Saint Andrew s Abbey Vocation Newsletter November, 2013 Living with Benedict Coming November 22-24 The first registrations have been received for the next Living with Benedict monastic experience for men 18-45 years of age that will be held from Friday evening, November 22 to Sunday at noon on November 24. There is no charge for the weekend, This month s theme is taken from the Prologue of the Rule of Saint Benedict, Hasten to Do Now What Will Profit Us for Eternity. This follows the liturgical Church year which points us to reflect on Eternal Life during the month of November which includes the feasts of All Saints (Nov. 1) and All Souls (Nov. 2) as well as the final Sundays of Ordinary Time with their readings that reference the end of the world. Grave of Abbot Valentine in St. Procopius Abbey Cemetery, Illinois. He sent the first Benedictine monks to Cleveland in 1922 to form St. Andrew s Priory. In Chapter 4 of the Rule of Saint Benedict, he explains that You should recognize that there will be a day of reckoning and judgment for all of us, which should make us afraid of how we stand between good and evil. But, while you should have a just fear of the loss of everything in hell, you should above all cultivate a longing for eternal life with a desire of great spiritual intensity. Keep death daily before your eyes, have a care about how you act every hour of your life and be sure that God is present in all places and he certainly sees and understands what you are about. The Living with Benedict weekend will consider the theme of how to prepare for Eternal Life in the monastic tradition such as the origin of All Souls Day, the efficacy of the cross in the medal of St. Benedict, the concept of the communion of saints, purgatory and praying for the dead, the use of relics and the cult of the saints. There will also be a candlelight Holy Hour with Eucharistic adoration on Friday evening, shared Lectio Divina, the rosary prayed in common, Liturgy of the Hours, Mass, community work, quiet time, and social time and vocation discussions with the monks. Participants are asked to arrive by 5:00 PM on Friday evening if possible. Arrangements can be made for late arrivals or those who may need to leave earlier than lunch on Sunday. Contact Fr. Finbar at 216-721-5300, ext. 273 or at finbar@cbhs.edu.
New Faces Add Harmony to the Fourth Floor Keeping the fourth floor not only looking good but sounding good are postulants Steve Armour, 25, of Parma and Dean Rowinski, 24, of Independence. Dean moved in on August 3 as the newest resident of the formation floor that new candidates for the abbey call home for a year and a half as they move through the stages of being a postulant for six months and a novice for one year. Dean is a graduate of the Lyceum School in Cleveland and Thomas Aquinas College in southern California. He was a multi-discipline teacher to several Catholic home school groups before coming to the Abbey. Close in age, the two postulants also found that they are both interested in playing the guitar. Steve learned in the seventh grade and has performed publicly at church and retreats and other gatherings. Dean just took lessons in the past year and so appreciates the opportunity his has to learn from Steve while they both enjoy dueling strings during their recreation period. With the abbey down to two regular organists for the Liturgy of the Hours, Fr. Michael and Fr. Paschal, (while Bro. Thomas is away at seminary studies at St. Vincent s), the harmonious postulants may find it valuable to learn to lead the chanting of the psalms with guitar. Recently, Fr. Gerard experienced the St. Meinrad chant melodies led by guitar at the Liturgy of the Hours celebrated at Newark Abbey which currently does not have an organist. It would also be beneficial if they practiced some holiday tunes for community parties in the upcoming festive seasons.
Enjoying the nautical peace of a calm cruise through the channels of the Lake County Yacht Club on August 13 were (above): Rob Caswell (BHS 11) of Kent State University, postulant Dean Rowinski, and novice Brother Blaise. Taking a seat next to the Captain was formation team director Fr. Michael (below). Unfortunately, strong winds on Lake Erie prevented BHS alumnus Jerry Catalano 52 from taking the Monastic Marineers for a more adventurous ride on the lake itself following the annual picnic that he hosts at the yacht club. Also along for the ride were Abbot Christopher, Frs. Timothy, Gerard, Paschal, and Bros. Joseph, Nicholas, Philip, Thomas, Paul, and Mario.
We hear that..our confrere Bishop Roger, OSB received word on the feast of All Saints that the Holy Father has granted him the permission that he has been waiting for since his 75 th birthday in March of last year. He will continue to keep his busy schedule until the Pope appoints new auxiliary bishops especially since the unexpected death of fellow auxiliary Bishop A. J. Quinn on October 18. Bishop Quinn was a good friend of our community and attended the Abbey Benefit every year..before the August Living with Benedict weekend, Tommy Bralich of Farrell, Pennsylvania paid a visit to the newly refurbished Croatian Garden in the Cultural Gardens of University Circle (right).bro. Mario got his month s exercise while shooting baskets with the monks in formation in the BHS gym on October 16. Carl Russo (below) of Middleburg Heights put on quite a tutorial on foul shooting. Abbey seminarian Bro. Thomas at St. Vincent s Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania is preparing to receive the Ministry of Acolyte on November 18.Abbey seminarian Bro. Conrad Wald, OSB is taking daily pre-theology classes at Borromeo Seminary including Pastoral Spanish..our third seminarian Bro. Louis Carey, OSB finally returned to the abbey in mid-september after being hospitalized the entire summer with pancrititis. He is slowly regaining his strength from the long ordeal, but also was able to realize the fruits of offering his sufferings for vocations when he found out that the August Living with Benedict weekend has a record 9 participants Bro. Paul Culver, OSB hosted his cousin Rosario Rodriguez from Los Angeles who was in town to give a talk on Forgiveness and Healing at Walsh University in Canton..BHS alumnus Steve Calderone 07 visited the high school and abbey on October 25 and promised to return to try for the top prize in the weekly UNO card game and to tell more stories about Fr. Paschal s Spanish class..