winner 2012 lumen award - st. procopius abbey · on september 4, 2012, st. procopius abbey was...

Winter 2013

Winner 2012 Lumen AwardWinner 2012 Lumen Award

If you are interested in giving to the monastic community there are many options! They include:

• Cashgifts—You can make out a check to St. Procopius Abbey.

• Stockgifts—In making a gift of stock you may be eligible for a tax benefit.

• Tributeormemorialgifts—These honor loved ones, living or deceased; their names will be submitted to the abbey prayer ministry.

YoucanassistthemonksintheirgreatventureofChristiandiscipleship!

OnlineGivingisnowavailableontheabbeywebsite—www.procopius.org/giving/WaysToGive

• Matchinggifts—Many companies match or even double your charity.

• Plannedgifts—You can make a bequest in your will or trust.

• IRARollover—A charitable rollover from your IRA may be a convenient way to make a gift to the Abbey. Please call to receive more information about the potential benefits of this type of giving.

St.ProcopiusAbbey 5601 College Road, Lisle, IL., 60532-4463

Our (Federal ID#) F.E.I.N. is 36-2169184. We are a tax-exempt institution and listed in the Official Catholic Directory under the diocese of Joliet, Illinois. Bequests, etc., are deductible for federal estate and gift tax purposes.

Call the office of Abbey Advancement for assistance with a donation or for more information at (630) 829-9253.

I attended the National Catholic Development Conference’s annual meeting and exposition in September in Nashville, Tennessee. Besides the usual advancement and development workshops, what interested me as the director of abbey fundraising were the talks on social media and online giving.

More people donate online. More people use smart phones. Millions connect through FACEBOOK and Twitter. One speaker stated that our donors receive hundreds and thousands of messages a day via websites, tablets, mobile devices, emails and direct mailings. “Multi-channeling” is the new norm.

Sowhatgetsnoticedandreadisthehighlypersonalizedandrelevantmessage.

This new year I hope to reach out to all of you. We are planning a direct mailing to establish a living legacy for planned giving. We will employ the use of designed email newsletters. And we will employ more tools in the magazine, e.g., QR (Quick Response) codes for smart phones. There are some in this issue for abbey giving and Cardinal George’s talk.

God bless you in this new year.

I thank you for your generous support this past year. We pray daily for all our benefactors, living and deceased. We consider your financial help a sacred deed since, according to our Holy Father St. Benedict, we are “to regard all the utensils of the monastery, including property, as if they were the sacred vessels of the altar” (Rule of Benedict, chapter 31)

“Shine before all and show your good works.”

2012 National Catholic

Development Conference

First Place Best Publication with

a Gift Envelope

The Clerestory

St. Procopius Abbey Lisle, Illinos

Agency: Wolf Design Lemont, Illinois

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S t . P r o c o P i u S A b b e y 5601 College Road

Lisle, Illinois 60532-4463 (630) 969-6410

www.ProcoPiuS.orG

t h e e d i t o r i A l b o A r d Br. Guy Jelinek, O.S.B. Fr. David Turner, O.S.B. Fr. Philip Timko, O.S.B Fr. James Flint, O.S.B.

AdvAnceMent ASSiStAnt Mrs. Joyce Schultz (630) 969-6410, ext. 252 [email protected]

Abbot The Rt. Rev. Austin G. Murphy, O.S.B.

e d i t o r / director, Abbey AdvAnceMent Fr. T. Becket A. Franks, O.S.B. (630) 829-9253 [email protected]

d e S i G n Wolf Design/Mary Kay Wolf [email protected]

P h o t o G r A P h e r S Benedictine University Staff Fr. Becket Franks, O.S.B. Br. Guy Jelinek, O.S.B. Mr. John Kavanaugh Mr. Keith Ward, ROOT studios/ HR Imaging Mrs. Mary Kay Wolf

P A G e q u o t e S Fr. Vitus Buresh, The Procopian Chronicle, 1985.

Fr. T. Becket A. Franks, O.S.B. Director, Abbey Advancement

from the editor

Find uS on FAcebook The Clerestory Magazine of the Monks of St. Procopius Abbey

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The Clerestory • Winter 2013

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Dear Friends

T H e R I G H T R e V e R e n D A U S T I n G . M U R P H y , O . S . B . , A B B O T

As I write this, we are readying for the celebration of Christ’s coming at Christmas. By the time you receive this issue of The Clerestory, we will have just entered a new year.

The year 2012 did not end positively. The massacre at the Sandy Hook elementary School in newtown, Connecticut, was a dark reminder of evil in our world. The Christmas liturgy speaks about the darkness of our world, particularly in the reading of John’s prologue in the Christmas Day Mass. The prologue says: “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn 1:5).

