions in addition to their separate deliberations. Within the theme, "Cistercian Grace Today: Conformity to Christ," the particiants examined several contemporary issues, including administration, formation, demographics and enclosure. There are currently over four thousand Cistercian monks and nuns in forty-four countries.

 

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The Millennium Prayer Vigil sponsored by Alliance for International Monasticism USA and Monastic Interreligious Dialogue was used in at least seventy monasteries in the United States, thirty mission monasteries and some monasteries in England, Ireland, Australia and France. It was also used by a group of Dominican Sisters in Philadelphia and adapted by the Sisters of Providence in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN. Several parishes in various places joined in the vigil, as well as one parish in India. Requests are still coming in for copies of the vigil prayer service. A university chaplain in Australia has requested permission to use selections from it in the blessing of an interfaith sacred garden.

In many of the monasteries there was also a strong presence by oblates, associates and friends of the monastery. A couple showed up at the door in Erie saying they had read about the vigil in the newspaper and wanted to spend the night in prayer at the monastery. The Dubuque Trappistines integrated the vigil with their midnight Eucharist. The Benedictine Sisters in Fort Smith, AR wrote that ". . . the readings from so many different sources set the tone for the spirit needed in this New Millennium. We felt united with monastics around the world." Saint Joseph Monastery in Tulsa, OK, had a small gathering of community and guests who gathered for the opening prayer period on the evening of December 31, 1999. Many of their guests commented on their experience of peace and reconciliation during the prayer and asked to take the booklets home to continue the prayer throughout the night.

The community in Cottonwood, ID, was pleasantly surprised by the number of local people joining for at least parts of the evening. Almost one hundred guests were present with the sisters of St. Benedict Monastery, St. Joseph, MN, for the evening prayer and approximately fifty friends joined midnight prayer. The response by others to the monastics' invitation to pray with them may hold a message for all. From the clippings received at the AIM office, the vigil received excellent coverage in the local newspapers of the communities observing the vigil.

One of the many interesting reports came from Sister Gratia Allard, OCSO, in Butende, Uganda: "Greetings from Butende. With this letter we wish to thank you for the material you sent for the Millennium Prayer Vigil. We used it in the adapted form for our services as you will see from the enclosed booklet. You might be interested to know that our sisters chose for fire in the Rite of Purification and not for water as you had suggested. Also, it was very important for them to pronounce their commitment in front of the exposed Blessed Sacrament. Since we read your letter about the prayer vigil in the refectory, we were very much aware that we were closely in touch with monastic communities all over the world during our Compline and Vigil Service."

 

Marlene Bertke, OSB, AIM
345 East 9th
Erie, PA 16503

 

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The board of directors of the American Benedictine Academy met January 15-16 at St. Meinrad Archabbey. The majority of the time was taken up with the details of the Convention 2000: "The Good News of Monastic Life: Reading the Signs of the Times."

Three study grants were also granted by the ABA board of directors. Scott Rains was awarded a grant to pursue work focused on "Recent Computer Technology for Monastic Studies: Applications to the Baker Corpus." Phyllis K. Thompson was awarded a study grant to do research for a chapter she will contribute to a book edited by Linda Kulzer, OSB, and Roberta Bondi dealing with "memorable, but deceased oblates of St Benedict." Ann Marie LoPrieno, received a study grant to pursue specific research for her dissertation on Benedictine higher education.

 

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When 55 monastic men and women gathered at St. Meinrad/Ferdinand, Wednesday, August 11, for the Monastic Liturgy Forum, they expected to leave in a few days knowing more and feeling more energized than they did when they carne, and their expectations were fulfilled. It began with an opening ritual that united the 34 communities represented by combining echoes of baptismal light and waters with the singing of their varied forms of the profession suscipe; it closed with a ritual that reprised the gathering rite. The group was led by the local co-chairs Sister Michelle Mohr and Fr. Julian Peters through days filled with practicalities and theological insights. Along the way MLF commemorated the tenth anniversary of its first conference co-hosted in 1989 by the two Atchison communities.

Both plenary and special interest sessions at the conference focused on ways the monastic tradition in liturgy has carried us through the ages by providing both changing and unchanging elements. With his presentation Dr. Max Johnson of Notre Dame University, among other things, offered an old yet new look at the meaning of ordo in the tradition. The address of Sister Genevieve Glen, OSB, of the Abbey of St. Walburga, Virginia Dale, CO, (recently moved from Boulder) was a reflection on several images, including that of monastic life as pilgrimage through time. A third plenary session paired Sister Genevieve with Father Justin Duvall of St. Meinrad's to explore the issues of the scarcity of priest presiders for women's communities and the difference in approach to concelebration within men's communities.

Special interest sessions dealt with changes in language in non-scripture readings (Theresa Schumacher, OSB, St. Joseph, and Dunstan Moorse, OSB, Collegeville), liturgical music (Columba Kelly, OSB, St. Meinrad), and the spaces where we live and worship (Kurt Stasiak, OSB, and Harry Hagan, OSB, St. Meinrad, and Joella Kidwell, OSB, Ferdinand). A business meeting was also held and the next biennial conference was scheduled for St. Benedict's Monastery, Winnipeg, August 8-11, 2001.

Colleen Winston, OSB
St. Walburg Monastery
Villa Hills, KY

 

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The GREY YELLOW PAGES

 

The History of Women Religious Conference will hold its fifth triennial conference called "Individuals in Community: Women Religious and Change Past, Present, Future" at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, from Sunday, June 17, 2001, through Wednesday morning, June 20, 2001. In preparation for that conference, a call for papers has been issued.

