kansas monks fall 2015

1Society of St. Benedict

kansas monks

ALSO INSIDE: REMEMBERING FR. KEVIN BACHMANN

BECOMING AN OBLATE

DEALING WITH DOUBT, & MORE. . .

In the Next Kansas Monks

Ora Labora

Kicking off the Year of Mercy

On the cover: Monks and students after 5:15 daily Mass at the Abbey.

8 - Remembering Fr. KevinWe look back on the life of Fr. Kevin Bachmann, a monk of Holy Cross Abbey, who came to live with the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey.

12 - Windows to HeavenFr. Jay and Br. Benedict discuss the beauty and grace of iconography.

16 - DoubtBr. Leven explains how we can deal with the dilemma of doubt.

4 - From the AbbotAbbot James asks the burning question: why?

5 - Why We ServeThe monks offer reflections on their labora.

10 - Getting HookedFr. Daniel reflects on his time in Rome, meeting Fr. Reginald Foster, and his recent work with “Reggie.”

18 - Leaving a LegacyLou McAvoy discusses his time at St. Benedict’s College and why he has decided to leave the monks in his will.

20 - OblationNewly appointed Oblate Director, Fr. Meinrad Miller, discusses the process and benefits of becoming an oblate.

22 - Laudato SiDrs. Jim & Jen Madden discuss Pope Francis’ recent encyclical and its impact on their family.

2 K a n s a s M o n k s


W hy a r e w e h e r e ?

Th i s i s ce r t a i n l y t h e m o s t d eb at e d t o p i c s i n ce m a n h a s b e e n s e l f - aw a r e ; w h e r e d i d w e co m e f r o m a n d w hy a r e w e h e r e ?

Th i s s i mp l e q u e s t i o n : “ w hy ? ” d r i v e s u s . I t i s i n a s k i n g t h i s q u e s t i o n t h at w e a r e aw a r e o f o u r hu m a n i t y, a n d i t i s t h r o u g h t h i s q u e s t i o n t h at w e u l t i m at e l y f i n d o u r f a i t h .

Th e r e i s n o p e r f e c t a n s w e r t o w hy, t h at ’s w hy w e c a l l i t f a i t h , b u t w e k n o w t h e r e i s a l o n g i n g i n e a c h o f o u r h e a r t s f o r s o m e t h i n g , s o m e t h i n g g r e a t e r ; t o b o r r o w a p h r a s e “ t h e g r e a t e s t o f t h e s e i s l o v e .”

S t . Au g u s t i n e s a i d , “ L o v e a n d d o w h at y o u w i l l . . . L e t t h e r o o t o f l o v e b e w i t h i n . Fo r o f t h i s r o o t c a n n o t h i n g co m e exce p t t h at w h i c h i s g o o d .”

L o v e i s t h e s o u r ce o f j o y i n o u r l i v e s ; a n d t h e m o n k s , ce r t a i n l y t h r o u g h t h e i r p r ay e r a n d w o r k , b u t t h r o u g h t h e i r v e r y l i v e s d e m o n s t r a t e h o w w e c a n s h a r e t h i s l o v e t h at w e h av e a l l b e e n g i v e n . I a m g r a t e f u l e a c h a n d e v e r y d ay f o r t h e i r w o r k , t h e i r w i t n e s s , a n d t h e i r p r ay e r, a n d I h o p e a l l o f y o u w i l l j o i n m e i n s u p p o r t i n g t h e s e m e n . I a l s o h o p e y o u w i l l j o i n m e i n p r ay i n g t h at t h e g r o u p o f y o u n g m o n k s co nt i nu e s t o g r o w.

- J . D. B e n n i n g E d i t o r, K a n s a s M o n k s , B C ’ 0 8

p . s . I f y o u h a v e n’ t v i s i t e d t h e m o n a s t e r y l a t e l y, t h e g r o un d s a r e a b e a u t i f u l p l a c e t o v i s i t in t h e f a l l .

T H E S O U R C E

T H R E E T H I N G S W I L L L A S T F O R E V E R- - F A I T H , H O P E , A N D L O V E

- - A N D T H E G R E A T E S T O F T H E S E I S L O V E- 1 C O R I N T H I A N S 1 3 : 1 3


W h y ?

F r o m t h e A b b o t

at our Benedictine schools in Atchison, the monks are provided the great opportunity of participating in the lives of our new and returning students, and to get to know their families. It is the opportunity to hear the stories of their journeys in faith and the opportunity to share ours. Any journey in faith is a story of conversion, the path on which we grow closer to Christ. The shar-ing of these stories will inevitably lead to questions about why the students and/or their parents chose a Catholic, Benedictine education; what drew them here? And more often then not, the same questions are offered back to us of why did we choose to enter the monastery?

Twenty years ago (October 7, Feast of the Holy Rosary), I would have answered this question differently, yet God worked through whatever answer I gave back then in my own conversion journey. Today, my answers, though different, still contribute to that conversion. So, why do I choose to continue this journey at St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kan., and what has kept me on this path?

The first logical answer to the question of “Why?” is this journey of conversion, my own path (hopefully) toward eternal life. But when I consider this it is easy to see how one-dimensional an answer it is. There has to be more there sustaining me on this path. The “Why?” question leads us to think outside of ourselves, to the broader community, the broader Church, to our personal and communal relationship with Christ. If it is solely about me, then I could come up with plenty of reasons why I could choose another path. But it is not about me, it is about my relationship with Christ and his Body, the Church.

Ultimately, I believe our journeys from the personal to the communal make real the presence of Christ to ourselves and to others. It is the journey from the personal call – which Jesus makes to each of us – to the Eucha-ristic Communion in which he asks us to live. It is our personal relationship with Christ that should lead us into the communal relationship with him. So, why am I here at St. Benedict’s Abbey, and why has God helped me to continue to say, “yes” to that call? It is my personal redemption, yet also the opportunity to participate in the salvation of my confreres in the monastery, and the salvation of the friends, family, and students/alumni who call this place “home” in some way, and in the end to participate in the salvation of the Church and the world. The communal journey helps me in my own individual journey to grow closer to Christ, and vice versa.

Recently reading comments following an internet article written on God’s presence in the world, I was struck by the need among some to prove or disprove God’s existence, and to convince others they were correct. One comment asked that “Why?” question; Why do you believe in God, what proof do you have? The recipient of the question simply responded, “That’s faith.” Eventually all of our research, all of our digging for the perfect answer to the “Why?” question will always lead us back to the same answer. It will always be an act of faith to follow God wherever he is calling us.

Ask yourself “Why?” and please ask each of us at the Abbey why we have chosen to respond to God’s call to seek Christ in the monastic life. As we each share the stories of our conversion journeys, we will be participating in each other’s path toward Christ, and finally, our redemption.

In the spirit of Saint Benedict,

Abbot James R. Albers, OSB

Above photos taken at Benedictine College move-in day by Mary Asher, BC ‘80.