There are no easy words to soothe the pain of tragedy. But the coming of Christ does offer us hope as we enter a new year. The darkness is still there, for the gospel does not say the light did away with the darkness, but that it shines in its midst. When Christ comes a second time, He will set up a kingdom that is all light. But for now, the light of Christ shines amidst the lingering shadows.

May Christ’s light be a way to guide our path and let us hope that His light will shine through us, to help others. “your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Mt 5:16).

I hope Christmas brings the light of Christ into your hearts, and that this light continues to guide you and your loved ones into the new year. even in a world sometimes marked by darkness, that light is a source of great hope and joy. May that joy be with you in the new year!

Peace in Christ,

Abbot Austin G. Murphy, O.S.B.

Find uS on FAcebook Abbot Austin G. Murphy, O.S.B.

S t . P r o c o P i u S A b b e y

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by Abbot Austin Murphy

the documents of Vatican iil e c t u r e s e r i e s Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council

dignitatis humanaeThe Second Vatican Council’s Document on Religous Liberty

Presented by francis Cardinal George, o.m.i., Archbishop of chicago

On September 4, 2012, St. Procopius

Abbey was honored to host His

Eminence, Francis Cardinal George,

OMI, the archbishop of Chicago, as

the first speaker in the Documents of

Vatican II lecture series. The lecture

series, which is sponsored by the

abbey and Benedictine University,

commemorates the fiftieth anniversary

of the Second Vatican Council. The

series aims to make the documents

themselves better known and

appreciated. As the first speaker in

the series, Cardinal George spoke on

Dignitatis Humanae, the Council’s

document on religious liberty. The

talk is available on YouTube (search

“Cardinal George’s talk Dignitatis

Humanae,” or see QR Code below).

A summary of the talk follows.

Part One: the context of the Second Vatican Council (starts at 6:03 mark)

The Cardinal’s talk began by giving the context for the Council. It had a “missionary purpose.” Pope Blessed John XXIII called the Council with the pastoral aim of communicating God’s peace and solidarity to a world that had in recent history experienced the horrors of two world wars and had entered into the Cold War with the possibility of nuclear destruction. Cardinal George said, “The council was called to change the world, first of all, and to change the Church enough so that she could be a partner in dialogue with the cultures of the world in order to create human solidarity.” The changes in the Church were needed, so that the Church could more effectively engage the world with her proclamation of peace.

Part twO: the freedom of the Church for the sake of her mission (starts at 11:16 mark)

After setting the context of the Second Vatican Council, the Cardinal spoke particularly about Dignitatis Humanae, The document introduced a significant shift. In previous discussions of the Church’s freedom, the focus was on the relation of Church and State, but now it was on the relation of faith and culture. The Church’s pastoral aim is to put the good news of our

faith in conversation with the culture, and the Church requires freedom to fulfill this God-given mission. “The Council talked about the freedom of religion as the necessary condition for mission,” Cardinal George noted. The document also saw a justification for religious freedom in the human person, whose dignity demands a respect for individual conscience. Conscience here is not a license to believe or do whatever one wants, but it involves seeking the truth and it directs one to act according to the truth.

Part three: Current challenge to religious liberty (starts at 38:28 mark)

Cardinal George next discussed challenges to religious freedom in our country today, particularly the federal government’s Health and Human Services’ (HHS) mandate. The mandate forces Catholic and other religious institutions to pay for insurance plans that provide services that are objectionable from a Catholic perspective, namely, abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception. The U.S. Constitution protects the free exercise of religion, but to circumvent this protection for religious institutions the government is denying that certain institutions are religious. Rather than let religions define which organizations belong to them, the government for the first time is making this decision. For instance,

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the government has now said that a Catholic organization is not religious if it serves any more than a small percentage of non-Catholics. Thus, Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Chicago is not a Catholic organization, says the government, because it serves many non-Catholics. Cardinal George quoted Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., the president of the University of Notre Dame, who wrote that “if we concede that the Government can decide which religious organizations are sufficiently religious to be awarded the freedom to follow the principles that define their mission, then we have begun to walk down a path that ultimately leads to the undermining of those institutions.”