This conference aims to explore the history of women religious by addressing questions, themes or issues which have shaped, and/or continue to influence, the historical evolution of religious congregations. Sessions might focus on encouraging vocations, education, foundation, community governance, changing ministries, ethnic, linguistic or racial tensions, demographic composition, relations with clergy and hierarchy, spiritual tradition, or emerging models of religious life.

Papers which examine themes from anthropological, spiritual, sociological, historical, theological, and material cultural perspectives are especially welcome. Proposals for papers in the form of a one-page abstract, accompanied by a one-page c.v., are requested by letter, email or fax, by August 1, 2000. Panel proposals are encouraged but individual proposals are also acceptable. The language of the conference is English but proposals may also be submitted in French.

For information please contact

 

Elizabeth McGahan
University of New Brunswick
P.O. Box 5050
Saint John, NB, Canada, E2L 4L5
Phone: 506-648-5600; fax: 506-648-5799
Email: emcgahan@nbnet.nb.ca

 

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A new web site devoted to the study of feminine versions of the Rule of St. Benedict is located at <www.osb.org/aba/rb/feminine/>. Under the auspices of MAGISTRA: A Journal of Women's Spirituality in History, its contributors include Frank Henderson, John E. Crean, Jr., Patricia A. Giangrosso, Antha Spreckelmeyer, and Judith Sutera, OSB. Richard Oliver, OSB, has generously provided web space and technical expertise.

In the medieval and early modern periods, women reinterpreted and adapted the Rule of St. Benedict for their own lives, sometimes taking the form of written versions of the Rule that were modified in language and content. These used explicitly feminine as well as masculine or gender-neutral and gender-balanced language. Other adaptations, e.g., regarding clothing and priests, might also be made. It is envisioned that this site will include the full, original texts of several feminine versions of the Rule of St. Benedict, together with a bibliography.

Six texts are currently on line and the anticipated contents will eventually include texts such as the Winteney Latin Version (early 13th c. Latin), Northern Prose Version (early 15th c. Middle English), Northern Metrical Version (mid 15th c. Middle English), Caxton Version (ca. 1491 Middle English), Foxe Version (1516 Early Modern English), Altenburg Version (1505 Middle High German), Friedenspring Version (15th c. Early Modern German), and Dijon Version (13th c. Old French). A bibliography is also included.

 

 

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Brief Book Reviews

 

Monastics, oblates, and others seeking wisdom from the monastic way are always in search of good, simple reflections on St. Benedict's way. One recent addition to this literature is A Monastic Pilgrimage by Guy-Marie Oury, OSB (Petersham, MA: St. Bede's Publications, 1998, 185 pages, $15.95, ISBN 1-879007-28-2). A monk of Solesmes for over fifty years, the author is well known for his numerous historical and spiritual writings. This book is made up of short conferences from a retreat given to Benedictine nuns some years ago. The sentences and paragraphs are short and to the point. He comes at St. Benedict's Rule from its simplest, yet most profound images: running, the school, journey. Each brief conference is a reflection on a single phrase from the Rule, primarily its prologue and conclusion.

Though he does make some allusions to the original culture and sources of the Rule, this is not an academic examination of the words, but a lectio through them and through the many images they evoke from Scripture and human life. It seems, then to be ideally suited in both length and content to provide lectio itself for the reader.

Truthful Living: Saint Benedict's Teaching on Humility by Michael Casey, OCSO (Petersham, MA: St. Bede's Publications, 1999, 256 pages, $15.95, ISBN 1-879007-35-5), is another good volume for personal reflection. Casey's familiar style of commentary is here brought to the examination of chapter 7 of St. Benedict's Rule. By taking the text not only by sections, but even by lines, attention is paid to some of those parts which are often evaded as uncomfortable or unsupportable. The author does not attempt to make every word palatable. He admits Benedict's cultural background and does not try to make the text say something else which one mught rather it said. He does not demand that the reader accept all of Benedict's biases but, rather, focuses on what essential truths might be in the teaching despite the problems.

Humility as "truthful living" is an approach which has much merit. In each section, Casey challenges the many self-deceptions and frailties to which humans are subject. He does not preach perfection, nor does he let the reader off easily with a "feel-good" redefinition of humility. He has simply brought his own thought to the text and guides the reader to reflect on his or her own life.

A book described in an article in a previous issue of this newsletter is now available. Purity of Heart in Early Ascetic and Monastic Literature (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1999, 252 pages, $21.95, ISBN 0-8146-2485-5), is an anthology edited by Harriet Luckman and Linda Kulzer, OSB. The essays are by some of the finest scholars in many different areas of patristic studies: Columba Stewart, Irene Nowell, Deirdre Ann Dempsey, Douglas Burton-Christie, Placid Solari, Harriet Luckman, Alexander Golitzin, Mary Anthony Wagner, Jeremy Driscoll, Mary Forman, Gertrude Gillette, Benedict Guevin, and Terrence Kardong. An essay at the end by Sister Linda gathers all the works as a tribute to the memory of Sister Juana Raasch (1927-1974) an earlier scholar of language and monasticism.

 

 

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The Federation of St. Gertrude

The Federation of St. Gertrude's recent chapter used this logo, created by Susan Deig, OSB, of Monastery Immaculate Conception, Ferdinand, IN. The shapes in the center, which are the prominent elements, are multivalent. They are at once both the figures of three monastic women, bearing the Benedictine cross, and the flames of the Holy Spirit rising from three hearts. The curved shape represents the world, which holds us and cradles us. The feminine aspect of monasticism is represented by the interlocking curves and undulations of the lines in the logo. The feel of the logo is one of rejoicing and celebration, as well as one of reverence for God and the power of the Holy Spirit. These moods are accomplished through the dancing figures with uplifted arms who are offering the smoke of incense to God from hearts aflame with the Spirit.

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