With the start of the school year


Why do we serve? I am tempted to give clichéd or pietistic answers. We serve the youth because they are our present and our future. We serve one another, including our confreres, because God asks us to do so. Yes, these are true. But more than anything else, I find moments of realization, the ‘aha’ moments, exciting and inspiring.

At Maur Hill-Mount Academy, I serve as the Chaplain. Admittedly, some days it is easier to see the face of Jesus in the students and my co-workers than others. There are times of joy, frustration, and challenge. Yet, the fruit of God’s love is spectacular.

Seeing the student have an ‘aha’ moment, understanding why the Church teaches what she does or how to solve a physics problem is very inspiring. Even more so are those opportunities to minister by my witness and presence. I strive to see others, and present myself, authentically, and to help them encounter Jesus by “getting in the mud” with them. Often this encounter occurs through the sacraments where the grace of God leads to the ‘aha’ moment when one deeply comprehends God’s love and mercy. But, it also occurs at sporting events and by merely being present for them.

It may sound strange, but even in my role as the Prior of the Abbey, the same moments are the most meaningful to me. I always feel great awe when a monk has a deep realization about his life or his faith. To see him honestly engage his vow of conversion challenges me to more deeply live out my own vows. Being able to encounter the monk where he is in that moment helps me to better see Jesus in the elderly, the young, the sick.

Encountering Christ in others and seeing the Holy Spirit at work in both my life and theirs often leads me to the ‘aha’ moment of my need to deepen my relationship with God and to serve well those placed in my care.

T h e A h a M o m e n tb y F r . J e r e m y H e p p l e r

T e a c h t o W o n d e rb y B r . C h r i s t o p h e r S t a r t

Teaching middle school is a blessing, far more than it is a challenge. Every day I have the opportunity to spend time with 70 some odd students (and some are quite odd) at one of the most pivotal times in their lives. My students are transitioning from childhood into adoles-cence. They are gaining the critical and abstract think-ing that will guide them in life outside of our Atchi-son, Catholic schools. At the same time, they retain a child-like ability to enter into the moment. This transi-tion provides a moment when they are keenly looking for insight and guidance—even if they never say those words.

The driving force in my classroom is my own wonder and insatiable curiosity about Creation and the strange creature called man. Whether we are studying science, math, religion, I am blown away at how incredible it is that we have been given this amazing world to discover! Not only the outside of the created world, but the inte-rior life of each of us. Wrapping my mind around how a young adolescent thinks is a challenge I relish as I spend countless hours considering how I should construct my classes. Yet, a moment later, I am blindsided by an act of great charity or of thoughtless caprice, reminding me I’ll never quite understand this transitional stage of life.

Middle school is a blink of an eye. My students are changing at breakneck speeds into the adults they will one day become. In this small teacher’s part I play in my students’ lives, I try to inspire curiosity, openness to God, and model how a Christian man is supposed to act. The longer I teach, the one constant is how I summed up my approach to teaching when I was earning my educa-tion degree: “Teach to wonder.”

T h e m o n k s o f f e r t h e i r s e r v i c e w h e r e t h e y c a n , t h e s e r e f l e c t i o n s o f f e r a g l i m p s e i n t o t h e i r d a i l y l a b o r a .

My favorite assignment as a monk is offering spiritual direction. It is a gift for me to be able to share the Faith and offer to young people a safe place for exploring their relationship with Christ . Even more, however, I am amazed at how frequently my own spiritual life is challenged, how often the Lord addresses me directly within the context of spiritual direction. This experience confirms the truth that evangelization, doing ministry, is a work that is not optional for the Christian.

When we begin to witness to our encounter with Christ , we meet Him again, in a new way. And there is no shortage of opportunity for our monks to meet Christ in this way!

At Benedictine, so many students have begun to deepen their sense of prayer and seek out assistance in their spiritual growth—more than we can accommodate! So the monks are blessed to be able to supply a number of our priests and brothers in this ministry. By offering it , we help our students grow in their awareness of Christ , and we experience a deepening of our own faith as well!

Life with Christ is full of surprises.

I started my studies as a seminarian in the year 2000 at St. Vincent Archabbey and Seminary. My friends were a mixture of monks and diocesan seminarians. I entered the seminary with the expectation that I would be ordained to the priest-hood and return to live at St. Benedict’s Abbey and serve at the Abbey or Benedictine College. However, my friends at the Seminary repeatedly said, “Br. Gabriel, we think you should serve in a Parish.” I discussed this with my spiritual directors at the seminary, who were themselves Benedictine priests. Much to my surprise they agreed this was the ministry to which that God was calling me.

I was ordained in 2004 and my first assignment as a priest was as Associate Pastor of The Church of the Ascension in Over-land Park. As I said, life with Christ is full of surprises. One of the first surprises was how much joy I discovered in being part of the lives of parishioners. I often recall the words of Archbishop Naumann during his homilies at the three parishes where I have been installed as a pastor. He said, “There is a privilege in being a priest” in a parish, “not in the sense that the priest is to be placed on a pedestal. Rather, the privilege of being a [parish] priest is that as he serves as Christ in a wide range of situations.” As a parish priest serving for over eleven years, I have shared with families the sorrow of deaths, ranging from an infant to the elderly. I have had the privilege of joyfully sharing in the Sacraments of Baptism and Marriage – more than I’d attempt to count. I have seen the growth of my own spiritual life by hearing confessions and giving spiritual direc-tion.

To serve as a parish priest is to receive blessings from God by serving the flock He has entrusted to my care. I am humbled by the trust He has placed in me. Life with Christ is full of surprises, and all surprises are moments of grace.

W i t n e s s i n g G r o w t hb y B r . L e v e n H a r t o n

B e i n g S u r p r i s e db y F r . G a b r i e l L a n d i s


There is a steep learning curve in this “school of the Lord’s service!”

It is customary to assign newly ordained priests as Associate Pastors to provide them adequate time to adjust to their ontologically changed lifestyle. There is great, time-tested wisdom in this, lest the Church unwittingly facilitate “the blind leading the blind” (cf. Lk 6:39).

However, in my case providence has arranged, and Abbot James has asked, that I step into ministry at a sprint. (I might have expected this from an Abbot who made a name for himself as a college sprinter!) To be honest, I could not be happier. In light of our recent celebration of Labor Day I have to admit that I believe I have the best Labora in the world!

This is not to say that life in the Apostolate has been easy. It has not. I joined the monastic life in part to pursue the Lord through prayer and poverty. While these are still very present in my new assignment, they have a different appearance than they did when I first entered. As a young monk in formation poverty looked traditional – very few possessions with only the basic essentials to cover my needs. Now as College Chaplain and Junior Master of the monastic community I have two offices and two computers, three email addresses and three phone numbers (including a personal cell phone!). My early monastic life also provided me with ample time for contemplative prayer and reading. Not so anymore! Prayer these days, especially in my earliest time of transition, looks a lot like my former Jesuit-trained days of contemplation in action.