Part FOur: Springtime for the faith (starts at 47:31 mark)

When Pope John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council he looked ahead to a “springtime for the faith.” But if that springtime does not seem to have arrived, the question is “why?” noted Cardinal George. Thinking of the Council’s pastoral aim of putting the faith more effectively in dialogue with the culture, the Cardinal asked what weakens and what strengthens the accomplishment of this aim. Working against it today are: “a political interpretation of the Council in terms of liberal and conservative ideologies,” rather than in terms of what is true

versus false; a contemporary disdain for the Church’s moral teachings; and a militant atheism or aggressive secularism, which says “we must live in public as if God did not exist.” More positively, there are seeds of the Word in today’s culture. Globalization has produced a global consciousness and, along with this, there has come about a “universal generosity of spirit” that causes people to be concerned for and willing to help others elsewhere in the world. Without God and His truth at its center, this global society can become closed in on itself and fractured. But the truths of our faith provide a firm basis for genuine human solidarity and the Council has called us to seek new ways to communicate those truths to the culture for this reason. Helping the Church in this task is the ongoing liturgical renewal that is a major part of Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate. Genuine worship in the liturgy promotes “a network of relationships with God Himself at the center through the power of the Holy Spirit.” The liturgy also points to the eschaton, or final fulfillment of the kingdom. Until then, we live in hope and we strive to put our Catholic faith in dialogue with the culture, so that the Church may be “effectively the unifying leaven in the world.”

We thank Cardinal George for his

very profound lecture. It helps us to

see why Pope Benedict XVI has said

that Dignitatis Humanae, despite its

relatively small size, is one of the most

significant documents of Vatican II.

Our next lecture in the series will be

by Fr. Robert Barron on the document,

Gaudium et Spes. Fr. Barron is an

internationally renowned theologian,

author, and speaker, as well as the

founder of the Word on Fire ministries,

which produced the recent Catholicism

video series. He is also the president

and rector of Mundelein Seminary,

and is an alumnus of our high school,

Benet Academy. His talk will be on

September 24, 2013, in the Abbey

Church at 7:00 p.m. Admittance is free

and open to the public. Please join us.

S T . P R O C O P I U S A B B e y

Four

the Stone houseby Fr. James with Fr. Becket and Benedictine University

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When Morris Neff, an immigrant from Alsace, France, built a farmhouse near Lisle in 1852, he could have had no idea that he was constructing the nucleus around which a monastery, university, and high school would develop and flourish into the twenty-first century. Or that his farmhouse, almost alone among the nineteenth-century structures in the Lisle area, would still be standing today.

The Bohemian-American Benedictine monks who bought the 104 acre Neff farm in 1896 for $6,240.00, which included forty hens and a top buggy, were not especially interested in the farmhouse for its own sake. Their intent was to prepare a location to which to move the school they had begun in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood in 1887. The limited area available to the monks in the city meant that St. Procopius College would never be able to expand as the monks hoped unless a more spacious rural campus were obtained.

And so the monks worked from the start to lay the groundwork for transferring their school to Lisle. A barn was constructed and several of the brothers were assigned to what was now the abbey’s farm. These monks lived in the Neff house and part of the second floor was transformed into a chapel for their prayers.

In 1900, the construction of Benedictine Hall began, and the following year the school was transferred to Lisle. With the monks assigned to Lisle now living in Benedictine Hall, the Neff house became a sort of bunkhouse for single laymen working on the farm or at the school. It continued to serve this role into the present century: the last such workman, Art DeNardo came to Lisle around 1961 and did maintenance work at the college until his retirement some three decades later.

By that time Art was the only resident in the house, and the school allowed him to continue to live there during his retirement. In an interview with Fr. Becket, Art mentioned that there was not much furniture in “The Stone

art denardo speaks with reporters about his stay in the stone house. while he lived in the house, it was called “the house of art.”


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Benedictine University then had to determine the future use of what was likely the oldest stone structure in the DuPage County. The building still sits on campus along what is now known as College Road. While only the four walls remain, the Neff house was renovated and expanded to function as a welcome center for new students and their families as well as alumni and visitors. As part of the new complex, the University added a new building to the north of the farm house, three times the size of the original structure.Architects found a local quarry, thought to have provided the same material for

the 160 year old neff farmhouse has been dedicated to a new use as benedictine university’s enrollment and welcome center — honoring its past and embodying the benedictine spirit of hospitality.

the original building. According to the University, the cost of the project was approximately $2.5 million, more than 430 times what the monks paid for the original structure and the farm.

On Monday, October 1, 2012, President William J. Carroll, Mr. Chair Willis M. Gillett, Chairman of the University Board of Trustees, and the University community together with Abbot Austin and the monks of the abbey, blessed and dedicated the renovated Neff farm house complex now known as the Neff Welcome Center.

House,” as he called it. He fixed the roof and bought some furniture so that he could live in the historic building. He thought that the renovation of the house was “beautiful and a very nice way to honor those people who built it long time ago.” He also reminded me that the Stone House did have a nickname. A friend gave him a gift with the words “The House of Art” burned into a wooden plaque. Art hung it above the front door. In 2010, some health problems led him to accept the Abbey’s invitation to move into the monastery, where he continues to dwell today.

