October 1999
President's Message
Convention 2000 Taking Shape
Mark your calendars for August 10-13, St. Meinrad Archabbey, the biennial convention of the American Benedictine Academy. The theme for convention 2000 is "The Good News of Monastic Life: Reading the Signs of the Times." The topics have been determined and the speakers have been selected. As it is shaping up, the convention promises to be interesting and challenging.
The keynote speakers for convention 2000 will be Prioress Ephrem Hollermann, prioress of St. Benedict's Monastery, St. Joseph, MN, and Abbot Matthew Leavy, abbot of St. Anselm's Abbey, Manchester, N H. Both of these speakers have valuable experience leading monasteries and are well known for their insights into monasticism. They have been asked to reflect on what they see as "the good news of monastic life" and to share with us what they see as "the signs of the times."
The keynote speakers will be followed by a variety of presentations aimed at highlighting a variety of topics demonstrating some of the "good news of monastic life" and/or showing us some "signs of the times." Sister Antoinette Purcell, OSB, of Our Lady of Grace Monastery, Beech Grove, IN, will lead a panel addressing the topic of "Monasteries Without Walls." This presentation will focus on the current and ever growing ways people choose to be "Benedictine" but do not live in a monastery. Oblates, associates, affiliates, etc., will all be considered in this presentation.
Father Harry Hagan, OSB, of St. Meinrad Archabbey, St. Meinrad, IN and Dr. Carney Strange of Bowling Green University, Bowling Green, OH, have developed a very interesting program for using the Rule of St. Benedict on the campuses of colleges and universities in the area of student life. This is a very creative venture and clearly an example of "the signs of the times." They will show us what they do and share with us the responses they have received from their creative use of the Rule.
The ABA Board felt strongly that we needed to hear from people who are young in monastic life since they are the resources for the future of monasticism. We will select a small group of monastic men and women who are relatively new to monastic life and ask them to reflect for us on two questions: "What are you seeking from monastic life?" and "What do you hope to contribute to monastic life?" These new monastics are in fact "the good news of monastic life" and it will be interesting to hear what they see as "the signs of the times."
Finally, Scott Rains of San Jose, CA has been working for several years on putting the RB80 and related resources on CD-ROM. This project is now in the final stages of production and will be distributed by The Liturgical Press. Scott will be making a presentation at the convention and he will show us what this remarkable tool will do and how it will do it. There will be opportunity for some hands-on experience for those so interested. Certainly this kind of use of technology is "a sign of the times" for monasticism.
The above is only the presentation part of convention 2000. There will be ample opportunity to renew old contacts, meet some new people, and engage in a variety of exchanges with folks all dedicated to Benedictine monasticism. There will be something for everyone. While it might seem that the convention is a long way off, the time will move by very quickly for all of us. Therefore, you are urged to plan ahead, mark your calendars, tell others, and prepare for a good experience with interesting and dedicated women and men from all parts of the country and all committed to Benedictine monasticism.
Eugene Hensell, OSB
President, American Benedictine Academy
Saint Meinrad Archabbey
Saint Meinrad, INUpdate: 12 November 1999 - 16 Pre-Convention Papers are online.
Acedia Revisited:
New Case for an Old SinI am on a campaign to bring attention back to the eighth deadly sin. "Why?" you may ask, "Don't we have enough sins already?" Indeed, but this one is needed to complete the set which we inherited from the ancient spiritual writers. It got lost on the road and needs to be recognized and reclaimed. Sister Meg Funk's recent book, Thoughts Matter, on the evil thoughts in Cassian, as well as renewed interest in the desert tradition in general, have brought this to my attention.
By way of a quick review, the ancients believed that the human was assailed by disturbing thoughts (and their consequent actions) which fell into some basic categories. Cassian provides institutes (homilies on their renunciation) which formed the background for monastic spirituality and practice. The institutes address gluttony, lust, covetousness (avarice), anger, dejection (sadness), vanity, pride and accidie or acedia. These are based on an earlier listing and treatise by Evagrius Ponticus, a Christian philosopher whose goal was to integrate Christian spirituality with the "thought mastery" which was an objective of pagan philosophers as well.
For Cassian, this accidie is defined as a kind of sluggishness, weariness or "distress of heart" which comes over the monk and makes everything appear to be boring, if not downright disgusting. The outcome is either laziness or immersion in distractions. Thus this ailment got blended together with dejection and/or identified with sloth. Yet the description of how this "demon" works, and perhaps even more in the shorter original treatment of Evagrius, puts something of a different spin on it.