All of this is precisely why I love to serve. Christ is expanding me and drawing me out of myself through this service. He has also surrounded me with phenomenal men and women who make up for my deficiencies. While there is a steep learning curve in this school, I do not have to navigate it alone. God bless my monastic community and my ministry team.

T h e L e a r n i n g C u r v eb y F r . S i m o n B a k e r

P r o c l a i m i n g G o d ’ s P l a nb y F r . M a t t h e w H a b i g e r

Monks are called to devote their lives to praising God and serving His people.

Because of my training as a moral theologian, I have been drawn into some of the pressing issues of our times, defending life at all its stages and strengthening marriage and family life. Recently, I have been asked to help with Benedictine Oblates in Prison.

Why are these apostolates so important? Because the needs are so real. We cannot ignore our world’s problems. We must imitate the good Samaritan, and not walk past the wounded and suffering with indifference. Because the clergy and reli-gious are a small percentage of the people of God (.1%), the best service we can provide is to help make people aware of the problems, and set an example. In the case of the life issues, we proclaim the human dignity that every person has. All human life is sacred. It is the role of the laity to implement God’s plan.

Marriage and family are very fragile and frail today. People need to rediscover God’s plan for marriage, spousal love, and family. That plan is not well known, nor is it proclaimed from many pulpits. Contraception is a very serious problem that is not being addressed. Fewer people are getting married, and there is a 50% divorce rate among the newly married. Same sex marriage is being equated with biblical marriage. The pulpits must be re-activated to clearly proclaim God’s plan.

Men in prison are looking for meaning and purpose in their lives. Many of them never had a father involved in their lives to give them direction and self-discipline. The Oblate Program for Prisoners, begun by the late Fr. Louis Kirby has proven itself to be very beneficial. One quarter of all incarcerated people are located here in this country. “You came to visit me in prison.”

We serve God by bringing his Gospel and his plan to the people. There is great personal satisfaction in doing God’s work.


T h e L o r d w a i t s f o r u s d a i l y t o t r a n s l a t e i n t o a c t i o n ,

a s w e s h o u l d , h i s h o l y t e a c h i n g s .

rule of st. beneedict prologue:35


Fr. Kevin (James) Bachmann, O.S.B., a monk of Holy Cross Abbey, Cañon City, Colo., died at St. Bene-dict’s Abbey on June 12, 2015, after a long battle with cancer. Fr. Kevin was born in Yonkers, N.Y., on August 3, 1940, the son of Charles F. Bachmann and Helen (McGlynn) Bachmann. He received his

initial education in Newton, Mass., and then went on to Georgetown University where he earned B.A. and M.A degrees in Spanish and a Ph.D. in Linguistics in 1970, He had been married in 1965 to Rosita Torregrosa and they were the parents of two children; however, the marriage was dissolved and annulled in 1994.

Fr. Kevin had distinctive work experience before entering monastic life. He taught English in Santiago, Dominican Republic; was Assistant Professor of English in charge of a Mas-ter’s program for teachers of English as a second language at Colorado State University; was a financial planner, a real estate agent, and a deputy sheriff assigned to the corrections center at Fort Collins, Colo.; was Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Northern Colorado; and, taught English as a second language in Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.

Fr. Kevin entered the novitiate at Holy Cross Abbey in 1996 and professed vows on June 7, 1997. After com-pleting the theology program at Saint Vincent Archab-bey Seminary and earning a Master of Divinity Degree, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 1, 2001. One of his dreams, following his long experience in the field of education, was to initiate and operate a middle school program on the Holy Cross Abbey property. However, a year later, following the opening of the school, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

While under treatment for cancer, Fr. Kevin was able to minister in several parishes in the Pueblo Diocese in Colorado. In 2010, when he was no longer able to serve in ministry due to his illness, and since Holy Cross Abbey was in the process of closing, he accepted an invi-tation from the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey in Atchison, Kansas, to reside as a guest in their health care center at the Abbey.

Fr. Kevin is survived by his daughter, Rosita Maria (Bachmann) Torres, his son, James H. Bachmann, and by the monks of Holy Cross Abbey and St. Benedict’s Abbey.

We commend our brother, Fr. Kevin, to your prayers.

Eternal rest grant unto himFather Ke vin B achmann

B o r n • A u g u s t 3 , 1 9 4 0P r o f e s s e d • J u n e 7 , 1 9 9 7O r d a i n e d • J u n e 1 , 2 0 0 1

D i e d • J u n e 1 2 , 2 0 1 5

• R e q u i e s c a t i n P a c e •

Fr. Kevin worked, for a time, as a professor of English in the Dominican Republic.

Fr. Kevin after his ordination in 2001 with his daughter. Seated behind are the Herma-nas Josefinas who prepared meals for the monks of Holy Cross Abbey in Cañon City, Colo.


On a stormy Sunday last summer, in Atchison, Kansas, I visited my Dad. I stopped by the Gift Shop where Tom shared with me the story of St. Benedict and I selected a few crosses that spoke to me. An Oblate of St. Benedict’s Abbey handcrafted the crosses, which warmed my heart, as this purchase was a memento of my Father’s care here at St. Benedict’s Abbey.

I asked my Father to make the final selection. He chose the cross made from reclaimed wood and told me that it reminded him of the beautiful barns he would pass weekly on the way to Heartland Hospital in St. Joseph, Mo. Unbeknownst to him, I was affected by the same notion. Driving in and around Atchison, the barns, new and old, some weathered yet distinguished, lifted my spirit. After the purchase, I asked my Father to bless the cross and he did so with these words, “To my daughter and son-in-law, may this cross be an inspiration to your life.”

I suspect that you have heard similar sentiments before. When your father, a priest, says these words to you, it’s difficult not to be overcome by emotion. At the heart of his words was a philosophy that he lived by as far back as I can ever remember.

What I want to share with you was how my Father embodied his words. If you interacted with Fr. Kevin, I trust he inspired you the same way. Like many Dads of his generation, he bounced his daughter on this knee and sang her “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” He played catch with his son. He graded our homework. He was a University Professor, so suffice to say, I passed my classes with honors and I went on to earn a graduate degree. My Dad served as an advisor to my husband, a confidant to my brother, and a sounding board for his brother, Steve. He was my Mom’s number one fan.

My Dad would call me on Sundays and we would recall the week’s events. He dispensed advice; I listened to most of it. He helped me purchase my first home, and he visited every year to relax and enjoy with my husband and me.

We followed his journey from Holy Cross Abbey, to St. Vincent Seminary where he earned a Master’s in Divinity, and back to Pueblo, Colo., where he was a parish priest and subsequently retired. He was then graciously accepted at St. Benedict’s. Abbot James, then Father James, and Father Maurice embarked on the 600-mile two-car caravan from Colorado to Kansas with my Dad’s humble possessions.

