At our recent champagne breakfast for our graduating seniors here at Benedictine College one of the parents mentioned how much he enjoyed my column but said he would like to know what it really means to be an oblate. Thanks for such a challenge.

It has been a tradition with religious orders to always have some persons associated with them who have no intention of entering the religious state but feel called to the certain charism of a given order. The most obvious would the simple lifestyle of the Franciscans. These groups were called third order secular to distinguish them from the third order regular who were the active religious attached to the order. A little explanation may well help and I am only using the Franciscans as an example. The first order Franciscans consists of the friars both ordained and non-ordained. The second order Franciscans consists of the cloistered nuns. The third order consists of the active sisters and the members of secular third order. Since the Vatican Council the secular third order has simply been called the secular Franciscans. With this little background, I will try to explain the Benedictine perspective.

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In 1870 the First Vatican Council defined the dogma of papal infallibility.  Shortly thereafter, the former English Prime Minister, William Gladstone, attacked this dogma for allegedly reducing Catholic citizens to a condition of mental and moral slavery.  This elicited a letter of congratulations from Otto von Bismarck, the German Reich Chancellor.  Bismarck expressed his “deep and hopeful gratification to see the two nations, which in Europe are the champions of the liberty of conscience encountering the same foe, standing shoulder to shoulder in defending the highest interests of the human race.”

Gladstone’s attack on papal authority provoked an altogether different reaction from John Henry Newman, who in his Letter to the Duke of Norfolk responded to the charge of mental and moral slavery by arguing that recognition of papal authority by Catholic citizens is perfectly consistent with their maintaining freedom of conscience, properly understood.  Central to Newman’s argument was his attack on “the various false senses, philosophical or popular, which in this day are put upon the word ‘conscience.’”

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Abbot Barnabas Senecal has many talents and photography is no exception.  His photos have been featured in many publications, such as Kansas Monks and Celebration.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Harvey, Abbot of Plouvien, by showcasing Abbot Barnabas talent.

Photo Gallery

Wednesday, June 17
Mass will be at 11:30 a.m. (instead of 5:15 p.m.)
Vespers will be at 5:35 p.m. (instead of 6:45 p.m.)

Wednesday, June 24
Vespers will be follow shortly after the 5:15 p.m. Mass (instead of Vespers being at 6:45 p.m.)

Twenty-five Benedictine Monks in simple vows from around the United States will be at St. Benedict’s Abbey for the next two weeks for their annual Junior Institute of American Benedictine Monks. Their time here will include a course on the Liturgy and a course on the Fathers of the Church. Brother Leven Harton and Brother Simon Baker will participate in the classes.  Father Denis Meade, Brother Jeremy Heppler and Prior James Albers alongside Father Bernard Disco of St. Anselm Abbey, in Washington D.C., will facilitate the event.  Please pray for these monks in simple vows, and for the young men discerning vocations to the Benedictine Abbeys across the country.

Photo stories are a regular part of Kansas Monks.   Monks are hard at work planting peanuts and working to grow other fruits and vegetables for St. Benedict’s Abbey. Today we look back at Choosy Monks Choose…?, a photo feature from the Winter 2008 issue of Kansas Monks.  Don’t forget to check out the photo gallery, as well as the most recent photo story from Kansas Monks, A Monk’s Trimming, a story by Dan Madden looking at the Abbey Barber Shop.

Peanuts? In Kansas? Will they even grow here? No, not really, Brother Leven Harton answered. The growing season is too short. The muddy, clay soil, too dense. Peanuts need loamy, sandy soil and a long, southern growing season.

But then a crooked smile crossed the young monk’s face and his eyes took on a  mad scientist gleam. “I just love peanut butter,” he said. The seed was already in the ground.

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Kansas Monks, the quarterly magazine of St. Benedict’s Abbey, won three 2009 Catholic Press Awards including first place in “General Excellence” for top honors among religious order magazines.

The awards were announced May 29 at the national convention of the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.

In recognizing Kansas Monks, a judge in the General Excellence category praised the magazine for its bright artwork and range of articles, “from pleas for prayers for particular individuals to longer pieces detailing good works.”

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This homily was delivered by Deacon Brother Jeremy Heppler on June 7, Trinity Sunday.

Everyone was having a grand time socializing before the recognition banquet. But, it was time to begin. The priest leaned into the microphone: “Good evening.”

But the banquet goers paid no heed.

“Good evening.”

Absolutely nothing – the lively conversations still continued.

The priest took his spoon and banged it repeatedly against the glass. But even with the assistance of the microphone, this was lost in the roar of conversation.

Finally, out of frustration the priest straightened up, quietly and firmly saying, “In the name of the…” Absolute silence. Immediately the priest had everyone’s attention. Thank God for our Catholic reflexes!

The words we say during the Sign of the Cross—“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”— we often take for granted. It is a very profound prayer, full of rich theology, meaning and consequences.

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by Dan Madden  |  Photo gallery

Calling on the model of St. John Vianney, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas challenged Brother Jeremy Heppler to preach the Gospel with sincerity and authenticity at the young monk’s diaconate ordination May 30 at St. Benedict’s Abbey.

“Brother Jeremy, you are being ordained a deacon as we draw near to the year that Pope Benedict has dedicated to the priesthood,” the Archbishop said. “Pope Benedict chose this year, in part, because it marks the 150th anniversary of the death of the death of St. John Vianney, the Cure of Ars, patron of priests.” St. John, known as a great preacher who brought his people closer to Jesus and helped them grow in holiness, was not known for his intellect or oratorical skills, the Archbishop noted.

“By all accounts he was weak in both of these areas,” he said. “St. John Vianney was effective…because his life corresponded to his words.”

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This Homily was delivered by Father Meinrad Miller on June 3rd, 2009 in St. Benedict’s Abbey Church

It is an honor to preach at this Mass marking special anniversaries of priestly ordination of 7 of our monks. We also remember our Father William Thompson, O.S.B., J.C.D. who died this past Saturday as the monks were praying the Vigils of Pentecost. On May 17, the day after the Benedictine College graduation, Father William celebrated 65 years as a priest. May he now celebrate with our great high priest Jesus Christ in that heavenly Liturgy.

As we look at the list of those celebrating today, we are grateful to their service:
• Fathers Ignatius and Gerard celebrating 55 years
• Abbot Barnabas celebrating 45 years, and 15 years as Abbot
• Our retreat Master, Abbot Lawrence from St. Gregory’s Abbey in Oklahoma; Father Maurice, and myself celebrating 15 years
• Father Rodrigo, from our Priory in Brazil, and Father Gabriel celebrating 5 years
• And the Deacon at today’s Mass, Br. Jeremy, will be ordained a priest next summer
Perhaps we can learn some wisdom about what makes a good priest from the founder of our Abbey, Father Henry Peter Lemke, O.S.B. He twice uses a phrase in his diary to describe a successful priest as one who has the rare qualities of being able to unite the gentleness of a dove with the slyness of a snake. At his First Mass as a priest on April 25, 1826, Father Lemke had the future Cardinal Melchior Diepenbrock preach. The future Cardinal, then a young priest himself, noted that the ability to combine gentleness and slyness in the right measure was achieved by few: “either the nature of the serpent, or that of the dove would usually take precedence.”
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