Category Archives: Men’s communities

Men's communities, News

Benedictines Brew

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osb beerIt seems that the Benedictine monks in Norcia, Italy, aren’t the only ones to rediscover the ancient Benedictine practice of brewing beer. The Benedictines at Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon will be introducing their own beer this summer with the slogan- “Taste and Believe.”

Located in western Oregon in the beautiful Willamette Valley, Mount Angel Abbey was founded in 1882 from the 12th C. Swiss Abbey of Engelberg. The community keeps alive the ancient tradition of the choral office, the love of learning and Christian hospitality. Following the Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia, the monks follow the traditional monastic observances, including those of enclosure, silence and the monastic habit. There are 53 priests and brothers living at the monastery.

taste beleiveThe idea to brew beer came about because the recession caused a drop in revenue from their sustainable tree farm. With available farmland where hops are grown and pristine abbey well water, the beer enterprise seems to be a natural way to provide the community with a new revenue source.

Benedictines have always welcomed strangers and the beer, which will only be sold at the abbey, will be an opportunity to introduce beer afficionados to abbey life. Most no doubt will be seeing their first ever Benedictine in the flesh!

Fr. Martin Grassel, OSB,  said, “Our society is badly in need of Christ. This started as a revenue project, but it has become equally important as an evangelization project.”

 

 

Cloistered life, Men's communities

Get Your Fruitcakes Here!

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fruitcake2There is a charming article in the Kansas City Star about the Trappist (Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance) monks at Assumption Abbey in Ava, Missouri, who make a popular fruitcake. One could expect that these men, who live in silence most of the time, to be somber and introspective with one foot in heaven. One foot in heaven they may have and if so, heaven will be a lively place once they get there, God willing!

The monks are getting up there in years yet they still produce the fruitcakes and run the abbey as they have been doing for the last 60 plus years. It’s getting more difficult as the monks age. Boniface is 87, Robert is 88, Thomas is 85. These are three of the monks who are the backbone of the abbey. Many of them were in the military in World War II when monastic life was viewed as a spiritual Marine Corps. Then Vatican II came, says Cyprian, and “it was no longer a favorable environment for fruitcake3spiritual life.” Cyprian says, “I’ve accomplished everything I’ve wanted except to join my brothers in the cemetery.”

Thankfully, help is on the way. Monks from Vietnam are coming in stages to fill out the ranks. They will carry on with the fruitcake tradition, and may even mail some back to Vietnam, though Father Peter from Vietnam says, “Americans like very heavy food.” The monks, in fact, used to make concrete blocks but now make fruitcakes. “We had to change the recipe slightly,” Cyprian said. “And fruitcakes are easier to stack.”

Boniface sometimes bakes over 40 loaves of bread a day. The difference between a cook and a chef, he says,  is that a cook has to do his own dishes. He also has a soup called MustGo soup. “I go through the refrigerator and say, ‘This must go.’”

Assumption Abbey is a daughter house of New Melleray in Iowa and was founded in 1950. The Abbey produces an astounding 30,000 cakes annually, their main source of income. To place an order, click here!

O GOD, CREATOR OF ALL THINGS
BLESS NOW THESE CREATIONS OF OUR HANDS.
THAT THESE CAKES MAY BE RECEIVED
AS TOKENS OF YOUR LOVE
AND SHARED WITH FRIENDS AS HINTS
OF YOUR EUCHARISTIC FEAST.
WE ASK THIS IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST
INCARNATE IN OUR MIDST.

Men's communities

Setting Captives Free

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o de m capturedI seem to overdo posts on the Mercedarians but I love their fourth vow: to offer themselves as “ransom” in place of someone who is in danger of losing the faith. The picture to the right depicts The Martyrdom of Saint Serapion by Francisco de Zurbarán. Hung by ropes, he is obviously at the end of his life. A beautiful picture of self-sacrifice resembling Christ’s image on the Cross.

Serapion was born in Ireland and entered the army of King Richard the Lion-Hearted. While fighting with the Christians as they were battling the Moslem army in Spain, he met St. Peter Nolasco and the Mercedarians. He joined their “army” and received the habit in 1222.

spencer o de m
Fr. Spencer (center)

Serapion was captured in Algeria during his fourth redemption of a Christian held captive by the Moors. In this month when many of us are saying the Novena to St. Andrew, Serapion is a fitting martyr for he was nailed to an X-shaped cross, like Saint Andrew’s cross, and savagely dismembered. The barbarian and cruel King of Algiers, Selín Benimarin, was the one who gave the Church and the Mercedarian Order this martyr on November 14, 1240.