And for more than 10 years, my father chose to fight the battle of cancer. He wanted to be an inspiration to fellow patients in his Multiple Myeloma support group, he wanted to be

an inspiration to his religious fellowship, and ultimately he wanted to be an inspiration to his family.

So I leave you with these words…. Be an inspiration.

an inspirationby Rosita Torres, Daughter of Fr. Kevinpictured with Fr. Kevin at right


I brought the August heat with me from Kansas to Rome when I arrived in 1999 to study liturgy. As I settled into my room at Sant’Anselmo, I looked out the window and saw the majestic Cedars of Lebanon with their long arms giving shade to the buildings below. Although in the heart of the city, the trees hush any noise on the Aventine hill so that I heard only the chatter of pedestrians. On a clear day I could see the distant Apennine mountains running down the spine of Italy. The view reminded me of our Abbey in Atchison, which sits high on the bluffs of the Missouri River. There my room overlooks the lush valley to the distant bluffs opposite, and the silence is broken only by people chatting at the overlook.

I began with a preparatory year of studies in Italian, Greek, and church architecture so that I could prepare for the full course load in liturgy taught in Italian. Soon after arriving, I first heard about Fr. Reginald Foster, said to be the best Latinist in the world. For thirty years he had served as the personal Latin secretary of Pope Paul VI, then of Popes John Paul I and II and later Pope Benedict XVI. After completing his morning duties in the papal office, Reggie, as his students call him, would take the number 64 bus from the Vatican to the Gregorian University where he taught Latin to generations of students, including current American bishops who studied in Rome.

I became convinced of studying Latin with Reggie while attending his organizational meeting at the beginning of the academic year. He encouraged people like me who had already studied Latin in college to start over and to learn according to his method from the beginning. He also laid down the law and handed out contracts for us to sign. Reggie taught for free but only for those students willing to apply themselves. If not, he supplied a sheet of paper people could sign to receive a passing grade if they promised never to show up again nor detract from the learning of others!

Twice a week I walked down the Aventine hill past the Circus Maximus (imagine Charlton Heston in the chariot races) and past the temples of Hercules and Minerva. I walked over the Capitoline hill and through the ancient Roman forum to arrive at the Gregorian for our Latin encounters. Walking through this archaeological park brought history to life, just as studying Latin with Reggie brought the language to life. I continued studying with him in successive years in addition to my full course load in Liturgy.

I was set back when my father died in 2001, shortly before the September 11 attacks. My mother had already passed away in 1988. Missing both parents, I returned to my studies with some longing. I don’t know why, but only Latin would rouse my interest. So I decided to write all of my homework papers in Latin, knowing that none of my teachers would suffer the embarrassment of rejecting a paper written in Latin.

Latin became the mainstay of my research and the key that opened up to me the inner-workings of the Second Vatican Council. My license thesis consisted principally of my own English translations of speeches given in Latin at the Council and during its preparation and implementation. I had to put it all into Italian for my doctoral dissertation, but I am preparing an English edition.

Abbot Owen attended my doctoral defense in June 2008 and wanted to meet Reggie. We went to Reggie’s summer school, but, when we arrived, it was empty, because earlier that same day he had collapsed due to illness and was taken to the hospi-tal where we found him, and there I introduced these two Latin scholars.

For the next two years I taught at the Beda Seminary before I left Rome in 2010 to help Fr. James Leachman, OSB, found the Liturgy Institute London at his Abbey in Ealing. At that time Reggie succumbed once again to illness and left Rome for his native Milwaukee. Fearing that his life’s work might be lost if it wasn’t recorded, I went to Milwau-kee for a month so that we might begin writing a book that would present Reggie’s method of teaching the Latin language. That July I returned to London to teach Latin, but every day after lunch I would phone Reggie and he would dictate to me another of the 105 encounters-chapters of the book, which I then revised.

Over these past five years I have spent three to four months annually working with Reggie in Milwaukee. Reggie and I were requested to present a draft of the first volume to the Catholic University of

by Fr. D aniel McC arthy

In 2008 Fr. Daniel, accompanied by Abbot Owen Purcell (above at left), defended his Doctoral Dissertation at the Pontifical Institute for Liturgy. Abbot Owen passed away in November 2013.


America Press who agreed to publish it. There followed a long process of editing that has culminated now with the publication of Ossa Latinitatis Sola: The Mere Bones of Latin, the first of a projected five volume series, which we call the Corpus Latinitatis, “Latin’s body.” This first volume provides the skeletal structure of the Latin language, how it works and holds together.

Sixteen years after meeting Reggie, I am completing my ninth summer of teaching Latin at Ealing Abbey, now for graduate credit at the Liturgy Institute London. For several years I have been super-vising other Latin teachers using our method. This past year I accepted an invitation to serve as a co-promotor for doctoral research on the Latin prayers of the Roman Missal conducted by a student at the Catholic University Leuven, Belgium, where I serve as a guest professor and where our Fr. Emeric Fletcher once studied. The doctoral student wishes to understand how the prayers of the Missal may assist the reconciliation of peoples in Sri Lanka after their recent civil war.

As a monk I have been given a great amount of leisure, which I think is well used by pursuing these academic goals so that from a contemplative life of prayer and study I might offer my own contribution in publishing and teaching on liturgy and mentoring others in their progress. But such a contemplative life comes at a cost well beyond the simplicity of our common life. Only by the support of others can we monks maintain a contemplative life of study and reflection for the benefit of the church and world.

As life comes full circle, this coming February I shall return to Sant’Anselmo, this time as a professor to teach the Latin structure and theological meaning of the opening prayers of Mass (called collects) from the Lent and Easter seasons. You could say, I’m hooked.

Fr. Reginald Foster (Reggie) & Fr. Daniel

In May 2015, Abbot James established the St. Benedict Chair in Liturgy, naming Fr. Daniel (below) as its first chair holder. The endowment provides an opportunity for others to invest in Fr. Daniel’s work in research-ing, writing, and publishing as well as in teaching at the master’s level and mentoring doctoral research in the field of liturgy. Fr. Daniel’s family has donated an initial foundation for this chair in memory of his parents, George and Annette. You are invited to consider investing in this impor-tant and exciting work – a major ministry of St. Benedict’s Abbey.

BL CHAIR IN

ST.

ITURGYENEDICT

For more information on Fr. Daniel’s work and the St. Benedict

Chair in Liturgy, see these websites:

thelatinlanguage.orgliturgyinstitute.org

danielmccarthyosb.comliturgyhome.org

kansasmonks.org/chair-in-liturgy


w i n d o w s

t o h e a v e na r e f l e c t i o n o n i c o n o g r a p h y

b y f r . j a y k y t h e


In an impatient world, taking time to finely craft something is an act of virtue. The recent Iconography Workshop, taught by Elizabeth Zeller at St. Benedict’s Abbey, took only three days, July 27-29, 2015. Yet even this, spending at least eight hours a day pouring ourselves over a piece of wood that would eventually hold a holy image, gave us a glimpse into a way of praying and gazing into Heaven where the angels and saints assist us in our everyday needs.