(top) abbot austin, chancellor of benedictine univer-sity, blesses the new center. the tenth abbot with the abbot founders’ pictures behind him. (center) the main

entrance of the new welcome center. interior of the renovated neff farm house with second floor removed. (bottom) the welcoming parlor.

Fr. Theodore Suchy, monk of St. Procopius Abbey and for forty years the curator of the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine University,

died of a heart attack at the Abbey on the evening of October 28, 2012. Born in Cary, Illinois, on December 4, 1940, David Suchy came to St. Procopius

College after graduating from Crystal Lake Community High School. Joining the monastic community, he professed his monastic vows on June 24, 1962.

In the words of Fr. Thomas who delivered Fr. Theodore’s eulogy, “After graduating in 1963, Theodore and I sat through first-year classes in Theology in our seminary. Theodore kept me awake during Fr. Brendan’s

1:00 p.m. unprepared lecture on the Introduction to Sacred Scripture.” As a cleric, he taught both English and Science courses at St. Procopius, and then Benet Academy. Fr. Theodore was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Romeo Blanchette at St. Raymond Nonnatus Cathedral on May 27, 1967. His first bachelor’s degree having been in philosophy, he completed a second one in biology in 1968 and then continued his studies at Indiana University, from which he obtained a Master of Science degree in Biology in 1970. The death of the noted biologists, Frs. Hilary and Edmund Jurica, in the


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Born in Detroit, Michigan, on May 16, 1923, Robert Marceau first came into contact with St. Procopius Abbey through hearing a

mission appeal at his parish for the Benedictine Chinese Mission. The desire to devote his life to bringing China to the Faith took hold of the young man, and he came to Lisle and attended St. Procopius Academy, from which he graduated in 1943.

A year later, he entered the monastic community, making no secret of his hope to one day become a priest in the mission field. Even before taking his monastic vows on September 2, 1945, he and his close friend, Fr. James Saul, were permitted by their novice master to help with the Chinese

Mission’s newsletter, The Benedictine Orient. While a cleric, he volunteered to complete his theology studies in China, and with four others was preparing to cross the Pacific when the victory of the Communist forces on the mainland rendered this plan impossible. Instead, he finished his theology studies in Lisle and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Martin McNamara at St. Raymond Nonnatus Cathedral, Joliet, on May 22, 1952. As well as serving as a prefect and teacher in the schools, he was sent to the University of Notre Dame during the summers, obtaining a master’s degree in liturgy in 1957. That same year, he was appointed Dean of Discipline on the new campus of St. Procopius Academy, a position he held until 1964. He then was named Dean of Men at St. Procopius College

fr. timothy marceau, o.s.b.

born: may 16, 1923

professed: september 2, 1945

ordained: may 22, 1952

died: february 20, 2012

rev. theodore suchy, o.s.b.

born: december 4, 1940

professed: june 24, 1962

ordained: may 27, 1967

died: october 28, 2012

in memoriam monachorum a lighted candle burned

brightly in front of a standing crucifix at

his place at table in the refectory.

May he rest in peace!

early 1970s left the young “Father Ted” in charge of the Biology Department at Illinois Benedictine College, and a major portion of his work in life, until his dying day, was the preservation and enhancement of the legacy bequeathed him by these educational pioneers. What had been a collection of plants and animals amassed for classroom demonstration purposes became under his direction a full-scale nature museum, first in Scholl and then in Kindlon Hall, where today it is a major resource for biological education in DuPage County. Fr. Theodore, a quiet man with a wry sense of humor, gentle by nature but firm when necessary, also served the College and University as the director of Kohlbeck Hall for more than a decade, chaplain and then


Seven

and Vice-Rector of St. Procopius Seminary. In 1966, he was at last able to undertake the missionary work for which he had joined the monastery, as he volunteered to serve in the newly-established priory in Chiayi, Taiwan. Although he conducted the affairs of the house with distinction as its prior from 1968-1978, Fr. Timothy was frustrated both by the lack of vocations and his own inability to gain more

than a minimal grasp of the Chinese language. He returned to the United States at the end of 1978. After a year of teaching religion again at the Academy, he was in 1980 assigned to succeed Fr. Walter Jendrusak as chaplain of the Central Louisiana State Hospital in Pineville. After his decade in the tropics he found the Louisiana climate more comfortable than he did Illinois winters. Completing his residence at the hospital

in 1992, he remained in the Diocese of Alexandria, as pastor first of St. Martin of Tours Parish in Hessmer and then, from 2001, as pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Moreauville. A soft-spoken and distinguished man, Fr. Timothy won the respect and affection of all for whom he labored.