The Mercedarians carry on their work today focusing their priestly ministry specifically at the service of those in danger of losing their faith from modern forms of captivity. They are celebrating the ordination to the priesthood of Fr. David Michael Spencer, O de M, who was ordained in November 17th. (Click here to see ordination video). Father Spencer is parochial vicar of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Philadelphia.

 

 

Men's communities, News

The Dedication of “Tina Mae”

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tina maeI first went into St. John Cantius Church almost 20 years ago when the church was in dire need of renovation. Seeing these old, beautiful churches in decay is heartbreaking but in the case of St. John Cantius, the story has a happy ending.

Founded by Polish immigrants and dedicated in 1898, St. John Cantius had at its peak about 23,000 parishioners, but as is so common with many inner city parishes, it went into decline. After Father Frank Phillips C.R. became pastor, he went about the task of renovating and preserving its architectural splendor. Equally important, he introduced reverent liturgies and sacred music as part of parish life. As young men became interested in this revival of traditional Catholic culture, he received approval in 1998 to found the Society of St. John Cantius, a community of religious brothers and priests who strive to restore the sacred in parochial life.

The interior restoration work in the Church was completed in 2012 but an important piece was yet to come – a top quality organ. It so happened that a Church on the south side of Chicago was closing and their organ needed a home. This wasn’t just any organ. It was built by the Casavant Freres Organ Company of Quebec, Canada, for St. James Methodist-Episcopal in 1926 under the guidance of Miss Tina Mae Haines, a concert organist. Dedicated to the memory of Gustavus F. Swift, founder of the Swift Meat-Processing Company, it was used not only for Church music but also became a premier concert organ for recitals in the city.

cantius picIn 2011, St. James was closing and the organ, perilously housed under a leaky roof, needed a home in a hurry. Stephen Schnurr of the Organ Historical Society and Jeff Weiler, of J.L. Weiler, Inc., a Chicago based Organ Restorer and Conservator, asked Saint John Cantius Church if they were interested in acquiring it. Thanks to the Patrons of Sacred Music who raised the funds and relying on the assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to see to the details, the organ restoration project was completed.

The organ, now named “Tina Mae” (Christina Mary), will be blessed and dedicated on October 20, 2013, the Solemn Feast of St. John Cantius (1962 Missale Romanum) by Cardinal Francis George, OMI. A Pontifical High Mass (Extraordinary Form) will be celebrated by Bishop Joseph Perry (All are welcome). There will also be a dinner at 6:00 p.m. and an organ recital at 7:00 p.m. in the Church (Tickets required).

To see some fascinating videos about the organ project and the history of the organ, click here. To order tickets for the dinner or recital, visit the St. John Cantius website.

 

Men's communities, News, Vocations

St. Benedict Online!

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BenedictinesFor those of you who wish to know more about the spirituality of St. Benedict and for those in particular who may be called to a monastic vocation, here is something exciting!

The Benedictine monks at St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle, Illinois, are offering a FREE, five-part online course in Benedictine Spirituality. Anyone can register on the St. Procopius Facebook page. Five emails, one sent each day, will cover the life of St. Benedict, Benedictine life and vocation stories. There will also be emails asking the students to reflect on each class. You can sign up for two sessions: the first one will run October 14-18, 2013, and the second, October 28 – November 1.

“We feel that St. Benedict’s way of life, which includes living in community, common prayer, work, and private prayer, is just as important today as when St. Benedict was alive,” said Fr. James Flint, OSB, vocation director of the abbey. St. Procopius Abbey was founded in 1885 and has 26 monks today. Prayer and conversion are at the heart of their life. At the same time, they serve in outside apostolates, especially in the schools that they founded: Benet Academy and Benedictine University.

For more information, contact Fr. James Flint, OSB, at 630-969-6410, or vocations@procopius.org.

Men's communities, Vocations

“The Fewer Men, the Greater Share of Honour”

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Sr. Laurence Olivier as Henry V
Sr. Laurence Olivier as Henry V

Among the tidbits of advice given by spiritual directors to those discerning a vocation, I bet not too many are told to read a passage from Shakespeare’s Henry V! But that is just the advice that was given to seminarian Daniel Heenan, FSSP, when he was “looking to run away from” his vocation.

