Spring, 1998 St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, MN
At Saint John’s Abbey, the abbot appoints the prior of the abbey after consultation with the community and its Senior Council. The prior serves a term of three years which, when completed, can be renewed. Responsibilities of the position at St. John’s include assisting the abbot with the management of the daily operations of the abbey as well as its various pastoral elements. "The prior does whatever the abbot wants him to do," said Saint John’s prior, Geoffrey Fecht, OSB, "with the focus being on the life of the monastic community." He went on to say, "It helps to be both adaptable and a bit of a homebody". When the abbot is away, the prior oversees the whole operation of the place. Prior Geoffrey is in the first year of his second three-year term as prior.
I recently had the opportunity to visit with Prior Geoffrey. He shared a very interesting story of how he got from his hometown of Tennyson, Wisconsin to Collegeville, Minnesota. Tennyson is a river town in southwest Wisconsin, near Dubuque, Iowa.
Geoffrey’s family includes two "bookend" sisters. One is the oldest of his siblings and the other is the youngest; three brothers fall between. He was first interested in a vocation when he was in elementary school and considered it again while in college. He was surrounded by role models including a great-uncle and second cousin who were diocesan priests and close to his family. In addition to their influence, his parents were very involved in parish activities and were of strong faith.
After graduation from college, Geoffrey taught at the Catholic school in Cassville, Wisconsin, just "up the road" from where he was raised. His thoughts of a religious vocation were re-ignited when he attended daily Mass with his students, and developed a friendship with the parish priest. On the advice of this priest, Geoffrey headed for Saint John’s to begin seminary training for diocesan priesthood. Once at Saint John’s, he experienced that famous Saint John’s "sense of place."
The five-month Jerusalem studies program that seminarians complete gave Geoffrey an opportunity to observe the Benedictine way of life. While in Jerusalem, he was most impressed by the hospitality and concern for others that his Benedictine classmates showed. It seems that this experience planted the first seeds of Geoffrey’s monastic vocation.
Next began a period of great discernment, prayer, and counsel to decide which religious path to take: diocesan priesthood or monastic life. Well, we all know how that story ended! Finishing his year of novitiate in 1982, Geoffrey took simple vows and began work in Campus Ministry at Saint John’s University. Following final vows, in 1985, he became Director of Residential Programs for the university. Geoffrey offered that being the Director of Residential Programs was pretty interesting, especially considering he had never lived in a dorm ever before.
During that same time Geoffrey continued his studies for the priesthood and was ordained in 1988. Geoffrey served as a parish priest in Hastings, Minnesota (two years) and Freeport Minnesota (four years). Freeport is "just up the road" from Saint John’s. During this time living away from the abbey, it became very apparent to Geoffrey how important his monastic vocation was to him. The monastic community of the Abbey and its vital prayer life were and are the rock from which he draws his energy, strength and sense of being.
I sensed that Prior Geoffrey lived many of Benedict’s values before he had ever heard of the Rule. Many times he shared how his decisions for his life were made after earnest prayer and seeking counsel.
For example, after accepting the original appointment to his position as prior, Geoffrey visited with Fr. Berthold Ricker, O.S.B. Fr. Berthold had served as prior many years previously. Fr. Berthold shared a piece of advice with Prior Geoffrey that Geoffrey feels suits us all, priors and non-priors alike. Fr. Berthold said, "Make the interruptions your job!" He went on to say, "When you are working at your desk, and someone knocks at the door, stop whatever else you are doing and tend to the person at your door. If you make the interruptions your job, you won’t get as annoyed." In other words, the people in our lives are our business, not the paper work, or whatever else you have to do.
Prior Geoffrey takes this one step further. If our jobs are the interruptions then, perhaps, the most important interruptions we can have are our scheduled times of prayer. Sometimes, stopping for prayer can be inconvenient. But making that interruption is important. Its making time for our relationship with God -- an interruption worth making. Quite often it is the interruptions in our lives that bring value and meaning to our life.