In memoriam, for one month, we lighted a candle at Fr. Timothy’s place at table.

associate campus minister for many years, and teacher of biology until 2009, the same year when the name of the museum was expanded to honor his many contributions.

Again, in the words of Fr. Thomas, “Summers found Fr. Theodore and confreres vacationing at Sailor Lake where the quiet was a welcome respite from the bedlam of a college year. Theodore liked to fish and hike. While some of us cooked, he would gladly do the dishes in exchange. The kitchen was always spotless by the time he finished which was usually around 9:00 p.m. Leaving the cabin at the end of vacation, Theodore was in also charge of leaving the cabin spotless. His stubbornness sometimes came in handy.”

Only in the last summer of his life did Fr. Ted make the transition to curator emeritus of the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum, which he continued to visit almost daily. At the monastery, Fr. Theodore served in a number of

major positions, including Vocation Director (1974-1983), Novice Master (1983-1991), and Prior (1985-1991). During the last decade of his life, his health deteriorated, and by 2004 it was clear that he was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. Though the power of speech gradually deserted him and he became ever less steady on his feet, he bore his infirmity with grace and humor, and he continued to be involved in the daily care of the main Abbey courtyard and the supervision of the grounds until the end of his life.

The Abbot and Community received his body at a vigil service in the Abbey Church on the evening of Tuesday, October 30, at 7:00 p.m. On Wednesday, October 31, the community celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial at 4:00 p.m. Interment followed in the Abbey Cemetery on the grounds of Benedictine University.

In memoriam, for one month, we lighted a candle at Fr. Theodore’s place at table.

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various causes including the Education Development Fund in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, to now assisting Stonehill Care Center, where he lives, in raising funds for its new addition.

“Fundraising has been part of my life as an executive, but it’s also been part of my spiritual life,” he said. “The people I’ve met when asking for donations have been super friends and have become almost role models for me to see how well they have been doing on behalf of other people.”

Being asked to be on the Stonehill Development team was a shot in the arm for Kucera. “We raised money and I got on to the third part of Jesus’ work—health care and I feel much more invigorated now than when I came to Stonehill, “ he said.

“I came to Stonehill to die—no joke – now I’m not going to do it for a while. I’ll be ninety next May. There are eight women at Stonehill who are over one hundred years old and not one man! I started a club—I’m going to live to be one hundred, and maybe raise more money too.”

His advice to other fundraisers in the room was to keep the personal touch in raising money so people have a personal connection to giving to someone in need.

“Invest it well,” he said, “and give us a piece of it and watch us use it properly and not squander it.”

Courtesy of The Witness Newspaper, Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa


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From age thirty-five to almost ninety, Dubuque Archbishop Emeritus Daniel Kucera, O.S.B., has done lot of fundraising.

On Nov. 15, he received the special Judges Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Greater Tri-State Chapter at the annual awards luncheon at the Dubuque Grand River Center, in Dubuque, Iowa.

“when i became a priest and then a bishop, it occurred to me that fundraising is part of the gospel of jesus christ,” he said in his remarks after receiving the award. “jesus preached, he healed and he took care of people in need.” this involved education, health care, and social work—three causes for which kucera raised funds throughout his life.

He traced his journey from learning the skills of fundraising as president of St. Procopius College in Lisle, Illinois, through his years of raising money for

Archbishop Kucera Among Philanthropists Recognized

by Sr. Carol Hoverman, Editor, The Witness

Monday thru FridayLauds ............................................6:00 a.m. Mid-day Prayer (LC).......................12:00 noonThe Conventual Mass .....................4:50 p.m. Vespers .........................................7:00 p.m.

SaturdayLauds ............................................6:25 a.m. The Conventual Mass .....................7:00 a.m.Mid-day Prayer (LC).......................12:00 noonVespers .........................................5:00 p.m. Compline (LC) ................................7:00 p.m.

SundayLauds ............................................6:25 a.m.The Conventual Mass ...................11:00 a.m.Solemn Vespers .............................5:00 p.m.Compline (LC) ................................7:00 p.m.

The monks invite you to join them for morning and evening prayer, especially solemn vespers at 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. These are the usual Mass times, please call the abbey switchboard at (630) 969-6410 to confirm Saturday or Solemnity times or any other schedules.

Worship will be in the abbey church, unless noted (LC) indicating the Lady Chapel.

Abbey Prayer & Worship


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As we reflect on this Christmas season, no one is exactly sure why December 25 was chosen for the date of Christmas. We

know that by the year 354 Christians were celebrating the feast of the Lord’s Nativity in the city of Rome. This celebration may also have been occurring in North Africa.