For icons are incarnational. Through them the holy comes into our secular world so that we might be brought into the heavenly realm. The vehicle by which this is done is the one who “writes” the icon, opening a small piece of wood to hold a window into heavenly glory. Natural elements are used—earthly pigments, water, egg yolk, gold leaf—and synthetic elements are only accents to the natural and used sparingly.

What image shall I write? I wondered as I gazed upon the empty white board. Of the selections, I saw the image of our Sorrowful Mother, tear-filled eyes wide with shock and horror, pointing upwards towards the Cross. Her right hand was raised, point-ing upward, towards her Son, for that is what the Blessed Mother does. Her left hand clutched her scarlet cloak at the heart, the wrinkles of the fabric catching my attention. This image touched me somewhere in my heart where grief bubbles up to the surface. Grief—that tired old bone once broken, which aches when the rains come, began to ache. Yes, this is the one!

Applying some ochre pigment to the back of the image, I traced it onto the white surface of the wood. I etched the lines with a pin so that the lines may be more visi-ble when the color was applied. And lest I forget the glory of God as I worked on this sorrowful piece, wherever gold leaf was to be applied, red pigment was spread. Then the adhesive. Then the hours of waiting—for nothing is to be rushed. Finally, it was ready for the gold leaf. My very breath was needed, the moist breath to make the fragile gold leaf stick. Apply and rub and breathe, until it was shiny and polished. The red background made the gold appear more rich, more vibrant, shimmering with heavenly light.

In the spiritual life, faithful souls must pass through darkness. Unlike most paint-ings, which go from light to dark highlights, the icon begins in darkness. The image was colored with many layers of dark tones, and in some cases the original image is obscured. Beginners in the workshop (including me) felt that despair of the darkness—or rather, the despair of a ruined work of art. Temptations to give up arise. God feels distant, silent, remote. His work is ruined, by me! Shall I leave the workshop and give up, admiring other people’s work from a distance? This is the danger also of the spiritual life. When darkness enters in, the faithful fall away. Perseverance is needed. Faithful guides who have experienced the darkness before, like Elizabeth Zeller, are needed. Most of all, the understanding that God has not departed is needed. He is blindingly close. Truly, You are a hidden God!

Lighter pigments are then applied. As the darkness of grief has its own landscape, shape and texture arise out the darkness. Clothes become folds of garment. The hands become alive. And the face of the Sorrowful Mother comes into focus. Her cheeks are

w i n d o w s

c o n t i n u e d o n n e x t p a g e

Tony Sylvestri, Ph.D.Washburn University History Professor

O n I c o n o g r a p h yI c o n o g r a p h y i s t h e d e p i c t i o n o f h o l y i m a g e s u s i n g a p a r t i c -u l a r a n c i e n t t e c h n i q u e a n d f o l l o w i n g a n c i e n t s e t o f r u l e s .

I t i s a l a n g u a g e o f s y m b o l s , m e a n t t o c r e a t e a n o b j e c t f o r v e n e r a t i o n a n d c o n t e m p l a t i o n .

I p r a c t i c e i c o n o g r a p h y b e c a u s e I t i s d e e p l y r e l a x -i n g , p r a y e r f u l , c o n t e m p l a t i v e , q u i e t . . . t h e s e a r e t h i n g s t h a t o u r s o c i e t y l a c k s – a n d a l l o f u s y e a r n f o r q u i e t , p r a y e r , a n d c o n t e m p l a t i o n .

L i k e a n y p r a c t i c e . . . t h e m e d i -t a t i v e f o c u s o f i t q u i e t s y o u r s p i r i t a n d t h a t o p e n s a s p a c e w h e r e t h e d i v i n e c a n c o m m u -n i c a t e w i t h y o u . I w a s p a i n t -i n g S t . F r a n c i s , a n d t h e r e i s a d i a l o g u e t h a t i s c r e a t e d . . .w h a t d o I l e a r n a b o u t G o d a s i t ’ s b e i n g p o r t r a y e d t o m e b y S t . F r a n c i s ? I a m i n c h a r g e o f w h a t i t l o o k s l i k e , b u t I ’ m n o t r e a l l y – t h e i c o n t e l l s m e w h a t i t n e e d s o r w a n t s . I t ’ s c l e a r l y a d i a l o g u e a n d y o u g e t a c l e a r m e s s a g e f r o m t h e h e a v e n l y f i g u r e t h a t y o u ’ r e p a i n t i n g .

T h e r e i s m e a n i n g i n e v e r y e x p r e s s i o n .


The icon is an often misunderstood and over-looked form of art. Many who see them don’t know how to react to them. They seem primitive, sometimes remote and plain. Where are the shad-ows? Why are the backgrounds either non-existent or abstract? Why do the subjects show little to no emotion?

Yet it is because of all these things that an icon holds a special power. Icons have a firm canon dictating what and who may appear, what colors can be used, and how. This serves to make the icon an encounter with the persons or events portrayed. The gold background especially makes this clear. Gold represents heavenly glory and the mystical light that comes from God. The gold background in an icon indicates a mystical reality – we are encountering the saint as he or she is now, not as a historical event that happened a long time ago. God, before the Incarnation, tran-scends time – he is outside of it. But at the Incarnation, God became man, entering time and drawing it up into eternity by his Life, Death, and Resurrection. By doing this he sanctifies time and makes it fully acces-sible to us at every moment. This is what theologians mean when they say that we are mystically present at the Last Supper, the Cross, and the Empty Tomb whenever we attend Mass. This is what gives the Scriptures their power to impact us in a way beyond a mere story. By encountering these things we are made present at the events they signify. It is the same way with the icon.

An icon is first and foremost an encounter with a person. The saint invites us to pause and look inward at ourselves. There have been times in my personal experience when I found myself unable to look steadily at an icon because of shame at some thing I had done. At other times I have found myself unable to look away – having been drawn into contempla-tion of and conversation with the person portrayed. I have even had a sense of an icon “calling” out to me – the two saints in the icon offering to pray for me when I was dealing with a particular frustration. One will find these experiences are rather common for those who encounter icons. They have a power of their own and are, in truth, “Windows to Heaven.”

stained with tears, her quivering lips pursed in sorrow. A simple red halo is applied with a compass. The symbols of the title “Mother of God” are applied in the corners. And some more gold leaf for the embroidery of her gown and the stars on her forehead and shoulders are applied. And it is finished!

Incense swirls over the icons. They are blessed with holy water and touched with holy oil. They are laid out on the altar on which Holy Mass is celebrated. They become windows to heaven.

