Volume 35, Number 1
Richardton, ND 58652
January 2007



Prior Basil sent Br. Elias out to photograph these deer in the east yard. They ran away before he could get much closer to them.
September
Chronicle


     During the fall, Bro. Jacob found himself performing an unusual chore, namely, helping to transport hay from a distant field to the Abbey farm. Because we got such a poor hay crop here at Richardton, Fr. Stephen arranged for the purchase of some hay from the CRP land at St. Anthony’s Mission, Mandaree. But this hay was not exactly free since the mission is 87 miles one way from the Abbey. It took eight trips with a semi-trailer to move the 234 large bales of hay. On one day, the truck made three trips. Add that up: 16 times 87.
     The Abbey does not have a semi, so we hired Hoff Farms of Richardton to do the hauling, but Bro. Jacob did the tractor work on either end. Over the years, we have rarely, if ever, purchased hay. But this is an unusual year and Bro. Placid, the boss, is worried that his cows may not make it through the winter with what we have on hand.

     The community meeting of September 6 was devoted to initial preparation for the monastic Visitation that will take place here next summer. Fr. Lawrence gave a brief position paper to prime the pump, and then we broke up into small groups for discussion. Fr. Lawrence is well-positioned to give a talk on Visitations since he has served as a visitator on no less than eighteen occasions. This is one of the heaviest tasks a monk can do for the “good of the Order.”

     Saturday, September 16, was a day some of the monks will not soon forget. They drove to Bismarck to pick up a conference table donated to the Abbey by a law firm that no longer needed it. Weren’t they surprised when they found out that it was 14 ft. long and weighs maybe 500 pounds? What is more, it cannot be taken apart. They were assisted by a crew of husky guys from the University of Mary, but even then it was a Herculean labor getting it into the trailer.

     But when they got it back to the Abbey, things really got out of hand. The only place they could think of putting it was in a basement meeting room. Unfortunately, they got it wedged in the door of the Centennial Room and there it sat—for three hours, while the crew pushed and twisted and cussed and sweated. Finally, a way was found and the monster was put in place. Prediction: it will never leave that room until the building is torn down.

October 
Chronicle 

     On October 1st, the local community celebrated the one-hundredth anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of St. Mary’s Church. At a joint Mass liturgy of the parish and the monastery, Abbot Brian stressed the faith of the pioneers who built the church in 1906. Tradition says that the local farmers began the foundations by hauling in granite fieldstones from their fields. At this time we are happy we don’t need to haul any more stone, and that we were able to refurbish the building in recent years.

     Abbot Brian engaged in a good deal of pastoral ministry this fall. On October 1-4 he drove to Glen Ullin each evening to give mission talks at Sacred Heart Parish. Our confrere Fr. Sebastian Schmidt continues to serve as pastor of that church. Then at the end of October Abbot Brian flew to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to assist at one of the parishes in that town for a couple weeks. Because winter weather arrived on the Plains early this year, he did not chance driving across Wyoming.

     Fr. Robert has moved to the Richardton Health Center where he can receive full-time nursing care. In this, his 92nd year, the former abbot has been gradually sinking into the weakness of extreme old age. He had been able to follow much of the monastic schedule until he had a fall in his bedroom.

     During the period October 26-29 Fr. Terrence was at St. John’s Abbey in Minnesota for a dialogue between Buddhist and Catholic monks. Although he knows little about Buddhism, Terrence was asked to give a paper on John Cassian’s teaching on monastic chastity. As for the dialogue, 12 Buddhist monks and 10 Catholic monks shared their views on the monastic theory and practice of chastity. Although these two “systems” differ greatly (Buddhists do not believe in a personal God), the monks actually have a lot in common.

     Over the weekend of October 14-15, the Oblates came here for their fall retreat. The usual compliment of about 15 men and women participated in the meeting, but there was also an unusual dimension to it. This year’s speakers included two from foreign countries: Phyllis Thompson of Vancouver, Canada, and Mary Cockroft of Manchester, England. They are not oblates of our abbey, but they are oblates of other monasteries, and they happened to be in the vicinity at this time.


Br. Pius' "go cart" is parked by the cafeteria window on a rainy fall afternoon.


A fine foggy fall morning greets the monks at breakfast. Most were standing, looking out the window on the glory that God had made.
November
Chronicle

     On November 8, Bro. Michael drove to Sidney, MT, with Sr. Rita of Sacred Heart Monastery to give a CCD retreat in the local parish. Bro. Michael has taken over Fr. Thomas’ old job as vocation director, and like Fr. Thomas he is cooperating with the Sisters in this work. Often in the past members of both communities have combined in presenting programs in the parishes of the area.

     Another joint effort this year is a book discussion club that meets once a week. Half a dozen members of the two communities are reading a book called Desert Christians by William Harmless. Book clubs serve several purposes: they keep us reading material we might not tackle alone; they put us in dialogue with other monks and nuns on serious topics; they keep our minds from atrophying before we reach senility.

     Fr. Thomas spent the months of October and November on a sabbatical leave at Sacred Heart Monastery, Yankton, SD. He was feeling the fatigue and strain of many years of fund-raising, and chose his old alma mater for a resting place. The Sisters at Yankton are old friends of ours, having taught, sewed, and cooked in Richardton for many years. They have recently built a beautiful new monastery wing, which includes guest rooms for retreatants. Fr. Thomas took advantage of the facilities.

     This being an election time, someone came up with a proposal that would save us a lot of time. Before the election, we could ask the monks how they are going to vote. If ten say Republican and seven say Democrat, then we could simply send the three Republicans down to vote. The other fourteen could stay home because they would cancel each other out anyway. Those who heard this proposal voted against it.

     At our Priory of Tibatí in South America, Fr. Nicolas Cano has been named rector of San Benito. Although this secondary school is run by the monks in the nearby barrio, Fr. Nicolas is the first monastic rector of that school. He has recently received his master’s degree in educational administration, so he is ready for the job. In recent weeks Fr. Francis Wehri was hospitalized with severe nosebleeds.

     In mid-November there was a lot of activity around Bro. Elias’ room. Everything was out in the hall and he was shampooing the rug. He informed us that he had removed seven garbage bags and five boxes of junk from his domicile. When someone expressed wonder that he could accumulate so much stuff, he said: “Well, it has been ten years.” One of the labors of Hercules was to clean the Augean stables by diverting the River Styx through them.

Editor: Terrence Kardong, OSB
Assumption Abbey Newsletter
PO Box A, Richardton, ND 58652
www.assumptionabbey.com