According to Evagrius, this is the spirit which causes the monk to begin, in the middle of the day, to perceive the day as dragging along interminably. He looks at the sun repeatedly, wondering how long until dinner. He paces about, looks around for someone to talk to and something interesting to distract himself from himself. God help anyone, says Evagrius, who offends or annoys the sufferer at this time. Already sensitive, the monk will see this as just another example of how rotten life is and how little good is in the people of this place. There are fantasies about how much better it could be somewhere else and why the sufferer is justified in complaining. The next thing is memories of all the times and places where life was better, or might have been better or could potentially be better. This is not a lethargic or a passive sin, but is very active. It is not lazy but quite animated, even agitated.
It seems to have gotten lost from the list of evil thoughts in general theological usage because it was perceived as something which was unique to those in the ascetic life. It was the "noonday demon" which would cause temptation to give up the monastic practice. Yet it appears to me to be far more than that. If I could give it a contemporary name, that name would be restlessness. Who could deny that our world is not as full of, and as hurt by, restlessness as it is by gluttony or vanity or any of the other capital sins? Putting in time, doing things for all the wrong reasons or without any interior motivation at all, blaming others for all our woes, losing ourselves in distractions or busyness, comparing everything to that perfect dream world which we refuse to admit cannot be, avoiding commitments and walking away from commitments once made, plague many regardless of their way of life.
The antithesis of this evil inclination is stability. This is the stability we profess as monastics, not merely the promise to stay in a single place, but to stay with everything about it, the tedium, the quirky personalities, the crises and, toughest of all, ourselves. This is not a vice/virtue pair that gets nearly the attention of something like lust. Yet it was important enough for stability to be recognized as an essential element of the Benedictine way, to be publicly proclaimed and wrapped around the whole package. Maybe we don't need any more sins, but I still think we could use a little more familiarity with this strange term acedia and its effects. Besides, Evagrius summarizes, its conquest brings "deep peace and inexpressible joy." Isn't that worth a look?
Judith Sutera, OSB
Editor, AMN
An Open Letter
Monastic Retreat:
Time Alone with the Inner ArchitectFor me there is something very moving about New Melleray Abbey, located just south of Dubuque, Iowa. This remote Cistercian sanctuary situated almost celestially among serene pines and towering oak has had a profound and lasting impact on eastern Iowa. Its hospitality is extended to all, regardless of race, sex or creed.
I was there recently during my break from teaching college English classes. On a Monday evening at 7:30 p.m., the tower bells sang solemnly. In marvelous orchestration with the rhythmic showers of rain that fed the abbey's rolling soybean fields, the sacred chimes announced evensong - also known as the office of compline. I watched a procession of white-robed monks enter the candlelit chapel like a flight of angels bidding goodnight to Christ and another day of prayer and work.
I was transported, momentarily, to a far distant time in my life. It was 1967. I had just pronounced my first vows as a Franciscan friar and arrived in Louisville to begin my Franciscan schoalasticate at Bellarmine College. Several of my fellow friars, in celebration of my simple profession, took me on a visit to Gethsemani Abbey, the monastic residence of the transcultural Cistercian, Thomas Merton. There, I was struck by the peculiar setting of the Sunday afternoon.
The immediate surroundings seemed pleasantly foreboding. The first sight to catch my eyes was a lone daisy with its bright yellow center around which was symmetrically arranged a halo of pure white petals. The fragile flower protruded from the cracked cement and seemed to dance radiantly to the rhythmic sweep of the late August breeze. I remember being dazzled by its beauty and solitude.
This little vignette is symbolic to my life because it has always inspired me to seek moments of solitude, to speak to that profound, inner architect within. Thus, at New Melleray for three days over my summer break, I walked alone, ate alone, and slept alone to the splendid music of bells, but why? It is because the culture in which we live seems motivated by greed and a hunger for power and control. The ancient wisdom and spirituality that lie at the heart of monastic life at New Melleray offer me the silence and separation I need - that we all need - to find my own truth, to remain at peace and fully present and obedient to life's higher values and practices.
Everything about New Melleray has an ethos of unity and symmetry, even the 133 tri-foiled, black metal crosses that mark the graves of new Melleray's departed brothers. My personal encounter with this aura of order gives me renewed peace and support which allow me a more generous overflow of self to those I serve in my daily life, especially my wife. She understands and accepts without question this need I have for a little time. Sometimes, though, I wonder if her unfaltering support stems from her hope that when I return, I will take it upon myself to go to the laundry room and fold the freshly cleaned tee-shirts into even, unwrinkled squares instead of the odd, misshapen wads that drive her so crazy.