There seem to be two dominant theories that explain the choice of December 25 for Christmas in the Western church. The first and most popular theory is the History of Religions Hypothesis. According to this “hypothesis,” Christians replaced a Pagan feast that had been instituted by the emperor Aurelian in the later part of the third century—the birthday of the Unconquered Sun (Sol Invictus). This Pagan festival occurred at the time of the winter solstice. By commemorating the birth of Jesus on this date, Christians were professing their conviction that Jesus Christ is the true light of the world.

The other theory is the Computation Hypothesis. This theory maintains that Christians transferred the date of Jesus’

crucifixion, which was the fourteenth of the Jewish month of Nisan, that followed the lunar calendar, to its equivalent on the solar calendar which was March 25. It was believed that great patriarchs were conceived and died on the same date. Knowing Jesus’ death, they concluded that he was therefore conceived on March 25, making his birth nine months later on December 25.

Of these two theories, the History of Religions Hypothesis is perhaps the most appealing because of the rich symbolism of light and darkness. At this, the darkest time of the year, peoples have always experienced the need to celebrate some form of ritual that expresses their hope for the re-birth of light. More often than not, these rituals involve fire, e.g., bonfires, candles, and especially the hearth which was interpreted as a threshold place linking the outer world and the inner world. (Interestingly, in later folklore, the mystical figure of Santa Claus will use this threshold place to gain access into the homes and hearts of people deserving of favor and reward.) It was logical and ingenious, on the part

of the Church, to adopt this already existing celebration and layer it with the ultimate of meanings the birth of the Sun of Righteousness, Christ Jesus the Lord.

We will never know with certainty why December 25 was selected for the feast of Christ’s birth. Perhaps the mystery that surrounds the origins of Christmas is intended, since Christmas can never be reduced to an historical event that we can calculate, control, or statically fix on our calendars. Rather it is an ongoing reality—a birthing that happens in the concrete circumstances of our lives. For we must believe that ever since the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, our lives have become pregnant with possibilities for encountering the living God. We are therefore, not human beings who are seeking spiritual experiences, but rather spiritual beings who are seeking to be human.1

1 Nathan D. Mitchell, “The Amen Corner: Gathering as an Act of Reconciliation,” Worship 85, no. 6 (November 2011): 552.

Reprinted from the St. Joan of Arc Bulletin, 2011. Used with permission.

Christmas Reflectionsby Fr. Gabriel

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The ProcoPian oblaTe

Finding a Compass for Life

Well, first I do what a good Catholic should do. I go to Mass in a state of grace, which means availing myself of the sacrament of penance when I need to, following my conscience. I try to live a Christian lifestyle, praying before meals, especially in public. I guard my thoughts, words and actions. I walk away from impure jokes. I try to do the next right thing. I practice these principles in all of my affairs. I try hard to live the virtues, both the natural cardinal virtues and the

on the abbey website it reads:

Oblates of St. Benedict are individuals who seek to enrich their Christian lives through a formal spiritual association with a Benedictine community. While their prayer and work will generally be in the world rather than within the walls of a monastery, they attempt to fulfill their proper vocation in a manner enlightened and guided by St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries.

The term “oblate” derives from the Latin word for “offering.” At the time of St. Benedict, parents would sometimes “offer” their children to monasteries for religious training and education. “Oblate” later came to refer also to those who wished to join themselves to the work and prayer of a monastic community without leaving their homes, families, or occupations.

so, we asked our oblates: what do you do in your everyday life to support your oblation? how do you incorporate Benedictine values in your day-to-day living? what follows are the responses of some of the oblates of st. procopius abbey.

theological virtues. I read good books. I watch good TV and movies. I listen to good music. I seek the Trinity not by passing judgment on myself or others, but by practicing the golden rule. “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.”

I certainly pray and work. In fact most of my prayer is praying for other people when I think of them. And often I think of them when I am doing some kind of mindless work, work which does not occupy my mind. So my mind is free in a situation like that to go toward other peoples’ lives which in turn inevitably leads me to pray for them. Prayer and work is a big part of my spiritual life.

dan kalina

Oblate life is a manner of loving. As men are admitted as monks who are judged to be seeking God, I also long to be with Him and, as St. Benedict wrote in his Prologue, “… while there is still time, while we are still in the body and are able to fulfill all these things by the light of this life, we must hasten to do now what will profit us for eternity.” yes, I aim to stay Awake! not for my sake alone do I try, but for the good of this community, my neighbor, my hus-band, my children and for all families everywhere. We oblates pray and work and sometimes even play like children for keeps, though we know we must lose and should die every day to ourselves. In his Rule, St. Benedict provides practi-cal helps to “… prepare our hearts and bodies to do battle under the holy obe-dience of His commands.” In Chapter Four, my favorite, he enumerates the Instruments of Good Works, seventy-two of them, which he calls, “the tools of spiritual craft.” To these I refer at least hourly and I recommend them to every-one. Of the three Benedictine principles of Christian living, obedience, stability and fidelity, I think stability is the most wonderful. The Holy Spirit led me to St.