In the St. Crispin’s Day speech given by King Henry V of England (see actor Kenneth Branagh’s stirring rendition on YouTube)  to his outnumbered soldiers prior to the great battle of Agincourt in 1415, Henry says in this excerpt:

He which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say “To-morrow is Saint Crispian.”
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say “These wounds I had on Crispian’s day.”
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day.

Later, these famous lines are uttered by the king: We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.

Daniel said, “At first, I thought this was strange advice, but at the conclusion when he chides those who may be fearful to join the battle with the regret that they would later feel for not having acted courageously, the application to vocational discernment became clear. We sacrifice a little, and we inherit a kingdom.”

Daniel will be ordained to the holy priesthood in 2014, God willing, and thanks the to the assistance of the Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations, an organization that enables priests and religious who have outstanding student debt to respond generously to the Lord’s call.

We celebrate the feast day of St. Crispin and his twin brother, Crispinian, on October 25, according to the old calendar.

Men's communities, News, Papal Address

Defend Life, But Watch for Wolves

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francisrioAs someone who does not have cable TV, I miss out on a lot (whether this is good or bad is debatable). But I did miss most of the coverage of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and his trip to Brazil as covered by EWTN. Therefore, watching this video, put out by the Mercedarians, is a real treat.

The Mercedarians have taken footage of Pope Francis’ drive through the enormous crowds as the backdrop for a very interesting narrated talk that the Holy Father gave when he was still Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Given on August 31, 2005, the feast of St. Raymond Nonnatus (one of the first Mercedarians), he spoke about the culture of death and the need, in the face of persecution, to stand up for life. He picked a very appropriate feast day for this talk because St. Raymond Nonnatus (which means “not born”) was cut from his mother’s womb after her death in childbirth, thus his life was spared.

Here are a few tidbits of the then-Cardinal’s talk:

I was reading a book a while back, where this disturbing phrase was found: “In the world of today, the cheapest thing is life, what costs the least is life” — which is, therefore, the most disregarded thing, the most dispensable thing.

This elderly man, this elderly woman, are useless; discard them, let’s throw them in the nursing home like we hang up the raincoat during summer, with three mothballs in the pocket, and let’s hang it in the nursing home because they’re now disposable, they’re useless.

This child who is on the way is a bother to the family. “Oh no, for what? I have no idea.  Let’s discard him and return him to the sender.”

That is what the culture of death preaches to us.

This child that I have at home, well, I don’t have time to educate him. Let him grow up like a weed in the field, and this other child who doesn’t have anything to eat, not even little shoes to go to school, and well, I’m very sorry, but I’m not the redeemer of the whole world.

That’s what the culture of death preaches. It’s not interested in life.  What interests it? Egoism. One is interested in surviving, but not in giving life, caring for life, offering life.

Today, in this shrine dedicated to life, in this day of the patron saint of life, Jesus again says to us: “Care for it! I came to bring life, and life in abundance, but care for it!  You are going to be surrounded by wolves; you are to be the ones to defend life, to care for life.

Care for life! What a beautiful thing one sees — which I know! — that a grandfather, a grandmother, who perhaps can no longer speak, who is paralyzed, and the grandson or the son comes and takes their hand, and in silence cherishes them, nothing more.  That is caring for life.  When one sees people who take care so that this child can go to school, so that another doesn’t lack food, that is caring for life.

Open your heart to life!

St. Raymond, Patron Saint of expectant mothers and midwives, pray for us!

 

Cloistered life, Men's communities

Today I Begin

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Br Joseph-Solemn Vows 339One of the rarest vocations in the United States seems to be the call to be a hermit.  In fact, there seem to be only two Carmelite men’s communities of true hermits in the United States. Therefore, it is with rejoicing that one hears about the profession of a man or woman to this most ancient of vocations.

The Carmelite hermits trace their lineage back to the 13th century when a group of hermits living on Mount Carmel in Palestine came together under a formula vitae which developed into the Carmelite Rule. Because of the Prophet Elijah’s association with Mount Carmel, the hermits adopted him as their spiritual father. A colony of hermits is called a Laura in which each hermit has an individual hermitage.

Paul Wathen was living in Colorado when he became interested in the writings of St. Teresa of Avila and felt drawn to the contemplative life. As a graduate in electronics and computer science from Indiana State University, Paul was living a good life. Then the 40 year-old made a trip to the Hermits of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel in Christoval, Texas, and received special graces that weekend. “God let me know this was where He wanted me to be. I found a lot of peace.”