I left the serenity of New Melleray on April 2nd. Refreshed in spirit, the thought struck me on my quiet drive home that the lone daisy I gazed upon over 30 years ago at Gethsemani was a living symbol of the monastic life - a community of monks in consort, with Christ at its center. But it also represented something else. None of us is much different from that lone daisy. As quiet reflection and solitude inspired Thomas Merton, so they also inspire us to dance joyfully, daily, to the rhythms of our own lives, where we act in consort with all whom we touch.
Eastern Iowans are blessed to have access to the beauty and solitude of New Melleray. There, they can free themselves from the natural stresses that are an inevitable part of human life, reflect on the connection between the inner self and the world, and be inspired to do great things.
When I finally returned home, I folded the freshly laundered tee-shirts into even, only slightly wrinkled squares. New Melleray reminds me that I am imperfect, but I can always improve.
Thomas J. Emster
1875-8th Avenue
Marion, IA 52303Thomas J. Emster of Marion, IA, is program chair for General Education and teaches English and Humanities courses at Hamilton College in Cedar Rapids, IA.
Monastery Tales
The Story of St. Benedict's Farm
Sometime in 1952, a Trappist novice at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Abbey in Conyers, GA, was agonizing about a dream to found a new monastery. In those days, the plan seemed not little presumptuous. Pius XII was pope and the Church (it seemed to us) marched in perfect rank and file. Spurred by the challenge of a Benedictine retreat master, the novice, George Gannon of Houston, TX, slowly crafted his plan to return to a simpler form of monasticism . . . and to the twentieth century! In those days, OCSO Cistercians were in church around eight hours a day, wore canvas underwear and had a constitution the size of an urban telephone book. Though no one gave this new dream much chance of success, George knew he had to try.
For a year, he experimented on an out-of-the-way ranch, with The Rule of St. Benedict as his sole guide. Suddenly, drafted into the army, he met me (John Kelly) just one week after I had determined to give the monastic life a try. Later, after we were both discharged, George wrote me at my home in Illinois from "St. Benedict's Farm," which had just recently begun and which was located in the brush of Gonzales County, near Waelder, TX. "Come on down," he wrote,"but I have to warn you, we may end up with nothing but a couple of charred crosses." I arrived July 3, 1956, just three months after George had built a one-room shack that would be home for the next thirteen years.
In that thirteenth year, something happened that was not part of the original blueprint. We were confronted with the possibility of receiving a woman into our community. It was a challenge that would test all of our powers of discernment. As we did not have canonical status, there were no restrictions of that nature, but there were a mountain of "other considerations," not least of which was strong opposition from family and friends. After facing each question firmly, we announced our decision to the world.
Early in 1968, LaClaire Hennann would be joining us as a full-fledged sister. Nurtured in religious life and still active as a Sister of Divine Providence, LaClaire too agonized over the prospective change. Once convinced of her new call, she obtained a release from her vows and came on Jan. 10, 1968. Our world shook a little in the transition but it didn't crumble, far from it. All of those initially opposed to this frontier gamble have come to heartily approve it, and for this we are very grateful to God.
A distinguishing feature of our community from the beginning has been our determination to make our own living. We have endeavored to do this by the labor of our own hands, with varying success over the years. We thought we could do it farming and, though we still do some by raising hay for a small herd of beef cattle, agriculture has taken a back seat to photography, a business we stumbled onto that actually pays the rent! Weddings and portraits remain our staple, and we do the job from start to finish, having our own lab and darkrooms.
Because we choose to wear a habit, we are instantly recognized wherever we go in our fifty-mile work area. Our clothes are uniform and plain but very distinctive. For the men, it is coveralls and a black belt; the women wear a simple blue dress and belt. Although we believe in the sign-value of the habit, we don't expect it to comprise our witness. We are less involved in the purely secular projects of our civic community; nevertheless, our Rural Electric Coop extended us its 1998 Public Service Award. Our newest member, Rosalba, a native of Mexico, is constantly being consulted for her immigration advice. For a number of years, Henry, a former Benedictine brother, wrote a very popular religion-nature column for the local paper. We are always available for Rotary and Lions Club programs. At home, we often receive groups, classes, clubs and "off-the-street" visitors. We really are Your Friendly Neighborhood Monks, which is the title of our history, published in 1981.
Although we began saying the complete Office in Latin, our formal prayer has been pared down to a Monday through Friday midday hour of community reading, meditation and prayers. On Sundays we celebrate the liturgy with the worshipping community of St. Patrick's Church in Waelder. There we are involved in a variety of ministries including music, liturgy and education. We view our primary ora as our "constant determination to seek God." We strive to help each other "belong to Christ." Besides our history, over the years we have published four albums of Christian music & many privately distributed essays, including a program of spirituality. Our newly created website is located at <www.gvec.net/stbenedictsfarm/>.