Procopius Abbey, and it is to the monks and the oblates of this community that I am attached. They show me Christ in countless ways and I thank God for them. May there, please God, be many more vocations here. Peace!

jennifer bartoli kalina

“There were two years of prayer and reflec-tion, in addition to self-doubt, before I enrolled in the Oblate Program. I felt inadequate, not prayerful enough, not humble enough, not spiritual enough, nor as committed as I felt I should. In spite of all that, God guided me by challenging me to find out if I truly wanted to im-prove myself as His servant. Clearly, the answer was “Yes!” The Oblate commit-ment was one of the most positive choices I have ever made in my life.

kevin r. illia

I begin each day with a prayer to God asking him to strengthen my commit-ment to follow him in the way of St. Benedict. I ask God because I realize I can’t do this by myself. I need God’s help. “In the way of St. Benedict,” what better model for spiritual growth could I ask for? St. Benedict guides me daily as I move through life. His rule serves as a constant companion. As I said, I need help and I have found it in Benedictine spirituality!

terry r. fournier

I try to center my life around The Rule of St. Benedict, letting it be a compass of sorts as I live in a world filled with so many distractions to my spiritual life. In my daily life I make every effort to do morning prayer and read a passage of the Rule, go to daily Mass, then off to my work life, and finally to end the day with evening prayer. Sometimes I can not do all in any one day, but I try at the very least to read the daily readings and the Rule and to make every effort to avoid the temptations of the secular world.


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If these reflections pique your interest in learning more about becoming an oblate, visit our website or contact Fr. David.

oblate meetingsSecond Sunday of the month 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Contact Fr. David Turner, O.S.B. for more information. (630) 829-9266 [email protected]/oblate


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e.During the first part of November, Abbot Austin accompanied me first to the University of Illinois campus in Chicago, where he shared his own vocation story with the discernment group that meets there on Wednesdays,

and then to the Newman Center at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where we took part in a vocations fair. Both were good experiences, allowing us to meet some young men serious about discernment, whether or not their journeys end up leading them into religious life.

But what I wanted more to reflect upon this time was something that has struck me forcibly over the last few years, especially since I have become Vocation Director. And that is the extent to which younger Catholics are drawn to the traditional practice of Eucharistic Adoration. Quiet time before the Blessed Sacrament, sometimes with song, sometimes with Benediction, sometimes just doing homework or reading, has become an increasingly popular practice among college-age and other young Catholics.

As to whether this is good, I defer to what I read a few years ago in an article by a Benedictine monk, one who more or less by accident found himself at Eucharistic Adoration in a foreign country. He found himself greatly enjoying the experience of prayerful quiet. This bothered him, for he feared that he was somehow betraying what he supposed was the spirituality of the Second Vatican Council. When he had a chance, he reported on his confused feelings to the great liturgical scholar, Father Godfrey Diekmann of St. John’s Abbey. Father Godfrey chuckled and asked, why on earth would you regret being edified, built up by Eucharistic Adoration? For what is Eucharistic Adoration but the prolongation of what is done at Mass—or rather, a prolongation of our remembering what Christ Jesus has done for us?

As alluded to above, I think one of the particular attractions of Eucharistic Adoration in our age is the opportunity for a quiet attentiveness to God, an opportunity that I suppose is very hard to find in a world full of noise, noise all around us, noise within us generated by so many electronic devices and demands. May the listening that this traditional Catholic practice open some hearts for the listening to God that is at the heart of monastic life.

Another “Come and See” retreat is scheduled for the Triduum, beginning Holy Thursday, March 28, 2013, at 4:00 p.m., and ending Easter Sunday, March 31, at 1:00 p.m. There is no charge for the weekend, but space is limited. Young Catholic men interested in exploring the possibility of monastic are invited to contact me at 630-829-9279 or at [email protected].

Vocations Ministryby Fr. James

Find uS on FAcebook Fr. James Flint, O.S.B.

As a Benedictine oblate, the Rule and the daily readings are a primary source of my spiritual nourishment. Mass, Holy Eucharist are also very important to me along with Adoration to the Blessed Sacrament.