Brother Joseph Mary MotherPaul, now Brother Mary Joseph of the Holy Rosary, says the life is not for everyone. But with God calling him, he could not say no. Telling his mother was easy. she was not only supportive, but overjoyed!

The story of the founding of the Christoval hermits is a miracle in itself. Fr. Fabian Rosetti located the isolated land that he wanted for a hermitage but the owner wouldn’t part with it for three reasons: Fr. Fabian was Catholic,  he was a priest, and he was Hispanic. But God’s plans with prayers and sacrifices could not be stopped. Father got his 200 acres with many Protestant workers assisting in the building of the hermitage. In fact, a good number of their regular visitors and friends are Protestant!

See the complete story in the Southern Indiana Catholic newspaper.

“Every day I must say to myself: Today I begin –  St. Anthony of the Desert

 

bear witness to the passing nature of the present age by the inward and outward separation, from the world. By fasting and Penance, they show that man does not live by bread alone but by the work of God. Such a life “In the Desert” is an invitation to their contemporaries and to

Men's communities, News

Papal Birra

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birranursiaThe Benedictine Monks of Nursia, who reside at the birthplace of Sts. Benedict and Scholastica in Italy, are celebrating the one year anniversary of their brewery.

Somewhat surprisingly the beer sales have opened evangelical doors. People come to the monastery to sample this high quality beer which is an entree into the life of the monastery. As the monks have experienced, many people who visit have had negative experiences with the Church, with the clergy or perhaps no experience at all with the Faith. Speaking to the monks leads to a discussion about the monk’s life and it goes positively from there.

St. Benedict told his brethren to “work” and provide for themselves. Birra Nursia gives these sons of Saint Benedict a means to support themselves and a way to reach out, especially to younger people.

birra2The monks themselves drink beer on special occasions, such as Sundays and Feast days.  “The project of the monastic brewery was conceived with the hope of sharing with others the joy arising from the labor of our own hands, so that in all things the Lord and Creator of all may be sanctified.”

They were in the news earlier this year when it became known that they supplied the beer for the papal conclave that elected Pope Francis. As someone in the blogosphere commented: The New Pope Will Be Selected When the Conclave Runs Out of Beer!

This video gives you a wonderful look into this work of their hands. Cheers!

Cloistered life, Men's communities, News

Cistercian Centenary

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August 20th is the Feast Day of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and this year the Cistercians are celebrating an extra-special anniversary for 2013 is the 900th centenary of St. Bernard’s entrance into Citeaux, the Motherhouse of the Cistercians.  The date of his entry was either 1112 or 1113 so for the past year the Cistercians have been commemorating this anniversary with a daily prayer for vocations.

Citeaux

Cîteaux Abbey was founded in 1098 by Sts. Robert, Alberic and Stephen Harding, monks from the Benedictine Abbey of Molesme who were seeking to follow the Rule of St. Benedict more closely. St. Bruno also resided in the vicinity of Molesme around the same time (1082) but he left to become the founder of the Carthusians.

When St. Bernard arrived at Citeaux, which hadn’t had a vocation in some time, there were thirty men with him, including his uncle and four of his brothers! When he was only in his twenties, he established a new Cistercian abbey in the Valley of Light or Clairvaux. At the time of his death, 700 men resided at Clairvaux and 68 new abbeys had been founded by him. What a difference one Cistercian made in the life of the Church!

 

So let us join the Cistercians today and pray their prayer for vocations:

Most gracious Father,

in setting up the New Monastery our fathers followed the poor Christ into the desert.

Thus they lived the Gospel by rediscovering the Rule of Saint Benedict in its purity.

You gave Bernard of Fontaine the ability

to make this new life attractive and appealing to others,

in the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Grant that we today, after their example,

may live our charism deeply in a spirit of peace, unity, humility,

and above all, in the charity which surpasses all other gifts.

May men and women of our time be newly called to follow the Gospel in monastic life,

in the service of the Church’s mission, and in a world forgetful of You.

Remember Lord, Cîteaux, where Bernard arrived with his companions.

May the brothers there continue to live in the enthusiastic and generative spirit of the founders.

Remember all who live the Cistercian charism.

Remember all Cistercian communities, those which are aging and those newly-born,

in all parts of the world, north and south, east and west.

Let them not lose courage in times of trial,

but turn to her whom Bernard called the Star of the Sea.

 Holy Father, from whom we have already received so much,

grant us again your blessing that our communities may grow in numbers,

but above all in grace and in wisdom, to your glory,

who are blessed for ever and ever.

Amen.