The best painting, beautifully made and with devo-tion, cannot hold a candle to even the most poorly and painstakingly written icon – filled with prayers, for icons are windows to heaven. They teach us that God almighty has written icons too, first in His Son, who is the human face of the ineffable Creator, and in every single one of us. If we can see heaven in the innocent face of a baby, we should even see heaven in the faces of all of us. Our icons may have become a bit dirty by the world, the flesh, and the devil, but His icons are still there, wait-ing for the cleansing power of grace to open us up into heavenly reality. Christ became one of us, so that we may “become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Icons instruct us on how we might share in Christ’s divine nature. Abbey Retreat Master Fr. Jay Kythe with his icon of the

Sorrowful Mother.

the

powerof the

iconby Br. Benedict

Mary Geist

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“Sensations, feelings. What you want is a sign, a real sign . . . The Lord speaks to prophets personally and He’s never spoke to you, never lifted a finger, never dropped a gesture.” So speaks the devil to the protagonist (Young Tarwater) of Flannery O’Connor’s novel The Violent Bear it Away. O’Connor articulates a deeper spiritual experience, one that can afflict any Christian: the suffering of doubt. When our faith convictions begin to crumble under the pressure of doubt, it can be traumatic and scandalizing. Could it be that what we have believed is simply not true? Are the decisions we’ve made based on our faith tradition simply a waste? Are we really secure in the providence of a loving God? Is it not difficult to believe in such a comprehensive view of reality (there are so many other perspectives!)?

We often speak of doubt as rational skepticism, the feeling that I don’t have enough evidence for what I believe; like the traditional representation of “Doubting Thomas.” However, it is important to observe the tactic employed by O’Connor’s marvelous depiction of the devil. This devil is not concerned with logical arguments and physical proof—he is interested in Young Tarwater’s experience. Specifically, the devil aims at distorting Tarwater’s understanding of what he experiences in his interior. The protagonist’s sense of a Presence toward him, a connection with his Creator, is what the devil chooses to attack, and his method is subtle: he belittles Tarwater’s experience. The temptation to doubt, in this case, is not a purely rational threat. Rather, it shames the person through a kind of taunting suggestion that faith is different than what one has experienced, much grander and (certainly) more obvious than one’s “sensations” and “feelings.”

This method of attack is insidious, for it is to turn our most sacred hopes against us. Tarwater’s (and our) lofty expecta-tions of the encounter with the Lord are not misguided. Jesus has said in no uncertain terms that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life—we should expect nothing less. This magnitude of desire is unavoidable in the human heart and it spurs us (if we listen to it) to pass by lesser goods, seeking that which does satisfy. Following this desire with patience and perse-verance, our relationship with God grows and blossoms into a foretaste that is full, a suggestion that is complete, a true correspondence. But the devil in The Violent Bear it Away has expertly arrested this following for Tarwater, he has distorted the holy expectation to make it a device that produces shame.

This characterization of doubt is a helpful meditation for Christians today. Few people in our culture have much patience for faith; many voices are liable to repeat in various forms the devil’s accusation against believers that all we have for our convictions is “sensations, feelings.” These voices challenge us to abandon the path to joy. I think it is justifiable to call these accusations what they are: shaming tactics that reach beyond the accuser’s own realm of experience into our own, inviolable hearts. The only one having my experience of God’s nearness to me, after all, is me. The type of doubt that arises from thinking that my own experiences are so meager and common, so silly and trivial, is really not worth follow-ing at all. We can have confidence in our own experience of

by Br. Leven Harton


God’s connection to us. We are justified in naming our expe-rience for ourselves.

However, we can have some common sense about inspirations and our awareness of God’s communication with us. The Big Book from “Alcoholics Anonymous” has some insightful words on this topic: “[When facing indecision] we ask God for an inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy... It is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely upon it” (86-7).

There is no need for any of us to stubbornly insist upon the unimpeachable authenticity of our contact with God at every moment. It does not discredit our own personal adherence to our faith to reserve judgment when we begin to speak about some of our spiritual experiences. In fact, if we want to avoid anxious and irrational defenses of our convictions and our faith life, we can help the matter by being humble before the mystery of God. Let’s remember that He initiated the process: before any of us began to believe, God came into our world through the Incarnation and reached out to us. He gave us faith as a gift. Our most religious act is not organizing our experiences into an ironclad, rationalistic defense, but the submission of responding to Jesus’ persistent invitation. Over time we can become good at responding.

And if we take this gentle approach to our prayer and toward our convictions, we will find peace in belief. This peace in belief is a safeguard against the temptations of the devil and the anxiety caused by the misunderstanding of our contem-poraries. Doubt recedes into the background when we don’t have to prove ourselves right all the time. It might be the case that certain moments of inspiration turn out to be just sensa-tions or feelings, for me: my channel to the Lord is muddled with my own willfulness, fear, and confusion. Indeed, it would be surprising if I saw it all clearly. However, I know for a fact that the Lord has offered me his counsel at times, and that I have received his consolation, unexpectedly, simply, and undeniably. But only undeniably for me. I know my life has been changed since I began to listen to him. I don’t live with as much willfulness, fear, and confusion since I began to listen. Joy has become a possibility, tantalizing and encourag-ing.

Following the hope that is at my core is a more attractive proposition. It takes courage to do it, especially in today’s unbelieving atmosphere. Any believer who perseveres will eventually run up against the devil from O’Connor’s story, and that is ok. When we face a doubt that would shame us into disregarding or distorting our experiences, we should keep it simple, persevere. Our faith is expressed in a set of convictions, in dogma, but is experienced as a journey, a path that leads to joy.

by Br. Leven Harton

Lou McAvoy pictured with his wife Sue and Abbot Barnabas. Lou and Sue received the Kansas Monk award for outstanding service to Benedictine College.


Leave a la st ing legacy for St. Benedict’s Abbey

How did you get to know the monks? I first met a monk as an altar server in Webb City, Mo. My brother and I served Mass for him and afterward my father asked if he knew a place where his two sons could go to college.

The monk said, “Why don’t you investigate Saint Benedict’s College?” My older brother, Paul, went and I followed him. We both went on to graduate from Saint Benedict’s College.

Why do you support the monks and these monks at Saint Benedict’s Abbey specifically?

I feel like I’m giving back and encouraging the monks through my gifts – financially – to continue the ministries of Saint Benedict’s Abbey and around Northeast Kansas and at Bene-dictine College. I think they bring a special gift, a special iden-tity, I would say, of what it is to be Catholic. They are some-thing – they are not like your parish priest!

By observation and association you see the importance of prayer and being part of a community – they live as a commu-nity, we likewise live in a community – and they demonstrate an openness, no matter who you are, you’re one of them.

I think the monastic life is something that is still a valuable role in the Church so we need it to continue.

Why did you choose to put the monks in your estate plans or your will?

Well, it’s kind of a part of the same. If you believe there is a place for the monastic life in the Catholic faith – the Roman Catholic Church – or even just the Christian faith as I do.