With two deaths in the last three years, membership is down to three, but we read somewhere that Cluny began with no more than "a small farm and chapel." Of course, over the years we have had our share of charred crosses; yet we have learned to say with Job, "Even if he kills me, I will still trust him." The question we are often asked these days is "What does the future hold for St. Benedict's Farm?" Here, we look for the answer in the words of Jonathan, son of Saul, to his armorbearer, "Come let us go [to meet the enemy] . . . Perhaps the Lord will help us, because it is no more difficult for the Lord to grant victory through a few than through many" (1 Sam 14:6).
John P. Kelly
St Benedict's Farm
Box 366
Waelder, TX 78959
Association of Benedictine Retreat Centers
New Benedictine Venture Begins
At the invitation of Barbara Schmitz, OSB, a group of 27 women and men who director and staff Benedictine retreat centers met for the first time on August 27-30, 1998, at Kordes Retreat Center in Ferdinand, IN. The agenda for this meeting was rich and comprehensive, and led the group to express a desire for continued in-service training and support. Five persons volunteered to set up an organizational structure and to plan for a conference in the year 2000.
These five persons came together at Benet Pines Retreat Center in Colorado Springs on Memorial Day Weekend, 1999. They are: Andrew Anderson, Bourne, TX; Alexander Plasker, OSB, Mt Angel, OR; Barbara Schmitz, OSB, Ferdinand, IN; Jan Ginzkey, OSB, Colorado Springs, CO; Kathryn Casper, OSB, St. Joseph, MN. The weekend was lively and intensive, and bore the fruit of a new Benedictine venture called the "Association of Benedictine Retreat Centers" (ABRC).
A purpose statement was developed that reads:
"The Association of Benedictine Retreat Centers fosters the Benedictine charism in its retreat ministries, offers resource networking and support for its members, and sponsors a biennial conference." In addition, the planning committee set up the agenda for the next meeting, which will be August 17 - 21, 2000, in Ferdinand, IN. A keynote speaker will be invited and, with the aid of an experienced facilitator, the participants will explore three questions. The questions to be considered are: What is the charism of Benedictine retreat centers? How do they differ from other retreat centers? What is their gift to the church and the world?
For more information about this new venture, contact Barbara Schmitz, OSB at <barbarac@thedome.org> or visit the directory of Benedictine Retreat Centers online at <www.osb.org/retreats/>.
Directors of Benedictine retreat centers and their staffs can plan to spend some renewing and enriching time together in August, 2000.
Kathryn Casper, OSB
St. Benedict's Monastery
Saint Joseph, MN
* * * * * *National Meeting of Benedictine Oblate Directors
The national meeting of Benedictine Oblate Directors was held in late July at Conception Abbey in Conception, MO. The meeting began with a panel of five oblates who, having been invited to ponder any one word from the Holy Rule shared theirs thoughts regarding that one word.
One evening Ellen Oak, artist-in-residence and faculty member of Andover-Newton Theological School in Boston, singer and performer extraordinaire, presented an interpretation of Hildegard's works by dance and singing. She began with an "Antiphon for Divine Wisdom" and closed with an "Antiphon for the Holy Spirit." Her voice was" unusually strong and it showed such power and beauty as she sang in Latin.
Norvene Vest shared insights and thoughts regarding the Rule of Benedict and how to study it and live it. Hers was a "how to do" approach. Phyllis Thompson, Canadian oblate, shared personal experiences and how the values from the Rule helped and guided her in her life. She expressed the importance of being connected to a monastery and knowing the members well and receiving their blessings in various undertakings.
Brian Terrell and his wife, Kathy, explained how their life on the farm was a part of the Catholic Worker Movement. Participants were invited to come and see the farm in nearby Iowa one afternoon. Sisters from Erie, PA, explained the work of AIM and they had five persons from the third world to share about the needs of the people and how AIM has helped them. The two from Africa, told of the many young men and women who wanted to be priests or religious but for whom there was no room for them in seminaries or schools. Those from Mexico spoke of the poverty and needs of the people.
There were group meetings as well, in which participants talked about the diversity of procedures for becoming an oblate and how to meet the needs of oblates in the various areas. It was a very rich and productive meeting.
Brother Benet Tvedten of Blue Cloud Abbey in Marvin, SD, ended his term as president of the group and Sister Jean Frances of the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration, Clyde, MO, was elected the next director.
The last evening closed with a most beautiful banquet at which the hosting community of monks, very gracious hosts the whole week, served the tables.
Julia Wilkinson, OSB
Mount St. Scholastica
Atchison, KS