Also, as a Benedictine oblate living in the secular world, I fulfill the spirit of the Rule not just by reading it and reading scripture, but also by putting it into action. Through time, talent and treasure I sing God’s praises in choir and offer my educational background to serving my parish as co-chair of the Finance Committee and finally through the financial support to my Parish community at St. Petronille in Glen Ellyn and to St. Procopius Abbey. Finally, to the Diocese of Joliet, I support vocations to the priesthood and religious life through my work with the Serra Club of DuPage County.

In summation, oblate life to me is like a metronome, the Alpha and the Omega, a cycle that is balanced and intertwined with the rhythms of life. Back and forth, daily in perfect sequence, prayer, work, prayer, work, prayer, work, living the Rule and scripture that has remained relevant through the centuries and putting it into action in my daily life.

thomas james maronta

n From September 28 to October 1, Fr. Julian attended the convention of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre in Indianapolis, Indiana. As a member of the formation team, he presented Fr. David’s powerpoint on the Spiritual Exercises. Also, he assisted the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem at the Sacred Liturgy.

n On October 11, Fr. Julian gave a talk on Sacrosanctum Concilium (On the Sacred Liturgy) at St. John the Apostle Church in Villa Park, Illinois.

n Br. augustine attended a symposium entitled, “The Aesthetics and Pedagogy of Charles Tournemire: Chant and Improvisation in the Liturgy.” The symposium was held at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was sponsored by the Church Music Association of America, The American Guild of Organists, and Duquesne University.

n On October 26, 2012, abbot austin gave a paper entitled, “Dei Verbum, St. Augustine, and Modernity on Biblical Inspiration,” as part of the conference, Dei Verbum at 50: Toward a Clarification of the Inspiration of Scripture, held by the Center for Scriptural Exegesis, Philosophy, and Doctrine at the University of Dayton. Abbot Austin’s paper drew on the research he has been doing for his doctoral dissertation through the University of Notre Dame. The paper treated an issue concerning the authorship of Scripture that the Second Vatican Council’s document Dei Verbum touched upon, but left undeveloped. The issue is how God precisely worked to inspire the human authors in their historical settings. While modernity has tried to tackle this issue by finding an account that would explain how this happened in all cases, St. Augustine suggests another way—namely, the issue should be considered less universally, and more on a text by text basis. This approach would allow theology and exegesis to enrich each other more fruitfully.


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in memoriam of all of our confreres, relatives, friends and benefactors

+ Dr. Kevin Doyle, Benedictine University, friend of the abbey

+ Mrs. Sharon Franks, aunt of Fr. Becket

+ Fr. Theodore Suchy, O.S.B.

C h r o n i c l i n g o u r g r e a t v e n t u r e o f C h r i s t i a n d i s c i p l e s h i p .

Abbey AdVentures

(top) benet academy graduated seniors of the abbey schola, 2012. benet academy graduated seniors of the st. wenceslaus servers’ society, 2012.

n In October at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Lisle, Mr. Thomas J. Althoff, (President & Ceo Lisle Area Chamber of Commerce) presented Fr. Gabriel with a certificate of appreciation for hosting our third After Hours Meet and Greet, for those members of the Lisle Chamber of Commerce.


tHirteen

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the documents of Vatican iil e c t u r e s e r i e s

Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council

September 24, 2013 7:00 p.m., Abbey Church

gaudium et spesThe document is an overview of the Catholic

Church’s teachings about humanity’s relationship to society, especially in reference to economics, poverty, social justice, culture,

science, technology and ecumenism.

Presented by fr. robert Barron President and rector,

mundelein Seminary

Lent at the Abbey

Saturday, March 9, 2013

“If we wish to dwell in the tent of this kingdom, we will never arrive unless we run there by good deeds.”

To help us plan the catering arrangements, please contact Fr. Becket at (630) 829-9253 or [email protected] to let us know that you plan to attend. This event is free and open to the public. Registration closes on Saturday, March 2.

schedule 9:00 a.m. Arrival and Coffee 9:30 a.m. Lauds 10:00 a.m. Lectio Divina 11:00 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 12:00 p.m. Eucharist 12:30 p.m. Lunch 1:30 p.m. Presentation 2:30 p.m. Closing Prayer and Blessing

NONPROFITORGUSPOSTAGE

PAIDAURORAILPERMIT437

S t . P r o c o P i u S A b b e y

5601 college roadLisle, illinois 60532-4463

2 the Documents of Vatican ii Lecture Series

4 the Stone House

6 in Memoriam Monachorum

8 Archbishop Kucera Among Philanthropists recognized

8 Prayer and Worship Schedule

9 christmas reflections

10 the Procopian oblate

11 Vocations Ministry

12 Abbey Adventures