They bring value by their lives and as you observe their lives – they’re praying for you. So, to me, it’s quite logical if you feel that their ministry has had a past significance to society and you personally then it seems to me that you would want to have that continue for those who will follow after you.

Did you get to know any of the monks personally back when you were in college?

You have priests who were your prefects, priests who were your professors, you know, ... we had a friendship and got to know them. I played handball with Abbot Thomas all the time.

Did he beat you?Mm-hm!

He was a bull.

I didn’t make it the first semester – I came out of a little Catholic school in Joplin and I wasn’t academically ready for college. I was going to have to, you know, step it up

Father Tom took the time to write a letter – He cared for me. He cared. He wanted me to get through college.

Later on I did get to know him pretty well because I served Mass for him. He would celebrate Mass for the Sisters at the Mount. We would have a big breakfast with them afterward – they had the best breakfast I’ve ever had.

What practical step did you take when you decided to leave the monks in your will?

I took an inventory of my assets that would be available for some distribution upon death or even during my lifetime. I made a conscious effort then to distribute the assets, some during my lifetime and particularly the remainder interest of my estate and have the Abbey share in the remainder of that estate that would be left upon the last death between my wife and myself.

You survey what you’ve got and, even though you’re giving some of your money during your lifetime, there’s likely to be a remainder assets of some amount. And you sort through those charities that you feel strongly about their ministry and say, “I want this to be a part of the future of the Catholic Church,” and share in my remainder interests of my estate as a percentage.

a c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h l o u m c a v o y , s b c ‘ 5 3

Leaving a Legacy

Abbot Thomas Hartman


Leave a la st ing legacy for St. Benedict’s Abbey

- I f y o u h a v e a l r e a d y i n c l u d e d S t . B e n e d i c t ’ s A b b e y i n y o u r w i l l o r i f y o u h a v e a n y q u e s t i o n s , p l e a s e c o n t a c t o u r A d v a n c e m e n t O f f i c e .

H a v e y o u c o n s i d e r e d l e a v i n g t h e m o n k s i n y o u r w i l l o r e s t a t e p l a n s ?

- A p l ann e d g i f t t o t h e m o n k s o f S t . B e n e d i c t ’s Abb e y c r e a t e s a l a s t ing l e g a c y t h a t w i l l a l l o w t h e m t o c o n t inu e t h e i r mi s s i o n o f p ray e r an d w o r k f o r t h e s an c t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e w o r l d .

Fo r m o re i n fo r m at i o n co nt a c t o u r D i re c to r o f Ad v a n ce m e nt - M a t t Ke m n i t z i n f o @ k a n s a s m o n k s . o r g - o r - 9 1 3 . 3 6 0 . 7 8 9 7

Oblates, along with the Abbot, sign their commitment on the altar at Mass. Leanne Bergsieker, BC ‘16 (above with Abbot James), along with five others, became oblates on February 1, 2015.


It is easy in our world to forget about God. Many live as if God does not matter. All baptized people

are called to wake up, to be alert to the presence of the Lord by turning away from sin, and receiving with joy the new life offered by Christ.

There are many ways to foster this growth. One of them is by becoming a Benedictine Oblate. Oblation means to offer a gift. The bread and wine at Mass are offered and become the Body and Blood of Christ. St. Paul teaches us that we also offer our very bodies when he write to the Romans: “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)

St. Paul was handing on what he had experienced from Christ and the early Christian community. The call to seek God as an oblate or a monk is not something forced upon anyone. As always, the person’s freedom is fully respected. St. Bene-dict himself shows us the beauty of God’s call when he asks us, “what dear brothers, is more delightful than this voice of the Lord calling to us? See how the Lord in his love shows us the way of life.“ (Rule Prologue, 19-20)

Today Benedictine oblates come from many backgrounds; they are men and women, lay people and ordained, who seek

to offer their lives to God as a gift through the Rule of Saint Benedict. Like monks, oblates are always attached to a particular monastery. Having responded to the call of God they seek to grow daily in this way with the Gospel as guide. Unlike monks, they do not profess vows, which bind them, but their commit-ment has been described as “a public and solemn promise made in the presence of the Church, which effects a spiritual association with a particular monastic commu-nity.” Oblation is intended to be an aid in the fulfillment of one’s baptismal vows. Saint Bene-dict teaches that his Rule of life is a way to help Christians live the Gospel more faithfully.

If one has not experienced the love of God it is nearly impos-sible to have the trust needed to progress in the spiritual life. St. Paul reminds us in Romans 5:5: “hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

St. Benedict had experienced this love of God poured into his own life. He did not merely pass on random abstract knowl-edge to us; rather what we find in the Rule is the result of years of his allowing the Holy Spirit to guide his heart to a deeper awareness of the loving presence of Christ leading all of us to the Father. Leaving the city of Rome because he did not find people there who took the search for God seriously, he with-drew to the cave at Subiaco in the year 499 to live a life of prayer. Later his Rule would be a guiding force in the evangelization of the world, bringing people to encounter Christ.

At St. Benedict’s Abbey we have records of a few oblations on file going back to the 1920s. A formal program was estab-lished in 1941 by Abbot Martin Veth with Father Bernard Sause serving as the Oblate Director. I am pleased that Abbot James has asked me to serve as the new Director of Oblates for the Abbey. I have inherited files of many men and women over the years who made their oblation. Some people reading this may have become oblates years ago and may wish to renew their oblation. We accept men and women who desire to become oblates, or, if they are oblates, to recommit themselves to this way of life.

Bw h a t i t m e a n s t o l i v e a s a n o b l a t e o f s t . b e n e d i c t ’ s a b b e y

b y f r . m e i n r a d m i l l e r • n o v i c e m a s t e r & o b l a t e d i r e c t o r

The Rule of St. Benedict and the monks of St.

Benedict’s Abbey have led me to a deeper relationship with Christ. I am an oblate because I seek to serve God through my

work and prayer and share the joy that comes from that with

the world.- Brianna Sluder, Oblate, BC ‘15


ecomingB a n O b l a t eIf you have a desire to seek God at a deeper level with the help of a Benedictine community and other like-minded individuals, this way of life may well be for you. If you would like to explore becoming an oblate more deeply, contact Fr. Meinrad at [email protected] - or call - 913.367.7853

How do I start the process?

The first step is to contact the oblate director, and come to meetings. Oblates meet on the second Saturday of each month.

What is oblate formation like?

Once it is determined that a person is ready to become an oblate, there is a minimum of a year and a day of candidacy. During this time there is a formation in key aspects of Benedictine Spirituality.

What do oblates do?

Oblates live their baptismal vows through the wisdom of St. Benedict. As they are able they pray the Liturgy of the Hours, and take time daily for silence and Lectio Divina (Holy Reading of Scripture). Daily Mass is often a highlight of their day if possible. They also strive to make all of their work and relationships grow from their seeking after God, using the wisdom of St. Benedict. This means they will grow in humility, silence, obedience (listening to the voice of God in the Scripture and the Church, the Rule of St. Benedict, and to others) and good works.

What if I am already an oblate or am an oblate at another monastery?

If you made your oblation years ago, you can renew your oblation and begin to live the life anew. Many people desire to remain oblates of the house where they first became oblates. Some people are oblates of other houses and have moved into our area and want to become oblates here, in which case they may wish to transfer their oblation here, or remain as oblates where they first encountered the Rule of St. Benedict.

What are the benefits of becoming an oblate?

Oblates tell me how coming to know the monks and other oblates, and to live by St. Benedict’s Rule has changed their lives. As I look around at people at our daily Abbey Mass, I often see our oblates present. I am sure it is the same with the other oblates at their parishes.

What if I am a college student seeking to become an oblate?

Abbot James has appointed Br. Timothy McMillan to work with me in organizing a group of college oblates at Benedictine College.


Much of the debate surrounding Pope Francis’ Laudato Si has centered on whether the dire claims he makes about the ecologi-cal, economic, and geopolitical situations are actually accurate, and whether it is proper for the Pope to weigh in on such specialized matters. These concerns need to be discussed, but we worry that these controversies may obscure Pope Francis’ moving critique of “the throwaway culture and the proposal of a new lifestyle” (¶16).

What strikes us as central to Pope Francis’ message is his reminder that “Human beings, endowed with intelligence and love, and drawn by the fullness of Christ, are called to lead all creatures back to their Creator” (¶83). Humanity has been created in the like-ness and image of the Creator, which carries the gift of participat-ing in His creative act in a way distinct from all other creatures. Only humans have the weighty task of stewarding, developing, and protecting creation so that all of God’s creatures may serve Him. God, in other words, gives us the great responsibility of sharing His work. Thus, when humanity looks to nature, we should not see a mere conglomeration of matter that exists as grist for our consumptive desires, but instead we need “to wonder about the purpose and meaning of everything” (¶31). We have been tasked, in virtue of our distinct human dignity, to see that nature is brought to the ends for which God has created it. When Pope Fran-cis mentions the “throwaway society,” he has in mind ways of living that run contrary to our privilege and duty as co-creators. When we live in ways that consume, without regard for the role the creatures destroyed in the process ought to play in God’s plan, we fail in our great task. Whether we are considering the treatment of unborn children, the stewardship of our fertil-ity, the plight of vulnerable workers and immigrants, our relationships with our family and neighbors, or the use of creatures that compose the great system of nature in which we make our earthly home, the central question remains the same: Do our actions bring God’s creatures toward the natural fulfillment of their purposes? Whether or not the earth

needs to be saved or great geopolitical crises loom on the hori-zon, our failure to answer this key question with all due serious-ness (and to act accordingly in light of our honest conclusions), is ultimately an insult to our human dignity as creatures who bear the very likeness of the Creator. As Pope Francis puts it, “We need to see that what is at stake is our own dignity,” because the “. . . issue is one which dramatically affects us, for it has to do with the ultimate meaning of our earthly sojourn” (¶160).

Of course, the task is daunting. Today we are all prey to the throwaway attitude that lies beneath so many difficulties. The scale of the transformation the Pope has in mind, both for civilization as a whole and each of us as individuals, is overwhelming. Pope Francis’ response to this sort

Laudato SiA C T S O F L O V E T H A T E X P R E S S O U R D I G N I T Y :

h o w l a u d a t o s i h a s c h a n g e d o u r f a m i l yb y j i m a n d j e n m a d d e n

We are called to accept the world as a

sacrament of communion, as a way of sharing with God and our

neighbors on a global scale. It is our humble conviction

that the divine and the human meet in the slightest

detail in the seamless garment of God’s creation, in the last speck of dust of our planet. -Laudato Si: 14


Jim Madden, Ph.D. , and Jen Madden, Ph.D. , l ive in Atchison, Kan. , with their s ix chi ldren, Wil l iam, Martha , Patr ick , Brendan, Jack , and Cormac . J im is a professor of phi losophy at B enedict ine Col lege, and Jennifer i s a ful l- t ime home educator of their chi ldren. The y a lso teach marr iage preparat ion and Natural Family Planning courses .

Laudato Siof practical despair is where his pastoral genius comes into play. He does not ask each of us to begin thinking about this problem on a global and historical scale, but instead reminds us that, “there is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions,” that may in time accumulate into much more significant changes in lifestyle (¶211). The Pope asks that we begin by looking for small changes we can make, however seemingly insignificant, that express our dignity as co-creators. These little changes will become habits and dispositions, virtues really, that may spread throughout our families, neighborhoods, cities, and, with time, nations. The motive to make these changes, which may seem arduous at first, is to remind ourselves that such a sacrifice “can be an act of love which expresses our own dignity” (¶211).

One small change in our family that we made following our encounter with Laudato Si was to try to abstain from using our dishwasher. Jen’s initial response to this proposal for our dirty-dish-producing family of eight was “No way!” We used to run our dishwasher twice a day, so there was a real worry about whether mom in particular would bear the brunt of this “small” sacrifice. We decided, however, to experiment with a practice wherein each person would wash his or her own dishes after every meal. Whatever you use, you wash yourself. The kids agreed they would be happy to do so, and we all agreed to test it for a few days. Those few days have turned into several weeks during which we haven’t used the dishwasher at all. Our children have impressed us. They do their dishes without complaint and are happy to pitch in and wash serving dishes and cookware. More importantly there are greater lessons than just saving water and using less electricity (though these are noble ends as well). Our children are learning the importance of cleaning the messes they make – not leaving them behind for someone else to deal with. They think more about what they are using and the consequences of using it. Even though they took turns loading and unloading the dishwasher before, they are much more aware now of each glass or spoon used. They are more careful consumers. In addition, they are learning more about helping others. Although our four-year-old son Cormac tries to wash his plates, he is not really able to do the job very well. His siblings must help him. They are asked to help with the

dishes of our guests as well. And so the children are learning to think of others, to help others who need assistance, to practice Benedictine virtues of work and hospitality. Of course, we hope these are lessons we are teaching our children in many aspects of their lives. It seems, though, that the simple change to quit using our dishwasher has made us all more aware of what the Holy Father would have us see – our actions, our consumption, our habits have consequences. We should all endeavor to make sure those consequences are not a burden to those who are more vulnerable, and those who need our help receive it happily and quickly. Most of all, we pray that our small changes will lead our children to realize their own profound human dignity as creatures who bear the likeness of their Creator.

We are called to accept the world as a

sacrament of communion, as a way of sharing with God and our

neighbors on a global scale. It is our humble conviction

that the divine and the human meet in the slightest

detail in the seamless garment of God’s creation, in the last speck of dust of our planet. -Laudato Si: 14

As a response to Laudato Si, the Madden family has started washing all of their dishes by hand. Each person washes what he or she uses, and the children have learned a lot about helping one another.

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